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This easy Korean beef recipe turns a pound of ground beef and a handful of pantry staples into a sweet, savory, garlicky dinner in about 25 minutes. It has all the flavor of Korean bulgogi with none of the slicing, marinating, or fuss. You just need a skillet, a bowl, and some rice.
My Favorite Weeknight Korean Ground Beef Recipe
This Korean beef is one of those dishes I go back to on autopilot when I don’t have the bandwidth to think too hard about dinner. It’s made with ground beef, so there’s no marinating and no fancy cuts of meat to track down, and the whole thing is done in the time it takes my rice to cook. If you’ve made my Korean bulgogi, think of this as its faster, more weeknight-friendly cousin. It’s not traditional, but it’s certainly delicious.
Toasted vs. Regular Sesame Oil
Toasted sesame oil is more flavorful than regular sesame oil, and it’s what I always reach for in this recipe. Look for it near the other Asian condiments at your grocery store. It’s usually in a small bottle, and it’s a bit darker in color. If you can’t find it, regular sesame oil will still give a great flavor.
How to Make Korean Beef
Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Brown the beef in a sesame-oiled skillet set over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. Pour the sauce over the cooked beef, stir to combine, and let everything simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickens slightly and coats the beef. Spoon over white rice and dig in!
Can I Make it In a Crockpot?
Yes. Brown the ground beef first in a pan—don’t skip this step; it adds tons of flavor! Transfer it to your slow cooker with the sauce ingredients, and cook on low for 2–3 hours. This is a great option if you want dinner ready and waiting when you walk in the door.
Swaps and Substitutions
Here are a few common ways to change up this dish:
- Protein: Ground pork or turkey both work well in place of beef. Sliced flank steak or sirloin will also work here—slice against the grain, sear, and serve.
- Veggies: Add sliced cremini or shiitake mushrooms alongside the beef for earthy depth.
- Aromatics: I prefer fresh ginger and garlic for the punchiest flavor, but ¼ teaspoon of dried ginger and ½ teaspoon of dried garlic will work in a pinch.
- Spice: Stir in a spoonful of gochujang or a squeeze of sriracha along with the sauce for a little extra kick.
- Make it vegan: Swap the ground beef for crumbled tofu or your favorite plant-based ground “meat.” Press the tofu well first so it browns.
Serving Suggestions
This Korean beef recipe is endlessly versatile. Here’s how I like to serve it:
- Spooned over a bowl of white or brown rice, optionally with a fried egg on top for a quick and easy version of my fav Korean Galbi Bowls
- Wrapped in butter lettuce cups for a lighter, low-carb dinner
- Tossed with cooked rice noodles and a little extra sauce for a quick noodle bowl
- On buns topped with kimchi and extra sauce for a Korean-style sloppy joe
Storage and Reheating Instructions
Store leftover Korean ground beef in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in a skillet set over medium heat until warmed through, or microwave in 30-second increments, stirring between. This is a fantastic recipe for meal prep!
Korean Beef
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (59 ml) low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons (24 g) packed dark brown sugar
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- ½ teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 pound (454 g) lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, brown sugar, onion, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes together.¼ cup (59 ml) low-sodium soy sauce, 2 tablespoons (24 g) packed dark brown sugar, 1/2 yellow onion, 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, 3 cloves garlic, 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- In a skillet, on medium high, cook your ground beef with the sesame oil until well done.1 pound (454 g) lean ground beef, 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- Pour in the soy sauce mixture over the meat and combine together. Let it simmer for a few minutes.
- Serve over white rice.
Nutrition
Photographs by Eat Love Eat
Comforting and ohhhhhhh sooooo damn delicious 😋
Super salty even though I used half the amount of soy sauce. Missing some spice that Bilgogi has. Bumped up the heat with chipotle powder, added more onions.. served with rice noodles and added cornstarch mixed with water. I’m trying this again next time double ginger and momma Teav’s roasted garlic pepper sauce, maybe some oyster sauce.
This is my family’s new favorite recipe. We fought over who was going to get the last of it. It so easy and fast to make.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. Made last night b/c I needed something quick and this was the first recipe I came across. I always use coconut aminos in place of traditional soy sauce and the gr chuck I used was about 1.5 pounds maybe a little more. I used more fresh ginger than called for and I added at the end some sliced green bell peppers I needed to use up. Let everything sit and simmer while I prepared the rest of our meal. I did serve over brown rice udon noodles instead of white rice but the white rice would have nicely soaked up the juices from the sauce. Also added some chopped up unsalted peanuts and lots of sesame seeds before serving. Will save this to make again.
Everybody’s plate was clean!!!
So delicious! We topped ours with chopped cucumber and carrot strings, Sriracha mayo, hoisin and sesame seeds ! You are going to love it. It literally took longer to steam the rice than it did for me to cook the meat, fast and delicious. Thank you
I made it the first time as lettuce wraps…yum, I’m serving it over rice tonight
that’s a fantastic idea!!
Made this last night and it was soo good! Served over white rice and some broccoli slaw for a veg. This will certainly be in the regular rotation for an easy and delicious meal!
This turned out amazing! It’s hard to find something the whole family will eat, but there were no leftovers tonight. It’s super quick to make for an easy weeknight dinner. It was also requested to into regular rotation 😁
Salty enough to choke a horse. We are bloated and water logged. That is all
Amazing, and super easy!