Gochujang Ground Beef Bowls

This simple gochujang ground beef bowl recipe is the perfect balance of sweet, spicy, and savory. It comes together so quickly and easily and makes for the perfect weeknight dinner. The gochujang beef is ready in under 30 minutes!

Inspired by my gochujang mushroom bowls, this ground beef version has been my new weeknight favorite! It’s so easy to make and it goes perfectly with an assortment of side dishes, from my seasoned spinach, kimchi, cucumbers, or a fried or poached egg! The topping ideas are endless and will keep this gochujang ground beef bowl exciting for weeks on end.

 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• The ground beef comes together so quickly and easily!
• You can add a variety of sides to this ground beef bowl to change it up.
• It’s full of sweet, savory, and spicy flavors.
• It packs and reheats wonderfully, so it makes for the perfect meal prep as well.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• sesame oil — I use pure sesame oil but you can also use toasted sesame oil if that’s all you have on hand.
• gochujang — aka hot pepper paste. Keep in mind that they come in different levels of spiciness, so make sure to double-check the container. Feel free to get a super spicy one or a mild one, depending on your preference.
• gochugaru — aka dried red chili peppers. I like using the coarse flake version but you can also use fine version.
• brown sugar — don’t skip it! I love the sweetness it adds and it helps balance out the spicy notes from the gochujang and gochugaru. I prefer dark brown sugar.
• soy sauce — I recommend using low sodium soy sauce.
• salt & garlic powder & onion powder — I always use kosher salt in my recipes.
• olive oil — or your neutral oil of choice to cook the beef in.
• ground beef — I use lean ground beef. If you use a fattier ground beef, you might have to drain it a bit before adding the sauce to the skillet.
• green onions — light and dark greens separated. The lighter parts will be sauteed with the beef and the darker green parts will be for garnish at the end.
• toasted sesame seeds — for garnish. This is the one I have in my pantry.
• rice — I cook some jasmine rice, but you can also serve this with coconut rice, purple rice, or whatever rice you love.
• optional — feel free to add what you want to your beef bowls! I personally have some seasoned spinach, spicy cucumbers, kimchi, and fried egg. Sometimes I make my gochujang mushrooms for this!

How to Make Gochujang Ground Beef Bowls

• In a small mixing bowl, combine the sesame oil, gochujang, gochugaru, brown sugar, soy sauce, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder. Mix until well combined.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the ground beef.

• Brown the ground beef, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon as it cooks. After 3 minutes, add the diced light parts of the green onions to the pan. Saute for 2 minutes, or until the green onions have softened.
• Add the sauce to the beef.

• Mix until the ground beef is well coated by the sauce and allow it to cook down until it has thickened (about 3 to 5 minutes).
• Finish off the ground beef by garnishing with green onion and toasted sesame seeds.
• Serve with rice and your sides of choice.

Recipe Tips and Notes

• I love serving these gochujang beef bowls with an egg! From fried, to poached, to soft or hard boiled, they all go well with the beef.
• To add more veggies to the bowl, you can also add frozen peas, corn, and/or carrots to the beef near the end when you add the sauce.
• You can adjust the heat by adding less gochugaru or gochujang. Alternatively, you can add more brown sugar to balance it out.

Make Ahead Tips

• Meal prep: once cooled, store the ground beef in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge.
• Freezer: allow the ground beef to cool before transferring to a freezer-friendly airtight container and freezing. Freeze for up to 3 months.

More Beef Recipes You’ll Love

• Bulgogi (Korean BBQ Beef)
• Ground Beef Bulgogi Bowl
• Beef Teriyaki
• Beef Pepper Rice (Pepper Lunch Inspired)
• Ground Beef Stir Fry
• Beef and Onion Stir Fry

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