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 – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!
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.
Darby says
My boyfriend and I eat this as burrito filling and it is SO good. Topped with some sour cream and guacamole!! We’ve also tried it with kidney beans instead of black beans and it was still really great.
Nora says
That sounds delicious, Darby!
Carol says
Can I use the boil-in-a-bag rice?
Nora says
Carol, I have never tried it myself so I can’t say it will work 100%. But I would assume it’s fine as long as the box indicates a cooking time around 15 minutes (and you obviously need to remove it from the bag you would usually cook it in). If it cooks in less than 15 minutes, reduce the amount of broth added to 3/4 cup, then add more gradually as the dish simmers.
Marita says
Excellent!
I made this tonight and loved the flavours and especially how to add all the toppings!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Marita!
Vita says
First time making it and me and the kids gobbled it up! Served with shredded cheese on top and nacho chips! I modified it using 1/2 the corn and white beans (instead of black beans) plus added more taco seasoning and a bit of salt. I used brown rice as well and cooked it longer… I also substituted the tomato paste for about a cup of pasta sauce. I had to add a bit more broth due to the longer cooking time. Now I hope it freezes well because it was so filling we have so much left over!
Nora says
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Vita!
Tmay says
Winner winner taco dinner! A great recipe that each person can adjust to their own taste. Definitely a winner.
Nora says
I’m so glad!
Brenda says
Wonderful dish. I doubled it and we really enjoyed it! Will be making it again!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Brenda!
Erin says
Can you make this with quinoa instead of rice?
Nora says
Erin, yes absolutely! It may need a little less liquid to cook than the rice, so I suggest adding 1 cup of broth to start, then add more as it simmers when needed. Hope this helps!
Katelyn Kelly says
THIS. IS. SO. GOOD! I love how easy it is to make especially in just one pot, added in some chili powder for some spice. Phenomenal!
Melissa says
I live in a studio apt. And only have a single burner induction hot plate so I needed more variety in my cooking menu. I tried this and it was amazing. Definitely will be making this again and again. Thank you
kim says
Made this with toasted tortilla boats in muffin tins. Dropped a scoop of refried beans in the bottom and topped with sour cream and cheese. Awesome! This will be a go to filling for burritos and tortillas.
Cheryl says
Very good! I adapted it a bit, but the family really like how it came out.
Sherri says
This was sooooo good!! Recipe notes called for par boiled rice which I didn’t have. Your notes about the rice was spot on! Next time I will use the right rice! 😉 LOL! I just cooked it longer and it was still absolutely delicious!!! Thank you!
Angela B says
Amazing mix of goodness even with avoiding cheese and corn. Question; my rice is never done!!?
Nora says
Angela, what kind of rice are you using? If you’re using a brown rice or a natural rice, it will take much longer to cook. I’ll make the note in the recipe more obvious about this.
Cynthia says
This was a hit with the whole family! My cheese loving kids and my cheese hating kid loved that the toppings were optional. We had sour cream, cheese, lime and cilantro. But I tried some topping-less and it was full of flavour all by itself. Thanks for an easy family friendly meal!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Cynthia!
Susie says
This was SO good! Thank you for this quick, easy and tasty recipe. My picky son liked it and actually said you need to make that again!
Tabbie says
This meal is easy, quick and delicious!! We add tortilla chips for a crunch or wrap it in a flour tortilla for a flavorful quick burrito.
Angela says
Amazing and we are DF and GF!
Joanne says
Thank you for this recipe! The sons in their 20s have deemed it to be a keeper…which is their indication to do it again!!!!!
Danielle says
I made this in my instant pot (rice function followed by 10 minutes NR). I didn’t get a burn notice, but there was a little burning at the bottom. So I will increase by 1 cup of broth next time, and may add a couple minutes of cook time for the rice. I used one can of corn, one can of black beans (drained and rinsed), doubled beef/rice/liquid, and used a package of taco seasoning. This is a great one pot dish rather on the stove or in the IP! I think it would be great with jalapeño peppers for those who like a little heat. Experienced cooks can play with the spices/add in and make it their own. I think it will also be a tasty filling for quesadillas. Overall, great and easy recipe.
Carla says
This is absolutely delicious. We didn’t even wait until dinner time to start eating. Didn’t add any extra items….cheese, cut tomatoes, avocado, cilantro…. It was still fantastic. Next time we should wait and add some extras,,,,I can only imagine how good it will be.
Thank you for the recipe. I am sharing the recipe with my family.
Kim says
Family loved this so easy to make fresh great ingredients
Karen Wrenn says
Wow!!! This is FANTASTIC! I was looking for something different to do with ground beef for dinner tonight and happened upon your very yummy recipe!!! AND, I love your homemade Taco Seasoning! Thank you SO much for posting Nora!!! Be safe and well!! Hugs. Karen ❌😻❌
Lorraine says
We loved this recipe. The only issue I had was my substituting brown rice. It ended up taking so much longer to cook…..like an hour! It never did soften enough.
Trish says
I had to cook it longer as the rice just wouldn’t cook to it’s softness. Next time I’ll add a little more broth or water.
Christer Bratt says
Delicious
Patti says
We did like this but found it a bit bland as written. Fortunately there’s plenty left (there’s only 2 of us and I made the full recipe) so I will add more spice/heat to the leftovers & freeze it. I will make it again. Thanks for the recipe