This smoky, sweet, and savory Vegan Bulgogi (Korean BBQ Beef) is easy to make, flexible, and uses pantry-staple ingredients. Just throw everything in a skillet, serve over rice, and you’re done!
Inspired by the popular Korean dish (but certainly not authentic!), this vegan bulgogi recipe is incredibly easy to make, exploding with flavor, and completely addictive! All you need are 11 ingredients you probably already have in your cupboard.
Want to know the best part? It’s a one-skillet recipe! Simply throw all of the vegan Korean beef ingredients together in one pan, let it cook for a few minutes, and enjoy!
It’s perfect when you’re looking for a quick and easy dinner or when you need the perfect vegan protein to pair with vegan fried rice, roasted brussels sprouts, Korean-inspired tacos, or basmati rice and kimchi.
What is bulgogi?
Bulgogi beef, AKA Korean BBQ beef or “fire meat”, is a classic Korean dish made from strips of savory, spicy, and sweet marinated beef (like tenderloin or ribeye). The meat is traditionally grilled before it’s served over rice, in tacos, with kimchi, and more.
You have a few options when making a vegan bulgogi recipe. Swap the real meat for vegan ground beef, soy curls, jackfruit, mushrooms, or anything else you can think of! The real star is the bulgogi sauce, which is where this traditional dish gets its signature savory, salty, warm, and sweet flavors.
Ingredients needed (with substitutions)
- Vegan ground beef – Though real beef bulgogi uses strips of meat, I prefer the flavor and texture of ground Impossible or Beyond beef. If you don’t want to use either of these, you can use half of a package of soy curls rehydrated in water or sliced mushrooms instead.
- Onion and garlic
- Soy sauce – Or tamari for gluten free bulgogi.
- Brown sugar – Feel free to cut the amount in half for less-sweet bulgogi.
- Sesame oil – This really helps with the dish’s overall savoriness.
- Agave syrup – Or use maple syrup.
- Ground ginger – To infuse plenty of warmth and balance.
- Red chili flakes – For spice! For an authentic flavor (and more heat), swap this for Gochujang.
- Sesame seeds
How to make vegan bulgogi
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the vegan beef crumbles. Use a wooden spoon to break them up into small pieces and cook until browned.
Add the onion, soy sauce, brown sugar, agave, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, red chili flakes, and black pepper to the skillet. Stir to combine.
To finish, lower the heat and continue cooking until everything is heated through. Serve over rice and enjoy!
Pro tip: Add some more flavor and substance to the meal by adding chopped carrots, green beans, edamame, broccoli, bok choy, or mushrooms to the vegan bulgogi beef in the skillet. Just don’t crowd the pan too much or you’ll lose out on the signature smokiness!
Serving suggestions
The traditional way to serve Korean bulgogi beef is over short or long grain rice on the sticky side (sushi rice) with green onions, kimchi, sliced radishes, and seared vegetables (like bok choy, carrots, or broccolini).
There are plenty of ways to creatively enjoy your BBQ beef if rice isn’t your thing! Pile some into lettuce wraps with barbecue sauce and pickled red onions, in tacos with avocado and slaw, wrapped in spring rolls, or on top of a Korean-inspired BBQ vegan pizza.
Storing leftovers
Keep the leftover bulgogi stored in an airtight container in the fridge for about 4 days. It’s delicious for lunch or a quick dinner the next day!
More easy Asian-inspired vegan recipes
Vegan Bulgogi (Korean BBQ Beef)
Ingredients
- 12 ounces Impossible or Beyond beef crumbles See Notes for options
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon agave
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon dried red chili flakes, or more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
For serving
- cooked white or brown rice (about 4 cups)
- chopped green onions (1/2 cup)
Instructions
- In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, add the vegan beef and cook until brown, using a wooden spoon to break it up into small chunks.
- Once brown and no longer pink, add the sliced onion, soy sauce, brown sugar, agave, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, red chili flakes and black pepper. Stir well into the vegan beef.
- Lower the heat to low-medium and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in the sesame seeds.
- Serve over rice with chopped green onions and enjoy!
Notes
- Other beef substitutes: You may use half a bag (4 oz) soy curls, rehydrated. TVP also works, or sliced mushrooms. Jackfruit is also a good choice.
- For less sweet, feel free to adjust the sugar.
OMG!
My wife and I like the Trader Joe’s vegan Bulgogi, but wanted to make our own. I found this recipe and made it with soy curls rehydrated with Better Than Boulion No-Beef. I sautéed the soy curls and onion in sesame oil to get color before adding the rest of the ingredients. It was fantastic! This will definitely be in our rotation. Much better than the Trader Joe’s Bulgogi.
Hi Tracy! I’m thrilled you loved the recipe and will be adding it to your meal rotation! My family really loves this recipe as well! Thanks for your sharing your great review and feedback! Happy cooking!
Came out perfect. Made it with Dr. Praegers crumbles and Impossible burger patties and each time it was good.
Hi Stevie. I’m so glad you like the recipe! Thanks for sharing your great review and feedback!
This is AMAZING. Adding it to my go-to’s!! Thank you. 🙏🏻
Simple and amazing 🤩 I used impossible and followed the recipe 💯 Served with cauliflower rice this is low cal and filling. I will make this many times over.
This was delicious! We used Dr. Praeger’s crumbles and did slightly less brown sugar. I’ve never had the dish traditionally made so I have nothing to compare it to, however, my husband (meat eater) has and said it was a great substitute.
Bulgogi (with real meat) is my son’s favorite Korean dish. Since I don’t do red meat, I’ve never tasted it, just taken his word for it. Well, if this is anything like what he eats, I now understand.
I made a few changes. 1. I made my own brown sugar using Truvia and molasses. 2. I didn’t use red pepper flakes or black pepper. I added gochujang to taste to my own serving. Though I LOVE the overall flavor, this recipe is a bit too sweet for me. I’ll try omitting the agave next time.
Loving this recipe with the soy curls! Easy and quick to make! Thank you!
You are welcome! I’m thrilled you find the recipe easy and delicious! Thank you for sharing!
I’ve recently found your recipes and have been following them for the past few weeks non stop and honestly – these recipes are the GOAT
just made this for tea for myself and my partner (both vegan)
Love that it only took about 10 mins to make, only hard work to do was chopping an onion and garlic, and I appreciate how simple the sauces are as usually that’s what overwhelms me. Definitely a new staple in our meal planning 🙂
Super simple and delicious!!
We had some left overs, only because I hid it from my husband, so we warmed it the next day in tortillas!!
Making it again tonight 😀