This easy Mongolian ground beef recipe is a quick 20-minute dinner made with lean ground beef in a sweet and savory garlic ginger sauce. It’s a budget-friendly alternative to classic Mongolian beef and perfect for serving over rice or noodles.
This one-pan recipe is simple, flavorful, and ideal for busy weeknights or meal prep.
Mongolian ground beef is a simplified version of my Mongolian beef that uses ground beef instead of sliced steak, cooked in a sweet and savory soy-based sauce with garlic and ginger.
Why This Mongolian Ground Beef Works
✔ Ready in 20 minutes
✔ One-pan, easy cleanup
✔ Budget-friendly alternative to steak
✔ Sweet, savory, takeout-style flavor
✔ Great for meal prep
Dinner is on the table in about 20 minutes with this quick skillet meal. You’ll only need a handful of ingredients to whip it up.
Ingredients Needed:
Here’s the basic list of ingredients you’ll need in order to make this one-pan ground beef recipe. As always, you can find the full printable recipe located below.
- Ground Beef – lean ground beef keeps it lower in calories while still delivering a good amount of protein.
- Ginger – fresh or from the tube is preferred
- Garlic – minced
- Soy Sauce – use low sodium to control the salt level of the dish
- Hoisin Sauce – adds a sweet, salty and umami flavor to the sauce
- Brown Sugar – this helps balance out the salty flavor and gives the dish it’s signature sweet flavor
- Cornstarch – to thicken the sauce
- Green Onions – add some color and flavor to the dish
How To Make Ground Mongolian Beef
Brown beef, add garlic and ginger, pour in sauce, and simmer until thickened.
Brown the Ground Beef
Start by browning some hamburger along with garlic and ginger in a skillet.
Stir in the Sauce
Next, combine some soy sauce, brown sugar and hoisin sauce in a small dish and add to the ground beef and heat through.
Simmer Till Thickened
Stir in a mixture of cornstarch and water to thicken the sauce.
Finally, season with crushed red pepper flakes, black pepper and green onions.
What is Mongolian Sauce Made Of?
Mongolian sauce is a combination of soy sauce, brown sugar and hoisin sauce. It’s seasoned with garlic, ginger and a little bit of crushed red pepper flakes as well as black pepper.
The more red pepper you add, the spicier the dish will be. The sauce is thickened with a cornstarch and water slurry. Just before serving, toss in some sliced green onions to bring a fresh flavor to the sauce.
Mongolian Ground Beef FAQ
Try doubling the sauce ingredients to make it extra saucy!
This recipe calls for lean ground beef, but if you’re wanting to make traditional Mongolian Beef, you’ll want to use a good flank steak. Cut the steak into thin strips against the grain and toss in cornstarch before frying in batches. Add in the sauce ingredients as described in the recipe below.
You can easily make this recipe ahead of time and reheat in the microwave, but I think this recipe tastes best when it’s made fresh.
Store Mongolian ground beef in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
What To Serve with Mongolian Ground Beef
Skip the takeout and make this amazing ground beef recipe at home. Here’s what we like to serve with our Mongolian Ground Beef…
- Steamed or Fried Rice
- Ramen or Asian Noodles
- Stir Fry Veggies like sliced carrots, red bell peppers or snap peas
- Serve in Lettuce Wraps for a lower carb version
More Super Easy Ground Beef Recipes:
Looking for more super easy Asian-inspired ground beef recipes to try? Here are some of our favorites!
- Korean Ground Beef Recipe – a less sweet version – perfect for busy weeknights.
- Ground Beef Kung Pao – a little spicy with crunchy peanuts
- Asian inspired Meatloaf – give classic meatloaf a fun twist!
In conclusion, I know you’re going to LOVE this super easy ground beef recipe as much as we do!
Mongolian Ground Beef Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 2 tsp minced ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 4 green onions, cut into 2 inch pieces
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef along with the ginger and garlic in a skillet over medium-high heat, until beef is crumbled and cooked through. Drain any fat and return pan to stove top.
- Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar and hoisin sauce in a small dish and pour into ground beef mixture. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes to blend flavors. Meanwhile in a small dish combine the 1/4 cup water along with the 2 tbsp cornstarch. Pour the mixture into the ground beef and stir until sauce thickens.
- Season with red pepper flakes, black pepper and green onions. Serve hot over hot rice or noodles. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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I don’t normally comment on recipes that I don’t strictly follow, but with the substitutions that I made being ones that I thought other people would, too, here it is: I’m not a fan of soy sauce so I used coconut aminos and I didn’t have brown sugar so I used honey… I’m not in love, but there’s potential. I ended up putting hot honey on top. Good, not great, but sufficiently different than the recipe that I almost didn’t say anything.
This was out of this world delishes thank you for sharing it it’s definetly goin to be our staples in this house
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Anni! Thank you for your comment!
So salty
Oh bummer, maybe you used full sodium soy sauce in place of the low sodium?
Delicious and so easy to make! Goes well over rice and a side of veggies.
It was ok but needs more beef, less red pepper and the sauce:solids ratio is off. It was too goopy for me.
Not a keeper for me.
Too sweet, too much soy sauce. I would reduce the amount of both!
Great recipe! I first used it with beef, today I tried using diced chicken.
Also added a splash of sesame oil, and subbed half the sugar for Monkfruit sugar.
I’m thrilled to have found this super easy, but oh so tasty recipe!
My husband agreed, this is going to be a 10⭐️ dish on our “what would you like for dinner tonight babe? list! Thank you!!
So happy to hear it! Thanks BeBe!
Salty as the sea, I don’t now why someone said it was sweet since it was salty as F, next time 1/2 the amount of soy sauce
You might have used regular soy sauce and not low sodium?