Need a quick and easy dinner? Ground Beef Taco Rice Dinner is a quick and easy recipe using a few basic ingredients.
Years ago, in my early days of blogging, I did two weekly series. One featured ground beef recipes. Every week I would share a favorite recipe that used ground beef.
Every Monday during the fall and winter I would also share a favorite soup recipe for my Souper Monday series.
Readers loved those series because they were all simple everyday recipes.
I thought it would be fun to occasionally revisit some of those old recipes that I shared for those series.
Today we are starting with a simple ground beef taco rice. This isn’t the prettiest of dinners, but it is so good! Even the picky eater in my family loves this one.
Mexican and Tex-Mex foods are some of our favorite meals because are easy to change up and everyone loves the flavors.
One of the best things about most Mexican type food is that it is normal food that is usually easy to make gluten free and dairy free.
This ground beef taco rice is an example of that. It is normal food and a normal recipe that just happens to be gluten free.
We serve this with cheese and sour cream, but if you are dairy free like my daughter is you can skip the cheese and sour cream and still have a delicious meal.
This taco rice dinner includes ingredients that you probably always have on hand.
- ground beef
- onion
- canned tomatoes
- taco seasoning
- rice
- salt
- green pepper (optional)
Taco rice is also great leftover for lunch or dinner the next day. The leftovers even work well as a burrito type filling.
Ground Beef Taco Rice
Ground beef taco rice is a quick and easy dinner using a few basic ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped ( optional but good)
- 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (like rotel)
- 1 ¾ cups water
- 1 cup uncooked long grain rice
- 1 package taco seasoning (or use homemade taco seasoning)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- optional ingredients for serving: sour cream, chips, cheese etc.
Instructions
- In a skillet cook ground beef, onions, and green pepper until meat is done and onions and peppers are tender.
- Drain off any fat and add tomatoes with green chilies, water, rice, taco seasoning, and salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Uncover and cook 10 - 12 minutes more or until rice is done.
- Optional: Serve with cheese, sour cream, and chips.
I just want you to know that I have been following your blog here and I am thoroughly enjoying it. Your recipes are FABULOUS! I’m so not creative in the kitchen. Thanks for sharing your ideas. Keep it up!
Merry Christmas!
Thank you! And Merry Christmas to you.
Thanks for this easy recipe! It is going on the meal plan this week!
This is delicious! All five people in my family loved it. I have a rice cooker so I cook up a pot full of rice and divide it by putting 2 cups into a quart size freezer bag. I cook up 10 lb of ground beef and divide it into 1 pound packages. That makes this taco rice recipe my new “go to” meal when I’m not prepared for what’s on the menu.
So I put the hamburger in the pan, topped it with taco seasoning and stirred in the rice and Rotel. We put it on flour tortillas and topped it with cheese and sour cream. When it was gone the family still wanted more. Thanks again, Lynn, for such an awesome recipe!
hamburger has gotten so expensive Ive stopped using it. I now get cheap sausage (kroger brand) turkey from Aldi’s and mix the two. I put oatmeal and an egg in it. It turns the two pounds into three. one pound I make meatballs the other two pounds goes in the freezer. My husband hasn’t even noticed.
Lynn, this is sooooooooooooo good! There are just two adults and one child in our house right now, so this made enough for dinner and two days worth of lunches! Thanks! Sharing on Facebook. 🙂
Thanks! I am glad your family enjoyed it!
I’m so disappointed, I think I might have wasted 8 lbs of ground beef. I made this but for the life of me I can’t get the rice to cook, there’s still crunch bits throughout the dish :/
I am not sure why the rice would not have gotten done, unless it had to do with times this by 8. I have doubled it before, but not done it in that large of quantity. I would guess with the much more ingredients in it, it would take a lot longer to cook.
Hi – I cook the rice separately, along with sweet corn, and allow everyone to compile their own meal. Lining up the rice first, hamburger mixture (also containing one can of beans – either chili, black, pinto, whatever for each pound of meat), cheese, lettuce, and sour cream. We also spoon crushed Doritos or plain tortilla chips on top of all of it! Using large pasta bowls, this makes a fun dinner, and my grown children absolutely love it! The rice definitely cooks better separately!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicous! Even my picky dad came back for a second helping! This is a must try!
I am glad that your family enjoyed it!
Just a quick question. I’ve tried making your recipe several times with brown rice and the rice never seems to cook properly do you know I could do to make it work in this? Thanks
I have never tried this with brown rice, but brown rice takes longer to cook and I think more liquid. Are you adjusting the time and liquid amount?
Yes, the last time I cooked I had it on for over an hour. And it still was hard and crunch served it and the kids still ate it. I run an in home Daycare and I’m Trying to alter recipe to meet the new food ptogram rules. Must serve a whole grain with one of your meals.