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Korean beef bowl is the ultimate weeknight dinner. Flavorful ground beef and rice cooked in a flavorful sauce make an easy meal in only twenty minutes!
Easy and quick recipes are a must for weeknight dinners, especially ones that are bursting with flavor such as Korean beef nachos or Kimchi fried rice and Korean beef lettuce wraps This Korean beef bowls are also a favorite over here and bet you’re going to love them, too.
Table of Contents
An easy ground beef and rice recipe for weeknights!
If you have picky eaters at home, then this Korean beef recipe is what you need to make this week. It’s a super easy recipe that is ready in only twenty minutes and uses only one pan. You can use leftover rice, microwave rice or cook rice from scratch in a pot while the ground beef is cooking.
My family goes crazy for this Korean ground beef and rice, it’s a staple at our home and it’s one of the staples we make whenever we have ground beef. It’s like the famous Korean bulgogi, but quicker, and inexpensive.
Ingredients
This is such a simple recipe that I’m pretty sure you have the ingredients you need at home already. The ingredients for this recipe are similar to the quick Korean beef and rice I published a couple years ago but the method is different (this one is simpler). For this easy Korean ground beef recipe you need the following ingredients:
- Sesame oil
- Ground Beef
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Soy sauce
- Brown Sugar
- Broccoli and carrots, or any other veggies you fancy
- Green onions and sesame seeds to top
Instructions
Start by browning the beef in a large pan over medium heat. Prepare the rice simultaneously in another pot. Prep your veggies and steam them while the beef is browning.
Once the beef is brown, drain the excess fat (if any) and add crushed garlic and ginger. Cook a bit more and then add brown sugar and soy sauce.
Finish with sesame oil, chopped green onions and, of course, sesame seeds. A full gorgeous meal is ready in twenty minutes and trust me, it’s ten times better and cheaper than take-out. This Korean beef bowl recipe is also perfect for meal prep. Just double or triple the recipe (depending on how many meals and how many people you’re feeding) and make a week’s worth of food in no time!
What vegetables can I use?
What I love the most about this recipe is that you can add whatever veggies you like. The more the merrier! I love adding these vegetables:
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Bokchoy
- Mushrooms
- Water Chestnuts
- Bamboo Shoots
- Bell Peppers
More recipes:
Tips and notes
- You can use either toasted or regular sesame seed oil for this recipe.
- Cautious about carbs? Serve Korean ground beef and rice over cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles.
- This recipe calls for white rice (ideally, jasmine or basmati). However, you can use brown rice or quinoa too.
- For more flavor, I sometimes sauté one chopped yellow onion before adding the ground beef.
- If you would like your Korean beef and rice to be spicy, drizzle some sriracha when serving.
More Recipes
Quick and Easy Dinner
Quick Korean Beef Recipe
Quick and Easy Dinner
Easy Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps
Appetizers
Korean Beef Nachos
Rice and Pasta
Instant Pot Brown Rice Recipe
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Korean Beef Bowl Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 cups broccoli florets
- 2 cups sliced carrots
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 5 cups cooked rice
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Brown ground beef for about 6 minutes and add mined garlic and ginger.
- Continue browning the beef until it’s almost completely cooked. Drain excess fat if any.
- Add in soy sauce and brown sugar. Stir well until flavors are combined.
- Add in sesame oil and give it a nice stir.
- Meanwhile, steam broccoli florets and sliced carrots for about 5 minutes.
- Once the vegetables are steamed, start plating.
- Fill four bowls with cooked rice.
- Top with Korean beef and steamed vegetables. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
- Serve warm.
Notes
- You can use other vegetables such as green beans and edamame.
- Leftover rice works perfectly in this ground beef and rice recipe. You can also simply start cooking rice while the beef is cooking.
- You can use brown rice, jasmine or basmati rice for this recipe.
- If you are concerned about the sodium in soy sauce, you can use low sodium soy sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Really wonderful taste. I have made this many times. Sometimes I have a craving for it!
Will not use vegetable oil next time I make this threw the whole flavor off! I never use oil to brown ground beef. But other than that my family liked it! Will make again like I said without oil!
I made this the other night with a base of smoked basmati rice. Holy cow!!! It’s a huge hit. My family was licking the pot after the mixture was gone. Even my picky 16 year old wolfed it down, and snaked the leftovers the next day for lunch. It is so easy, and so yummy. I subbed dark soy sauce for the regular soy sauce, it really added depth of flavor to the dish. And, I sautéed the veggies, which also added a lot of flavor, and was delicious.
Hi Tracey, happy to know you and your family enjoyed this recipe!
We loved!! Such good flavor:)
What a great quick meal! Loads of fab flavours in this bowl 🙂
Thank you Katherine!
Loved that this was so easy and family friendly! My kids even ate it. It’s going on my regular rotation!
Glad you liked this Korean beef bowl Julie!