Korean Beef Tacos - ground beef caramelized in sweet soy sauce paired with Asian Slaw in flour tortillas. Quick and easy takeout style dinner made in under 30 minutes.
Serve these tacos with Asian Slaw and Instant Pot Rice. It makes for a perfect whole meal!

If you have never tried to make Korean Beef in your own kitchen, now is the time. It is surprisingly easy and so delicious! Ground beef is almost caramelized in brown sugar soy sauce mixture and can be served on a bed of rice or like in this case, in soft tortillas and topped with Asian slaw.
Combine taco night and takeout and serve these Korean Beef Tacos with bright and colorful Asian slaw for a quick and easy yet super flavorful dinner. You will want to add these tacos to your weekly rotation!
Ingredients:
- ground beef
- garlic
- onion
- vegetable oil
- low-sodium soy sauce
- brown sugar
- sesame oil
- salt and pepper
- red pepper flakes
- ground ginger
How to make Korean beef tacos?
This is one of the easiest recipes you can make with beef when craving Asian takeout. Simply saute garlic and onion, then add ground beef and cook until done. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes and add to the pan. Simmer for 10 minutes. Fill soft tortillas with beef and top with Asian slaw. Dinner is ready under 30 minutes.
Serving:
If you have red cabbage and carrots on hand, shred them up and toss together for a delicious Asian Slaw. The sesame oil dressing is so tasty! If you are short on time and have kimchi on hand, use it as the topping on your tacos. It's perfect!
Craving more? Check out our recipe for Korean Beef Rice Bowls! A generous scoop of the slaw would be perfect along side too! For more Asian takeout dishes, see our recipe round up.
More easy Asian dinners:
For more recipes like this one, feel free to browse our Asian Category.
If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out and leave a comment! 😀
Korean Beef Tacos recipe
Ingredients
for Korean beef:
- 1 lb ground beef lean is the best
- ½ yellow onion chopped
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
for Asian slaw:
- 2 cups shredded purple cabbage
- 1 cup shredded green cabbage
- 2 carrots thinly sliced
- 2 green onions chopped
- ½ cup shelled edamame beans
for the dressing:
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
to make Korean beef:
- Heat up oil in a large skillet. Add chopped onion and minced garlic and saute until onion becomes translucent.
- Add ground beef and cook over medium heat, breaking it up into bits with a wooden spoon.
- Cook until done and no longer pink.
- In a measuring cup, whisk together soy sauce, sugar, oil, pepper flakes, pepper and ginger. Pour sauce over the beef, stir well.
- Cover the pan and let simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
to make slaw:
- In a large salad bowl, combine shredded purple cabbage, green cabbage, carrots, onions and beans.
- In a Mason jar or 1-cup measuring cup, whisk together soy sauce, both oils, vinegar, garlic, sugar and ginger. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
to assemble tacos:
- Fill each soft tortilla with ground beef, dividing evenly. Top with a generous amount of Asian slaw and garnish with chopped parsley.
Stacy says
Have you tried chicken with this recipe?
Chris says
Family loved these tonight!
Ruth Mead says
This is our favorite recipe for tacos! Absolutely delicious!
kayleigh says
I made these tonight- SO good!
Anna says
Yay! Thank you, Kayleigh!
Jaymi says
Great recipe!! Did it over rice cause we didn't have tortillas, loved it!
Harry says
Made these tacos today - they were SO good! All the spices, plus the brown sugar, plus the soy sauce came together so well along with crunchy and delicious slaw. I made some sriracha mayo with lime as a sauce and piled the beef and slaw on 😀
smittyjl says
Just made the slaw - Excellent!
Anna says
Awesome! Thank you!
Susan says
Tried these tonight without the cabbage and they were so great. Will try complete recipe next time but in a pinch just the meat with sauce and lettuce is good too.
Katie says
These were delicious, a great alternative way to enjoy tacos! I will be making these again.
Becca says
These are delicious!! I was hesitant to try a new kind of taco dinner for my family because we love the recipe I've always used. Thank goodness I did because we all loved this recipe and it's definitely a whole different flavor! Thanks so much and it will now be part of our family's rotation!!
Krista says
I love when I can change up taco night!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
I agree! These are amazing!
Sandra says
I would love to try this! Looks AHH-mazing!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
Thank you, Sandra!
eat good 4 life says
I love anything Korean and these tacos look superb!
Anna@CrunchyCreamySweet says
We are obsessed too!
I Heart Naptime says
These look AMAZING and so flavorful!
Nutmeg Nanny says
Sounds so flavorful! Adding this to my dinner menu!
Erin says
I know for sure this Korean beef tacos with Asian slaw would be a huge hit in my house!
Michelle says
Korean beef is the perfect go to if you're craving c Asian take-out. These tacos are so bright and colorful! I'm sure they don't last long!