Elevate your taco night with this beef taco bowl recipe! Skip the tortillas and make these hearty bowls loaded with fluffy rice, ground beef taco meat, and all the best toppings.
TACO BOWL RECIPE
These easy taco bowls are loaded with all the delicious taco flavors! Perfectly cooked ground beef served over fluffy rice and then topped with all your favorite toppings. Switch up your taco night with this delicious recipe. A great easy meal that everyone will love.
WHAT YOU NEED-
- Grains– For the base of these taco bowls, you can use your go to grain. White rice, brown rice, quinoa, or even cauliflower rice works great! Cilantro-lime rice is my go-to rice for this dish.
- Beef– The protein options for these taco bowls are endless, but the classic way is to use ground beef taco meat! You can also use steak, chicken, shrimp, carne asada, pulled pork, shredded chicken, ground turkey, or taco meat.
- Toppings– There are so many different topping choices you can make for these ground beef taco bowls! Classics like shredded romaine, shredded cheese, and tomatoes are perfect.
- Sauces– The sauces that you add to your bowls can totally elevate this dish! Use sauces like sour cream, taco sauce, salsa Verde, or any other sauce you like.
HOW TO MAKE BEEF TACO BOWLS
Have these delicious hearty beef and rice bowls ready in under 30 minutes!
- Prepare the cilantro-lime rice per instructions. (You can use any of your go-to rice recipes.)
- Cut and prepare all the toppings for your taco bowls.
- In a skillet, cook the ground beef along with the seasonings, breaking apart as it cooks. Once browned, remove from heat. (For detailed instructions on getting the perfect taco meat, check out my classic ground beef taco recipe.)
- Assemble the taco bowls, starting with rice, taco meat, then your choice of toppings.
- Serve immediately and enjoy.
TOPPING IDEAS
The topping options are endless to add to these taco bowls! Here are some delicious ideas:
- Shredded Romaine
- Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Pico de Gallo
- Classic Salsa
- Salsa Verde
- Corn Salsa
- Pickled Onions
- Jalapenos
- Tortilla Crisps
- Crushed Doritos
- Guacamole
- Avocado
- Sauteed Peppers
- Beans
- Peach Salsa
QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE:
No! You can swap the ground beef for ground chicken or turkey! You can also use different proteins like my Chipotle steak or chicken.
Although they are practically the same, a taco bowl typically used ground taco meat and Chipotle bowls contain cubed protein, seasoned like the popular food chain.
Yes, you can totally leave the grain out and use shredded lettuce or romaine as the base. You can also just make my taco pasta salad.
Yes! I love to meal prep taco bowls for lunch! Just add the rice, beef, beans and cheese to your containers. Add your toppings in separate containers and then when ready to enjoy, warm, assemble and enjoy!
Store your leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days. For the best results, store the bowls separately, not assembled.
OTHER MEXICAN INSPIRED RECIPES-
Try all my other delicious Mexican-inspired recipes:
Taco Bowl Recipe
Ingredients
Cilantro Lime Rice-
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 3 Tbsp lime juice
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Taco Meat-
- 1 lb ground beef 85 lean/15 fat
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 2 Tbsp taco seasoning
- 3 Tbsp salsa
- 2 garlic cloves minced
Toppings-
- chopped tomatoes
- shredded romaine
- shredded cheese
- corn salsa
- sour cream
- guac
Instructions
Cilantro Lime Rice
- Bring water to boil in a pot on medium high heat. Once boiling, add the rinsed rice and reduce to medium low heat. Cook with a closed lid for 12 minutes. Stir occasionally. (After 12 minutes, the water should be gone leaving you with fluffy rice.)
- Remove from heat and add butter, lime juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chopped cilantro.
Taco Meat-
- Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Once hot, add the ground beef and cook. Break apart the meat into small chunks and cook for about 3-4 minutes, until browned.
- Add salt, pepper, taco seasoning, minced garlic, and salsa to the meat and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Mix to combine and remove from heat.
Assemble Taco Bowls-
- Chop and prepare all the desired toppings for your taco bowls.
- Add rice, taco meat, and then toppings into a bowl and serve.
Leave a Reply