These Easy Korean Beef Rice Bowls make the perfect simple Asian-style weeknight meal that’s on the table in under 20 minutes! The easiest Korean ground beef recipe you’ll ever make!
If you’ve been a reader of The Busy Baker for any length of time you will already know all about our love affair with easy weeknight meals. We LOVE a good one pot pasta, an easy baked rice dish, an Instant Pot soup or a sheet pan dinner.
These Easy Korean Beef Rice Bowls are literally ready to go in 15 minutes! Simply throw the rice in a rice cooker and while it cooks, brown your beef, add your veggies, and throw in the sauce ingredients – all in one pan! Top the cooked rice with the beef and veggie mixture and you’ve got a delicious and healthy dinner the whole family is going to love!
If you’ve come here from our Easy Weeknight Meal Solutions E-Course, you’ll be looking for the secret ingredients to simple weeknight dinners. Well, here they are!
One of our absolute favourite ways to throw together a wholesome meal in a pinch is any kind of RICE BOWL recipe. The 2 BEST ingredients to keep on hand in your kitchen for busy weeknights are RICE and any kind of GROUND MEAT (chicken, pork, beef or turkey – whatever you prefer).
This Korean Beef Recipe over rice is one of our favourite simple meals to make on busy weeknights. We keep rice on hand and we always keep a pound or two of ground meat in the freezer to pull out when we need a quick dinner solution. A few minutes on defrost in the microwave (OR if you remember, pull the frozen meat out of the freezer in the morning before work and toss it in the fridge to defrost throughout the day) and you’re ready to go!
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Our favourite veggie to add to this Easy Korean Beef Bowl recipe is carrots, cut julienne style. What’s the easiest and fastest way to do this?? With this FABULOUS julienne peeler (affiliate link)! It’s such an inexpensive kitchen tool that saves me SO much time – it’s one of my favourites!
If you’re not a fan of carrots or don’t have any on hand, try any of these veggies in their place:
- thinly sliced bell peppers
- thinly sliced mushrooms
- thinly sliced celery
- chopped broccoli
- frozen carrots, beans, or broccoli
To make this recipe you will need:
- rice (basmati or instant/minute rice work well)
- sesame oil
- lean ground beef
- minced garlic
- soy sauce
- minced ginger
- brown sugar
- sriracha hot sauce (optional)
- carrots (or the vegetable of your choice)
- green onions (optional, for serving)
To make this Korean Ground Beef Recipe you’ll need (affiliate links):
- a rice cooker (optional)
- a large skillet
- wooden cooking utensils or other cooking utensils
- measuring cups and spoons
- a julienne peeler (optional) or standard vegetable peeler
- a sturdy cutting board
- a sharp knife for chopping
Time needed: 15 minutes
Make this easy Korean ground beef recipe with these simple steps!
- Start with the rice.
Prepare the rice first, especially if you’re using conventional rice. Cook it on the stove in a pot or in your rice cooker or Instant Pot, or choose Minute Rice or instant rice for a faster option.
- Saute the beef.
Saute the ground beef until almost cooked, adding in the sauce ingredients and the veggies last after the beef is almost cooked through.
- Choose pre-shredded carrots.
A great time-saving shortcut for this recipe is to buy julienned carrots or pre-shredded carrots from the produce section of your grocery store.
Is this Korean Beef recipe gluten free?
Yes! Serve it with rice for a gluten-free meal.
Can I make this Korean ground beef ahead of time?
Yes! Simply prepare as directed in the recipe and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days until ready to serve.
Can I make this recipe with ground chicken or turkey?
Yes! Feel free to substitute the beef for another ground meat of your choice.
We hope you love this Korean ground beef recipe as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s YOUR favourite easy weeknight meal? We’d love to know!
Looking for more deliciously easy recipes like this one? You’ll LOVE these:
- Easy Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowls
- Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Salt and Pepper Chicken
- Sesame Chicken
- Easy Sticky Asian Chicken
- Pineapple Chicken Rice Bowls
- One Pan Honey Garlic Shrimp
- Easy Healthier Sesame Orange Chicken
TRY OUR MEAL PLAN BUNDLE!
Let us do the work for you with 11 WEEKS of deliciously easy family dinners, grocery lists, meal prep guides and so much MORE!
11 weeks of done-for-you family meal plans for only $9.99!
Watch the video below to see exactly how I make this 15-minute dinner. You can find more delicious recipe videos on my YouTube channel
If you made this, share a photo!
Are you trying this recipe? Use the comment form below to share your take; now with support for image uploads and comment voting!
Easy Korean Beef Rice Bowls
Recipe: Equipment
Recipe: Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked rice about 1 1/3 cups uncooked, or use minute or instant rice
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced or pressed
- 4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- sriracha optional
- 1 cup carrots cut julienne style – these can be purchased pre-cut in the produce section of your grocery store
- chopped green onions, toasted sesame seeds, red pepper flakes (optional) for serving
Recipe: Instructions
- Prepare the rice according to package directions (if using instant or minute rice), or cook the rice in a pot or rice cooker (using 1 1/3 cups rice and 2 1/2 cups water)
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add the sesame oil.
- Add the ground beef to the hot skillet and brown until almost cooked through (about 6-10 minutes).
- Add the garlic, soy sauce, ginger, brown sugar, and sriracha to the skillet and stir well until a small amount of sauce forms.
- Add the carrots and cook for about 2 more minutes until the carrots soften slightly.
- Serve the beef mixture over rice and garnish with chopped green onions, toasted sesame seeds, and a small sprinkling of red pepper flakes (garnishes optional).
Recipe: Notes
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
*This recipe was inspired by Taste of Home.
So good. I used 1 tablespoon of sriracha and it was the perfect spice level.
Thank you for your feedback, Sydney! So happy to hear you enjoyed our recipe!
I’ve made this dish multiple times, the whole family loves it. I reduce the sugar by a tablespoon and use ground chicken as I don’t eat beef. Try it!
We’re so happy you enjoyed them! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
This was delicious. Definitely a keeper. Thank you.
Thanks for your feedback, Jennifer!
When Koreans eat,
Especially when you eat rice or soup, you do not use chopsticks.
Chopsticks are used only when eating side dishes.
It is Japanese who eat rice with chopsticks.
It is a spoiled act to eat with chopsticks in Korea.
Thanks for letting us know!
Why does the video only last a few mins and a blackberry pie video begins?
There’s a button that says “stay” that pops up on the right hand side of the video. If you click that, the video will play on.
Nice Post! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
Overall I thought it was really good. I didn’t feel like it could’ve use some more vegetables and a little more sauce
Thank you for your feedback Anne, feel free to double the amounts of garlic, soy sauce, ginger, brown sugar, and sriracha for an extra saucy dish. If you want more veggies stay tuned for our upcoming beef and broccoli recipe!
I’ve made this so many times…it is absolutely delicious and so easy to prepare. I use ground turkey and cheat by using the garlic and ginger that comes in a tube (yes, a lazy step), and add thinly sliced white onion wedges with the carrot. Thank you for this YUMMY recipe!
Great time saving hacks, Katie! We’re so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
Hi! I’ve made this three times…delicious each time! However, I’ve used ground turkey and after following the recipe the first time I made a few tweaks: doubled the sauce but cut back just a bit on the brown sugar. Also par boiled the carrot briefly in the microwave with a few thin slices of white onion…not mushy with still a bit of crisp. Used the tubed garlic and ginger (found in the produce section)…cutting corners and I admit a bit of lazy, but so what? This is a winner, and am making it again tonight! We love it!
We’re so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback! Some people call it lazy…we call it effective ☺️
Love how easy and tasty this was. Definitely make it again.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! This recipe is also a staple at our house ☺️ Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
Tried this for dinner tonight. It was very flavorful, quick and easy. I will be making this again.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
I made this for dinner last night and was shocked at how easy and delicious it was!! Tossed some brown rice in the instant pot and the beef was ready even before the rice. I will double the sauce ingredients next time because I like extra – full disclosure, I did turn the beef down low to wait for the rice to be done before adding the carrots so that may have evaporated the sauce right there, but either way delicious!! I might add some snow peas and mushrooms next time. I’m giving your Instant Pot Curry with Lentils a go tonight!
I’m so happy you enjoyed the Korean Beef Rice Bowls! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback! Let us know how the Lentil Curry comes out. Happy cooking ☺️
Amazing!! Im always looking for new recipes to try out and this was a huge hit!! Even my picky kiddo loved it! This will make our dinner rotation from here on out! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback! Happy cooking!
Really tasty and as promised, super simple/quick. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so happy you enjoyed them! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
I made this tonight, haven’t tried it yet, was wondering if there’s a good homemade sauce to pair it with ? or can I whip up a sauce using the ingredients above n just simmer for a bit to thicken it up?
You totally can make a sauce with the same ingredients and thicken it up.
Made it first time tonight and we all loved it. Very fast, easy and delicious! Definitely will make again! Thank you!
So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! 🙂
Delicious!!!
I’m so glad!! 🙂
Easy and oh so delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them and found them simple to make!! 🙂
Can you sub the brown sugar with honey?
Unfortunately you can’t. Brown sugar brings a level of caramelisation honey can’t.
We had this for dinner tonight and loved it! I used crushed ginger from a bottle and it was a very acceptable substitute. We will be making this again!
Glad you liked the recipe!🙂
This recipe is a part of my normal dinner rotation. It is SOOO GOOD. So many delicious flavors all in one meal. And it is delightful the next day too…just sprinkle a little soy sauce and sriracha to liven it back up.
I know, right!? What’s not to love!? Thanks Andrea!