Ground Beef Bibimbap is a quick, Korean-inspired bowl made with seasoned beef and vegetables cooked in one skillet—serve over rice with a fried egg and ready in under 30 minutes.
Easy Bibimbap Recipe
This easy, Korean-inspired ground beef bibimbap is a simplified, one-skillet version of the classic dish. And if you’ve made my Ground Beef and Broccoli, you already know how good ground beef can be in a quick stir-fry situation—this version is just as fast, with even more veggies and bibimbap-inspired flavor. Spoon it over hot rice, top with a fried egg, and enjoy the same cozy, crave-worthy bowl, only faster, more affordable, and made with simple supermarket ingredients.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Bibimbap Recipe
I used to work just a few blocks from Koreatown in NYC, and grabbing a quick Korean lunch became one of my favorite rituals. The first time I ordered a bibimbap bowl, I fell in love. The sizzling veggies, savory beef, and that perfectly runny egg mixed into warm rice were so good. Over the years, many of you have made (and loved!) my Korean Beef Bowls, so I wanted to create something you can make at home any weeknight.
- Budget-friendly choice: Ground beef costs less per pound than sirloin or flank steak (and if you love easy ground beef dinners, check out my other ground beef recipes).
- One-skillet filling: (the beef + veggies cook together fast, with minimal cleanup)
- Bold Korean-inspired flavor from a quick, savory-sweet sauce
- Faster + more affordable than takeout, using simple supermarket ingredients
- Family-friendly + customizable (make it mild or spicy, and swap in whatever veggies you have)
Ingredients You’ll Need
Below are details on all the beef bibimbap ingredients. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Gochujang, a Korean condiment that’s slightly spicy and sweet, with a distinct flavor exclusive to Korean cuisine, is the traditional sauce served with bibimbap.
- Toasted Sesame Oil for a nutty flavor
- Low-Sodium Soy Sauce lets you control the salt content.
- Rice Vinegar: The acidity balances the rich flavors.
- Lean Ground Beef or Bison: Look for 90/10 meat, meaning 90% lean and 10% fat.
- Avocado Oil has a high smoke point, making it perfect for frying eggs at higher heat.
- Vegetables: Fill your bowl with shiitake mushrooms, grated carrots, and chopped baby spinach for more fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
- Aromatics: Chopped garlic and grated ginger. You can store leftover ginger in a zip-top bag in the freezer and grate it with the skin still on.
- Large Eggs: The runny yolk blends perfectly with the rice.
- For Serving: Serving bibimbap with rice and greens lowers calories and carbs while boosting nutrition. Garnish with sesame seeds.
How to Make Ground Beef Bibimbap
The name says it all–this easy ground beef bibimbap recipe is quick! See the recipe card at the bottom for printable directions.
- Make the bibimbap sauce by whisking together the gochujang, sesame oil, soy sauce, and vinegar in a bowl.
- Cook the ground beef in a large skillet, breaking it into small pieces. Once it’s mostly cooked, drain any excess liquid.
- Cook the veggies: Add the mushrooms, garlic, and ginger to the pan with the meat. Once the mushrooms have released their liquid, add the carrots and spinach. Stir in the gochujang sauce and remove the pan from the heat.
- Fry the eggs in a nonstick skillet until the whites are set.
- Assemble the bibimbap bowls: Divide the rice and mixed greens into 4 bowls. Top each with the beef mixture and a fried egg, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and serve with more gochujang.
Variations
- Gluten-free bibimbap: Replace soy sauce with tamari or coconut aminos, and make sure your gochujang is gluten-free.
- Substitute beef with lean ground turkey or chicken for an even more budget-friendly choice.
- Vegetarian bibimbap: Omit the beef and add extra firm tofu or more vegetables, such as diced bell peppers, edamame, or sliced cucumbers.
- Mushroom options: If you can’t find shiitakes, use baby bellas. If you don’t like mushrooms, replace them with one of the vegetables listed above.
- Leafy greens: Switch spinach with kale or Swiss chard.
- Rice Tips: I have instructions for cooking brown rice in the Instant Pot and on the stove, plus instructions for Instant Pot jasmine rice. And if you want dinner on the table even faster, buy microwavable frozen rice.
- Make it low-carb: Swap rice for cauliflower rice or serve it over mixed greens only.
More Korean-Inspired Recipes You’ll Love
For more dinner ideas, check out these five delicious Korean-inspired recipes to inspire your next meal!
Yield: servings
Serving Size: 1 bowl
- 2 tablespoons gochujang, plus more for serving
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 pound lean ground beef, or ground bison, turkey, etc
- 1 teaspoons avocado oil
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ginger, grated
- 1 cup carrot, grated or pre-shredded
- 5 ounces baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 4 large eggs
- sesame seeds, for garnish
- 3 cups cooked white rice, or brown rice, for serving
- Mixed greens, for serving
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Add the gochujang, sesame oil, soy sauce, and vinegar to a small mixing bowl and whisk to evenly combine. Set aside.
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Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the ground beef and break the meat up into small pieces. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is mostly cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid.
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Add the mushrooms, garlic, and ginger and stir to combine. Cook until the mushrooms have released their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and spinach; cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes. Add the gochujang sauce and stir to combine. Remove from heat.
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In the meantime, heat the avocado oil over medium/low heat in a large nonstick skillet. Once the pan is hot, crack the eggs into the skillet and cook covered until the whites are set, 4-6 minutes. Remove from heat.
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To assemble the bowls, add some rice and mixed greens to the base of a bowl. Top with the beef mixture and fried egg. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve with gochujang.
Last Step:
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- Sauce makes a little over ¼ cup
- Meat mixture makes 4 heaping cups
- Great for meal prep. Would recommend swapping the fried eggs for soft boiled eggs if you wanted to meal prep the whole meal.
Serving: 1 bowl, Calories: 327 kcal, Carbohydrates: 12 g, Protein: 35 g, Fat: 15.5 g, Saturated Fat: 5 g, Cholesterol: 257.5 mg, Sodium: 952 mg, Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 5.5 g
Storage
- Refrigerate the meat and vegetable mixture in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Store the rice and mixed greens in separate containers. Only fry as many eggs as you plan to eat at once to avoid leftovers.
- Freeze the meat and veggies for up to 3 months. If you have leftover rice, you can freeze it with the beef and sauce in individual containers for quick meals later.
- Reheat: Thaw the dish in the fridge overnight. Then, microwave until warm and serve with mixed greens and a fried egg.
FAQ
Bibimbap, meaning “mixed rice,” is a popular Korean rice bowl topped with seasoned beef, vegetables, and a runny fried egg. Typically, sliced steak is used, but I chose ground beef because it’s more affordable and requires no additional prep.
Beef bulgogi is Korean BBQ beef made from thinly sliced, marinated sirloin or ribeye. Bibimbap is a rice bowl that may include beef bulgogi, but it can also be prepared with other proteins.
To take this healthy ground beef bibimbap on the go, put the rice and beef in one container and the mixed greens in another. To reheat, microwave the dish until warm, then add the mixed greens.
The fried egg will taste best fresh, so I’d probably just skip it if bringing this dish to work or school. You can try frying extra eggs, letting them cool, and storing them with the rice and beef. Just know the texture might not be as good when reheated.
