This ground beef bulgogi recipe is a fun, fuss–free alternative to traditional Korean Beef Bulgogi. Packed with bold Asian flavors, you can have a flavorful dinner on the table in just 20 minutes.
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Traditional beef bulgogi, or fire meat, is made from sliced beef, marinated overnight, and then cooked over an open flame. But in this juicy, caramelized, umami-packed shortcut, we’re using ground beef instead. It’s the perfect topping for a big bowl of fluffy white rice. At our house, we love pairing it with a little funky kimchi, cooling cucumber, and then topping it all with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and a some sliced green onions.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Weeknight Winner: This recipe is the cheaters’ version of beef bulgogi, bringing together all the flavors you know and love in mere minutes. When we’re short on time but want big, bold flavors, this is our go-to.
- Budget Friendly: Made with a a base of ground beef and rice, this is a budget friendly meal the whole family will love.
- Endlessly Adaptable: Swap this for ground turkey. Grate in some carrots or toss in some diced red bell pepper. Top it with a fried egg. Serve it with some fresh sliced cucumber or a few pickled red onions, or some kimchi. This is truly a great meal to make when you’ve got a few odd and ends laying around and you want stuff gone.
- Great for On-the-Go: Double the batch and portion off over a bed of rice in individual containers, and meal prep for the week? Done.
Ingredients
- Ground Meat: Lean ground beef (I used 93% lean) keeps this recipe light without sacrificing flavor.
- Soy Sauce: Coats every morsel of the beef, giving it a delightfully salty, savory, umami flavor. I recommend using low-sodium soy sauce to ensure your beef bowl doesn’t become too salty.
- Sesame oil: Builds complexity and flavor.
- Onion + Garlic + Ginger: Onion, garlic and ginger pack intense flavors that complement almost any stir fry recipe.
- Brown Sugar: Adding brown sugar gives this dish a subtle, balanced sweetness. Alternatively, you can use honey.
- Gochugaru: This is a Korean chili pepper, but for that extra bit of heat you can try a teaspoon or two of sriracha, gochuchang, or a ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
Variations & Substitutions
- Use ground chicken or turkey instead of ground beef. I’ve done it a few times and it still works out beautifully.
- Want extra protein? Top it off with a fried egg.
- Dice in half of a bell pepper, grate in some carrot or zucchini… really anything that will cook in the same amount of time as the onion or in the last few minutes of cooking with the meet.
- Use tamari instead of soy to make it gluten-free.
- Also, why limit serving this over white rice? Brown rice, quinoa, and cauliflower rice are all great options.
How to Make Ground Beef Bulgogi
- Mix savory sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over high heat. Add the onions, garlic, and ginger to the skillet and cook for 1 minute.
- Add meat to the pan and cook, breaking it up with the back of a spatula and cooking for 6-8 minutes on medium heat or until the meat is browned. Drain excess fat from the pan.
- Add in the bulgogi sauce and stir to combine, 1 more minute.
- Remove from heat and serve over rice, garnishing your ground beef bulgogi with green onion and sesame seeds if desired. Optionally, serve with sliced cucumber, kimchi or pickled carrots, or any other steamed or stir-fried veggies.
Assemble Your Beef Bulgogi Bowl - Topping Ideas
On busy weeknights, you can keep things simple and just use this topping to make delicious rice bowls, but it’s always fun to dress this up, and here are a few toppings that are fun to play around with:
- Kimchi
- Pickled red onions
- Pickled carrots
- Sliced cucumber
- Edamame
- Stir-fried snow peas
- Steamed broccoli
- A fried egg or a soft-boiled egg
How to Store
- Refrigerator: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Freezer Option: You can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop (adding a tablespoon of water as needed).
Serving Suggestions
- Quick Pickled Carrots
- Kimchi
- Thinly Sliced Cucumbers
- Fried Egg
- Steamed Broccoli
- Steamed Buns
- Chinese Dry-Fried Green Beans
- Try serving this as a filling in lettuce wraps!
More Asian-Inspired Recipes
Korean cuisine and flavors is one I'm just diving into, but Asian flavors still make a regular appearance on our table because the condiments and spices used to cook build big, bold flavors... and often in a hurry.
Here are a few other recipes we love:
- Crispy Air-Fryer Cauliflower Bites with Gochujang Glaze: Not traditional by any means, but simple, delicious, and a great way to get an extra serving of vegetables in your diet!
- Mantou: A traditional steamed bun often eaten for breakfast, but great with just about any Asian family-style meal.
- Chinese Pork Dumplings: These steamed dumplings are a fun family cooking project. If you love potstickers, you'll love these.
- Yibin Burning Noodles: This noodle dish was one of my favorite 'dry noodles' when we lived in China. And it couldn't be easier - make a quick stir fry with ground sausage, cook noodles and leafy greens, and prep sauce in your own bowl (everyone can adjust the spice level to their own preferences), mix, and start slurping!
📖 Recipe
Korean Ground Beef Bulgogi
This ground beef bulgogi recipe is a fun, fuss–free alternative to traditional Korean Beef Bulgogi. Packed with bold Asian flavors, you can have a flavorful dinner on the table in just 20 minutes.
Equipment
- 1 Rice Cooker optional
Ingredients
Sauce
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ tablespoon ginger grated
- 1 teaspoon gochugaru flakes optional; alt: 1 teaspoon sriracha
Ground beef bulgogi
- 1 onion diced
- 1 ground beef 90 percent lean
Garnish
- 1-2 green onions sliced
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Mix sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over high heat. Add the onions, garlic, and ginger to the skillet and cook for 1 minute.
- Add meat to the pan and cook, breaking it up with the back of a spatula and cooking for 6-8 minutes on medium heat or until the meat is browned. Drain excess fat from the pan.
- Add in the bulgogi sauce and stir to combine, 1 more minute.
- Remove from heat and serve over rice, garnishing your ground beef bulgogi with green onion and sesame seeds if desired. Optionally, serve with sliced cucumber, kimchi or pickled carrots, or any other steamed or stir-fried veggies.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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