Easy Korean Ground Beef with Rice

This post was updated with some recipe adjustments and new photos on August 29, 2023.

Korean Ground Beef with Rice is an Asian inspired meal that everyone will love! This Korean Beef made with ground beef is a fast and easy meal you will love!

The ingredients are simple for Korean Ground Beef with rice. This dish is easy to make, and is budget friendly, using ground beef for the meat. Serve it over warm rice and top it with green onions for a dish that is delicious.

Korean Beef made with ground beef served with Rice on a plate

The Sauce for Korean Ground Beef with Rice

The sauce for this ground beef dish are made with ingredients you probably have in your kitchen!

Brown sugar, soy sauce (regular or low sodium), garlic, ground ginger, Cider vinegar (any kind of vinegar will work), sesame seed oil/sesame oil, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper.

I make my sauce in a glass measuring cup, but a small bowl will work great too.

Measure your brown sugar, and then add your soy sauce.

NOTE: If you use low sodium soy sauce it will be more sweet. If you use regular soy sauce the sauce will be more salty. Use which you prefer.

Brown sugar measured in a glass measuring cup to make a sauce.
Soy Sauce added to brown sugar in a glass measuring cup to make an Asian sauce for Korean ground beef.

Next, add the minced garlic.

Minced garlic added to sou sauce and brown sugar in a glass measuring cup to make an Asian sauce.

You can use fresh minced garlic or jarred/bottled minced garlic. I am lazy and usually go for the bottle. This is the brand I use. The recipe below will tell you the amount it use of each one depending on what your using.

Plastic bottle of mined garlic

Next add the rest of the seasonings. You can taste the sauce and adjust any of the ingredients to your liking.

Cider vinegar added to Asian sauce
Sesame oil adde to Asian sauce

Sesame seed oil is sold with other Asian ingredients at your grocery store. It should be easy to find. I use the kind below, but they are all pretty much the same.

Bottle of sesame oil
Ground ginger added to Asian sauce for ground beef dish
red pepper flakes added to an Asian sauce for Korean Beef made with ground beef

If you want the sauce a bit spicier, add more red pepper flakes. Add less (or none) if you don’t want it spicy.

All of the ingredients for Korean Beef sauce

Stir/whisk the sauce together and adjust the flavor to your liking.

Fast & Easy Korean Beef sauce in a glass measuring cup

The Meat for Korean Ground Beef with Rice

I use ground beef for this dish and it makes it so fast and easy. Not to mention it is budget friendly! Just brown the meat, drain it and then add in your sauce.

Ground beef in a skillet to brown.
Cooked/browned ground beef

One Pot Dish-Making Korean Ground Beef and Rice

After you have browned the ground beef, keep it in the same pan/skillet and add your sauce. Heat it over medium heat.

Sauce added to ground beef to make Korean Ground Beef

There will be some extra sauce in the pan. Once it is heated, Cook lower the temperature to medium-low heat and let it keep cooking and the sauce will cook down a bit.

Ground beef in a pan with a sauce to make Korean Ground Beef
Ground beef to make Korean beef with a sauce on it, ready to serve over rice.

Once the sauce has cooked down a bit it is time to serve!

Fast & Easy Korean Beef with Rice on a plate with a fork and served with rice ad green onions on top.

Top with chopped green onions if desired!

A a plate of Korean Ground Beef with green onions on top served over rice.
A fork with a bite of Korean Ground Beef on rice on it for eating.

I love my Mongolian Beef with Broccoli (click HERE for the recipe), but it does take a little bit more to make the dish, so this Korean Beef using ground beef is perfect for busy weeknights!

If you love Asian inspired dishes, try my Orange Chicken, Mongolian Chicken, my Firecracker Chicken, Mongolian Beef and Broccoli , or my Chicken Broccoli Ramen Stir Fry!

If you liked this recipe please take the time to leave a comment and a star rating below! Also, don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram!


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Fast & Easy Korean Beef with Rice made with ground beef topped with green onion

Easy Korean Ground Beef with Rice

Korean Ground Beef with Rice is an Asian inspired meal that everyone will love! Serve it over a bed or warm rice and top it with green onions for a dish that is delicious.
This dish serves about 6 people depending on serving size.
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Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef *see notes
  • Cooked Rice, for serving see notes – rice not included in nutritional calculations
  • Bunch of green onions, chopped for serving

THE SAUCE

  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce (use regular if you prefer it salty, low sodium if you prefer it sweeter)
  • 3 tsp bottled, minced garlic or 6 fresh garlic cloves, minced *more or less to taste – see notes
  • 1/2 Tbsp cider vinegar *or any vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 tsp sesame seed oil
  • 1/2 tsp pinch of red pepper flakes *more or less to taste (this is optional)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Start cooking your rice before you start making the Korean Beef to make sure the rice is done on time!
  • Brown your ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain and rinse (optional).
  • While your meat is browning, mix all of the sauce ingredients together and mix well. Set aside while your meat is browning.
  • After your ground beef has browned, add the sauce to your meat. Mix well. Let the sauce simmer and reduce for 10-15 minutes. (I let mine simmer on a medium-low setting, adjust the heat as needed).
  • Serve over rice and top with chopped green onions.

Notes

You can use one pound of ground beef, there will just be a bit of extra sauce (which  is never a bad thing).
If the sauce seems like it is too much for you, you can easily half the sauce, you just won’t have as much sauce for serving.  You can also make some more sauce to add in later if you start out with only half the recipe.
Use whatever rice you like. Basic brown rice or long grain white rice, or an aromatic rice like Jasmine or Basmati.

Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.

Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 452kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 1166mg | Potassium: 399mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 0.05IU | Vitamin C: 0.002mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 3mg

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  1. Pingback: Fast and Easy Orange Chicken {with ground chicken}

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