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How to make vegan bibimbap–a quick and simple plant-based take on an authentic Korean mixed rice dish! It’s an easy meal perfect for weeknight dinners with fluffy rice, sautéed vegetables, and a delicious gochujang bibimbap sauce.
What is Bibimbap?
Korean Bibimbap (비빔밥) translates to “mixed rice” in Korean. It’s a hearty dish made up of a base of fluffy white rice, and a variety of seasoned vegetables and often topped with beef, and a fried egg. The rice bowl is served with a spicy gochujang bibimbap sauce so you can add it to your liking and mix it into the rice.
You’ll often find this dish on the menu at Korean restaurants, including Korean barbecue restaurants. It’s such a popular Korean food and for good reason!
What Makes This Recipe Great
I personally love this dish because it’s easy to order vegan bibimbap by removing any meat and/or egg and substituting it with tofu. Vegan bibimbap and bibimbap sauce are both incredibly easy to make at home and are great for a quick and nutritious meal.
The ingredients used to make bibimbap tend to vary as there are a few different variations of the dish. Region and season will also impact the ingredients used and I’ve also found that each family’s bibimbap recipe varies too!
It’s an easily customizable recipe so it all comes down to personal preference and what you have available. Together with a delicious Korean bibimbap sauce, this vegan bibimbap rice bowl is absolute perfection!
Ingredient Notes
Most standard bibimbap recipes will include a base of steamed, short-grain white rice and a variety of common vegetables. Some of the vegetables are blanched and seasoned, and others are sautéed or quickly pickled. Common additions also include radish, burdock root, fiddlehead fern, and bellflower root.
Vegan Bibimbap
Carrot: Adds nice color and some crunch to the dish.
Zucchini: One of my personal favourite vegetables, it gets lightly sautéed and seasoned.
Soybean Sprouts: You can also use mung bean sprouts but soybean sprouts have extra crunch and are most commonly used in Korean cooking.
Spinach: Blanched and seasoned.
Mushrooms: Shiitake mushrooms are great for this vegan bibimbap bowl!
Bibimbap Sauce
Bibimbap sauce requires a few simple ingredients whisked together and adjusted to taste. It’s that easy!
Garlic: Freshly minced garlic or a jar of minced garlic will work.
How to Make Bibimbap Sauce
Perhaps the easiest part of bibimbap sauce is just whisking together all of your ingredients together in one bowl.
Adjust to taste, especially if you’re not a fan of spice, and set aside.
The gochujang, or Korean red pepper paste, has such a complex flavor and is the base for many spicy Korean dishes likeBibim Guksu, spicy cold noodles. It is what contributes to a lot of the spice, so feel free to use less if you find it to be quite spicy.
You can also try myhomemade gochujang sauce which allows you to customize the flavors even more.
How to Make Vegan Bibimbap
This vegan bibimbap recipe is incredibly easy to make and tastes as if it came from a restaurant. Traditionally, all of the ingredients are individually prepared and then combined to create the final dish.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Cooking the Rice
The rice should be cooked so that it’s fluffy, delicious, and not too gummy. Korean dishes are served with short-grain rice and it is best made in a rice cooker versus a stovetop.
To start, you’ll want to cook white rice. I like to use aZojirushi rice cooker because it allows a hands-off cooking experience and gives me time to prepare other elements of the dish while it cooks.
Be sure to wash your rice before cooking. This not only helps remove any debris and dirt but also excess starch. I recommend rinsing in cool water and draining off excess water 3-4 times until the water runs fairly clear.
Always use the rice measuring cup and water lines to make sure you’re cooking the rice precisely. Zojirushi’s rice cookers come with a rice measuring cup and have clear marks on the inside of the cooking pot to indicate how much water should be added for each variety of rice.
Finally, make sure you’re using the correct rice cooker setting! The Micom Rice Cooker has various settings and you’ll want to use the Quick setting or the regular White setting to make perfect short-grain rice.
Preparing the Vegetables and Tofu
While the rice is cooking, you can blanch and sauté your vegetables. The spinach and soybean sprouts will both be blanched and seasoned.
To blanch, bring a pot of water to a boil, toss the vegetables in for a few seconds until slightly wilted, then remove and shock in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
Using your hands, squeeze out as much water as possible and then season.
The carrots, zucchini, and mushrooms will each be sautéed with neutral oil and an optional touch of sesame oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.
For the pickled element, I love to use cabbage and I’ll create a “quick pickle” by seasoning it with rice wine vinegar, freshly grated garlic, salt, and pepper. You can also add in a little sesame oil if you’d like. Alternatively, the carrots could also serve as your pickled element!
I like to quickly pan-fry extra firm or high-protein tofu. These varieties are firmer in texture which makes for a great topping and I simply season with salt and pepper because the bibimbap sauce adds so much flavor. If you like crispy tofu, make sure to cook it until it’s golden brown.
Serve and Enjoy!
To assemble, start with a base of rice, then arrange each of the seasoned elements around the perimeter of the bowl.
Top with any garnish desired like shredded seaweed, toasted sesame seeds, scallions, and as much bibimbap sauce as you’d like, then mix it up and enjoy.
Expert Tips
How to Make it Gluten-Free: The only substitutions you’ll need to make gluten-free bibimbap include soy sauce, which I would recommend replacing with tamari or coconut aminos and possibly the gochujang. There are several gluten-free gochujang pastes available so just do a quick scan of the ingredients to check that it is gluten-free.
Sourcing Ingredients: Most bibimbap ingredients are commonly found at any grocery store and I focused on including more of the common vegetables as toppings to make it even simpler.
If you have trouble finding shiitake mushrooms, gochujang, rice wine vinegar, or seaweed, I recommend checking your local Asian market or Korean grocery store if you have one accessible to you.
Otherwise, you can also find these ingredients online. Tip: Trader Joe’s recently started selling gochujang if there’s one near you!
Short-grain rice is sometimes labeled “sushi rice” or “sticky rice” at conventional grocery stores.
Substitutions
I encourage making ingredient substitutions where you need to, especially with regard to the vegetables.
Making my homemade gochujang will help you adjust the spice level of your bibimbap sauce.
This vegan bibimbap can be a great fridge cleanout meal to make with leftover vegetables and you can even swap out rice for another cooked grain or carb like quinoa, buckwheat, millet, and more!
Meal Prep & Storage Tips
Vegan bibimbap is a great recipe for meal prep! I often make rice in larger batches and store leftovers in the fridge to eat throughout the week.
If you’d like to meal prep, simply make enough rice for each meal and multiply the recipe to make enough sauce and vegetables for each meal.
You can store each of the vegetable elements separately or in a large airtight container and keep it in the fridge.
I recommend adding the bibimbap sauce just before you enjoy it and storing that separately in the fridge as well.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat before enjoying.
Serving Tips
I like to top my vegan bibimbap with fresh green scallions, toasted white sesame seeds, seaweed, and sometimes kimchi or pickled yellow radish.
I recommend adding scallions and seaweed just before consuming. To save time, don’t feel bad about mixing it all together and serving it like fried rice!
If you’re entertaining or making this recipe for a family, consider serving all of the elements in separate bowls and creating a bibimbap bar so that everyone can customize their rice bowl. Make sure to have plenty of bibimbap sauce!
Variations
If you like this vegan bibimbap recipe, you might also like a few of the other varieties like Jeonju Bibimbap, which originated in Western South Korea.
Yeolmu Kimchi Bibimbap which is a great one for any kimchi lovers out there or Jinju Bibimbap which features raw meat.
There are also seafood and fish-based varieties like Andong Bibimbap served with a sauce that omits the spice.
Hoedeobap is my mum’s favorite variety, has raw fish, and can be served as a salad instead of a rice bowl.
My dad’s favorite is the wild vegetable variety, also called Sanchae Bibimbap. This one is less commonly seen on restaurant menus but is a treat if you ever come across it.
Dolsot Bibimbap is the most popular variety. It is served in a sizzling hot stone pot. The heat from the stone pot grills the bottom of the rice dish and at the end of the meal, you end up with crispy bits of rice-perhaps the best part of the meal!
If you try this vegan bibimbap with homemade bibimbap sauce recipe, tag me on Instagram@veggiekins so I can see your delicious re-creations and for a chance to be featured! As always, I love when you share your reviews in the comments below, and if you make any fun substitutions, let me know how it worked out below too!
How to make vegan bibimbap–a quick and simple plant-based take on an authentic Korean mixed rice dish! It’s an easy meal perfect for weeknight dinners with fluffy rice, sautéed vegetables, and a delicious gochujang bibimbap sauce.
2servingscooked short grain white riceI usually use about a cup of cooked rice per serving
Vegetables
2-3cupsspinach
2carrotspeeled and julienned
2cupscabbagefinely shredded
1zucchinilarge, julienned
1-2cupssoybean sprouts
1 1/2cupshiitake mushroomssliced
6ozhigh protein tofucubed
4clovesgarlicminced
salt and pepperto taste
4.5tsptoasted sesame oil
1clovegarlicgrated or finely minced
1/4tspcoconut sugaror sugar of choice
2tsprice wine vinegar
Bibimbap Sauce
1/4cupgochujang
1tbsptoasted sesame oil
1/2tspcoconut sugaroptional
1-2tsptamarito taste
2tsprice wine vinegar
1clovegarlicfinely grated
wateras needed, to thin
Garnish
toasted white sesame seeds
sliced green onion
shredded roasted seaweed
kimchi
Instructions
Vegan Bibimbap Recipe
Spinach
Bring a small pot of water to a boil and quickly blanch the spinach by submerging in water for about 30 seconds to a minute. Immediately remove the spinach from the pot and shock by placing in a bowl of cold water, or rinsing under cool water.
Use your hands to squeeze out any excess water, then toss spinach with seasoning ingredients, to taste.
Zucchini
Heat a little neutral oil in a pan over medium heat and add zucchini. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until lightly golden on the edges then add garlic and cook for another minute. Season with salt, to taste.
Carrots
Heat a little neutral oil in a pan over medium heat and add carrots. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until vibrant in colour and slightly tender then season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Cabbage
Add shaved cabbage to a mixing bowl along with all seasoning ingredients and toss using tongs or your hands, to coat. Make sure seasoning covers all of the cabbage and then let sit. Drain off any excess liquid at the bottom of the bowl.
Soybean Sprouts
Bring a small pot of water to a boil and quickly blanch the soybean sprouts by submerging in water for about a minute or two. Immediately remove the soybeans sprouts from the pot and shock by placing in a bowl of cold water, or rinsing under cool water.
Toss blanched soybean sprouts with seasoning ingredients, to taste.
Tofu
Heat a little neutral oil in a pan over medium heat and add tofu. Sauté for 3-5 minutes until lightly golden brown and then season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Mushrooms
Heat a little neutral oil in a pan over medium heat and add mushrooms. Sauté for 3-5 minutes until tender and slightly shrunken, then add toasted sesame oil and salt and pepper, to taste.
Making the Rice
Be sure to wash your rice before cooking. This not only helps remove any debris and dirt but also excess starch. I recommend rinsing in cool water and draining off excess water 3-4 times until the water runs fairly clear.
Always use the rice measuring cup and water lines to make sure you’re cooking the rice precisely. Zojirushi’s rice cookers come with a rice measuring cup and have clear marks on the inside of the cooking pot to indicate how much water should be added for each variety of rice.
Finally, make sure you’re using the correct rice cooker setting! The Micom Rice Cooker has various settings and you’ll want to use the Quick setting or the regular White setting to make perfect short-grain rice.
Bibimbap Sauce
Whisk together all sauce ingredients, adjusting to taste. You can start with half of the gochujang and add more as you go if you're sensitive to spice.
Assembling the Vegan Bibimbap
Start with a base of rice in a bowl for each serving (if using a dolsot, make sure the dolsot is preheated and ripping hot). Arrange each of the ingredients around the perimeter of the bowl in little piles then garnish with desired topping of choice. Serve with sauce on the side, and add to taste.
Notes
Expert Tips
How to Make it Gluten-Free: The only substitutions you’ll need to make gluten-free and vegan bibimbap include soy sauce, which I would recommend replacing with tamari or coconut aminos and possibly the gochujang. There are several gluten-free gochujang pastes available so just do a quick scan of the ingredients to check that it is gluten-free.
Where to Find the Ingredients: Most vegan bibimbap ingredients are commonly found at any grocery store and I opted to focus on including more of the common vegetables as toppings to make it even simpler.
If you have trouble finding shiitake mushrooms, gochujang, rice wine vinegar, or seaweed, I recommend checking your local Asian market or Korean grocery store if you have one accessible to you.
Otherwise, you can also find these ingredients online. Tip: Trader Joe’s recently started selling gochujang if there’s one near you!
If you’re looking for short-grain rice, it is sometimes labeled “sushi rice” or “sticky rice” at conventional grocery stores.
Substitutions
I encourage making ingredient substitutions where you need to, especially with regard to the vegetables.
This vegan bibimbap can be a great fridge cleanout meal to make with leftover vegetables and you can even swap out rice for another cooked grain or carb like quinoa, buckwheat, millet, and more!
Meal Prep & Storage Tips
Vegan bibimbap is a great recipe for meal prep! I often make rice in larger batches and store leftovers in the fridge to eat throughout the week.
If you’d like to meal prep, simply make enough rice for each meal and multiply the recipe to make enough sauce and vegetables for each meal.
You can store each of the vegetable elements separately or in a large airtight container and keep it in the fridge.
I recommend adding the bibimbap sauce just before you enjoy it and storing that separately in the fridge as well.
Leftovers should last 3-4 days in the refrigerator and should be reheated before enjoying.
Serving Tips
I like to top my vegan bibimbap with fresh green scallions, toasted white sesame seeds, seaweed, and sometimes kimchi or pickled yellow radish.
I recommend adding scallions and seaweed just before consuming and although arranging the toppings on the rice is traditionally how it is served if you’d like to save time, don’t feel bad about mixing it all together and serving it like fried rice!
If you’re entertaining or making this recipe for a family, consider serving all of the elements in separate bowls and creating a bibimbap bar so that everyone can customize their rice bowl. Make sure to have plenty of bibimbap sauce!
Keyword bibimbap, gochujang, korean, korean food, mixed rice, rice, vegan korean food
Yum! Bibimbap is always a fave but I usually only get it from restaurants! This recipe was super easy to follow to make at home and just as delicious :)
bibimbap is the best thing to make when you have a lot of veggies you need to use up in the fridge ! def a go to ! i appreciate your cooking tips esp with timing :)
Hi Remy!
Love your blog and your IG. Your aesthetic is so calming. I’m not vegan but still appreciate all your recipes. The zojurishi is a dream rice cooker! Thanks for all your thoughtful posts and also being so nice thru DMs about the SMEG milk frother! Love your content.
what a great holiday gift! love your blog and your reels on IG! AND I currently do not own a rice cooker so would love to win ! Thank you and Merry Christmas!
Bibimbap is one of my favorite things to order when it's on the menu but I hadn't thought to make it at home! Thanks for the recipe, cannot wait to try!!
Wooow, it's beautiful! Bibimbap is also one of my vegan go-tos, but I'm from a smaller city and there's no place to order it! Will definitely be making this. 🤩
I can't believe how many of my friends don't have a rice cooker, it was one of the first appliances I got! Excited to try this bibimbap recipe, thanks Remy!
I've recently been connecting with my ancestors through cooking and I am so looking forward to recreating this one! Thank you for the time and effort you put into every recipe!
Rice Cooker for the win! What’s better than not watching water boil over? Slicing veggies instead. I so appreciate this recipe and post. Running now to start chopping!
Bibimbap is one of my go to takeaway orders, because I never seem to have all the ingredients when I’m craving it. But meal prepping a week of bibimbap sounds amazing at the moment - I’m adding all the veggies to my shopping list now. I have a 25 year old Zojirushi rice cooker that has been used at least twice a week in those years - such a solid and valuable machine!
Bibimbap was the meal my mom always made when I had people coming over because you can accommodate different dietary needs so easily. I miss eating her food all the time and your blog makes me one step closer to being as good of a chef as she (I am very far off).
Looks amazingly delish & love your photos. Agree, rice is very important to any dish that needs it. Have an ancient rice cooker, I’d love to replace with the best technology. Thank you 🙏 🍚
I’ve always been a big fan of the Zojirushi rice cooker since I got when I first moved out for college…Others just don’t compare to how consistent and fluffy the rice comes out every time. My mom’s rice cooker is near its end and a new rice cooker for her would be the best gift. Excited to try this bibimbap recipe with her!
I love bibimbap! great way to clean out veggie scraps and get in a variety of foods, and perfect for meal prepping which is perfect for me :) will definitely try this recipe soon, the sauce sounds so yummy ahh
I’m a special needs mom that totally wants to be revamped my eating habits. I would love to try this recipe with this easy to use rice cooker. Thank you for sharing your recipe
Wow! Absolutely looks amazing!! I love how versatile tofu, esp used in bibimbap that is traditionally made with bulgogi. I cannot wait to try this recipe!! :D
Honestly bibimbap was my entry way to Korean dishes! It is so versatile in both presentation and nutrition. I like how you mentioned that the rice is the key star of bubimbap as it is not just a side but the backbone to the rest of the colorful veggies/toppings.
I love bibimbap, and this vegan version looks bomb too!! Thank you for sharing this recipe! And I would love to have a zojirushi rice cooker in my life :)))
Bibimbap is one of my go to dishes, the perfectly balance dish that is so delicious it encourages me to eat a high variety of veggies. It also easily customizable. I personally love in a hot stone bowl to hear it sizzle as I mix it all together..
Just tried this recipe tonight and it’s absolutely delish! Can’t go wrong with bibimbap :) My mom also uses this rice cooker and I would love to have one of my own since rice is pretty much a staple in my everyday meals!
I remember when I was 15 and was vegetarian and a teacher of mine introduced this dish to me. We were at a local Korean restaurant/grocery store in Manhattan next to a Broadway show. I can never forget the taste of it it was too delicious. I am so happy that I have encountered it again with this recipe. I will be trying it for a holiday meal! Thank you so much for this! It brought back beautiful memories of my high school New York City human self.
Absolutely delicious! Love bibimbap and looking forward to making this recipe on the regular. Thanks, Remy! Zojirushi Rice cookers remind me of my grandma, too!
This looks amazing! My daughter is vegan and I’m always looking for new recipes. Bibimbap is one of our faves so I’m excited to make this. I love seeing your videos..always a beautiful presentation. Thank you!
I am a lover of South Korea food and I am so excited to see this recipe, I have read your Vegan Bibimbap 비빔밥 recipe carefully, including all the preparation process, thank you very much!
Hi there, I’m Remy! Welcome to Veggiekins Blog, home to nourishing vegan + gluten-free recipes and tips to live your best balanced and holistic life. I’m a human on a mission to empower you to be well and be kind to your mind, body and soul with the healing power of plants.
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157 Comments on Vegan Bibimbap 비빔밥 | Korean Mixed Rice (with Bibimbap Sauce Recipe)