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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 Ground Beef Stir Fry or Slow Cooker Korean Beef.
Korean Ground Beef and Rice Bowls
This right here is my boys 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 requires little effort to make.
Easy, minimal ingredients, and my kids devour it. This meal became my new BFF.
The ground beef takes only minutes to brown but you still get that delicious Korean flavor in this meal. The brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger combination is the best.
It helps take the flavor to next level with the simple kitchen ingredients. The best part is that because we love Asian flavors so much I always have these ingredients on hand. All I have to do is buy a pound of ground beef each week.
You guys are going to love this meal just as much as we do! It is so delicious when served over rice and I even like to add some veggies to my bowl to make it a well rounded meal.
Sprinkle with some sesame seeds and freshly chopped green onions and you have about the easiest meal that you will ever make! You will make this again and again!
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
- Beefy Enchilada 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.
The recipe sounded appealing, looked good, and guess what? It tastes fantastic. Adding broccoli was also a good suggestion from the comments. I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with the large amount of remaining ingredients after this but you can be sure I’ll be making it again in the future, probably many times.
Just delicious!! I stumbled across this as I was searching for simple recipes with ground beef. My college-aged kids and husband LOVED this meal! Simple, easy and quick….my favorite 3 things when it comes to cooking 😉 I did not drain the ground beef (85/15 organic) but also wish I’d have doubled or tripled the sauce as it did end up a little drier side. However, I served this over Thai Jasmine rice and the flavors were superb. I can see adapting this for use with other cuts of meat, chicken and fish and lots of other veggies. Thanks!
I made this tonight (following the X2 adjustments. Big household) for a pair of veterans who had been stationed in Korea and they loved it.
I did make a couple of changes. I added the garlic to the sauce rather than cook it with the beef (you actually loose the garlic flavor if you cook it too long) and let the sauce hang out while I cooked the beef to let the flavors mix. I also had toasted sesame oil on hand rather than plain and it’s a REALLY powerful flavor, so I cut the quantity down to 2tsp and that worked out perfectly.
I think you could potentially swap the red pepper flakes for a squeeze of gojuchang, I may try that next time. I also wonder if fresh grated ginger would work as well.
Served with broccoli and rice and it was a hit.
This is one of my favorite i love it and really easy to do for the weekdays and you need to go.I LOVE THIS RECIPE.
I hope you don’t mind, I made this for the first time including some scrambled eggs cooked with the sesame oil and soy sauce with some chives. I’ve just gotten into cooking recently, so I wanted to play around and experiment, but mixing the already scrambled eggs in when you pour the sauce in definitely wasn’t a bad idea. But this recipe is amazing, so im definitely remembering this one!!
Great, tasty recipe. Was a hit with the family. This would also make a great filler for lettuce wraps.
yes it is i love it
I want to make the Korean hamber dish but don’t have brown sugar.
Hello, what is the serving size for the beef?
About 1/2 cup of beef.
I had my doubts … and I admit that I was wrong! Such an easy recipe BUT sooooooooo flavourful and so much potential. My kids are in their early teens and, despite one of them being a fussy eater, she went back for seconds. They actually both went back for seconds and fought to see who was going to be there first.
I can already see this recipe becoming their university/college go-to meal. Even if they only learn to cook one meal, this is THE one.
Excellent! As others have said, add some veggies as you desire (I sauteed some carrots and onions and green beans before browning the ground beef). Also, as others have pointed out, the sauce can easily be doubled or even tripled if you like it a little more saucy and especially if you are adding veggies. Once you put it on rice, all that wonderful sauce will coat the rice. This will definitely become a go-to quick and easy recipe that my whole family loves!
Easy to make and delish! Family approved!!
Loved the recipe. Be careful if you’re on any sort of diet. The macronutrients are misleading/very far off. Still great!
I made this tonight with roasted vegetables (zucchini, cauliflower, carrots & mushrooms) and it was delicious! We all enjoyed an alternative to meatballs, meatloaf or hamburgers. What a great way to use ground beef in a weeknight meal!
Extremely easy to make and always takes great!
This is a seriously good and simple recipe. My kids, who are very picky, loved it and I make it regularly now. And for a non-chef like me, so easy!
Hello,
I am excited to try this recipe! However, I have a question. Do you drain the ground beef fat before you add the soy sauce marinade, or is that not necessary?
Thanks!
I skimmed off the fat when I cooked it, but I was also using extra lean ground beef so it probably wasn’t necessary. But I think that also helped my sauce thicken up a bit, too, which was nice.