So quick and easy to make this Korean-style Sauteed Beef with Bean Sprouts and Cabbage is perfect for busy weeknights! You’ll love the sweet and savory flavors which make this dish so pleasing to the palate!
Do you love bean sprouts? I really do! I have memories of having bean sprouts sauteed with ground meat every week when I was still living in Manila. And you know why? Not only was it cheap to make, but it was also easy and tasty, too. You can’t go wrong with it!
For this particular dish, I deviated a little from our simple saute back in Manila.
That was fine and tasted good but it was pretty much seasoned only by soy sauce and some pepper. Sort of one-dimensional and lacking some layer of flavors.
So when I got a packet of bean sprouts from Whole Foods, I decided I wish to make that simple meal we had in Manila but elevate it a bit by adding extra vegetables, more meat plus a more robust flavor profile!
I was actually reminded of the bean sprouts side dish which accompanied the Korean beef stew I ate at the food court in my favorite mall in Manila. It was about time, I replicate it! I know my family would love it because they love my Korean ground beef recipe over rice. That is one of the most popular recipes on our blog, in fact. People love it!
The result is one delicious meal! My hubby loved it and even my kids ate a lot of it, too! I call this a success.
Check out the recipe below and see for yourself. I am sure you would love it, too!
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Korean-style Sauteed Beef with Bean Sprouts and Cabbage
Ingredients
- ¼ cup soy sauce, (if doing Paleo, replace with Coconut Aminos or wheat-free soy sauce for gluten-free diets)
- ¼ cup brown sugar (replace with raw Honey or other paleo-approved sweetener and adjust the amount to taste e.g. 2-3 tablespoons to begin with)
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2-3 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 lb ground beef
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 cup carrots, julienned or shredded
- 2 cups cabbage, shredded or coarsely chopped
- 1 pack bean sprouts, (about 3 cups)
Instructions
- Combine the seasoning sauce (soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and fresh ginger). We love ginger so we use the full 3 tablespoons but adjust it to your taste. Set aside.
- In medium heat, cook the ground beef in a skillet or wok until the meat changes its color. No need to add oil if your beef is 80/20 or has a little bit of fat. Add the minced garlic and continue to cook until the beef is deep-brown in color and crunchy.
- Increase the heat, add the carrots and saute for about 1 minute. Add the cabbage and bean sprouts and cook for another minute.
- Pour all the sauce into the beef and veggie mixture and mix well. Cook just until everything is heated through – another minute or so. Serve immediately on top of rice.
Notes
Last updated on May 25th, 2024 at 10:20 pm
This Korean-style Sauteed Beef with Bean Sprouts and Cabbage looks so delicious! And to think it only takes 20mins too! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
This Korean-style Sauteed Beef with Bean Sprouts and Cabbage sounds like the ultimate comfort food meal!
Yummy! This looks so delicious and full of flavor! I can’t wait to give this a try! So excited!
I love bean sprouts in stir fry recipes; can’t get enough of that crunch! Excited to enjoy this for dinner tonight, indeed!
Oh my family loves bean sprouts! This looks like a meal my family will really enjoy and I can’t wait to make it!
It looks so easy to make on busy week nights and delicious! Saving to try this weekend!
I do like bean sprouts, especially with Asian spices and flavors. This Korean beef with bean sprouts looks marvelous and I can’t wait to taste it.
It is such an easy and delicious meal!!
Made this for dinner this evening and we enjoyed it so much. So easy to make and super delicious!
Author
Yay! So glad to know that. Thanks for letting us know.
where do you get packs of bean sprouts? we do not have a Whole Foods Store. I have only ever seen bean sprouts in cans??
Author
You should find it at any Asian stores or markets. I find them usually in grocery stores too here on the east coast (USA).
You can also find it canned in the Asian section of the grocery store (LaChoy)…but fresh is always better if you can get it!
I think maybe you are thinking ‘ bamboo shoots’
Made this tonight as I had bean sprouts and wanted to use them. Recipe is delicious but I disagree about the prep time unless one uses packaged shredded carrots and cabbage. I started with a head of cabbage that needed shredding. I peeled and julienned the carrots. So prep time was closer to 50 minutes. Making the sauce required peeling and mincing the ginger. But all the prepping was worth it. Printed the recipe and will definitely make again.
Author
I used ready-to-use veggies as a shortcut so my cooking time is definitely shorter. Glad you enjoyed this and thank you for taking the time to let us know.
If you own a food processor, you can just shred the cabbage and carrots in there. It’s super quick. You can even buy premade ginger in a tube (near the fresh herb section).
Author
I wouldn’t suggest using premade ginger as it won’t have the same freshness and potency in taste as fresh ginger. Don’t skip on this as fresh ginger is always better because of that.
If you haven’t tried the ginger in a tube, it really is very close to fresh. Keeps it’s bite. Not like the jarred ginger at all. I find it an acceptable substitute as I rarely have fresh ginger on hand.
What do you think, or have you tried the “cubes” of ginger from Trader Joe’s? They have garlic als which I love for quick garlic bread. They’re in the frozen section in case you haven’t tried them…..
Author
I have tried them but they are bland in my opinion and won’t add the fresh and more potent flavor from the fresh ginger. I suggest using fresh – it makes a huge difference in taste.
Do you use American or Chinese cabbage?
Author
You can use either green cabbage (is this what you meant by American?) or savoy cabbage or the elongated Chinese cabbage. Whatever you prefer works for this. For quicker cooking though, use either savory or the Chinese cabbage.
Perfectly delicious dish as described in the recipe. Also can be used as an imaginative base for flavorful additions. Added sautéed onion one meal, firm tofu with a green onion garnish another meal and thinking about multi colored mini sweet peppers as a finale meal. Top all the above bowls with siracha and either white or black sesame seeds for extra heat and crunch. Thanks so much for this easy, nutritious meal!
Author
Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you!
instead of rice i used lettuce and made lettuce wraps with a soy n ginger dipping sauce my family loved them
Author
Yay! So glad you enjoyed this! I love that you made it into a lettuce wrap, I do that sometimes too when I don’t fancy rice. Thanks for kindly letting us know.
Can you use coleslaw mix?
Author
That’s a nice shortcut! Yes, you certainly can.
Do you drain the grease off the ground beef after browining?
Author
The amount of grease would depend on how much fat your ground beef has. I usually use beef with a little fat (not super lean) and cook it until browned and crispy (that’s how we like it) and after that, there isn’t much grease left. So, if you have too much grease, you can certainly drain some but not all as you want the flavor from the fat, too.
Can I mix it and have it ready for the next day?
Author
Because you need to cook the beef first you can’t just mix it all. If you wish to make it ahead, I suggest cooking the ground beef ahead so the next day you simply need to reheat it then add the veggies and sauces. That shouldn’t take too much time. Enjoy!
Would this work without the beef?
Author
I haven’t tried it without the beef. You can certainly do it with just veggies but you may need to add extra veggies or just add more cabbage perhaps. Let us know how it goes if you only use vegetables. Thanks!
This looks so good and i want to try it but is there something you can use instead of the sesame oil. I don’t have any. Thanks for the great recipe.
Author
Sesame Oil has a unique nutty delicious flavor that may not be found in other neutral-flavored oil so the best substitute perhaps would be another nutty oil like peanut oil. Your dish should still taste good but may just lack that distinct sesame taste. Hope that helps.
I came across your recipe and made it according to your directions, and it was delicious! Thank you. This will be one of our favorites!
Author
Yay! I am so glad you found our recipe and enjoyed it. Thanks for letting us know!
Perfect in every way to my liking. I will try cutup thin ribeye next time. I feel it would give the dish bolder meat flavor and crispier textures. I will be preparing this dish in many different ways now that I have a great base to work from. Thank You.
Thanks for your comment! This is just what I was thinking as I try to figure out what to make tonight!!
This was absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing!
Author
So glad you enjoyed this and thank you for kindly letting us know. Much appreciated.
It sounds delicious!
Can I make it without the sweetener in it (brown sugar or honey/honey)? I don’t use sweeteners of any kind.
Thanks.
Author
Hello Linae, You don’t need to use a sweetener. The recipe states “brown sugar” but for those on paleo or keto diet they can replace that with either honey or sweetener. Enjoy. Thanks for stopping by.
Made the recipe today for lunch. Family really enjoyed. I did add mushrooms and onions to the vegetables.
I used brown rice. So very good.
Looking for menu planning inspiration. Definitely adding this for the week.
I dont like cabbage any substitute?
Author
I used chayote the other day and it worked well, you can use other veggies. I’ve made this with broccoli, too. Enjoy.
This looks so good! What a great dish to make for a weeknight or with guests!
Author
Yes indeed Suzanne! Hope you enjoy!
Thanks for sharing! How far ahead of time can I make it?
Author
I usually do it a day ahead for better flavor. Or at least, I prefer to eat it a day later so you can do it 1-2 days ahead. It keeps for a few days. For any leftovers, I suggest simply freezing them and then just reheat them whenever you want to eat. That’s what I’d do.
What can I use instead of fresh ginger
Author
To be honest, fresh ginger is what makes this fresh-tasting and vibrant so without it, it won’t have the same taste. You can try to sub with galangal but that’s more lemony and may even be harder to find. If you don’t like using fresh ginger you can try it with ground ginger too – simply adjust the amount to taste.
Most important – my wife loved this dish. Great recipe. We went with lettuce wraps so I lowered the brown sugar and used hoison sauce on the wrap. Wow! Deliciousness! Wonderful recipe and great instructions!
Author
So glad you enjoyed this and for letting us know. Love the addition of hoisin!
This was delicious. Now that I discovered the fresh sprouts were in the produce section, can’t wait to try this again.
I made it! healthy & looks delicious. This recipe is for keeps. Thank you Manila Spoon for this recipe!
Author
Yay! So glad you liked this. Thank you so much for letting us know!
Can use turkey instead of beef? This looks delicious. Thank you.
Author
Yes you can use the meat that you want.
We just made it with ground turkey and it was amazing. This is definitely going into our meal rotation.
Fantastic recipe thanks for sharing. I used onions instead of cabbage and served with noodles yum yum!
Author
I am so delighted to know this and thank you so much for letting us know! Love the idea of using onions, too!
I’ve made this Recipe 3 or 4 times already.. lots of Compliments from everyone I love that it is a quick and simple dish.. I went with the exact same Ingredients without changing anything. Love this on Noodles as well. Thank you for Sharing! ♥️
Author
Aww! You made my day! Thank you for kindly letting us know.
No leftovers tonight because everyone liked it so much. Thanks.
Author
So glad to know this! Thank you very much!
This is a fantastic recipe. I added a teaspoon of gochujang to the sauce. it was delicious
Author
So glad you enjoyed this! I love the addition of gochujang and spicy kick it adds!
My boyfriend said “this is a 10 out of 10.” I added thai chiles because we like heat. Definite keeper!!!!
Author
I love the heat that you added! So glad you enjoyed this! Thank you for letting me know.
This was delicious! My only issue is that it needed a little bit of heat (spice) in my opinion.
Other than that, it’s fantastic!
Author
You can adapt it to your liking. I have kids who don’t fancy spice so I don’t add it.
I love this dish! I’ve made it with ground beef and with ground chicken. both are wonderful but the chicken I think is better because it’s not as dry. I buy my green sprouts in a bag and I also buy a bag of pre chopped up cabbage mix. I can whip this dish out and about 15 minutes. we love it! thank you for the recipe
Author
Glad you enjoyed this and thank you for letting us know! It truly is an amazing dish!
Please don’t comment unless you’ve made the recipe! I made it and it was delicious. No changes and I thank you for a go to weeknight option.
Author
So glad you enjoyed this. Thank you!
Super yummy dish! Added zucchini for extra veggies. Would double sauce and add lime juice and cilantro / peanuts next time for extra flavor. Was easy to throw together. Will definitely make again!
Made this for the first time tonight. It was excellent!! The sauce is delicious!
Author
So glad to know that! Thank you so much for letting us know.