The perfect weeknight meal, ground beef rice bowls are packed with delicious, Mexican-inspired flavor and served with your favorite toppings! They’re full of nutrition and make a quick meal the whole family will love.
When my husband and I were dating in Colorado, we loved hiking, and our go-to meal after a day in the mountains was Chipotle burrito bowls. These days, I prefer to make most of our meals at home, however, ground beef over rice is still one of our favorites!
Just like my easy chicken enchiladas recipe, these bowls are easily customized with your favorite Mexican toppings, making it the perfect easy and healthy meal the whole family will love.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
Quick dinner – This recipe is ready to enjoy in only 15 minutes!
Kid-friendly – Ground beef over rice makes a simple base that kids can customize based on their favorite flavors.
Healthy meal – Packed with protein, whole grains, and vegetables, this is the ultimate quick and nourishing meal!
Simple recipe – This is the perfect dish when you don’t want to spend much time in the kitchen.
Prep in Advance
To make this an even quicker meal, prepare the ground beef, rice, and toppings ahead of time, and store separately in the fridge in airtight containers for up to four days. When you’re ready to serve it, reheat the beef and rice separately, and serve with the prepped toppings.
Toppings Ideas for Ground Beef Over Rice
Tips for Success
Don’t preheat the skillet – When cooking ground beef in a cast iron skillet, it won’t stick if you place the ground beef in a cold skillet before heating it.
Use brown rice for added benefit – Brown rice is a delicious whole grain that will add additional nutrition to these bowls. To make it even healthier, try sprouted brown rice! (I order it through Azure Standard.)
Leave in the fat – For optimal flavor, I never drain the fat from ground beef. Unless you happen to have excessively greasy meat, draining isn’t necessary. And if you buy quality beef, the fat is actually healthy!
Serve with toppings – More toppings are always better! However, for busy weeknights, keep it simple and pick just a few of your favorites.
FAQs
You can store the ground beef, rice, and toppings separately in airtight containers for up to 4 days. When you’re ready to enjoy it, reheat the beef and rice and serve with toppings.
Yes, to freeze ground beef rice bowls, place the rice and ground beef in separate airtight containers in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to eat it, thaw in the fridge and reheat in the oven.
Violet’s Tips for Serving
This is the perfect meal to serve buffet-style! Place the ground beef, rice, and toppings in separate dishes and let everyone create their own bowl according to their preferences.
Tools You May Need
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Ingredients
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: First, season the ground beef with the salt and spices.
Then brown the meat with the chopped onion and minced garlic in a cast iron skillet on medium heat for about 10 minutes or until it’s cooked through.
Step 2: To assemble the bowls, layer rice, ground beef, and your favorite toppings in a bowl and enjoy immediately.
It’s often easiest to serve this meal buffet-style and let everyone create their own bowls with their favorite toppings.
If you try this recipe, let me know in the comments! Tag me on Instagram @violet_rightathome
More Clean Eating Ground Beef Recipes
Ground Beef Rice Bowls
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 3 cups cooked rice seasoned to taste with salt, pepper, and butter or coconut oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Toppings of choice
Instructions
- Season the ground beef with the salt and spices.2 pounds ground beef, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Brown the meat with the chopped onion and minced garlic on medium heat for about 10 minutes or until it's cooked through.1 onion, 3 garlic cloves
- To assemble the bowls, layer rice, ground beef, and your favorite toppings in a bowl and enjoy immediately.3 cups cooked rice, Toppings of choice
Notes
Topping Ideas
- Chopped tomatoes
- Sour cream
- Shredded cheese
- Guacamole
- Shredded lettuce
- Beans
- Salsa
- Fresh cilantro
- Jalapeños
- Fajita veggies
- Hot sauce
Prep in Advance
Cook the ground beef and rice and prepare the toppings ahead of time, and store separately in the fridge in airtight containers for up to four days. When you’re ready to serve it, reheat the beef and rice separately, and serve with toppings.Nutrition
If you love these ground beef rice bowls, please make sure to come back and leave a comment and a 5 star rating. I’d love to hear how it turned out for you!
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Delicious! We have been enjoying this meal so frequently. I love that you can really customize it and my kids can build their own bowls with their favorite toppings.
I’m so glad your family has been enjoying this lately!