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.
Can’t wait to try this recipe! I am a fan of fresh ginger root- would you recommend using that in place of the ground ginger? If so, would you do the 1:1 ratio (garlic:ginger) and just throw it in the pan at the same time as the garlic? Thanks!
Hi Susan! I would use double the amount of fresh ginger and yep, you can toss it in with the garlic! :)
I made this using sushi rice (sticky is helpful, and I had it on hand) and left out the sugar. Yummy! I found some mild ssamjang to use as well. (I could have gotten medium not mild and that would have been more interesting.)
Nice recipe; thanks!
I have never heard of chili garlic sauce. Do you buy it or make it yourself?
Hi Alice! You can find it in the Asian Foods aisle near the other sauces at the grocery store!
absolutely love this recipe. we make it at least once a month.
These were amazing! We had them with riced cauliflower that I sauteed in a tsp of toasted sesame oil and then drizzled some of the Tamari over it.
YUMMM that sounds divine, Paulette! I’m so glad you liked the wraps!
It looks delicious and healthy! ?? Thank you!
Girl, you are killing me with Gluten-Free Goodness, so glad a friend sent me a link to your site. I will be following you from now on. I love so many of your GF recipes. Thanks doing this.
This is such a wonderful and easy dish. My 10-year-old son and I made this for the family tonight and everyone loved it! We tried your gumbo this weekend too – also a hit. Thanks Kristin!
Hi Kristin! I first need to tell you that I’m a fellow Iowa girl and I’ve followed your blog for several years now. Your recipes are part of our family’s most favorite list! This dish is no exception. I made it tonight for the first time and all 5 of us loved it! Thanks for consistently offering tips, tricks and treats that make me look like a super chef to my favorite people ?
Made these for dinner tonight. Delicious! Will definitely add to our usual rotation. Loved the sauce on the beef. For simplicity, I also used frozen brown rice.
Ahhh! The organic ground beef by me is $13/lb!
I’ve made this recipe twice this week! Easy to make and so delicious!! thank you!
I’m a new mama and trying to get dinner on the table with a newborn is no easy feat. This was an exception! No fuss, but totally delicious. Made me feel like I’ve totally got this motherhood thing in the bag. ? Thanks for a great recipe!