Korean Ground Beef Skillet is inspired by Bulgogi, a Korean dish featuring grilled steak flavored with sesame, ginger, garlic, sugar, and green onions. Translation: it's irresistible! This simple skillet dinner swaps steak with ground beef for a quick, weeknight-friendly dish.
“This was delicious, fast and easy. … My 13yo daughter especially loved it, will definitely be making this again. Passed the recipe on to a few friends too, thanks!”
Got a pack of ground beef in the fridge or freezer, and aren’t craving spaghetti or burgers? (Relatable).
Give ground beef new life with Korean Ground Beef Skillet – a 15 minute, flavor-packed recipe that can be served in lettuce cups as shown, or as heartier rice bowls.
I cannot emphasize enough how FAST this dish is put together, plus my family devours it!
Korean Bulgogi-Inspired Skillet Dinner
This easy skillet dinner is inspired by Bulgogi, a Korean dish made from sliced, grilled beef flavored with soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, sugar, and green onions.
The contrasting, sweet and savory flavors are irresistible.
In this Bulgogi-inspired dish, grilled steak is replaced with ground beef for a more economical approach. Scoop the meat over white rice inside fresh lettuce cups, or over a heartier portion of rice in a bowl. Serve with lots of kimchi and spicy mayo.
Either way you can’t go wrong!
Try Cheeseburger Bombs
How to Make Korean Ground Beef
Step 1: Brown the ground beef.
Start by adding ground beef to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season with pepper then saute until the beef is cooked halfway through.
Next, add chopped green onions then continue to saute until the beef is fully cooked. Drain the meat if necessary then return it to the skillet.
Step 2: Add the sauce.
Next, drizzle in a mixture of:
- Low-sodium gluten-free Tamari (or soy sauce if not GF)
- Sesame oil
- Sugar (either granulated or coconut sugar)
- Garlic
- Rice vinegar
- Chili garlic sauce OR Siracha
- Ground ginger
- Toasted sesame seeds
Saute the ground beef in the sauce until it’s absorbed most of it, 1-2 minutes, then turn off the heat.
Scoop the ground beef over cooked white rice inside fresh lettuce cups or over bowls of white rice. Garnish with Kimchi (I love Cleveland Kitchen brand) and a drizzle of spicy mayo made from mixing mayonnaise and Siracha, if you please.
Doesn’t get simpler!
However you serve it, I hope you love every bite of this incredibly easy and delicious dish. Enjoy!
More Easy Ground Beef Dinner Ideas
- Gluten-Free Cheeseburger Bombs
- Crunchy Taco Hamburger Helper
- Beef and Veggie Enchilada Skillet
- Easy Ground Beef Stroganoff
- American Goulash
- Ground Beef Enchiladas
- Oven-Baked Burgers
- Big Mac Salad
- Cheeseburger Quesadillas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- pepper
- 2 green onions, chopped
For the sauce:
- 1/4 cup gluten-free reduced-sodium Tamari, or soy sauce if not GF
- 2 Tablespoons granulated OR coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon Siracha OR Chili Garlic Sauce, or more or less
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
For serving:
- 1 head butter or Boston Bibb lettuce, leaves separated, optional
- Cooked white rice
- Kimchi, Cleveland Kitchen brand recommended
- Spicy mayo, made from mixing mayo with Siracha
Directions
For the sauce:
- Add the ingredients into a small mixing bowl then whisk to combine and set aside.
For the beef:
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat then add the ground beef, season with pepper, and brown until the beef is cooked halfway through. Add the green onions then continue to saute until the beef is fully cooked. Drain if necessary then return to the skillet.
- Pour the sauce into the skillet then stir to combine and cook until the beef has absorbed nearly all the sauce, 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Scoop cooked rice into bowls or inside fresh lettuce cups then scoop the beef mixture on top. Serve with kimchi and spicy mayonnaise if desired.
Notes
- Estimated nutritional information is the for the beef only.
- This recipe was updated in May 2026 to simplify the cooking process, and add a splash of rice vinegar to the sauce.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Great recipe, although I was told by an Asian friend that you should never use sesame oil as your main cooking oil. It has a low smoke-point, and should be used at the end of cooking as a flavoring agent, with gentle heat. I subbed peanut oil for the cooking, and added the sesame oil to the sauce ingredients. Wonderful dish!
I’m so glad you loved it, Laura! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
This was delicious, fast and easy. I appreciate that there are not any hard-to-find ingredients. We used grated fresh ginger in the sauce, and fresh mint for the garnish. My 13yo daughter especially loved it, will definitely be making this again. Passed the recipe on to a few friends too, thanks!
Oh I love hearing this, Jessica! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
This dish is so yummy!! I used Date Lady Chili Sauce and Sempio No-Soy Soy Sauce and all of my friends with allergies could eat it. It was a big hit. Thank you so much for sharing this great recipe. Also, as you replied to one comment about jazzing it up with veggies, thanks to all of your readers who shared their ideas.
Oh I’m so glad it was a hit, Diana, and that sounds so delicious! Thank you so much for your feedback!
What brand of chili garlic sauce are you using? The Huy Fong brand I have used is no longer available because of a pepper shortage.
That is the brand I usually use too – I believe Thai Kitchen has a version, just double check to make sure it’s GF!
Can you just use regular sugar? Instead of coconut sugar?
Regular or brown sugar would be ok, Susie! :)
Made last night, fast, and delicious. Better than the roll ups at PF Changs.
What an awesome compliment, Susan! Thank you so much – I’m thrilled you liked the recipe!
This is excellent with ground pork!
Great idea – I’ll have to try that!!
Made this for the first time tonight. It was so good and am sad there are no leftovers! Will definitely be making this again. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so glad you loved the dish, Renee!! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
Made this for dinner tonight my family loved it! The only thing we agreed on is it needs something else maybe diced carrots or bell peppers. But overall everyone was happy. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad you all love it! This is a great base dish to jazz up with extra veggies next time!