A Classic Loco Moco
This loco moco recipe is my specialty dish and the one Local Hawaii comfort food that will always give you a kanak attack.
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Loco moco is my specialty dish. The one I make when I want to show someone exactly what Local Hawaii food is all about — and the one that will absolutely give you a kanak attack. No matter how many times I’ve eaten it, it never gets old.
I still think about the first time I ordered one at Da Kitchen on Maui. I was confident — I finish my plate, always. But when the server set it down in front of me, I just stared at it. That plate was enough to feed three grown adults. By the time I’d made my way through half of it, I was done. The best kind of done.
That’s loco moco. Simple ingredients, massive flavor, and enough food to knock you out for a nap after. Let me show you how to make it right.
Why You’ll Love This Loco Moco Recipe
- It’s the ultimate Local Hawaii comfort food — rice, a juicy beef patty, savory brown gravy, and an egg, all on one plate. This is what plate lunch culture is all about.
- One pan, one pot of rice, 40 minutes. Weeknight dinner? Sunday brunch? Lazy Saturday? All of the above.
- The brown gravy is built right in the same pan you cooked the patties — all those caramelized bits go straight into the sauce. Nothing wasted, everything flavor.
- You only need pantry staples — shoyu, Worcestershire, ketchup, cornstarch, beef stock. No specialty shopping required.
- It’s endlessly customizable — mushrooms and onions in the gravy, fried egg cooked to your preference, Spam on top if you’re feeling extra local.
Wonderful recipe. Little tip that elevates it, is I add some fried crispy bits of Spam. Gives it more salt and crunch that really is hard to beat! – David
A Little History on Loco Moco
Loco moco is a Local Hawaii food — born on the Big Island, not rooted in Traditional Hawaiian culture, but woven into the fabric of everyday Hawaii life for over 75 years. The story goes that it was created in 1949 at the Lincoln Grill in Hilo by a group of teenagers who wanted something hot, filling, and cheap. What they got was a bowl of rice, a hamburger patty, gravy, and an egg — and one of the most beloved dishes in Hawaii was born.
Today, loco moco shows up everywhere from diner menus to high-end restaurants doing elevated versions with lobster or kalua pig. But the classic? Rice, patty, gravy, egg. That’s it. That’s the one.
The name itself is a little mysterious — ‘loco’ from the Spanish for ‘crazy,’ and ‘moco’ reportedly just a made-up rhyme. Whatever the origin of the name, the dish speaks for itself. One bite and you’ll understand why this has been a Local Hawaii staple for generations.
Ingredient Notes & Sourcing Tips
Ground Beef (80/20 ground chuck)
This is the most important call you’ll make in this recipe. You want 75–80% lean, 20–25% fat. That fat ratio is what keeps the patty juicy and flavorful — go too lean and you’ll end up with a dry, crumbly patty that no amount of gravy can save. Look for 80/20 ground chuck at any grocery store, or if you want grass-fed, check your local butcher or order online.
Shoyu (Soy Sauce)
In Hawaii, we say shoyu, not soy sauce. They’re the same thing, but the distinction matters. I like Aloha Shoyu for its slightly lighter, less salty flavor that’s native to Hawaii — you can grab it on Amazon if you can’t find it locally. Kikkoman is a solid substitute.
Worcestershire Sauce
Goes into both the patty mix and the gravy. It’s the secret depth ingredient — a little funky, a little savory, totally necessary. Don’t skip it.
Beef Stock
Use a good quality beef stock for the gravy — the better the stock, the better the gravy. Low-sodium is fine since you’re adding shoyu. Homemade is amazing if you have it.
Cornstarch
This is what thickens the gravy into that beautiful, glossy consistency that pools over the patty and soaks into the rice. Mix it into your cold gravy liquid before adding it to the pan so it disperses evenly — never add dry cornstarch to a hot pan.
Serving Suggestions & Pairings
Loco moco is a complete meal on its own — rice, protein, and egg all in one bowl. But if you’re building out a full Local Hawaii spread, serve it alongside a simple tossed salad or some [Macaroni Salad link] to make it feel like a true plate lunch.
Leftovers keep well. Store the patties and gravy separately in [airtight containers link] in the fridge for up to 3 days — reheat the gravy gently on the stove over low heat and fry a fresh egg when you’re ready to eat. The fresh egg makes all the difference.
Loco moco also makes an incredible breakfast or brunch dish — it’s essentially a savory eggs-and-meat plate with rice instead of toast. If you love this, you might also enjoy my Spam Musubi or Mochiko Chicken for more Local Hawaii comfort food.
How to Make This Loco Moco Recipe
Time needed: 30 minutes
Here’s the method for Loco Moco, written in a simple flow so you can knock it out without overthinking it.
- Mix and Form the Hamburger Patties
In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, seasoning salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Mix until just combined — don’t overwork the meat or your patties will be tough.
To form the patties: grab a handful of beef and roll it into a loose ball. Then use the ‘patty cake’ method — smack it firmly against the palm of one hand, pick it up, rotate it, and smack it against your palm again. Repeat this several times. You’re slowly compacting the meat from the outside in without squeezing it. Once it feels compact, press it down and spread it out to your desired size. Make it bigger than your intended serving result — the patty will shrink when it cooks.
- Cook the Patties
Heat a stainless steel pan over medium heat. A stainless steel pan is ideal here — it builds a beautiful fond (those browned bits stuck to the pan) that you’ll use to make the gravy. Add a small amount of oil to the pan.
Cook each patty for about 3–4 minutes per side. In the last minute of cooking, add a tablespoon of butter to the pan and baste the patty by tilting the pan and spooning the melted butter over the top of the patty. This adds richness and gives you a beautiful, golden crust. Set cooked patties on a plate lined with a paper towel.
For doneness: use an instant-read meat thermometer — 135°F for medium-rare, 140–145°F for medium. Most people go medium with loco moco so the patty stays juicy under all that gravy.
- Make the Gravy
In a bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the beef stock, shoyu, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and cornstarch until the cornstarch is fully dissolved. This is your gravy base — keep it nearby.
Using the same pan with all that beautiful fond from the patties, melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. If you’re using onions and mushrooms, add them now and cook for 2–3 minutes until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms are golden. Don’t skip this step if you’re using them — caramelized onions and mushrooms in the gravy are worth every extra minute.
Pour in the gravy mixture and stir continuously, scraping up all the fond from the bottom of the pan. The gravy will begin to thicken within 2–3 minutes. Keep stirring until it reaches a glossy, pourable consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. - Cook the Egg
In a separate pan or the same pan if there’s space, melt a small slice of butter over medium-low heat. Crack an egg directly into the pan and cook sunny-side up — the whites should be fully set and the yolk still runny. This is the classic loco moco egg. That runny yolk is going to break into the gravy and rice and tie the whole dish together.
Of course, cook it to your preference. - Assemble the Loco Moco
Scoop a generous serving of hot white rice onto a plate. Layer one hamburger patty on top of the rice. Ladle the gravy generously over the patty — let it pool around the rice too. Place the egg on top. Garnish with sliced green onions. Serve immediately and hot. This is not a dish to let sit.
💡 Pro tip:
Use 75–80% lean ground beef. That fat-to-lean ratio is what keeps the patty juicy and flavorful. Going leaner will give you a dry patty no matter how good your gravy is.
FAQs: Loco Moco
Loco moco is a Local Hawaii dish — not a Traditional Hawaiian dish — that was created on the Big Island in 1949. It’s layers of white rice, a hamburger patty, and brown gravy, topped with a fried egg. It’s the ultimate Local Hawaii comfort food and one of the most iconic dishes in the islands.
Absolutely. The comments on this recipe have had people use Impossible Burger, turkey, and even Spam slices — and they all work. The key is the gravy and the assembly. If you’re going plant-based, use a good quality plant-based patty and vegetable or mushroom stock for the gravy.
Sunny-side up is the classic — that runny yolk breaks into the gravy and rice and makes the whole dish feel even more luxurious. Over-easy works great too. If you don’t like runny yolks, over-medium or over-hard are both fine, but give the sunny-side up a shot at least once. It’s part of the experience.
The patties and gravy can both be made 1–2 days ahead and stored separately in the fridge. Reheat the gravy slowly on the stove over low heat, stirring to prevent sticking, and cook a fresh egg when you’re ready to serve. Assembled loco moco doesn’t store well — it gets soggy — so always assemble fresh.
Two reasons: overworking the meat when mixing, and overcooking. Mix just until combined, use the patty-cake forming method (not squeezing), and don’t cook past 145°F internal temperature. At 80/20 fat ratio with proper technique, you’ll have a juicy patty every time.
Loco moco is and always will be my specialty dish. It’s the recipe I reach for when I want to feel at home, when I want to show someone what Local Hawaii food is really about, or when I just need something that’s going to hit exactly right. That Da Kitchen experience never left me — and honestly, it made me respect this dish even more.
I hope you make this, give the butter basting a try, and let me know how it turned out in the comments below. And if loco moco gives you a kanak attack — good. That means you made it right. 🤙
Mahalo for being here. With aloha — Tani
Loco Moco
Video
Equipment
- Frying pan
Ingredients
- Egg
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 medium sized sweet onion (optional
- 3/4 cup sliced mushroom (optional)
- green onions for garnishing
- cooked rice
Hamburger Patties:
- 1 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Gravy:
- 1 1/2 cup beef stock
- 4 tsp shoyu (soy sauce)
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp ketchup
- 5 tsp cornstarch
Instructions
Hamburger Patties:
- Mix together the ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, seasoning salt, garlic powder, and black pepper in a large bowl.
- Start forming it into patties by grabbing a handful of meat and rolling it into a ball. Then press down to flatten it out. Smooth the edges so there isn't any cracks or jagged edges. Patties should come out to at least one inch thick. Try to keep the patties large since it will shrink when fried.
- Heat a pan over medium heat. Fry each side of the patties for about 3-5 minutes or until well done.
- Set each finished patty on a plate lined with paper towel to catch any extra grease.
Gravy:
- Mix together the beef stock, shoyu, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and cornstarch. Whisk it until the cornstarch has come off of the bottom.
- Using the same pan, melt one tablespoon of the butter to caramelize the onions for about a minute then fry the mushrooms for another minute or two. (It is optional to add the mushrooms and onions. If not, just skip to the next step.)
- Melt the rest of the butter and add in the gravy mix to the pan. Keep stirring the gravy until it begins to thicken and simmer.
Egg:
- Melt a slice of butter and crack an egg on a frying pan.
- Cook a sunny side up egg. (You can switch it up to your preference) Set aside
Assemble Loco Moco:
- Scoop a generous serving of hot white rice on a plate. Layer it with one hamburger patty then drizzle on the gravy. Top it with the egg and garnish with green onions.
- Serve it hot and enjoy!
Notes
- If you are looking for a healthier and environmentally friendly option to this onolicious recipe, I have ordered through Thrive Market to get the best organic ingredients.
- I also recommend using Grassland Beef to get the best ground beef for the tastiest Loco Moco!
Love the gravy…
I’m so glad to hear!
Excellent flavor! So Ono….Mahalo!
Awww I’m so glad to hear! Mahalo 🙂
This was such a fantastic dish to serve for dinner tonight. My husband learned about it yesterday from a video game and was curious what it was. We decided to make this recipe and it will absolutely be a regular menu rotation. My kids loved it too and that says a lot! I’ve never eaten rice with gravy and likely won’t eat it plain ever again. The gravy was delicious.
Oh my goodness! That’s so amazing. Sooo out of curiosity, what was the video game that had loco moco in it? Mahalo for using my recipe 🙂
It’s really off the hook when you fry spam and cover the dish with gravy !
Tani, I have a feeling it was from a game called Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth since the location is based in Hawaii.
Ohhh my gosh! I just looked it up and it looks cool and pretty awesome to be located in Hawaii!
I took a lazier approach based on what I had on hand and used frozen Kirkland beef patties and beef bouillon cubes for the gravy. I cooked the burger patties in a cast iron pan and used it to caramelize the onions and make the gravy. Thank you so much for this dope recipe! I’ll be making this again!
Heyyy that’s still sounds so ono!
I’m planning to make this again this week. It was a big hit the last time I made it a few months ago and I’m just cycling back to it. Thank you so much for the great recipe.
I’m so happy to hear!
My husband spent the better part of two years in Hawaii for work (primarily Oahu, but spent time in Maui, Lanai, Big Island), and he would rave about the food there. I was lucky to spend a week with him once, and can confirm.
There were some dishes he missed, Loco Moco being one of them, so I am so glad to have found your website. I made this last night and the rice/gravy combo was super tasty, and also very comforting. I did have to use Impossible ground beef and vegan beef broth for myself (Better than Bullion) because I can’t have beef or pork, but he tried it and said it was very close to what he remembered and loved his serving (There’s extra, I’m pretty sure he’s going to cook up an egg and have it for lunch today!) .
Mushrooms and onions just made the gravy that much better. I’m off to explore more and hope to incorporate more of your recipes into the rotation – it was concise, easy to follow and only took me about 20-25 minutes to put together, so thank you!
That is truly wonderful! I’m glad you enjoyed your time here in Hawaii and to appreciate the food.
Have had this many times while in Maui, and this beats them all. Definitely a family favorite!! Thank you for sharing!!
Recommend cutting back on the salt a bit and adding bread crumbs to the burger or it may be too tough
also dont cook it well done unless you like tough burgers
Just made this for my fiance and me! Turned out amazing, I love your blog! Thanks so much for all of your recipes! I loved the malasadas one as well!!
Ohhh that makes me so happy to hear! I’m glad you loved it <3
Made this today. Too bad I can’t share the photo
I wish I could have seen it! You can always share it social media and tag us on Instagram @808hawaiianrecipes
Wonderful recipe. Little tip that elevates it, is I add some fried crispy bits of Spam. Gives it more salt and crunch that really is hard to beat!
Made this last night, breakfast for dinner. Honestly, I’ve been wanting to try this dish for years and came across your recipe and decided to make it. We stayed true to your recipe and went all the way…onions and mushrooms included. This was fantastic! I can’t imagine eating this for breakfast and not going immediately to bed to sleep it off! We’ll make this for years to come. Thank you!
This turned out amazing, thanks so much!!!! I made it with impossible burger because I’m vegetarian, and my roommate said it tasted just like the real thing!
That sounds wonderful!
I am for sure making this yum-yum dish… looks amazing 🩷🩷
Delicious! Unfortunately, I couldn’t eat 1/4 of this. Remember it was created for hungry teens. I wish I could because it is divine.
Delicious, but remember this meal was made for hungry teens. I can’t eat half of it following your recipe, although I wish I could!
Made this tonight for my wife, whom grew-up on The Big Island. She loved it!I did cheat by using store-bought hamburger paties and packaged brown gravy; just because I already had them in my pantry. Other than that, I followed your directions to a tee and now we have a new weekly dinner recipe to add to our collection. Thank you!
So good! Thank you.
I too am an average day cooker. Your recipe was very easy to follow, and it was delicious!
Very ono! Delicious! A lot like Mariposa at Neiman Marcus…just added a pinch of sugar to gravy. Fun blog.
We made this recipe and LOVED it! We made one substitution: we used spam in place of the hamburger patty. We made the gravy exactly by the recipe and the mushrooms/caramelized onions are great.
Ahhh yeah!!
Went from the islands to the mainland and then to Europe. Always have a craving for the snacks and food I ate while growing up on the Big Island. This was so good!!! It hit the spot. Grinding down on this while listening to some Sons of Yeshua brought back dem Island vibz!Alright!!
We went to Kauai three years ago and fell in love with this dish! I have tried a few other online recipes, but I do believe this is my favorite!
I’m so happy to hear that!
This was so good, I love Hawaiian food but haven’t found a good place nearby in DFW yet. My family really enjoyed and asked to make it again.
Followed recipe to a tee, it is delicious!! The patties stayed fairly good sized after frying and I do believe pressing them out as far as possible is the trick. I do that when grilling burgers. Gravy was nice and I am a gravy girl so I put it on everything. Think just rice and that gravy would be fine too 🙂
Fantastic!! Thank you for your wonderful feedback and tips 🙂
Sooo delicious! The gravy was my favorite part. I’m not good at making gravy at all, so that’s how you know the recipe is good lol. I overcooked my beef patties so next time I might make the patties thinner or add some soaked breadcrumbs. Mahalo for the sweet recipe!
I am making this tonight and have used your recipe before and it is ONO!!
Love your website and found you on Youtube! Keep on cooking…Mahalo
Thanks for the great recipe. Since I eat very little rice, I served it over a patty of butter fried hash browns. Sorry, I guess I brought the recipe to the mainland a bit but with the onion & mushroom gravy it is delicious. Mahalo to you and your family.
Over fried POTATOES …………YUM, YUM!!!
Is there a gravy mix used in this recipe? It says gravy mix in the directions, but it is not in the ingredient list.
You create the “Gravy Mix” in Step 1 of the gravy instructions using the following ingredients from the ingredient list: beef stock, shoyu, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and cornstarch
Easy and tasty. Used less corn starch than called for in recipe.
You caramelize the onions first and then add the liquid to make the gravy…. Why do people always need to find something to nitpick, even if it’s made up?
You create the Gravy Mix in Step 1 of the gravy instructions using the following ingredients from the ingredient list: beef stock, shoyu, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and cornstarch
Looks delicious and I’m making it in the morning! Just a note, if you use the same pan that you made the gravy in to “caramelize” the onions, you need to let people know to remove gravy first. Or no caramelization. Thanks for the flavors, I’m positive I’ll be in a fun food coma in the morning.
What is seasoning salt?
Lowerys season salt or Johnny’s season salt. I prefer Lowerys u can get it in any grocery store. Spice section.
I’m allergic to msg, is there any other substitute?
You could replace it for salt or just simply omit it. If you’re asking about the season salt, there is no msg.
They actually make an MSG free season salt by Lawrys.
you cannot be allergic to msg. it is naturally occuring in almost all cooked food
truth
Food allergies are serious. You CAN be allergic to MSG. Symptoms of an MSG allergy include:
•Flushing
•Headache
•Muscle aches
•Numbness or burning in or around the mouth
•Heart palpitations
•Tingling
•Drowsiness
•Sweating
•Facial pressure or tightness
•Nausea
•Life-threatening allergic reaction, such as anaphylaxis
Some people get severe headaches from msg…I know I do
Msg actually kills people.Othrs have mild symptons like swelling
LOve your web site keep up the great work,
Thank you!!