What our readers are saying about this recipe
I have made this multiple times and LOVE ❤️ it. The flavors are amazing! Thank you for the great addition to our “go to” recipes.
Jen
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5 reasons you’ll love this easy ground beef recipe
- Minimal effort – It’s seriously the best weeknight meal. Prep a few ingredients and cook them up with the ground beef, that’s it!
- So versatile – Check out the comments below to see what other people are serving with this Korean ground beef.
- Family friendly – This is a meal even picky eaters will love. It’s also a hit with the kiddos!
- Great for meal prep – Double the recipe to make a big batch for meal prep or to freeze for later. Trust us, you’ll be glad you did!
- That spicy sauce – The 2-ingredient spicy mayo sauce is optional, but highly recommended. It’s just the right mix of creamy and spicy with the beef.
This recipe is a reader favorite, with over 500+ ratings! Browse more reader comments below.
How to make Korean-inspired ground beef bowls
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Tips from an expert home chef
- Follow these instructions to cook cauliflower rice perfectly every time (it’s delicious mixed up with the beef and sauce for this recipe).
- To get the best flavor and texture, cook the beef in the sauce at the end until the sauce caramelizes the beef bits; it’s crazy good. From testing, I’ve found that medium-high heat is needed to get those delicious, crispy bits.
We hope you love this recipe as much as we do!
Don’t forget to leave a quick star rating and review below, we read every comment and truly appreciate your feedback. Also, be sure to browse the rest of our easy, delicious recipes to find some other favorites too!
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20-Minute (Super-Easy!) Korean Beef Bowl
A lightened up take on a traditional Korean beef bowl with no soy or sugar. This easy and versatile weeknight meal is made with ground beef seasoned with simple spices, and we give you an easy sauce recipe too.
Ingredients
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and grated on a microplane
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 pounds ground beef, (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, (omit if you don't want it spicy)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 cup coconut aminos, (see notes)
- 2 tbsp fish sauce, (see notes)
- 4 cups cauliflower rice, (can sub white rice if you’re not doing Whole30)
- 6 cups greens of choice, (chopped romaine, arugula, spinach, etc.)
Optional sauce:
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1 tbsp hot sauce, (adjust to taste)
Optional toppings:
- chopped green onions
- sliced avocado
Instructions
- Start by preparing rice to have it ready. If serving with cauliflower rice, wait until the beef is almost done as it only takes a few minutes to cook.
- Dice shallot and grate ginger to have it ready.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add sesame oil. Once hot, add in ground beef. Break the beef up into small bits.
- Add the shallot, ginger, red pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder and mix with the beef. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the meat is browned and developing some crispy bits, about 8 minutes.
- Add the coconut aminos and fish sauce and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- If you are making the optional sauce, mix the mayo and hot sauce in a small bowl.
- Serve beef in a bowl over a bed of greens with rice or cauliflower rice. Top with optional sauce and enjoy.
Notes
- The recipe can also be made with ground pork, chicken or turkey.
- The coconut aminos linked to in the recipe are the aminos we use (Coconut Secret coconut aminos). Braggs brand aminos are NOT the same thing. Braggs liquid aminos are a soy-based and much saltier than coconut aminos. If you use Braggs aminos, we suggest using only 1-2 tbsp to start and adjusting to taste. You can also omit the salt from the recipe.
- As an alternative to coconut aminos, you can make your own using our DIY coconut aminos substitute recipe.
- If you wish to omit the fish sauce, you can replace it with more coconut aminos. Since fish sauce is salty, you may need to add more salt to suit your taste.
Did you make this recipe?Tag @realsimplegood with hashtag #realsimplegood on Instagram. We love to see what you make!
One of my staples, love this recipe, so easy and delicious. I love doing sautéed cabbage on the side…
I was nervous to use fish sauce at first but this has now become one of favorite meals!
These have become one of our favorite go-to easy recipes! We don’t change anything about the sauce and the rice and greens are customizable to what is in the fridge. Thanks for the meal inspiration on this recipe!
Didn’t have any fish sauce on hand but it still came out great!
This is one of our favorite recipes! The first time I made it I wasn’t so sure as I’d never used fish sauce before and didn’t like the smell, but it really is so delicious. You guys really deliver on the flavor! We served it over white rice with a salad and it was the perfect, quick weeknight meal. We used Trader Joe’s coconut aminos and it worked great and wasn’t overly salty at all.
Delicious and easy! Make this one often.
We LOVE these and make them pretty frequently. Yummmm.
So easy and the whole family loves it!
This is one of my staple recipes for my family. Delicious and easy, but not boring or typical!
My family enjoyed this recipe. It’s delicious and I had all ingredients in the pantry!! It reminds us of a dish we order at a Japanese restaurant which has a name we can’t recall. The spices were perfect! Thank you so much for sharing this!
Super simple dish to throw together for lunch! Incredible tasty and versatile and love that the recipe allows for the serving size to be altered. I changed a few things based off of what I had at home, but used this awesome recipe as a guideline. I used a touch more ginger and red pepper flakes and substituted EVOO for the sesame oil, soy sauce for the fish sauce and minced garlic instead of powder. Didn’t have coconut aminos or onion powder at home so left those out. I used less soy sauce and served my dish with basmati rice, garlic roasted green beans and mushrooms and topped it with sesame seeds. Will be making this again!!!
Perfect, glad you made it work for what you had :).
Quick, easy, delicious, and picky family approved! We used cauliflower rice with greens as the base and topped with avocado – nice and easy nutrient packed meal!
We loved it!
My go-to when I want something tasty and delicious!
UM WOW!!! These were by far my favorite paleo meal I’ve made so far. SO GOOD AND SO EASY!! I would 10/10 recommend this for anyone looking for quick, healthy and delicious meals! Plus it made plenty of leftovers! Can’t wait to try more recipes from Justin and Erica!
Thank you so much for the review! Very happy to hear that you loved the recipe and hope you find some more favorites on our site :).
This is a go-to favorite for us! Don’t be afraid to add things to your bowl… we add whatever we have on hand! Avocado, fresh cucumbers, pickled veggies, pickled ginger, sweet potatoes, greens, really anything! My kids always ask for seconds, even my two year old! We make the sauce with mayo and sriracha and it’s so good!
Great advice Erin! We mix up the toppings for this one too :).
Found this recipe towards the end of my first Whole 30 challenge. I’m not a fan of cauliflower rice but since I can’t have normal rice decided to give it another try. It works perfectly in this recipe and actually when I make it in the future I’ll use cauliflower rice instead of normal. I also took the advice of a comment on Pinterest and added a bit of white wine vinegar to the mayo mix to make it thinner and more “drizzly”
Perfect, so glad you liked the recipe and the cauliflower rice :).
Husband and I made this recipe tonight for the first time. It was delicious. We used cauliflower rice and a mix of arugula and baby spinach for the greens. The Mayo and hot sauce drizzle was a perfect topping too. I did add some sliced scallions on top as well! I’m trying the lemon chicken recipe next. Thanks!
You’re welcome, glad you liked this one!
My family LOVES this recipe!! So much flavor and yet it’s so easy to make!! There are very few things that all 5 of us love, this and your Sweet Potato Pad Thai are two things we can all agree on! Thank you!! From your fellow PNWers! ❤️
Thank you Sarah! We are so happy to make your family happy with our recipes :).
The Korean Beef Bowl was a DELICIOUS recipe! I added some Lemongrass in to the sauce as well, and at the end I chopped up some Kale and Broccoli and stirred that in too. It steamed up nicely and was great to have some hearty green veggies among all of the beef.
We’re so thrilled you enjoyed this one, and what great additions you made! Sounds fantastic! Thanks so much for giving our recipe a try and taking the time to come back and share! We appreciate it. 🙂
Third time I’ve made this dish and my hubby and I cannot get enough of it!! There’s so much flavor and the simple sauce on top is a must. We also load avocado on top. You must add this to your dinner rotation- it is SOOO GOOOD!
Thanks so much for the review Grace! This is a staple in our house too. The spicy mayo and avocado really are a must :).
Hi, just found this recipe from Buzzfeed and i’ve been lurking on this recipe for a while bc I want to make it for my boyfriend soon. Does the recipe actually call for 2 lb of ground (bc in the video, it didnt look like 2lb) and is it ok to sub the coconut aminos with soy sauce without it being too salty?
Can’t wait to try out this recipe, I bet it will be great like everyone says 🙂
Yes it’s actually 2 lbs of ground beef and you can sub soy sauce but you’ll have to use less since it is saltier. I’d start with 1-2 tbsp of soy sauce and adjust to taste.
Thank you so much for the help, my boyfriend loved it and the presentation. Totally making it again! 🙂
Happy to help and glad you both enjoyed it!
This recipe is so easy to make! It comes together quickly and is perfect for a quick dinner and meal prepping lunches with the leftovers. 10/10 I would make this again.
We’re so happy to hear it was a hit! Thanks for much for giving it a try and coming back to share! We appreciate it! 🙂
This recipe is amazing! I meal prep every Sunday and it’s been in my rotation a few times. So much flavor and also keeps well all week. I put it over lettuce too for more crunch. You guys have a lot of fantastic recipes. You’re one of my favorite blogs for Paleo:)
Thank you so much Erika 🙂 We are happy you enjoy our recipes, it means a lot to us!
Excellent recipe! Delicious and easy for weekly prep!
Thanks so much, Kathy! We’re so happy you love this one! It’s one of our favorites, too! Thanks for trying and taking the time to come back and share! We really appreciate it, and we’re so grateful to have you as part of our community! 🙂
Easy and delicious! I also love that it was 2lbs of ground beef. We had enough for leftovers!
Perfect, glad you liked it Lauren :).
My husband and I loved this dinner! It was super tasty and easy to make! We put the beef over butter lettuce and rice, and highly recommend the sauce to top it all off!
Sounds delicious Holly! Thanks for coming back to rate and comment :).
This is absolutely delicious. My family requests it all the time.
So happy to hear that, thanks for coming back to let us know!
Very disappointed, was looking forward to eating this and was unable to. The meat was too salty, I read previous reviews and used coconut secret aminos. I reviewed the fish sauce and noticed it was high in sodium, I also cut down on the amount of salt used. Next time will probably go with a fourth of the amount of fish sauce.
Hi Lilly, sorry to hear that this turned out salty for your taste. We use coconut secret brand aminos and the fish sauce as noted in the recipe and find it perfect. Hopefully you can adjust the recipe to suit your taste in the future.
This was delicious! I didn’t have a shallot, so I just used a yellow onion and that worked just fine. I served mine with kimchi and it was so yummy!!!
I bet it was great with Kimchi. Glad you enjoyed it Kimberly!
We’d like to know if free range blueberry fed Black Bear is an acceptable substitute for grass fed beef?
We haven’t tried bear, but you could give it a shot!
Lol
SUPER DELISH! SO flavorful! Hubby loved it, too! Thanks for a quick and easy dinner that’s a keeper, and Whole30-compliant! 😀
You’re very welcome 🙂
Wow this is close to 1300 mg of sodium PER SERVING. That’s insane.
You may be calculating this with the wrong kind of coconut aminos. As others have noted, Braggs aminos are much saltier than coconut aminos. Also, you could omit salt or reduce the aminos as desired for less sodium. Feel free to adjust for common personal preference.
I made this for dinner tonight for the first time and it was fantastic! I didn’t have any fish sauce, so I substituted worcestershire (using half as much). I put it on a bed of cauliflower rice and quinoa. My husband, son, and I LOVED it! Thanks!
That’s fantastic! Glad you were able to use what you had on hand and make it work. We love hearing the whole family loved it, too! Thanks for trying our recipe and taking the time to come back and share. We appreciate it.
Amazing recipe … My finance is a picky eater and he asked that we make this more often !! Woohoo delish and healthy! Thanks for sharing.
Hooray! We love hearing that! We just made it again for dinner last night. We’re so glad it’s a hit for you guys, too! Thanks so much for trying our recipe! 🙂
This dish was amazing!!! My husband and son (who is a bit picky) loved it! I will definitely be making this again!
That’s so great to hear! Thanks so much for trying our recipe, and coming back to share! We appreciate the feedback and are so happy to hear it was a hit! 🙂
Wow. I wandered across this recipe while looking for easy, healthy, quick and delicious weekly work meal planning ideas. I made it for dinner tonite and it exceeded all my requirements! Plenty left over for the next 2 days of lunch! Tip: if anyone is making this (uh, don’t even hesitate… it’s about to be my new obsession), don’t substitute anything for aminos. It adds such depth and the right amount of sweetness!
This is one of our favorite recipes too! So glad you liked it and will be making it again 🙂
My family loves this dish!! We love Korean food and this is so easy to throw together. I will definitely be making this on a regular basis. Thank you!!
Happy to hear this is a hit with your family!
This was excellent! Knowing that the other household members do not like hot sauce I did use Sweet Chile sauce in the mayo. Everyone was almost licking their bowls. Thank you
Glad you all liked it!
This looks really delicious. I just wish the picture was what the recipe was. The picture has avocado and scallions and a couple other things not in the recipe.
You can always add the items in the picture if you want those!
Wow! Just made this in under 20 minutes and it is delicious! I subbed the beef for vegetarian meat crumbles and used cauliflower rice. Make sure you top with avocado, it really adds creamy goodness to it. I’ll definitely be making again soon!
So glad you were able to make it work for you and that you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for giving it a try! We hope you’ll be back soon! 🙂
This is so delicious! I think it made more servings than the recipe notes, but no complaints there 🙂
Ha! We tend to gobble this one up so it was hard to judge the serving size 🙂
Made this tonight for my family and I am sorry to say that we did not enjoy it. I followed the recipe to a T and it came out very salty. Otherwise the flavor was not bad. I’m thinking of turning the leftover meat into jiaozi (Chinese dumplings).
Different brands of coconut aminos can be saltier than others, which brand did you use? Sorry to hear that it turned out saltier than you’d like.
Same thing happened to me. I used Bragg aminos and found it very salty. Will try again and reduce
We haven’t tried it with Bragg aminos so maybe that brand is saltier than the Coconut Secret or Thrive brand we use.
Bragg’s amino is MUCH saltier than coconut aminos.
Braggs aminos are not at all like coconut aminos. Braggs is incredibly salty while coconut aminos are mild and sweet.
Yes, that likely explains why some folks find the recipe too salty. Thanks for the clarification!
Yes!! It was so salty! But we love it when I omit the additional salt!
Glad it works for you to just adjust the salt! Thanks for sharing!
My parents are coming over tonight and I am going to make this. My mom doesn’t like spicy at all (she thinks black pepper is spicy). Is this recipe considered spicy? I was thinking about removing the red pepper flakes if it is. Thanks!
It’s not really spicy but you can omit the red pepper flakes just to be on the safe side 🙂
Just made this bowl tonight and I’m hooked!! I subbed the ground beef for ground pork and it’s sooooo tasty!!
Thank you guys! 🙂
Yay!! So happy to hear you loved it! And we’ll have to try pork next time! Sounds delish! 🙂
Question: does this recipe work for ground turkey? I’m thinking about making this tonight!
We haven’t tried it with ground turkey but I think it would work out just fine! Please come back and let us know how it turns out if you try it :).
I’ve made it with ground turkey (making it again now with turkey). Turns out great!!!
Amazing! We love hearing that! 🙂
Do you need fish sauce? I have never used it and Im a little worried about the flavor…
You could try the recipe without the fish sauce and it should still be ok. You might add more coconut aminos in place of it though. But why not give the fish sauce a try? You can start with a smaller amount. It adds a ton of flavor (and isn’t fishy tasting). Let us know how it goes!
I made it without because I didn’t have any on hand and it was still delicious
Is the nutrition information available? I’m doing Keto and tracking macros. Otherwise, do you know of a site I could use to figure it out?
You could use any online nutrition calculator like myfitnesspal or just google “nutrition calculator”.
MyFitnessPal calculates this at (per serving) at 946 calories, 39 Fat, 88 Carbs (13g fiber), and 65g protein.
That is without the avocado slices you have in the picture.
It seems really odd- any ideas why?
I’ve checked my input several times =/
That does seem high, but we can’t determine why these results may be inaccurate.
I did the same thing but I realized it was calculating my garlic powder at like 1000 calories, as well as the mixed greens around 700 calories for the whole recipe. Tweak those to be more accurate and it should be in the 400 calories range depending on how you split it up serving wise!
Thanks Hannah for sharing!
As always this recipe was delicious! Very well received with my dinner guests that are Korean BBQ “experts”. Thank you for making a busy night dinner easy and delicious as you always do!!!
Thanks Courtney! We are glad everyone liked the recipe :).
I just made this for dinner. I didn’t have coconut aminos. I substituted soy sauce. I have to tell you I loved it. Thank you
So glad you liked it :).