Korean Beef Zucchini Noodles
LOW CARB Korean beef bowls except with zoodles! It is so much healthier and lighter without any of the carb guilt!!!
These zucchini noodles came just in time.
Because as you guys know, I am currently on a pasta hiatus since my Italy trip.
I also really need to lay off the carbs.
(Even though it is actually sweater weather.)
So I’m taking my favorite Korean beef bowls, and subbing out the rice with zucchini noodles.
I know.
Why didn’t I think of this before?
It’s still just as hearty and filling, so you can pat yourself on the back for getting your serving of veggies in.
And for indulging in your KBBQ fix without any of the guilt.
Korean Beef Zucchini Noodles
LOW CARB Korean beef bowls except with zoodles! It is so much healthier and lighter without any of the carb guilt!!!
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- ⅓ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 ½ pounds 4 medium-sized zucchini, spiralized
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- ¼ teaspoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil and Sriracha.
- Heat olive oil in a large 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 zucchini noodles, green onions and soy sauce mixture until well combined, allowing to simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with sesame seeds, if desired.
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I have tried several of the Damn Delicious recipes and have enjoyed all of them, the most recent being the Korean Beef Zucchini Noodles. What I like most is the simple ingredients, most I have on hand.
Thank you!
Do you know the nutrient break down?
Nutritional information is provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, we recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information. Hope that helps!
This is delicious! I added shredded carrots and cut a bit of sugar. It was scrumptious and super easy for a quick Friday night dinner.
Great modifications!
Hello
Please tell me how would I spiral the zucchini into noodles?? Is there some kind of machine I need to buy??
Yes, there are many zucchini spiralizers available online such as Amazon.
Grocery store is out of fresh zucchini and pre spiralized! Would butternut squash be an acceptable alternative? Thank you!
Yes, what a great idea!
Thank you! Love your recipes
Thank you for this!! This is fantastic, simple, easy to make, with ingredients that most people usually already have on hand, and it tastes very authentically Korean!! My hubby loves it, he almost wants to lick the skillet 🙂 Next time when I make it, I’ll probably try to thicken the sauce towards the end so the zucchini noodles can soak it all up.
Great idea!
This was very yummy. Instead of using 1/3 cup of brown sugar, I added a tablespoon of agave nectar. Thought I had some sesame oil, but did not. Went without. I bought pre-packaged zucchini noodles…Zoodles. lightly salted them and roasted them in the oven at 250 for about an hour to get rid of the excess water. It was delicious.
Great!
This was fabulous! I used sweet chili sauce instead of brown sugar and siracha. And I put it over a little handful of rice because I’m not going to let those lovely juices go to waste. I’m making it again to take camping. It will be glorious! Thanks for this inspired post!
That’s so great to hear! Thanks!
This was amazing, thanks!! For those who don’t eat sugar – I omitted the sugar and added gochujang and extra sriracha to replace the lost flavor.
Thank you for your feedback, Dee!
1/4 cup brown sugar? Not very low carb any more! One sneaky fix I learned from a Korean friend is to use diet Coke for the sweetner. The acidity tenderizes the meat, too.
This was very good, but as in other comments above, not really low carb with the 1/3 cup of brown sugar. Saying that, I made the recipe exactly as stated and would next time try less sugar – maybe 3 tablespoons. For personal taste as I found it a bit sweet for my personal liking. As well, I would add more zucchini – the 1/2 pound of meat to 1-1/2 pounds of zucchini was not quite enough. Overall, great recipe and thank you so much for sharing.
Thank you for your feedback Olwen!
Yes, I made this recipe for dinner tonight and halved the sugar (and doubled the ginger and garlic, and probably octupled the Sriracha, we like heat!). I didn’t miss the extra sugar, and the flavors were excellent. Definitely going into my easy weeknight dinner rotation.
Yay! So happy you liked it!
Very tasty! However, I feel like the ratio is off a little? I might not have had enough zucchinis though. Definitely will make again but add more vegetables like carrots, mushrooms, and maybe some red onion.
Glad you enjoyed it Jackie! Yes, more veggies are always a good idea!
This is the best DISH EVER! MUST TRY!
I used Korean Gochujang red chili paste instead of siracha much better and authentic.
I was just going to ask this question! Thanks for doing it for me.
Should you salt and drain zoodles before using or do you need the liquid for the recipe?
Yes, you can drain the zucchini noodles prior to using.
I used stir fry steak, cut into bite size pieces!! Loved this meal!! In fact every meal I’ve made of yours has been… well, damn delicious!! I will be adding some spiral carrots next time for a little added crunch!! So much you can do with this dish. Thank you always!!
Does this freeze well?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself. Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
We loved this recipe! Just enough spice to make things interesting. I did use ground turkey and think it’s a good substitution. It’s already on next weeks’ menu. Damn delicious, indeed.
1/3 cup of brown sugar has roughly 48g of sugar (AKA CARBS, PEOPLE)…. I don’t see how this can be considered low carb. Really deceptive. Maybe you should label it “Lower-Carb”, because the zucchini noodles certainly cut out a significant amount of carbs but the recipe still contains a hefty load of sugar. Just my two cents.
I am one of the lucky ones that is no diabetic and i’m Not watching my carb intake, what can I substitute for the zucchini? Maybe rice, spaghetti or one of the Asian noodles?
You can substitute with any grain or pasta you prefer, but without further recipe testing, we cannot answer with certainty on how it’s going to turn out. Please keep in mind that cooking times may vary. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.