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In This Post
- Why You’ll Love My Korean Beef Bowl Recipe
- How To Make Korean Beef Bowls
- My Recipe Tips
- Storage Instructions
- More Healthy Asian-Inspired Bowls
- My Tools For This Recipe
- Korean Beef Bowl (Easy In 20 Minutes)Recipe card
- Recipe Reviews
Looking for a new addition to your fast and healthy dinner lineup? Say hello to my Korean beef bowl recipe! It ticks all the boxes for me. Quick and easy? Check. Full of flavor? Check (thanks, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil!). Not too many ingredients? Yep, that too. Affordable? Definitely. It’s all the things I love about bowl meals, rolled into one. I like to serve my Korean ground beef over cauliflower rice to keep it light, but you can opt for regular rice if you like!
Why You’ll Love My Korean Beef Bowl Recipe
- Perfect balance of flavors – It’s savory. It’s (a little) sweet. It’s nutty. It’s umami. This dish has many of my go-to Asian-inspired cooking vibes, and you’re going to love them.
- Variety of textures – My favorite part is how the tender, juicy, ground beef gets a little crispy from the stir fry sauce. But you’ve also got cool, fresh cucumbers and soft cauli rice to tie it all together.
- Made in one pan – Say goodbye to piles of dishes! You can make my Korean beef bowl in one pan for easy cleanup.
- Fresh, light meal – My recipe is naturally gluten-free, has no refined sugar, and it’s packed with protein and veggies. It will leave you feeling… just good.
- Ready in just 20 minutes – Just like my burger bowl and egg roll bowl, using ground beef helps this one come together fast. It takes me only 20 minutes from start to finish. Your busy weeknights will thank you!
Ingredients & Substitutions
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for my Korean beef bowl, what each one does in my recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
Korean Ground Beef:
The beef is the heart of my recipe. You can build your bowls however you want, but it’s the meat that makes it shine! You’ll need:
- Ground Beef – You can really use any type of ground meat you’ve got (like ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground pork), but this is a Korean beef bowl, so I recommend using beef! Thinly sliced flank steak or skirt steak would also work nicely, though.
- Olive Oil – For your pan. Any heat-safe oil will work.
- Garlic – I used fresh garlic for the best flavor, but you can swap in 2 teaspoons jarred minced garlic or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder for convenience.
- Coconut Aminos & Beef Broth – Together, these make up the base of the sauce and give my Korean ground beef those savory, sweet, and umami flavors. I prefer coconut aminos as a healthier soy sauce substitute, but feel free to use conventional low-sodium soy sauce or tamari instead. You can also swap in bone broth instead of regular, for an even richer sauce.
- Sesame Oil – Adds a nutty taste and aroma. I prefer toasted sesame oil here, but regular also works.
- Seasonings – I add ground ginger for fruity sharpness, crushed red pepper flakes for heat, and sea salt because… always. You can substitute a tablespoon of fresh grated ginger instead of ground (saute it together with the garlic), or omit the red pepper flakes if you don’t want it spicy.
VARIATION: Make the sauce sweeter!
The coconut aminos already contributes very mild sweetness, but if you like it more sweet, adding 1-2 tablespoons of honey (or my natural sugar-free honey) pairs nicely with the other flavors here.
The Base:
I use cauliflower rice for my base. I love that it’s light and cooks quickly in the same pan as the beef, with just a little olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper. You can also use leftover cooked cauliflower rice or frozen cauliflower rice.
If you prefer your Korean beef bowls with regular white or brown rice, just cook it using your favorite method and use that as the base instead. They are amazing with my easy fried rice for something more hearty.
Toppings:
Feel free to customize these bowls however you’d like! I top mine with a fanned out cucumber, and a sprinkle of sliced green onions and sesame seeds.
You can mix it up and throw in shredded carrots, thinly sliced radishes, leftover stir fry vegetables or sauteed broccoli, or a fried egg on top to make it more filling. Once, I even added sauteed shiitake mushrooms.
How To Make Korean Beef Bowls
This section shows step-by-step photos together with the instructions, to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Cook the cauliflower rice. In a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat, cook the cauliflower rice in olive oil until tender. (Or just cook your favorite rice instead.) Transfer to bowls and cover to keep warm.
- Make the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut aminos, beef broth, sesame oil, ground ginger, and red pepper flakes. Set aside, but make sure it’s nearby and ready to go!
- Brown the beef. Add the ground beef to the pan and cook over medium-high heat, until browned.
- Saute the garlic. Push the beef to the sides of the pan, and add the minced garlic. Saute until fragrant, then mix into the beef.
- Add the sauce. Pour the sauce over the beef, bring to a boil, then simmer until most of it absorbs into the meat.
- Assemble your Korean ground beef bowls. Top each bowl with the ground beef and fan out the sliced cucumbers. Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.
My Recipe Tips
- Drain the beef if needed. I always get 85/15 ground beef and don’t usually need to drain it, but you may need to if you use 80/20 that’s higher in fat.
- Crank up the heat. The crispy browned edges are one of the best parts of this Korean beef bowl, so I highly recommend medium-high heat for browning the meat. And wait for it to actually darken, not just turn light brown. I use medium-high for the cauliflower rice as well, as browning is delicious there, too!
- It’s normal for the sauce to be thin, but it will reduce. Just let it simmer for a bit, and the meat will absorb all that flavor.
- Want it extra saucy? The meat soaks up most of the sauce in my Korean ground beef recipe, but if you want enough sauce to coat some of your rice, double or triple the amount of sauce. It’ll take a bit longer to reduce.
Storage Instructions
- Store: You can store your Korean ground beef on its own in the fridge for up to 5 days, but if you’ve already assembled the bowls, they are best within 2-3 days. So far, my fave way to repurpose leftovers was when I stuffed the meat into lettuce wraps with taco slaw and spicy mayo. Seriously amazing!
- Meal prep: Korean beef bowls make great meal prep lunches! I portion them into these glass meal prep containers, which are the perfect size for them. Add the cucumbers and green onions fresh if you can.
- Reheat: I prefer to reheat in the microwave if I’ve got the bowl in a meal prep container (just don’t heat the cucumbers, ha), but for the beef by itself, it tastes better heated in a skillet with a little extra oil.
- Freeze: You can freeze the cauliflower rice and ground beef separately for up to 3-4 months.
More Healthy Asian-Inspired Bowls
If you love a good bowl meal like I do, try one of my other easy ones next time:
Hunan Beef
Thai Beef Salad
Salmon Bowl
Teriyaki Chicken Bowl
- Large Skillet – This wok is great for lots of surface area, but I just used my basic ceramic skillet this time.
- Stainless Chopsticks– Not required, of course, but I love these for all my Asian meals. They are shown in my pictures above.
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Recipe Card
Korean Beef Bowl (Easy In 20 Minutes)
Make this Korean beef bowl recipe with ground beef, flavorful sauce, cauliflower rice, and cucumbers. An easy 20-minute weeknight meal!
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Author: Maya Krampf from Wholesome Yum
Servings: 4 (adjust to scale recipe)
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Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see the ones I use.
Cauliflower Rice:
Korean Ground Beef:
Toppings:
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
Heat 1 tablespoon (15 mL) olive oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add cauliflower rice. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes, until tender. Remove from heat, divide among 4 bowls, and cover to keep warm.
In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut aminos, beef broth, sesame oil, ground ginger, and red pepper flakes. Set the sauce aside.
Turn the heat back on to medium-high. Add another tablespoon (15 mL) olive oil to the pan. Add the ground beef and season with sea salt. Cook for 8-10 minutes, breaking up with a spatula and stirring occasionally, until browned.
Push the beef to the sides of the pan, and add the minced garlic in the middle. Saute for about 1 minute, until fragrant, then mix into the beef.
Pour the sauce over the beef. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes, until the sauce is reduced and mostly absorbs into the meat. There won't be much liquid left.
To assemble your Korean beef bowls, top each bowl of cauliflower rice with ground beef. Fan out the cucumber slices, and sprinkle with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.
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Try More Of My Recipes
Hibachi Chicken
Cauliflower Fried Rice
Hawaiian Poke Bowl
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 bowl, or 1/4 of the entire recipe
Nutrition Facts
Amounts per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.
Calories386
Fat26.6g
Protein24.7g
Total Carbs12.9g
Net Carbs9.3g
Fiber3.6g
Sugar6.5g
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
Course:Main Course
Cuisine:Korean
Keywords:korean beef bowl, korean beef bowl recipe, Korean ground beef
Calories: 386 kcal
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Korean Beef Bowl
