Sweet, spicy, garlicky ground beef over rice with crunchy veggies and a runny egg on top, in 30 minutes. My Korean ground beef bowl starts with lean ground beef and bell peppers seared in one skillet, then tossed in a quick gochujang, ginger and soy sauce. Pile it over rice and greens and let everyone build their own.
One bowl is 440 calories with 31.5 grams of protein, and the beef makes 8 servings, so you’re set for dinner and a few lunches. It’s one of the most-made recipes on my site, and the comments are full of families who love it.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Korean Ground Beef Bowl with Gochujang Sauce
- Ready In: 30 minutes
- Serves: 1 bowl
- Calories: 440 cal
- Protein: 31.5g
- Fat: 17.7g
- Carbs: 40g
- Why You'll Love It: This Korean Beef Bowl is the perfect bowl full of greens, rice, Korean beef, and veggies. It's super customizable and a great dinner option for your entire family!
Before You Start Cooking
- Let the beef sit. Get the skillet really hot, add the beef, and leave it alone for a couple of minutes before you stir. That browned bottom is where so much of the flavor comes from.
- Mix the sauce while the peppers cook. Shake everything together in a jar during those 3 to 4 minutes, and dinner stays at 30 minutes.
- Want it saucy? A lot of you have told me you double the sauce. Go for it if you like extra sauce soaking into the rice.
- Prep toppings first. Slice the cucumber and carrot before the beef hits the pan. Once the beef is done, everything else is just assembly.
Important Ingredients and Substitutions
- Gochujang: This Korean chili paste gives the sauce its sweet heat. Sriracha or chili garlic sauce works if that’s what you have.
- Fish sauce: Just one tablespoon adds a savory depth you’ll miss if it’s gone, but if you hate it, skip it. Readers who left it out still loved it.
- Ground beef: I use 93/7 lean ground beef. Ground turkey or ground chicken work the same way.
- Greens: Mixed greens, spinach or chopped cabbage all work. One reader steams the cabbage instead of using it raw, which I love for cooler nights.
These bowls are naturally dairy-free. Use gluten-free soy sauce or tamari to make them gluten-free.
How to Make Korean Beef Bowls
- Brown the beef. Heat a large skillet over high heat with a spritz of oil. Add the beef, break it up a little, and let it brown without stirring for a couple of minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the peppers. Stir in the bell peppers and break up the beef the rest of the way. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Sauce it. Whisk the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, fish sauce, brown sugar and gochujang. Pour it over the beef, add the green onions, and cook 1 more minute.
- Build the bowls. Layer greens, rice and beef, then add cucumber, carrot, avocado and a fried egg. Finish with green onions, cilantro and any extra heat you like.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I freeze the Korean beef?
Yes. Freeze the cooked beef and sauce in an airtight container for up to 3 months, then thaw it in the fridge overnight and reheat in a skillet. Keep the fresh toppings and egg for serving day.
How spicy is it?
One tablespoon of gochujang gives it a gentle warmth, and readers say their kids happily eat it. If you like it hotter, add sriracha or sliced jalapeños to your own bowl so everyone else can keep theirs mild.
Can I meal prep these bowls?
The beef keeps in the fridge for 4 days. Pack the rice and beef together and keep the cucumber, avocado and egg separate until you’re ready to eat so nothing gets soggy.
How to Serve Korean Beef Bowls
Cauliflower rice works if you want a lighter base, and one reader does cauli rice for herself and jasmine rice for the family. Pickled red onions on top are a reader favorite too. If you’re building a full week around bowls, my Cava copycat Mediterranean grain bowl preps the same way.
Dinners like this are exactly what I build my meal plans around, with the planning and the macros done for you every week.
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Korean Ground Beef Bowl with Gochujang Sauce
Ingredients
Korean Beef (Serves 8, 124 g portions)
- 2 lb 93/7 ground beef (908g)
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 3 ½ cups bell pepper chopped (454g)
- 2 Tbsp minced ginger
- 3 minced garlic cloves (or 3 frozen garlic cubes)
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce (30g)
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar (30g)
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil (15g)
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce (if you hate it, just skip it; 15g)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar (15g)
- 1 Tbsp gochujang or sriracha sauce (15g)
- 1 cup green onions, chopped (60g)
Korean Beef Bowl (serves 1)
- 1 cup mixed greens and/or cabbage
- ½ cup cooked brown or white rice (75g)
- 3 ½ oz prepared Korean Inspired Beef (recipe above) (100g)
- ¼ cup persian cucumber thinly sliced (50g)
- 1 carrot thinly sliced using a peeler (30g)
- ¼ avocado sliced (25g)
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tbsp green onions chopped
- 2 Tbsp cilantro chopped
- optional toppings: sriracha, jalapeños, sesame seeds
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over high heat with a spritz of oil. Add beef to the pan, breaking it up a bit, and then let it sit without stirring for a couple of minutes for it brown on the bottom. Season it with salt and pepper.
- Add chopped bell pepper to the pan, and break up the meat further, letting the meat and peppers cook for about 3-4 minutes while you make your sauce.
- In a small bowl or jar, whisk or shake the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, fish sauce, brown sugar, and gochujang sauce all together.
- Pour the sauce over the cooked meat and bell peppers, combining well. Stir in your chopped green onions. Cook for one more minute before turning off the heat.
- Prepare your bowl by layering greens in the bottom of a large bowl. Add your cooked rice and top with the cooked Korean beef. Add your sliced cucumbers, carrots, and avocado. Fry an egg, leaving the yolk nice and runny (if you prefer), and add it on top of your beef.
- Finish with a sprinkle of green onions, cilantro, and optional sriracha, jalapeños, and sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
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This was great! So happy to find recipes my family loves too so I can work on my goals and feed them well at the same time.
Thanks Lillie for another great weeknight dinner option. I made it exactly as called for. I will say doubling the sauce might be my only change for next time. Thank you.
Love this recipe. I crave it all the time. So delicious & easy! Thanks Lillie!
This recipe is a 10/10. My husband went back for seconds! Sharing this recipe with my kids and girlfriends. The flavors are amazing!
This was delicious! Only thing different was unused chili garlic sauce instead of sriracha. My kids even enjoyed (8 &15)!
Sooo good! And quick and easy to prepare. My whole family loved it. Thank you!
I have made this recipe a few times, I sub in ground turkey in place of the ground beef and just make the sauce stronger. Super super good!!
Hi! How many servings does this recipe make? Thanks!
How may servings is this recipe?
The beef makes 8 servings and then below the beef recipe is how to make 1 bowl (so 8 people could make their own bowl with the beef recipe). Hopefully that helps!
How many servings does this make? It says 1- but I’m pretty sure it’s more than that- thank you!
The beef makes 8 servings and then below the beef is how to make 1 bowl (so 8 people could make their own bowl with the beef recipe). Hopefully that helps!
Really really good!
Hi Lillie!! I’m so, so excited to try this recipe. It’s Bi-bim-bop, one of my favorite Korean dishes! I lived in Seoul, South Korea from 2012-2017 and I am so excited you shared this Korean favorite because we miss the food there so much.
Thanks and as always, LOVE everything you create and share, LOVE my Planned cook book, and I’m making Pickle Chicken Salad for lunch! 🙂 Best, Charlotte
Everyone loved this so much there were no leftovers. This will be on repeat.
This was a great recipe–quick, easy, versatile, and delicious. Thank you!
We love bowls and this one was really good!! Great flavors and easy to make! Will definitely make this one again!
Will you expand on these points?