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Fresh and delicious and so easy to make, this beef taco bowl is a great weeknight meal that the whole family will love. Made with seasoned ground beef and cilantro lime rice, they are filling, healthy and so tasty!
If you are in a bit of a diner rut, this taco bell recipe is sure to liven things up! Loaded with bright and vibrant Mexican flavors, they are super simple to make.
Taco beef is served on a bed of flavored rice and topped with lots of fresh veggies, before being drizzled in a creamy sour cream sauce. If you love Mexican cuisine, you have to try these! It tastes amazing!
Be sure to try my Salmon Tacos and Shrimp Tacos too!
Why you will love this taco bowl recipe!
- Make ahead: These are great for weekly meal prep as a lot of the elements can be made ahead of time and quickly reheated.
- Quick and easy: There’s really nothing complicated about this recipe and it’s ready to enjoy in less than 30 minutes.
- Healthier: Full of fresh veggies, this protein-rich dish will keep you feeling full and satisfied.
Taco Bowl Ingredients
- Beef: Use a lean ground beef for this recipe. It’s quickly browned and seasoned in a skillet before being added to the bowl.
- Homemade taco seasoning: You can use a store bought seasoning, or make your own batch to use whenever you are in the mood for Mexican!
- Salsa: Use your favorite store bought tomato salsa to top the bowls.
- Cilantro lime rice: I like to use a flavored rice, but you can also make these bowls with plain white or brown rice. Alternatively, you could also use quinoa or cauliflower rice.
- Toppings: Grape tomatoes, black beans, corn, avocado, red onion. cilantro, lime and shredded Cheddar cheese.
- For the sour cream sauce: Sour cream, salsa, lime juice, and taco seasoning.
How to make a taco bowl
- Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle taco seasoning and salsa over meat. Stir well to incorporate. Simmer for 3-5 minutes.
- Add cooked rice to each individual serving bowl. Top with ground beef taco meat. Add toppings – tomatoes, black beans, corn, avocados, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, and Mexican cheese. Drizzle some of the salsa sour cream sauce over each bowl and serve warm.
Can you make them ahead of time?
Yes! These healthy taco bowls are perfect for meal prep for the week. You can cook up the rice and keep it in the fridge ahead of time and the beef will keep well for up to 4 days. You can then quickly reheat the beef on the stovetop, and the rice in the microwave for 3 minutes, and build it all quickly to enjoy. The sauce will also keep well for around 4 days in the fridge.
Can you make it with a different protein?
Yes, these taco bowls can also be made with ground chicken or ground turkey, or even some pan-fried taco seasoned shrimp! You can also make these vegetarian by using meat-free crumbles like Beyond Meat.
Are they spicy?
These taco bowls are big on flavor but are fairly mild in spice. If you prefer them on the hotter side, you can add some cayenne pepper and chili powder into your taco seasoning, and serve them with some sliced jalapenos on top.
TIPS FROM NELI’S KITCHEN
Recipe Notes and Tips
- This taco rice bowl is a great recipe to use up any odds and ends you have in your fridge. Feel free to add other veggies to the toppings like shredded Romaine lettuce or diced bell peppers.
- Serve it with tortilla chips.
- I also like to add extra ground cumin and garlic powder to the taco meat.
- If you don’t like cilantro, you can swap this for parsley, so you still get a burst of herby freshness.
- Use fresh lime juice rather than bottled for the best flavors.
- To make this meal low carb and keto taco bowl, make sure you use cauliflower rice and keto-friendly black soy beans.
More Beef Recipes
Taco Bowl
INGREDIENTS
Taco meat
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1/4 cup taco seasoning, 1/2 Tbsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 cup salsa
- 3 cups cooked cilantro lime rice
Toppings
- 1- pint cherry tomatoes, diced
- 1 15- oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 2 large avocados, diced
- 1/4 red onion, finely diced
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 lime, juiced (for serving)
- Mexican or cheddar cheese
Sauce
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- ½ cup tomato salsa
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
INSTRUCTIONS
- Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle taco seasoning and salsa over meat. Stir well to incorporate. Simmer for 3-5 minutes.
- Add cooked rice to each individual serving bowl. Top with ground beef mixture. Add toppings – tomatoes, black beans, corn, avocados, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, and Mexican cheese. Drizzle some of the salsa sour cream sauce over each bowl and serve warm.
TIPS & NOTES
- This is a great recipe to use up any odds and ends you have in your fridge. Feel free to add other veggies to the toppings like shredded lettuce or diced bell peppers.
- If you don’t like cilantro, you can swap this for parsley, so you still get a burst of herby freshness.
- Use fresh lime juice rather than bottled for the best flavors.
NUTRITION
Use the tag #DeliciousMeetsHealthy when posting a picture of your recipe, and make sure to follow @deliciousmeetshealthy on Instagram!
