Korean Beef Bowl
by Chungah
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Tastes like Korean BBQ (bulgogi) and is on your dinner table in just 15 min! Quick, easy, budget-friendly, and a hit with the entire family!
Featured Comment
Please welcome our favorited Korean beef bowls, one of our most popular recipes on Damn Delicious. This recipe is a special twist on the traditional Korean dish, bulgogi, but as a cheater version, we are swapping out thin slices of sirloin with ground beef.
Why You’ll Love This Korean Beef Bowl
- Weeknight hero. With a short ingredient list, these beef bowls come together incredibly fast. The cooking process itself takes just about 10-15 minutes, and if you have some leftover cooked rice lying around, dinner will be on the table in 20 minutes or less. It’s a budget-friendly alternative to traditional bulgogi while still capturing authentic Korean BBQ flavors.
- Budget-friendly. Using pantry staples, ground beef and rice, this dish can easily feed a family of four without breaking the bank.
- Flexible recipe. Throw in any lingering veggies (ex. chopped bell peppers, carrots or broccoli florets) for an easy clean-out-the-fridge meal.
What is the difference between bulgogi and Korean beef bowls?
Bulgogi uses marinated sliced beef, grilled or pan-fried, while Korean beef bowls use ground beef for a faster, budget-friendly weeknight version. Bulgogi is also marinated overnight to enhance its flavors and tenderness but with this quick ground beef version, you can have the same flavors in lightning speed time.
How to make korean beef bowls
- Prep the sauce. Combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and ginger. To make the bowls more spicy, swap out the red pepper flakes for gochujang (Korean red chili paste).
- Crumble the ground beef. Sauté the garlic first in a large cast iron skillet, then crumble the ground beef (or desired meat), draining the excess fat.
- Add the sauce and simmer. Add the sauce, simmering until heated through, about 2 minutes. This would be a great time to add in any leafy greens (baby spinach or kale) for those picky eaters!
- Serve. Serve warm over rice, topped with a fried egg for additional protein.
What to Serve with Korean Beef Bowls
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Korean Beef Bowl: Frequently Asked Questions
Not at all! Use ground pork, chicken or turkey, tofu or plant based ground beef in place of the ground beef.
Add a fried egg on top (sunny side or over easy), breaking the runny yolk into a rich, velvety sauce to mix with the rice.
Yes! Swap out the soy sauce for gluten-free tamari.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Absolutely! Here are detailed instructions on how to meal prep this for the week.
100%! This is one of our favorite crockpot recipes, perfect for those chilly months.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop (adding a tablespoon of water as needed).
Korean Beef Bowl
Video
Ingredients
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes, or more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- ¼ teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and ginger.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Stir in soy sauce mixture and green onions until well combined, allowing to simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with green onion and sesame seeds, if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor.
- Pick your favorite protein. Ground beef, pork, chicken or turkey, tofu or plant based ground beef will all work very well here. In need of more protein? Top your bowl with a sunny side up fried egg.
- Add vegetables. Mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers or snow peas can be added for a more heartier meal, perfect for picky eaters and grown ups!
- Double the sauce. Need extra sauce for sopping with rice? The sauce portion can easily be doubled or tripled for those saucy folks!
- Serve with your favorite grains. White rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa or farro are all solid options.
- Meal prep as needed. Perfect for on-the-go, these Korean beef bowls can be conveniently meal prepped for the week ahead.
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I wanted Korean gd beef bowl .. many recipes. You have a lot of reviews .. yours caught my eye.
Loved your ingredients .. I added 1 onion, chop including white of green onion, and julienne carrots for colors. and used fresh ginger minced ( as suggested by another person ) ginger in sauce and more ginger to cooked with onions. Better fresh ..
I prepped .. Your recipe .. quick to make … DELICIOUS. I ate mine with brown rice. I added leftover Linguine from Italian recipe few days ago … for my Hubby . He loved it. .. had 2 servings .. and I put in fridge the rest .. right away …
Thank you for sharing a delicious and quick meal
I added some well chopped broccoli and thin sloced carrots and it was excellent! Great recipe!
Super easy and quick meal that my family and I love! (Yes all 6 of us love it). I just add broccoli in when I throw in the sauce
Replaced brown sugar with agave and added zucchini, spinach, and onion. Delicious!!!
can this be served with chow mein noodles instead of rice? thanks
The flavor is absolutely fantastic, and it’s very easy to make. I thought it was a little dry, so I’m going to follow my gut next time and not drain the grease.
Awesome recipe! Has been a staple for a few years now. Even made this at a family cabin for 20 or so people and everyone loved it! My 18 yrs old son asks for it all the time so I make extras for left overs.
This is SOOOOOO GOOD!! I’ve made it several times and it’s now a staple recipe in our home! I sauté chopped cabbage and carrots, and shelled edamame as side dishes.
I serve it all together as a “bowl”. SO yummy.
Has anyone added peanut butter (not substituted for anything) to make more of a peanut butter sauce? If so, how much did you add?
Do you have nutritional values for this recipe? We made it tonight and LOVED it! So I’m hoping it’s not just my new guilty pleasure.
Absolutely fantastic, thank you ❣️
Made this last night to rave reviews from my family! Super easy and quick to make with ingredients readily available from most grocery stores. No special trip to the Asian grocery needed – yay!
This is definitely getting added to our regularly meal rotation.
Love this recipe but would
Love it more if you would put the nutrition with it! I thought it used to be there ?!
I want to make this recipe tonight, but I don’t like heat in my food, so I will eliminate the red pepper flakes. Hope it’s still just as good.
Super good and super simple! Also made some Asian style green beans to have a veggie to go a long with it.
I’ve made this with beef and with ground turkey. I’ve also found it’s delicious (& vegan!) to use extra firm tofu torn into small pieces. Torn seems to work better than cutting with a knife. The tofu soaks up the sauce and it’s very good!
A favorite super easy dinner of mine! So flavorful
Amazing, my boys love this recipe! I add shredded cabbage, carrots and chop some cocktail peanuts for crunch
Absolutely amazing! Has a sweet and spicy flavor that jump kicks your taste buds. Most definitely recommend! My whole family loves it! Thank you!
This was delicious! Followed the recipe but added summer squash. My family of 3 loved it. My husband suggested I add peas and onion next time to give it a crunch. Thanks for posting this great recipe, its definitely going in the rotation!!!