Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps are ready in just 15 minutes. This easy, gluten free dinner recipe is made from fridge and pantry staples. So easy!
Foods I never need to add to my grocery list because they end up in my cart each week no matter what:
- Applesauce. Because kids.
- Wine. See above.
- Eggs. Egg Salad for president.
- Applegate Farms Salami. Can’t stop / won’t stop.
- Ground beef.
Even if I don’t have a concrete plan in mind for using ground beef, I buy it anyway. It’s an inexpensive protein option, super versatile, and most importantly, Lincoln loves it. And if you have a toddler then you know you gotta ride that “foods we don’t complain about eating” train as far as humanly possible before its inevitable derailment.
While ground beef is spaghetti-bound at least once a week, I also frequently use it to make Skillet Tater Tot Casserole, Taco Chili, and Incredible Italian Meatballs (here are all my ground beef recipes in case you need some inspiration!) My newest creation though, Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps, is rising to the top of my ground beef faves list!
Watch How to Make It!
What is Korean Beef?
If you’ve never tasted the flavors of Bulgogi, a Korean beef dish that inspired these lettuce wraps, you’re in for a real treat. Thinly sliced beef is flavored with soy sauce (we’re going with gluten-free Tamari here,) sugar, sesame, garlic, and green onion then grilled or stir fried. The beef has that savory/sweet flavor that keeps you going back for bite after bite.
Well, I decided to make this traditional dish weeknight friendly by using ground beef instead of sliced steak! All you do is brown ground beef with green onions and garlic then simmer for a minute with a 5 ingredient sauce. Scoop over fresh lettuce cups filled with cooked rice for a 3-bite taco-type dish. 15 minutes + fridge and pantry staples = total home run!
Kid Friendly and Low Carb Options
To make this meal toddler-friendly, I turned the Korean ground beef into Korean Beef Bowls by scooping the meat mixture over rice. If you want to go the low carb route, you could swap the white rice for cauliflower rice which I think would be super tasty sauteed in either sesame or garlic-flavored wok oil. Or scoop the meat mixture into lettuce cups as shown, minus the rice. Whichever way you go, this gluten-free dinner recipe couldn’t be easier nor more delicious. Go give it a try!
How to Make Korean Ground Beef
Start by heating 2 teaspoons sesame oil in a large, 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1lb ground beef, the chopped white and light green parts of 2 green onions, and a dash of white pepper (or black pepper if that’s all you have on hand) then saute until cooked through. Add 2 cloves minced garlic then saute for 30 seconds.
Next, drizzle in a mixture of 1/4 cup LOW-SODIUM gluten-free Tamari, 2 Tablespoons coconut sugar (could sub in white sugar or honey,) 1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (or more or less), 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, and 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds then saute for 1 more minute.
That’s all she wrote! Scoop white rice into lettuce cups then top with the green parts of the chopped green onions, plus more toasted sesame seeds, and dive in. I hope you love this craveable, seriously simple weeknight dinner recipe! Enjoy!
More Quick and Easy Ground Beef Recipes
- Cheeseburger Quesadillas
- Beef Taco Bowls
- Crunchy Taco Hamburger Helper
- OMG-Good Goulash
- Beef and Veggie Enchilada Skillet
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 1/4 cup gluten free reduced-sodium Tamari, or soy sauce if not GF
- 2 Tablespoons coconut sugar, or white sugar or honey
- 1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce, or more or less
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 2 green onions, chopped - white and light green parts and dark green parts divided
- white pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 head butter or Boston Bibb lettuce, leaves separated
Directions
- Add rice and 1-1/2 cups water to a small saucepan then bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low then cover and simmer for 10 minutes (water should just barely be at a simmer.) Remove pan from heat then let sit for 5 minutes before removing the lid and fluffing with a fork. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, whisk together gluten-free Tamari or soy sauce, coconut sugar, chili garlic sauce, ground ginger, and sesame seeds in a small dish then set aside.
- Heat sesame oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and white and light green parts of green onions then season with white pepper and cook through. Add garlic then saute for 30 seconds. Pour in sauce then saute for 1 more minute.
- Scoop cooked rice into lettuce leaves then top with Korean beef mixture, green parts of green onions, and extra toasted sesame seeds if desired.
Notes
- Use a sturdy lettuce like Bibb or butter.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Tried this recipe/dish multiple times and we love it. I try to avoid beef and pork and substituted it with ground turkey and chicken for a healthier option. I just added more chili garlic sauce to give it some more kick since we love spicy food. We also added some ghost pepper oil separately since my husband and I have high threshold for spiciness. Also used Artisan lettuce romaine for crunchiness and texture. But even just following the measurement of this recipe, it is super delicious without alterations!!!
The other thing I like about this dish as well is that it is so fast to prepare! This is definitely our go-to dish for dinner especially on weekdays when we are so tired from work.
I’m so glad you love this dish and are able to make it your own!!
I make these WEEKLY! So good! I double the sauce recipe and use 1lb ground beef, fresh ginger, about 3 cups shredded cabbage and carrots. I skip the whole “wrapping” part and just do bowls with shredded lettuce, jasmine rice and filling. My kids and husband love them!
I made these with turkey and they were outstanding.
What a fantastic dish; I’ll be trying it out this weekend.
Very tasty and easy! The family loved.
About how many people does this serve?
This will serve 4. :)
Flavors are great! Only issue I had was the lack of sauce.
Turned out pretty dry.
DEEEELICIOUS! entire family gobbled it up. chopped up some carrots, cucs and cabbage to add to the wraps. Thanks for yet another winner dinner :-)
These were so good and easy to make. I used fresh ginger and topped it with diced avocado.
This recipe is AMAZING, I have made it at least 10 times since first finding it. I have tweaked it slightly by adding sriracha to the sauce and on top of the final product. If you like a good kick, definitely try that!
I have enjoyed a few recipes from Iowa Girl. This one fell short. I followed the recipe exactly and while it was okay, it was missing the depth of flavor that I expected. I think it needs some doctoring!
This was delicious! I doubled the garlic chili sauce amount because our family prefers some heat. Great flavor, easy to make. This will become a part of our dinner rotation – great for the soccer, baseball, busy practice nights!
I had a dinner to make for the most picky bunch of eaters I have ever encountered; I chose this recipe under the assumption that they couldn’t compare it to anything else they’d had (the dreaded “that’s not how my mom makes it!”) Lol The looks I got about dinner being wrapped in lettuce…. (“eewww… it’s not like cabbage rolls is it?!?”) were not encouraging, and I wasn’t sure they’d even try it. But miracles do happen, they all tried it, and for the FIRST TIME EVER, we all immensely enjoyed our meal – so much so, that I was specifically asked to save the recipe!! Totally awesome! Thank you SO much!
Cannot tell you how happy it makes me to hear this, Honesty!! Thank you so much for sharing, and for your recipe rating and review! I really appreciate it!