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!
If you’re loving the easy weeknight meal content here at The Busy Baker but you haven’t signed up for our FREE Easy Weeknight Meal Solutions course yet, what are you waiting for?! Sign up below – it’s FREE!
And if you’re looking for even MORE Easy Weeknight Meal content – we’ve got over 11 weeks of meals planned for you, including grocery lists, meal prep guides, and all our best time-saving tips, tricks and recipes. Check out our Meal Plan Bundles, available for sale in The Busy Baker Shop!
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!

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!
- 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.
Can you substitute dry ground ginger for fresh?
Yes you can! I suggest that you use 1/4 tsp of dry ground ginger instead of the tablespoon of fresh one. However, for best results I recommend that you use fresh ginger. Happy cooking ☺️
This was a great, easy , fast dish….something more interesting to do with your boring, old ground beef. I kicked up the sauce measurements because we like it saucy! Thank you 😊
You’re welcome Michelle!
I’m 18 and just moved into my first apartment with my boyfriend. I can bake dessert but I’m just now learning how to cook. My mom was Korean and passed less than a year ago, I’ve been missing her food dearly- never got to learn her recipes. This was the first Korean meal I’ve made and it tasted a lot like authentic bulgogi!!! Thank you for sharing this, we enjoyed it!
You’re welcome! I feel honoured and I’m really glad they turned out delicious!🙂
I am always on the look out for a simple, yet delicious week night meal. This one checks all the boxes and my husband agreed! Will be making again (and again)! Thanks!
So glad to hear that!! You’re welcome Sarah!
I loved this! I added a chopped red chilli and served it with a fried egg on top — delicious.
That’s such a good idea! I’m happy you enjoyed it! ☺️
We absolutely love this for dinner, in fact it’s become our ultimate favourite regular 😋. Thank you so much
Thanks for your feedback, Leanne. It’s one of our favourites too ☺️
We made this Korean rice bowl as an easy camping meal, it was so popular with everyone, I make it all the time. Thanks so much!
Yes, that’s a wonderful idea!!🙂
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
This is so good! It’s a such a simple but flavorful weeknight
dinner!
Thanks so much Suzanne!!🙂
One of the best and easiest dishes I have ever made! I served it all over a bowl of Romaine.
So glad you loved it!
I made this tonight for dinner, and it was delicious! I added julienned carrots, bell pepper, and celery to the meat. We served sautéed misheard and spinach in the bowl, too. With some kimchi, it was a flavorful bowl of yummy.
So glad you loved it! Thanks for your comment!
I’m curious, do you drain the fat from the beef or keep it in there to help with the sauce? Can’t wait to try it out, it looks delicious.
I use lean beef which has almost nothing to drain. If you find your beef gives off a lot of fat then feel free to drain some or most of it. Or use extra lean ground beef if you wish 🙂
Thanks for posting this recipe! Can you recommend any other side dishes aside from rice? Veggies, etc. Thanks!
Sure! Check out this link
I’m loving this so much! I love both bowl dishes and Korean beef, so this is going on my “to make” list! Can’t wait to give your recipe a go!
Thank you!🙂Let me know how you like it!
These beef bowls were so delicious! The flavor for the beef was so tasty!
Thanks! Glad you liked them!
These look absolutely mind-blowing, I cannot wait to make this dish!
Thanks! Hope you love them!
These bowls look incredible! I want to try them asap!
Thanks!
I can’t believe this beautiful bowl comes together so quickly, I know what is for lunch tomorrow!
Enjoy! 🙂
This looks and sounds so tasty, I can’t wait to try it!
Hope you love it!
My family absolutely loves when i make this for dinner! Amazing recipe! I was wondering if you could tell me how many calories per serving? Thanks!
Just over 400 calories 🙂
Does the calories per serving include the rice?
Yes!