Delicious Korean Ground Beef is made with basic pantry ingredients and served over rice, for and easy 30 minute meal everyone loves!
Ya’ll know I’m all about easy, family-friendly dinners and this Korean Ground Beef is always a winner! I love that it uses simple ingredints I always have on hand.
If you want some more great dinner ideas, check my list of 30-minute meals or one pan meals!
How to make Korean Ground Beef:
Start by browning your ground beef in a sauce pan. I season it with salt and pepper as it cooks. Remove grease. This is totally optional, but once it’s browned I like to put the meat in my food processor. I pulse it 2-3 times into very small pieces, and then return it to the pan. I love the way the sauce and flavor soaks into the meat when it’s finely ground like this.
Next add the sesame oil, garlic and ginger. Stir in brown sugar, soy sauce, and sriracha (or crushed red pepper of chili sauce).
Add half of the chopped green onions, reserving the rest for garnish.
Serve over hot cooked rice, garnished with chopped green onion. I like to serve sliced cucumber on the side. It adds a wonderful fresh crunch and flavor that really compliments everything.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
This is a great meal to make a few hours or day ahead of time–it reheats well on the stove!
To Freeze, allow the mixture to cool, then place in a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then rewarm on the stove.
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Recipe
Korean Ground Beef Bowls
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 5 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger *
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha hot sauce , crushed red pepper flakes, or chili garlic sauce
- 1 bunch green onion , chopped
- hot cooked brown or white rice , for serving
- Fresh cucumber , sliced, for serving
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Season beef with black pepper and add to skillet. Cook, stirring and crumbling into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned. Drain excess grease. (Optional: put beef in a food processor. Pulse it 2-3 times into very small pieces, and then return it to the pan.)
- Add sesame oil, garlic and ginger. Stir in brown sugar, soy sauce, and sriracha (or crushed red pepper of chili sauce). Cook for a few minutes, allowing some of the sauce to absorb into the meat.
- Add half of the chopped green onions, reserving the rest for garnish. Serve over hot cooked rice, garnished with chopped green onion.
Notes
Nutrition
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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE this recipe and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
I originally shared this recipe February 2018. Updated May 2021 with process photos and a video.
This post contains affiliate links.
This recipe is very delicious, but sooo much salt from all that soy sauce . I even used coconut aminos for half of the cup. Too much salt to make again .
Delicious recipe. Used 1/3 cup soy sauce plus 1/3 cup dashi instead of reduced sodium soy sauce and added gochujang for the chili…
Joy glad someone who understands Korean food commented. Great job.
Very easy to make. Ingredients are common even in a small town grocery store. My ten year old son loved this dish. I did half ground beef and half veggie “meat”. I will make this again and the disk will be a staple from now on. I served over rice and ramen, just mixed in the flavor packet with the meat.
I think bamboo shoots and water chest nuts would make a great addition. Don’t get me wrong the cucumbers matched this dish really well.
This is great Richard! Loved your ideas as well.
I made it tonight
But it was way too salty for us. Is the 1 cup soy sauce correct????
Yes, did you use low sodium soy sauce?
This was absolutely delicious and such an easy school week meal! Thank you! I’m so excited to add this to my ground beef recipes I love list. Thank you!
It really is perfect for an easy weeknight meal! I’m so glad you enjoyed it–thanks for commenting!
Loved the flavor but it is so dry. Did I do something wrong.
Hi Nancy, next time you could double the sauce if you’d like more 🙂
This recipe was very good and easy to make. We loved the combination of sweet and spicy flavors. I used the crushed red pepper. The cucumber tasted good with the meat. Like another reviewer stated, other vegetables would go well with this dish also so I will probably try some others the next time I make it. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Thanks for your comment, Lisa. I’m happy you liked it!
Awesome recipe. Was easy to make and tasted very good. I used sambal oelek insted of sriracha. Will definitely make again.
Thanks Nicholas! Happy you liked it–thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂
This is AMAZING! I’m not a fan of cucumber (I know, I’m crazy) so I roasted some squash and carrots and threw it in top and it is delicious! A little meat goes a long way in this! That flavor is so yummy! And it was so quick to whip together! Thanks for another stellar recipe!
Hi friend! Thanks so much for sharing–I love the veggies you added!! YUM! I’m so happy you liked it. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment <3
Thanks for this easy and yummy recipe! I made it for myself and loved it! Can’t wait for lunch tomorrow! Btw, I topped it with fresh cilantro too!
These were so easy and good. My whole family loved it.