This Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet is perfect for those busy nights when you need something fast and delicious. It’s a hearty, one-pot meal that’s super satisfying, and it only takes 30 minutes to make! You’ll love how easy it is to throw together, and the whole family will enjoy it.
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Why this Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet Recipe is a Keeper
I love this recipe because it’s a quick and easy one pan meal, that also happens to be super delicious! You will definitely want to add this one to your stash of easy dinner recipes.
- 30 Minute Meal: This cheesy Mexican beef recipe is quick and easy to make for dinner tonight!
- Simple Ingredients: It uses common ingredients you often have on hand, making it a super easy recipe.
- Family Favorite: Everyone in the family loves it, making it a go-to weeknight dinner. Plus clean up is a breeze.
- Minimal Dishes: Since this is a one pot meal, there’s less dishes to wash!
- Adaptable: With a few simple swaps, you can make this easy meal meat free.
- Great for Beginner Cooks: It’s easy to prepare for both beginner and experienced cooks.
Can I Make in a Slow Cooker?
This Mexican beef recipes great to make in one skillet but if you want to try this recipe in the crock pot I would still cook the ground beef on the stove then add it in to be warmed up with the rest of the ingredients.
Ingredients for Mexican Beef
To make this recipe, you will need just a few easy ingredients. If you don’t already have these ingredients in your kitchen, they can all easily be found at the store.
- Ground Beef: Lean ground beef is great in this Mexican ground beef and rice recipe.
- All Purpose Seasoning: Homemade All Purpose Seasoning is super easy to make and is perfect for seasoning countless recipes.
- Taco Seasoning: Make your own Taco Seasoning to have whenever you need!
See the recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
Prep Ahead Suggestions for One Pot Mexican Beef
When you prep ahead of time, it can help save you time and kitchen space when it comes to making everything for dinner!
- Veggies: Cut and prepare your vegetables in advance and have ready for when you prepare the whole dish.
Pro Tip for One-Skillet Dinner
It’s important to cook the rice until it’s tender but not mushy.
How to Make Mexican Beef and Rice
This recipe comes together in 3 easy to follow steps. This one pot Mexican beef and rice skillet is an easy addition to your meal rotation, you’ll come back to it again and again.
These are the basic steps for making Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet. Refer to the full, printable recipe card below for detailed instructions.
1. Brown the Beef and Cook Veggies
Add olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add the ground beef, diced onion, bell peppers, and season with All Purpose Seasoning. Cook until no longer pink and drain off any excess fat.
2. Add the Rice and Cook
Add the minced garlic, tomato paste and taco seasoning. Cook for 1 minute then add the rice, chicken broth, salsa, black beans and corn. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the rice is tender.
3. Melt Cheese and Top
Remove from heat, add the shredded cheese to the top, cover the skillet and allow to sit until the cheese melts. Serve with your favorite toppings.
How to Store, Reheat and Use Leftover Rice and Beef Skillet
- Storing: Store leftover rice in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheating: I like to reheat individual portions in the microwave. You could also warm on the stove.
- Using Leftovers: Enjoy leftovers wrapped in tortillas for easy leftover burritos. Add some taco sauce before you wrap it up.
Variations and Substitutions for this One Pan Dinner Recipe
Mexican ground beef recipes are super easy to customize to make it your own! Try taking it to the next level by trying different rice or experimenting with flavors by adding other ingredients.
- Different Uncooked Rice: Try using brown rice, cauliflower rice or regular rice like long grain white rice.
- Thinly Sliced Steak: Omit the beef and try thinly sliced steak instead.
- Broth: Try swapping for beef broth if you’re using beef or chicken broth if you’re using chicken.
Ground Beef Skillet Meal Recipe FAQs
Serve beef and rice recipes with Baked Sweet Potato Fries, Southern Baked Beans or Caesar Salad.
Absolutely! Ground chicken or shred chicken would be great in this easy dinner.
Yes! Try whatever mix of vegetables you’d like.
Yes! Use your favorite meat substitute or add more beans to add some extra protein.
Expert Tips for Making This Ground Beef
- Turkey: Use ground turkey in place of beef in this great recipe.
- Different Spices: Try using different spices to make this like chili powder, garlic powder or crushed red pepper.
- Salsa: If you like a bit of spice, use a spicy salsa. Any flavor of chunky salsa works!
- Different Cheese: Any blend of cheese would be great. Try Monterey Jack or cheddar.
- Too Dry: If the mixture dries out too much, add a little more broth to help add some of that moisture back in.
- Toppings: Some fantastic topping options for this flavorful rice include sour cream, lime wedges, diced tomatoes or pico de gallo, cilantro, sliced black olives or tortilla chips.
Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 pound Ground beef
- 1 large Onion, chopped
- 2 Bell peppers, diced
- 1 teaspoon All Purpose Seasoning
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon Tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Taco Seasoning
- 1 cup Uncooked parboiled rice, such as Minute Rice or Ben's Original
- 1 ½ cups Chicken broth
- 16 ounces Chunky salsa, 1 jar
- 15 ounces Black beans, 1 can, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup Fire roasted corn kernels
- 1 cup Shredded Colby Jack cheese
Instructions
- Add the oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the beef, diced onion, bell peppers, and season with All Purpose Seasoning. Cook until the meat is no longer pink and drain off any excess fat.
- Add the minced garlic, tomato paste and taco seasoning. Cook for 1 minute. Stir in the rice, chicken broth, salsa, black beans and corn.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover the skillet and cook for 15 minutes or until the rice is tender.
- Remove the skillet from the heat, add the cheese to the top, recover and allow to sit for 3 minutes or until the cheese melts.
- Serve with your favorite toppings.
Christina’s Notes
- Turkey: Use ground turkey in place of beef in this great recipe.
- Different Spices: Try using different spices to make this like chili powder, garlic powder or crushed red pepper.
- Salsa: If you like a bit of spice, use a spicy salsa. Any flavor of chunky salsa works!
- Different Cheese: Any blend of cheese would be great. Try Monterey Jack or cheddar.
- Too Dry: If the mixture dries out too much, add a little more broth to help add some of that moisture back in.
- Toppings: Some fantastic topping options for this flavorful rice include sour cream, lime wedges, diced tomatoes or pico de gallo, cilantro, sliced black olives or tortilla chips.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided are estimates. It is recommended that you verify this information with your own trusted resource.
We love honest feedback, but to keep reviews helpful for everyone, we reserve the right to remove star ratings if it is clear the recipe has not been made, if the comment does not provide meaningful input, or if significant substitutions or alterations were made. Please note that ratings should reflect the original recipe as written to avoid confusing other readers.
This recipe is my personal adaption of an ethnic-inspired recipe. It is not intended to be an authentic recipe. I’ve recreated this recipe because I enjoy the flavors and I want to encourage my readers to expand their tastes and try new flavor combinations. The recipe, ingredients, and processes may have been adapted to make the recipe accessible to the average American. I have provided links to authentic versions of the recipe in the post above. I encourage you to visit these pages and learn more about the traditional version(s) of this recipe.
When do you add the beans and corn??
Add those in the same step where you add the beef. I’ve updated the recipe.
hi there love the site i am in the UK and sometimes i don’t know and try and make do or i ask. So my question is what is Ro-Tel