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Korean Ground Beef and Rice Bowls are so incredibly easy to make and will become a family favorite! This makes the perfect weeknight meal.
Such a simple meal with all the flavor! Try these different variations of Korean beef in these recipes: Korean Beef Noodles, Korean Ground Beef Stir Fry, or Slow Cooker Korean Beef.
Korean Ground Beef and Rice Bowls
This right here is my boy’s favorite weeknight meal. They beg me to make it every week. Since we have been so busy with Lacrosse, we have been having it every week. It requires minimal ingredients and little effort to make.
With minimal ingredients and big flavor, my kids devour it every time. The ground beef browns in minutes but still brings that classic Korean taste with brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger. I always have these simple ingredients on hand, so all I need is a pound of ground beef to make it happen. Serve it over rice, toss in some veggies, and top with sesame seeds and green onions for a quick, delicious dinner you’ll make again and again. If you love these flavors, try my Slow Cooker Korean BBQ Chicken next!
How do you make Korean Ground Beef and Rice Bowls?
- In a large skillet cook the ground beef and garlic breaking it into crumbles over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain the grease.
- In a small bowl whisk brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, red pepper flakes and pepper. Pour over the ground beef and let simmer for another minute or two.
- Serve over hot rice and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
What temperature should ground beef be cooked to?
The interior of a raw hamburger usually does contain bacteria, and is safest if cooked well done.The USDA sets the minimum safe temperature for ground beef at 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
Can you make this with chicken?
Yes! This is a great chicken flavor as well. Sauté your chicken with all the ingredients. Cook until it is no longer pink.
What is the best rice to use?
- White rice
- Brown rice
- Jasmine rice
Looking for more simple ground beef recipes?! Here you go!
- Salsa Verde Beef and Mushroom Enchiladas
- Beefy Baked Tacos
- Tater Tot Nachos
- Cheesy Baked Ziti
- Classic Baked Spaghetti
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Korean Ground Beef and Rice Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef 90% lean
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups hot cooked white or brown rice
- sliced green onions and sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- In a large skillet cook the ground beef and garlic breaking it into crumbles over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain the grease.
- In a small bowl whisk brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, red pepper flakes and pepper. Pour over the ground beef and let simmer for another minute or two.
- Serve over hot rice and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Loved it. Simple and fast yummy dinner. Made exactly as written. Oops except the red pepper flakes. My kids a chicken of hot!
Subbed brown sugar with coconut sugar. Was still delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
How do you reduce the soy sauce? Or is it readily bought in store?
The soy sauce is already pre-made in the store. You are welcome to make your own soy sauce if you prefer to change the ingredients in the recipe.
Loved it!
I added steamed broccoli before the sauce and it was delicious! Mmmmmm
That sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing!
This was so yummy. I made this for my husband and picky 18 yr old. They both Loved it! Besides the taste, I loved how easy this recipee was. It truly only took me about 15 minutes to cook. When does that ever happen? Never. It seemed almost to good to be true. This is the first recipee I have tried from your site and look forward to trying more. Thank you.
Can you use ground turkey instead?
Yes, that sounds delicious too! Let me know how it turns out!
Could you make the beef ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight? I’m hosting a bunco night and it’d be awesome to have everything ready to go the day before!
Yes, that sounds like a great plan. Enjoy your game night! That will be fun and yummy food;)!
This looks great! Ground beef is our primary source of red meat; we try to do all grass fed and organic, but typically cuts other than ground beef are too expensive for a regular rotation. Always looking for a way to mix it up! We love burgers, tacos, shepherd’s pie, but a change is always good – and we love Asian flavors as well! Adding this to the menu for next week, thank you!
If using 3lbs of ground beef instead of 1lb ground beef, would you recommend using 3 times each ingredient for the whisked sauce?
Yes! The more sauce the better ;)!
No, if you triple the ground beef, you’re going to want to quadruple the other ingredients… ?
Could I use thick soy sauce?
Yes! That sounds delicious!
Dinner time is a disaster in my house most nights. The kids never like the same thing at a time and I refuse to cook multiple meals to cater to everyone.
EVERYONE ATE AND LIKED IT. Excuse me while I go cry tears of joy.
Awesome!
YAY! That is awesome! Way to go! I am so glad that it worked out and you have happy tears! Thank you for following along with me!
Made tonight & a huge hit with husband & our 9yr old son! The only thing he asked I do differently next time, is more sauce. He’s a sauce guy ….the flavors are so good & such a quick and easy meal!!!
We’ve made this recipe multiple times now and the flavors are amazing!! I was curious what kind of ground beef you typically use? We found ground sirloin made it much more flavorful compared to regular ground beef.
MMM! The ground sirloin is great! We usually purchase our ground beef from the local butcher close to our house. I will have to try ground sirloin! That sounds delicious! Thank you for the tips!
Turned out really great with minor adjustments- no garlic and fresh ginger. Stir fried some zucchini and broccoli as a tasty side.
Do you know how to turns out if you only have 80/20 ground beef? Will it still turn out okay? Thank you!
That will be great too! Enjoy your Korean Beef!
I’ve used it with 80/20 along with ground turkey and it ALWAYS turns out amazing!??
Do you drain the meat?
I did that today, and it was fine.. my kids loved it
I’ve made this a few times now, with ground chicken and ground pork. Both were delicious! Also took Holly’s advice and added spinach and bean sprouts. Looking forward to trying the fried egg next!