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.
Kristin – My hubby prefers beef and I prefer chicken – what do you think about using chicken in this recipe?
I think ground chicken would be absolutely delicious – it would taste just like sesame chicken!
I had ground beef and garlic chili sauce in my fridge, so I was looking for recipes that used the two. Found this recipe and decided to make it. It was super easy and quick, and packed with flavor. Thank you!!
You got it, Stella – thanks so much for coming back to leave feedback!
Hi. I love your blog (I’ve been reading and making things from it for years)! Thanks doenthis recipe – I made it tonight and my 6 year old said that it was the best dinner ever. I added chopped mushrooms and used thin rice noodles vs the rice (we had rice yesterday) and loved it. It’s totally gonna make it into our meal rotation – especially i during the hot Texas summer.
Love it and think you’re all kinds of awesome (and I’m not GF but I strive to health up recipes – like you’ve always done).
Oh I’m so glad to hear it!! I love the addition of mushrooms too – I do that with our meat sauce for spaghetti night and it sounds like it worked awesome here too. Thanks for the great feedback, Jackie!
Korean Beef is a staple around here– though my recipe is slightly simpler than yours. It is super easy and toddler approved. I look forward to changing it up by adding a lettuce wrap.
I saw those Orchids at Hyvee— the blue ones were $40 so I think you got yourself a deal ;)
They were too pretty to pass up – PLUS you only have to water them once a week. I figured me and my black thumb could manage that. ;)
I made these last night for supper (with venison from last year’s hunt and lettuce fresh from the garden) and my 14 yo old said “you can make these every night”.
Homegrown lettuce and bison – yYou are winning at life, Kari!
Let me say THANK YOU again Kristin for another soul-satisfying dish that doesn’t take hours to make ?! If any readers are wondering if coconut aminos work–YES! I also made cauliflower rice sautéed in sesame oil. Thank you for making my Monday night dinner quick, painless, and delicious!
Thanks so much for your feedback, Beth! I’m glad the cauliflower rice worked out too!
This looks amazing! I wonder if this could be adapted to the Instant Pot?
This looks amazing! It’s definitely going on my menu for the week. I do have one daughter who doesn’t eat red meat; would ground chicken or turkey work for this? I’m guessing it’s not quite the same but would it work well as a substitute?
I think ground chicken would be super delicious!
Hi, have just started following your blog (I made your Cuban slow cooker pork recipe yesterday…amazing, thank you! ) and wanted to say I’m really enjoying your recipes and love your photos too. Great blog ?
Thank you so much for the kind words – I really appreciate it, and am so glad you enjoyed that pork dish. It’s a repeater at our house in the fall! :)
I love bulgogi anyway I can get it! This is very similar to a repeat meal in our house of Korean Beef Bowls. Fluffy white rice, similarly seasoned ground beef or bison, topped with thinly sliced cucumbers sriracha, and sweet chili sauce! Stuffing all that in a lettuce cup sounds equally delicious! Ugh, I am hungry now!
Oooo sweet chili sauce on top – I love it, Hannah! Definitely going to try that next time. :)
This looks great! What kind of chili garlic sauce do you recommend?
Thanks Adrienne! I use Lee Kum Keeb brand. :)
I have all the heart-eyes for your blog. I’m not gluten-free but my husband is a frequently Whole-30-er so I can often adapt your recipes to be compliant (or at least compliant as far as he knows – HAH!). One request – is there any way to put a small picture on your printable recipes? Pictures are everything for me when I’m cooking and I still print recipes – just easier for me to make notes for the future, etc. Thanks!!
You are too kind and I’m so glad the recipes are working out for you both! If you wanted to make the dish Whole 30 compliant you could try swapping the tamari and sugar for coconut aminos. :) I actually used to include a thumbnail of the photo in the recipe printout but got some complaints that it wasted ink. ? That said, I do keep track of requests like this so if I get more and more I will add it back in. Thanks for your awesome feedback!!