These delicious Korean Ground Turkey Rice Bowls feature a flavorful blend of ground turkey and mushrooms, colorful veggies and a sunny side up egg on a bed of whole grain brown rice. It's a family-friendly meal with bold flavors that's easy enough to make on busy weeknights!
I make a lot of recipes with ground turkey. Some of our family favorites are my turkey taco skillet, spaghetti with healthy turkey bolognese sauce, and juicy air fryer turkey burgers. Now I'm excited to bring you these ground turkey rice bowls, which were inspired by one of my favorite Korean dishes, bibimbap.
These healthy Korean ground turkey rice bowls are a great way to introduce your family to bold and unique new flavors. This dish is a delicious combination of tender ground turkey cooked in a savory and slightly sweet Korean-inspired sauce, served over a bed of fluffy brown rice. It's topped with a variety of colorful, fresh vegetables and a sunny side up egg. Yum!
Not only is this dish incredibly tasty, it's also a quick and easy meal to prepare. This makes it perfect for busy weeknights or meal prep.
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Why You'll Love This Dish
- Tasty- packed with bold flavors
- Easy to make- quick enough for busy weeknights
- Healthy- packed with nutritious ingredients
- Family-friendly- a great way to introduce your kids to new flavors
What is Bibimbap?
These Korean ground turkey rice bowls are my take on bibimbap, one of the most well known Korean dishes. It literally means “mixed rice."
A real comfort food, bibimbap is a rice dish that’s topped with various ingredients like assorted vegetables and meat. In terms of vegetables, sautéed spinach, mushrooms, bean sprouts, zucchini, carrots and mushrooms are all common options.
The dish is also usually topped with meat- typically sliced, marinated beef, and sometimes a raw or fried egg. In my version, I use ground turkey for the rice bowls, because it cooks quickly and is something I usually have on hand in my fridge.
It’s served with gochujang, a Korean red chili paste, and the whole dish is usually stirred together at the table just before serving.
My favorite version of bibimbap is called dolsot bibimbap, which is served in a hot stone pot, like the one in the photo below. The stone bowl is heated and coated with sesame oil before the rice is added. This makes the bottom layer nice and crispy. Those are the parts we usually fight over!
Nutritious Turkey Rice Bowls
For these Korean ground turkey rice bowls, I decided to incorporate many classic Korean flavors and ingredients but with a few adjustments. To up the nutrition factor and make the recipe easier, I did a few things:
- My ground turkey rice bowls use brown rice instead of white rice. Although white rice is traditional, I wanted to incorporate some nutritious whole grains into the dish.
- I use 93% lean ground turkey instead of marinating slices of beef
- I cook the Korean ground turkey with chopped mushrooms to incorporate more vegetables into the dish and cut down on the amount of meat used.
- I serve my turkey rice bowls with lots of colorful veggies to stir into the dish.
Doctor's Tips
- Blending mushrooms with meat is an easy way to add a serving of vegetables to your family’s dinner plates.
- It's also a good way to stretch your dollars. Incorporating mushrooms into your meat dishes adds bulk and volume, allowing you to use less meat. I only used a ½ pound of meat in this dish for 4 servings.
- Mushrooms are fat free, cholesterol free, low in sodium and calories, and provide important nutrients like vitamin D, B vitamins, antioxidants and potassium!
Ingredients For Korean Ground Turkey Rice Bowls
- Ground turkey- I use 93% lean ground turkey
- Mushrooms- I use cremini or white mushrooms that I chop up and cook with the turkey
- Soy sauce- I use low sodium soy sauce (tamari if gluten free)
- Sugar- just a little bit to add slight sweetness to the Korean ground turkey
- Scallion
- Garlic
- Sesame Oil
- Black pepper
- Rice- I use brown rice to incorporate some whole grains into the dish
- Eggs- to top the bowl with; as you eat the dish, the runny yolk coats the rice and the rest of the ingredients, forming a delicious sauce.
- Vegetables- I like to serve these bowls with sautéed spinach as well as raw cucumber, carrots, and kimchi (Korean fermented cabbage); you can substitute other vegetables
Step-By-Step Instructions
See recipe card below for full recipe details.
- Step 1- Cook the rice. While rice is cooking, finely chop the mushrooms. Mix the mushrooms with the ground turkey, soy sauce, sugar, scallion, garlic, sesame oil and pepper in a large bowl.
- Step 2- Cook the Korean ground turkey mixture in a skillet over medium heat until it is cooked through.
- Step 3- Assemble your vegetable side dishes. Fry the eggs.
- Step 4- Assemble the bowls. Place the cooked rice in bowls and top them with the turkey and mushroom mixture. Add desired vegetables. Top with a sunny side up egg. Dive in!
Chef's Tips
- I like to top these turkey rice bowls with sautéed spinach that I cook with sesame oil, garlic, and sesame seeds.
- I also like to serve them with julienned carrots and sliced English cucumber that I slice very thinly with a mandoline slicer. To get the cucumbers even crunchier, I sprinkle them with a bit of salt and let them drain in a colander. This helps them release any extra water.
- I also like to serve store-bought kimchi (Korean fermented cabbage) on the side for a nice tangy crunch. Kimchi is a rich source of probiotics, which helps support a healthy gut microbiome.
- I also serve these ground turkey rice bowls with gochujang, a Korean red chili paste, on the side. Stir some gochujang into the bowls just before serving- it adds a lovely red color and even more rich flavor to the dish.
- I also like to top these bowls with a sunny side up egg, but it's optional. When you break into the egg, the runny yolk coats the rice, forming a delicious sauce.
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Recipe
Korean Ground Turkey Rice Bowls
Equipment
Ingredients
Turkey Mushroom Mixture:
- 4 ounces cremini or button mushrooms
- ½ pound 93% lean ground turkey
- 4 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce (tamari if gluten free)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Sesame Spinach:
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 5 ounces baby spinach
- Salt
- ¼ teaspoon sesame seeds
Other:
- 1 English cucumber
- 1 large carrot, peeled and julienned (cut into matchsticks)
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 4 sunny-side-up fried eggs
- Optional: Gochujang (red chili paste), kimchi
Instructions
- Finely chop the mushrooms. Put them in a bowl with the ground turkey, soy sauce, sugar, scallion,garlic, sesame oil and pepper and mix all of the ingredients together. Let the mixture marinate.
- To make the spinach, heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add the sesame oil and garlic. Cook a few seconds until fragrant and then add the spinach. Stir until wilted. Season with a pinch of salt and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place the spinach in a bowl.
- Slice the cucumber into very thin rounds (I used a mandoline). Put the slices in a colander and sprinkle them with a pinch of salt. Let them drain while preparing the rest of the food. When ready to eat, squeeze the water out of the cucumbers.
- Heat the skillet over medium high heat and add the turkey mushroom mixture. Brown the mixture, breaking it up as it cooks. Remove from heat.
- To assemble the rice bowls, place equal portions of rice in four bowls. Place a fried egg in the center of each bowl. Arrange some of the turkey mushroom mixture, sesame spinach, sliced cucumbers and julienned carrots around the egg. Stir some gochujang into the rice and mix everything together just before serving. Serve with extra gochujang and kimchi on the side.
Notes
-
- I slice the cucumber very thinly with a mandoline slicer. To get them even crunchier, I sprinkle them with a bit of salt and let them drain in a colander. This helps them release any extra water.
-
- I also like to serve store-bought kimchi (Korean fermented cabbage) on the side for a nice tangy crunch. Kimchi is a rich source of probiotics, which helps support a healthy gut microbiome.
-
- I serve these ground turkey rice bowls with gochujang, a Korean red chili paste, on the side. Stir some gochujang into the bowls just before serving- it adds a lovely red color and even more rich flavor to the dish.
-
- I also like to top these bowls with a sunny side up egg, but it's optional. When you break into the egg, the runny yolk coats the rice, forming a delicious sauce.
Tarek says
Looks like a very healthy and delicious meal!
Trying this out with the family for sure...
Thank you for sharing!
Marissa says
I haven't had much Korean food, but this bowl of goodness is showing me the error of my ways! Just lovely, Sonali!
Tara Rochford says
I love korean food! I'll be honest, I am not usually a mushroom fan, but I would totally try them out in this beautiful bowl!
Rach's Recipes says
Yours may have been the best Korean rice bowl I have ever tried. I also added shiitake mushrooms and cooked it with quinoa instead. I think the kimchi and gojuchang are essential parts of this dish! Very tasty thank you!
Kristy Sayer @ Southern In Law says
Yummmmmmmmm! This looks so great! Definitely a big bowl of comfort!
Alisa says
This recipe is perfect, fresh comfort food in my book. Pinned this one to my private "must try!" board 🙂
Lauren Grant says
This looks so wonderful! Perfect for a weeknight dinner, thanks for the recipe!
Taylor Kiser says
This looks amazing! I love the idea of bowl foods!
Deanna - Teaspoon of Spice says
I want this right now!! I was introduced to Korean food many years ago by a boyfriend. He didn't last but my love for bibimbap sure did - this looks amazing and I love your tweaks.
Julie Wunder says
Look at that gorgeous egg in the middle!!! We have a good Korean restaurant in our small town-- I feel lucky! This looks amazing, as always and your pictures are perfect.
Jessica Levinson says
What a beautiful bowl of food! I love mushrooms and the whole concept of the blend. I had the fun experience of going to a mushroom farm tour last summer with The Mushroom Council and I learned so much. I use mushrooms a ton in my cooking, so it was especially neat to learn all about how they are grown and harvested.
Elizabeth Shaw says
Gorgeous recipe and photos! I love the Mushroom blend! I was at the Menus of Change conference in Hyde Park last summer and the Mushroom council sponsored one of our evening meals. It was such a pleasure trying all of their stealth health suggestions in the burgers! I'm excited too because they are sponsoring a summit I'm planning this June for the NACUFS group I'm in charge of. I love love love their support of RDNs and the health profession! Great post Sonali!
Rebecca Pytell says
O that is such a fabulous way to use the mushrooms! These flavors are so perfect!
Jeanette | Jeanette's Healthy Living says
I love bibimbap! And I am a big fan of using mushrooms in place of ground meat - a great trick!
Whitney Reist says
Love "bowl foods" - and Korean food is becoming a fav! We have a fun restaurant here called Seoul Taco - their Gogi Bowl is amazing!
Lisa Lin says
I just had some Korean-inspired dish for brunch the other day, and I've been craving Korean food a LOT the last few days. I was so excited to see that you posted a bibimbap recipe! Looks fabulous, Sonali!
Kyra Howearth says
I've heard of bibimbap before but never really knew what it was, so thank you for explaining that it's simply mixed rice! I'd love to make a vegan version of this, do you think by omitting the turkey and eggs it will still turn out well? Or do you have any suggestions for other things I could add?