Need a super easy recipe for dinner tonight? My beef and rice skillet has you covered: One skillet, simple ingredients, 15 minutes of prep time… A keeper for sure!
I don’t know about you, but I need easy dinner ideas pretty much every day of the week. And easy to me means little prep time, uncomplicated ingredients, not a lot of dishes to cook it.
My Mexican inspired beef and rice skillet? Definitely ticks all of those boxes. Let’s make it!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is an overview of the ingredients in the skillet (great to use as a visual grocery list at the store!). Scroll down to the recipe for quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Taco seasoning: I always make my own to control the spiciness (my kids can’t handle anything remotely spicy), click here for my taco seasoning recipe.
- Black beans: I always cook my own in my instant pot – it’s super easy and SO much cheaper! Click here for my tutorial. Can also use kidney beans instead of black.
- Rice: I have made this with both white and brown parboiled rice (brown in the photo); both work – the brown needs longer to cook though. For the recipe to cook in the time stated, you’ll need to use a parboiled white rice that cooks in 10-15 minutes.
- Salsa: A mild, chunky salsa works best for us. Feel free to use hot salsa if your kids can handle it.
Step by step photos
This is a really, really easy meal to cook. All you have to do is brown the beef with onion and garlic, stir in the diced peppers and seasoning… Then stir in the remaining ingredients and simmer with the lid on.
Tips & tricks
- Do not pre-cook the rice: That’s right, the rice can go in uncooked! If you pre-cook it, the entire dish will turn into soup. So, don’t ?
- Don’t skip the browning step: I know it can be tempting to skip this step to save time, but you’ll miss out on a lot of flavor if you don’t brown the meat and onions.
- Spiciness: This is how I make the dish for my 2 and 4 year old kids. If you’re not making this for kids (or have older kids), you can add some zing and heat by using chili powder along with the taco seasoning, and stirring through some lime juice after cooking.
Side dish ideas
This really is an all-in-one meal, so I usually just make a salad to go with it. Our favorites are my Tomato Cucumber Avocado Salad, but a simple Coleslaw is also delicious!
We also enjoy some shredded cheese and lime wedges, plus obviously corn chips – we are not allowed to serve anything Mexican inspired without corn chips in our home. Order of our 4 and 6 year olds ?
If you need a new idea for ground beef – try this one for a change. It has so many great reviews from readers who already made it. A true favorite!
More ground beef recipes
You can browse all of my ground beef recipes here. I also have a lot of one pot meals if you click here or easy dinners in general if you click here!
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.
Printable recipe
Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet
Recipe details
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1 yellow pepper diced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 cup rice (parboiled preferred; see notes)
- 1.5 cups broth or more if it seems dry
- 1 jar (16-oz) chunky salsa
- 1 can (15-oz) black beans
- 1 cup sweet corn canned OR frozen
- Shredded cheese, lime wedges, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, avocado, tortilla chips…. optional, to serve
Instructions
- Brown meat:Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and beef and cook until browned. Stir in the diced peppers and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add remaining ingredients:Stir in the tomato paste, taco seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute. Add the rice, broth, salsa, black beans and corn and stir well.
- Cook:Bring to a simmer, cover the skillet with a lid, reduce the heat and gently cook for around 15 minutes, or until cooked through. Add more broth if necessary.
- Serve:Top with shredded cheese and cover for another 2 minutes, if you like. Serve with your favorite toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
More recipe information
More easy and delicious rice recipes you’ll love:
I originally published this recipe on March 13, 2019. I updated it on May 20, 2020 to make it better for you.
Hannah Craig says
So yummy and easy to make. Makes plenty of food for family!
Miranda says
I love this recipe! I always bake mine at 350 for about 10-15 minutes after topping it with cheese. And its delicious
Amy says
This is a great recipe, you can even make it your own at the table! Being a mother of 4 becomes a little hectic and feeding all of them is even harder! This recipe gives our family options, some add avocados, cheese, jalapeños, sour cream, my husband adds eggs, really endless additions for everyone. I make this about 3 times a month and leftovers are always a plus!
Lester says
Exactly as the recipe says to do! I used the recipe as a base but for sure put the rice in the skillet uncooked! So yum & versatile! I used it for tacos, a quesadilla filling and then a topping for a taco salad! Inexpensive and used for so many things, amazing!
Genie Ehm says
So easy & absolutely delicious! Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Carmin says
I typically use quinoa rather than rice when dishes call for rice. Do you think that would work with this recipe?
Nora says
Yes, I think you could use quinoa in this recipe. I can’t advise on liquid requirements when using quinoa though, I have never tried it. I would probably start with a little less broth and then add as needed.
Lisa says
This is delicious! Great summer meal! Definitely a keeper (according to my husband)!
Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Shari Sysol-Alongi says
I tweaked a little (doesn’t everyone?)
I also made some elbow macaroni and we ate it over that. My one son ate it with tortilla chips.
Mine was thick. I added a lot of cheese.
Kids devoured.
Jennifer Smith says
Loved it so so much!!! Great rolled up in a flour tortilla as well!! It was so good that I forgot to add some sour cream to the top! I did make some guacamole. Delicious with or without!
Rebecca Holder says
This was outstanding!!!! Often times I change recipes to suit Cajun family. This needed no change whatsoever!! My son is a college football player so you can imagine the amount of food he eats – the third time I made this (yep, I said third) I doubled the recipe just for him. He had it for breakfast on tortillas the next morning. haha. Thanks for a GREAT recipe!!
Nora says
Rebecca, I’m so happy about your lovely comment. I’m glad my recipe has been such a success for you – and yay for feeding your college football player!
Linsey says
Does it make a difference if it’s brown or white rice? Long grain? Looks so yummy! I’m making this tomorrow! 🙂
Nora says
Hi Linsey, I have a small section on the rice right in the post! “Rice: I have made this with both white and brown parboiled rice (brown in the photo); both work – the brown needs longer to cook though.” The exact cooking time depends on your exact rice – my white rice takes about 15 minutes and my brown rice about 25 minutes. Both parboiled. Whatever you use, I definitely recommend long grain! Hope this helps 🙂
Kim says
Pleasantly surprised, not usually a big fan tex mex style Mexican food, but this came out delicious, I added diced tomatoes with chopped jalapeños instead of salsa because I didn’t have any but it came out delicious either way. Also made my own taco seasoning.
Nora Rusev says
I’m so glad it turned out well for you, Kim. And what a great idea for a salsa substitute!
Amy says
Very delicious!
Sherri says
Really good and so easy to make!
Nora Rusev says
I’m so glad to hear, Sherri!
Shana says
It’s not clear if the recipe needs chicken broth or beef broth. Can you please clarify?
Nora Rusev says
It doesn’t matter, Shana. Beef, chicken, vegetable – whatever you have on hand/prefer (I genuinely prefer using chicken or vegetable in many dishes, so I would do chicken here. But if you enjoy the flavor of beef broth a lot, go for that!)
Patti says
This was sooo good! My son is adding this to his favorites too!
Nora Rusev says
Patti, I’m so happy to hear! Thanks for coming back to share your feedback, I appreciate it.
Kristen Lail says
We made this tonight. While on lock at home, we’ve been doing our best eat out of the pantry, and this dish hit the spot. My kids, ages 3 and 9, devoured it. My husband and I loved it as well. Very glad to use so few ingredients for a meal that will feed us three times. Thank you!
Nora Rusev says
I’m so, so glad to hear this, Kristen. We’re in the same boat, and nothing beats those easy pantry recipes right now. Wishing you and your family good health!
Aubrey says
I am DYING to make this while we are all stuck at home practicing social distancing. I have everything on the ingredient list except for salsa. Is it possible to sub the salsa with Rotel?
Nora Rusev says
Aubrey, yes absolutely!
Desiree says
This was probably the most delicious thing I have made in a long time!! I scooped it up with totilla chips and it was so good! Thanks for the recipe!!
Paula says
I made this and it’s delicious. Do you recommend a particular kind of broth? I think I just used what I had on hand last time but curious if you had a particular kind in mind.
Also, used precooked brown rice from Costco because it was not in the directions to add it uncooked and I didn’t see the tips until just now. Happy to report that the consistency was still great! If you just let it sit for an extra five minutes before serving it seems to soak up the excess just fine!
Thanks for a great recipe.
Nicole Jasper says
my rice took about 25mins to cook thru, otherwise was perfect.
Nora Rusev says
Cooking time can vary so much depending on your rice, Nicole! I’m glad you enjoyed it otherwise.
Marc L says
single dad here, make this pretty much weekly when the kids come to my house. we cook together, eat together, clean up together and they tell me of their week. been such a great way to bond after a tough year. you have no idea how much I appreciate this recipe. thank you!
Nora Rusev says
Marc, what a wonderful story. Brings tears to my eyes! All the very best to you.
Jennifer says
Ever tried making this with cauliflower rice?
Nora Rusev says
Jennifer, I haven’t. You’d have to adjust the liquid amounts because the rice soaks up a lot of it, but I’m sure it would be delicious otherwise.
Sherry A says
So…I’m wondering how a bag of Trader Joe’s Roasted Street Corn would taste in this ? Good idea or too much?
Nora Rusev says
Sherry, I think that would be amazing!
Tammy says
What kind of rice should I use?
Nora Rusev says
Ah, so embarrassing, Tammy! I absolutely forgot to add that information. You can use any rice that cooks in 10-15 minutes according to the package instructions. I usually do a quick cooking long grain variety, or parboiled brown. Hope that helps!