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Easy Korean Ground beef is such a simple dish, but it bursts with the sweet, savory, and spicy flavors of your favorite Korean BBQ!
There are days when I want to eat lavish meals, and then there are days when all I want is a quick dinner. But you probably know by now that boring food isn’t my thing, so even my quick meals need to have a ton of flavor.
If you’ve made Firecracker Ground Turkey, then you’ll find this recipe pretty familiar. It happens to be the all-time most popular post on this blog! That always surprises me given how simple it is, but maybe that’s the point. So here we are again! I’ve just swapped some ingredients to add more Asian flare.
This one is done start-to-finish in about 15 minutes. While the beef is cooking, I’ll heat up some frozen jasmine rice in the microwave. Add some steamed broccoli to the mix, and you’re good to go!
What Makes this Dish korean?
To be fair, there is nothing traditional about this dish. I love the sweet/savory/spicy combination in a lot of Korean dishes, so I tried to emulate that here.
I love the flavor of bulgogi, which is marinated steak that is usually grilled. So delicious! This is a quick and easy spin on that.
The only problem is that a lot of bulgogi recipes include quite a bit of sugar. In my opinion, there still needs to be quite a bit of sweetness to hit that perfect balance of salty and sweet, so I did a little research.
Some Korean beef recipes include grated Asian pear or apple. I figure most of you have applesauce in your pantry, so that’s a great ingredient to add some sweetness without too much sugar.
The soy sauce, sesame, garlic, ginger, and sriracha round everything out for a flavor punch to the mouth!
how to prep Easy Korean Ground Beef
Because of the minimal cook and prep times, this is obviously a great weeknight dinner dish. Just adding some rice and steamed veggies will do the trick for a complete meal.
But this recipe is also excellent for lunch prep!
I find that the leftovers are great either cold or warmed up, so you have a lot of options.
- Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps
- Korean Beef Salad
- Korean Beef Sloppy Joes
- Korean Beef Tacos
- Korean Beef Quesadillas (use reduced-fat mozzarella)
Let me know if you get creative with other ways to use this recipe!
I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! Leaving a starred review and comment below helps my blog grow. I’m always grateful when you can take the time to do that!
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Easy Korean Ground Beef
Easy Korean Ground beef is such a simple dish, but it bursts with the sweet, savory, and spicy flavors of your favorite Korean BBQ!
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time10 minutes mins
Total Time15 minutes mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Asian, Korean
Servings: 5
Calories: 203kcal
Author: Geri
Ingredients
- 1 pound 96% lean ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 5-6 medium green onions, chopped
- 1/2 tsp sesame seeds (optional)
FOR THE SAUCE
- 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar or honey
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp sriracha (optional if you like a little heat)
- 1 tsp cornstarch
OPTIONAL (QUICK PICKLED SALAD)
- 1 medium cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1 cup thinly sliced or shredded carrot
- 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp salt
Instructions
Heat cooking spray in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Quickly sauté garlic and ginger until fragrant, about a minute. Add in beef, and cook, stirring occasionally, until beef is browned, about 5 minutes.
While meat is cooking, mix together sauce ingredients and chop green onions. Set aside.
Add in sauce and half of the green onions to the skillet. Bring to a boil, then simmer until sauce has thickened and coats the meat, about 5 minutes. Add in a splash or two of water if the sauce gets too thick.
Garnish with remaining green onions and sesame seeds.
FOR THE PICKLED SALAD
Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate for 10 minutes, or up a few days.
Notes
One serving = a heaping 1/2 cup of meat/sauce mixture
Click here to determine your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe(if you are logged in to your WW app, it should calculate for you automatically)
WW Green, Blue, and Purple SmartPoints: 4 for a heaping 1/2 cup
Nutrition
Calories: 203kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 5g | Sodium: 683mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g
