Korean Beef Sloppy Joes made with sweet and spicy flavors with a punch of garlic that’s a fun change from the classic sloppy joes. Try today!
One of the most popular recipes on the site is super easy Korean Ground Beef and these Sloppy Joes are a delicious Korean take on the ever-popular Ultimate Sloppy Joes. Try out my Chorizo Sloppy Joes and Cheeseburger Sloppy Joes for some more fun flavors!
Sabrina’s Korean Beef Sloppy Joes Recipe
Sloppy Joes are perfect to make during the school week. They’re a quick and easy dinner recipe you can change up with easy pantry ingredients that your kids will love. That’s the idea anyway. We find ourselves looking forward to these Sloppy Joe’s even more than the kids are! These Korean Beef Sloppy Joes are no exception, they’re the sloppy answer to the kid-friendly ground beef bowl. I’d love to know how it turns out for you so if you do make the recipe pretty please come back and leave a comment letting me know how you enjoyed them.
Sometimes when we make the regular version and reheat leftovers they can get a bit dry. If you serve this version over rice even when you reheat it you’ll still have plenty of moisture in the mixture.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef , 85/15 fat content
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup hoisin
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sriracha
- 2 green onions sliced thinly
- 4 brioche rolls
Instructions
- In a large skillet add in the beef, lower the heat to medium and cook well, breaking it apart but leaving some chunks about the size of a raspberry or small grape (don't crush the heck out of it, the larger crumbles will help give the sandwich stability).
- Cook until well browned (5-6 minutes), then add in the garlic, sesame oil, ketchup, hoisin, water, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sriracha and stir together well until the sauce starts to evaporate and the mixture becomes "sloppy" (about 5-6 minutes).
- Toast the buns then spoon over the mixture and top with green onions.
Nutrition
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Hidden Sloppy Joe Vegetables
The original Sloppy Joes had vegetables as part of the recipe. This mixture doesn’t contain any hidden vegetables but it very easily can. My favorite of the list below? Carrots and zucchini. They don’t detract from the flavors at all.
- Green bell pepper, chopped finely (red is sweeter but this mixture is already pretty sweet)
- Onions (yellow or green), chopped finely
- Zucchini, chopped finely
- Carrots, shredded or chopped finely and steamed
Serving Ideas
I love serving these Sloppy Joes with steamed broccoli and carrots. If you roast the broccoli and the carrots at a higher temperature and slice them thinly you may even be able to get nice crisp edges on them which could make them taste like fries.
Tips and Tricks
- Prep Tip: Make sure your ingredients are ready ahead of time in a large measuring cup, don’t let the pan scorch.
- Sauce Option: If you want the sandwich to be saucier or have a kick of spice, serve it with Spicy Mayo (a mixture of Sriracha and mayonnaise).
- Cooking Tip: Stop cooking when it’s just slightly too wet still — it will thicken as it sits for a couple of minutes.
- Meal Prep Tip: If you want to meal prep, just leave the sauce extra saucy before shutting off the heat. You may need a bit of water when reheating.
Photos used in previous versions of this post.
Ive made this several times , husband and i really enjoy it. Ty for the recipe.
You are so welcome Debbie, and thank you for the positive review!
Made the Korean sloppy joes, but instead of hoisin sauce, used gochujang paste- for a lb and a half, I used three TBS (you could go less for less spice). For a topping, I used slaw with green onions and cilantro mixed with a little rice vinegar, mirin, and a dash of mayo. These were fantastic! My spouse loves Asian food and not excited about sloppy joes- could not get enough! Thanks for the idea!
Loved your feedback and so glad your family enjoyed the Sloppy Joes Judith! Thank you for the five star review.
These sloppy joes were amazing! We also omitted the water and used your recipe as a sticky glaze on wings. We sprinkled the green onions on top. You must try it! Thank you for the recipe.
You’re welcome Rachel and thanks for the five star review.
My husband was stationed in Korea twice and I visited him there both times. We love Korean BBQ and love bulgogi sauce. I made this with ground turkey and added chopped green bell pepper to it then served it over jasmine rice. It was fantastic!! Nor surprising all of your recipes are.
Aw thanks Chelsea for the kind review.
You can’t ask for an easier dinner recipe and it’s very good! I used ground turkey instead of the beef and it gets better the longer it sits (next day leftovers) as it soaks up the sauce.
Appreciate your feedback Amber and thanks for the kind review.
These were excellent. A different change from regular sloppy Joe’s. Wil definitely be passing this on and making it again !!!!
Thank you Michael and appreciate the five star review.
So delicious!
Glad you enjoyed the Sloppy Joes Amy! We have lots and lots of sloppy joe recipes on our site. Hope you’ll take a look when you have time 🙂
Delicious…I didn’t use all the water in the sauce so it was thicker. Company worthy!
Company worthy sounds great! Haven’t heard that term yet Deb :). Thanks the five star review.
Awesome easy recipe. I add quick pickled Asian veggies, carrots, cucumber, red onion and jalapeños. The spicy crunch was amazing.
Thanks Josh and thanks for the five star review.
Delicious and different. I made recipe as written and it was wonderful and so warming on a cold winter night.
Glad you enjoyed the sloppy joes Connie and thanks for the five star review.
I made this for my husband and I and we do not eat much red meat so I substituted with ground chicken. It came out awesome. I added a quick pickled, (rice wine vinegar and sugar) carrot and cabbage to the sandwich and buttered and toasted the brioche bun. I will make this again!
Substituted ground turkey for the beef for a slightly “lighter” dish and it came out just as good if not better than when I’ll I tried it with the beef
I love the flavor. I have some questions: What is a good side dish to go with? And what to drink with this?
Hmmm, good questions and so subjective to each families tastes! Here’s a suggestion for you Lori! Go to the Recipe Index on our site and type in side dish for options to peruse and then type drinks for drink options. We have many options for you to enjoy. Would love to hear what you chose to go with!
I did not have hoisin on hand so added about 1 tbs each of worcestershire and yellow mustard. This was fantastic. I served it over udon noodles and sauteed bok choy instead of on bread and there were zero leftovers.
Brilliant! Great job Megan and thank you for the 5 star review!
These were absolutely delicious!
This is great and fast. Maybe try as a lettuce wrap next time!
Wow! What flavor. Definitely will add this to my list of recipes.
So glad you enjoyed the Sloppy Joes Bev, and thanks so much for the 5 star review.
I’m wondering if prepping the sauce ahead of time and keeping it in fridge would affect the flavor profile? Running around doing errands it would save me some time. What do you think?
You’ll be fine. Do your errands, come back and finish the recipe! Be sure to let us know how your sloppy joes turn out! We have a ton of sloppy joe options on the site!
Do you drain the ground beef after cooking it and before adding the rest of ingredients?
No I don’t. The flavor with all the ingredients together is amazing!
This has been a family favorite for some time now. I love that my 9 and 10 year old chefs-in-training can make this all by themselves. We pair it with a vinegar-based cucumber salad which is acidic enough to balance out the sweet sauce from the joes.
What a good idea to pair with cucumber salad. We love our Sloppy Joes. Let us know if you try any of our other Sloppy Joe recipes on the site…there’s MANY to choose from!
A nice switch of flavors from other more basic or bland hamburger recipes. I made 3 lbs up and froze in servings for two.
SUPER YUMMY! I added the sesame oil just before serving bc the flavor cooks off. Big hit with everyone, even those who were skeptical. Ty for the recipe
Thanks Joan!
Delicious. I cooked it down a bit longer to thicken the sauce but the flavors were great!
I have made this recipe several times. The only thing I added was grated ginger and gochujang. I garnished with cilantro and green onion. Absolutely delicious!!