Easy Beef Bulgogi Bowls

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If you’re craving an authentic beef bulgogi experience but don’t necessarily want to find a Korean restaurant, why not make these easy beef bulgogi bowls at home? They only take half an hour to make from scratch and boast wonderful meal-in-a-bowl Korean-inspired flavors in every mouthful. White rice is topped with crispy ground beef in a sweet and spicy sauce, pickled carrots and onions, spicy kimchi, and more, to bring those traditional Korean flavors to your dinner table.

An Easy Beef Bulgogi Bowl recipe containing rice, pickled vegetables, sliced cucumbers, ground beef, and kimchi served with chopsticks on a gray surface with scattered ingredients. These Korean-inspired bowls make for a delicious and convenient meal.

Make these easy beef bulgogi bowls for dinner tonight and you’ll be hooked on the amazing flavors! This Korean beef bowl recipe is quick and easy to prepare.

If you enjoy these flavors, you might also like to try ginger beef, beef yaki udon noodles, honey ginger chicken or shrimp spring rolls.

A ground beef bulgogi bowl containing rice, sliced cucumbers, shredded carrots, pickled red onions, cooked ground meat, kimchi, and chopped green onions, with a pair of chopsticks resting on the edge.

Why You’ll Love It

Bold flavors: All kinds of flavors combine in these beef bulgogi bowls. You have sweet, spicy, savory, pickled, salty, and more in this well-balanced dish.
Simple to make: The recipe is made in stages. You will prepare the pickled carrots and onions, make the sauce, stir fry the meat, and then assemble the whole thing.
Customizable: You can change the ingredients, omitting any you aren’t keen on or don’t have, or adding in anything else you want.

Close-up of a Korean-inspired beef bulgogi bowl containing a mixture of ground beef topped with sesame seeds, chopped green onions, sliced cucumbers, and pickled vegetables. A pair of chopsticks rests on the edge.

Beef Bulgogi Bowl Ingredients

A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

Ground beef: Ground sirloin steak, ground chuck or any other kind of lean ground beef will work in Korean beef bowls. You can also use thinly sliced steak. Or, if you don’t want beef, ground turkey.
Kiwi: An unusual ingredient, at least in beef recipes, kiwi adds a sweet flavor to the sauce.
Seasonings: Low sodium soy sauce, mirin, ginger paste, and sesame oil add hearty flavors to the dish.
Carrots: For the pickled vegetables.
Onions: You need white and green onions for the sauce and the beef and red onion for the pickled carrots and onions.
Sugar: Brown sugar adds a rich sweetness to the sauce, while white sugar balances out the pickled carrots flavor.
Rice: You can use jasmine rice, white rice or even brown rice in these Korean beef bowls.
Gochujang: Korean red chili paste with a sweet, spicy taste. You can sub another kind of chili paste for a slightly less authentic result.

Various ingredients arranged on a surface, including bowls of diced vegetables, spices, sauces, and a container of ground meat—perfect for making easy Korean beef bulgogi bowls.

How to Make a Simple Korean Beef Bowl

For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.

Prepare the pickled vegetables: Put the carrots, red onion, rice vinegar, white sugar, salt, and red pepper flakes in a mason jar, then seal and marinate for an hour.
Make the sauce: Puree the kiwi, soy sauce, mirin, onion, garlic, ginger, gochujang, sesame oil, brown sugar, salt, and pepper in a food processor.
Prepare the beef: Put the beef in a mixing bowl with onion and the sauce and combine thoroughly.
Cook the beef mixture: Heat some oil in a wok and fry the beef mixture in there until crispy and dark, then break it apart and cook for another couple of minutes with some green onions.
Assemble the dish: Divide the rice between serving bowls and top with thinly sliced cucumber, kimchi, pickled carrots and onions. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve immediately.

A Korean beef bowl with rice, sliced cucumber, shredded carrot, pickled red onion, cooked beef, and kimchi.

Substitutions and Variations

Gluten-free option: If you want a gluten-free version, ensure your gochujang is gluten-free (some contain barley malt powder), use gluten free soy sauce (some contain wheat flour) and ensure you’re using good quality mirin.
Vegetarian version: Swap the ground beef for extra-firm tofu.
Extra spicy: Add extra chili paste to the sauce, and/or serve hot sauce or red pepper flakes at the table.
Kid-friendly: Reduce the amount of chili paste if you’re making this for kids and omit the mirin, adding a little extra brown sugar if liked.
Less sugar and/or fewer carbs: Swap the sugar for artificial sweetener and swap the cooked white rice for cauliflower rice.
Additional protein: A fried egg on top is a popular beef bulgogi addition.

A bowl of white rice topped with sliced cucumbers, pickled red onions, shredded carrots, kimchi, and seasoned ground beef in an easy Korean-inspired beef bulgogi style, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds next to wooden chopsticks.

Serving Suggestions

Appetizers: Start the meal with miso ramen soup or a chicken avocado salad.
Side dishes: Enjoy some egg rolls alongside your easy beef bulgogi bowls, or perhaps some steamed veggies.
Desserts: 2-ingredient dragon fruit ice cream or any of these refreshing lemon desserts would finish the meal deliciously.

A bowl of rice topped with sliced cucumbers, pickled carrots, red onions, kimchi, and seasoned ground beef on a gray surface with chopsticks beside it makes for easy Korean beef bowls.

How to Store Bulgogi Bowls

Store: Keep leftovers for 2 or 3 days in a covered container in the refrigerator. If you’re out of rice, you can serve the beef bulgogi mixture in lettuce wraps.
Freeze: This isn’t a good recipe to freeze, as the vegetables will thaw out mushy.
Reheat: Keep the beef mixture separate so you can reheat it in the microwave or in a pan on the stove, leaving the other bulgogi bowl components cold.

A white bowl filled with seasoned ground meat, white rice, sliced cucumbers, pickled carrots and red onions, and a side of kimchi. Chopsticks rest on the edge of this ground beef bulgogi bowl.

Top Tips

Good quality gochujang: Keep the dish authentic by using good quality gochujang. I always use this one.
Crisp up the beef: Get your wok nice and hot before adding the oil and then the beef, pressing it down as it cooks to get it really crispy.
Toasted sesame seeds: Although toasting the sesame seeds is optional, it adds a gorgeous roasted flavor and is worth doing. Toast them in a dry (no oil) pan on the stove, shaking often. They’re done when they’re golden in places and smell fragrant.

A bowl of white rice topped with sliced cucumbers, kimchi, ground meat, pickled carrots, and red onions brings the flavors of Korean beef bulgogi bowls to your table. Chopsticks rest on the rim, inviting you to dive in.

Ground Beef Bulgogi Bowl FAQs

What does bulgogi mean?

It’s a Korean word. Bul means fire and gogi means meat, so it refers to a Korean-style dish that’s roasted or grilled, and typically made with thinly sliced beef. It’s one of the most popular dishes in South Korea and you can find it everywhere from the pan-ready bulgogi kits in grocery stores to upmarket restaurants.

What is special about gochujang?

This Korean red chili paste offers sweet, spicy and savory flavors. It’s a popular condiment in Korean cuisine. Gochujang is made from chili powder, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans, salt, and barley malt powder. The glutinous rice starch is what gives gochujang its characteristic sweetness.

Can you make a Korean beef bowl ahead?

You can pickle the carrots and onions ahead of time and also make the sauce in advance. Cook the rice ahead too if you like, and prep thinly sliced cucumbers to speed up the meal prep later. That way, you simply have to cook the meat later and assemble this delicious and easy recipe.

A Korean-inspired beef bowl of rice topped with sliced cucumber, pickled carrots, pickled onions, kimchi, and seasoned ground beef with chopsticks resting on the bowl. Scattered ingredients and a striped cloth are visible.

Easy Beef Bulgogi Bowl Recipe

A variety of food ingredients including ground beef, sliced onions, chopped garlic, rice, sliced cucumbers, shredded carrots, green onions, sauces, spices, and seasonings for easy beef bulgogi bowls arranged on a gray surface.

A food processor bowl filled with various ingredients including diced kiwi, garlic cloves, ginger, tomato paste, and spices. Alongside a cutting board with a kiwi, carrot, and onion near a kitchen towel for preparing easy beef bulgogi bowls.

Treat everyone to a deliciously different dinner. They will love this recipe that combines juicy beef with a sweet, spicy and savory sauce, pickled veggies, rice, kimchi, and more. It’s a simple dish that can be cooked and assembled in just half an hour. The bold flavors from the soy sauce and sesame oil sauce, gochujang, succulent beef, and pickled veggies ensures everyone will enjoy this simple yet stunning dish.

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Bella Bucchiotti

Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.