Taco Rice Bowl
This taco rice bowl has a base of rice, sauteed veggies, beans, and seasoned ground meat. Easily customize the bowls to include your favorite taco toppings. An easy recipe that’s dairy free and gluten free with a plant based option.
Looking for more Mexican-inspired recipes? Try my shrimp burrito bowls, taco salad bowls, loaded ground turkey nachos, or adobo chicken tacos.
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this taco rice bowl recipe:
- Olive oil
- Ground meat – I used lean ground beef, but you could also use ground turkey or ground chicken
- Tomato paste
- Homemade taco seasoning – a mix of chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, ground cumin, and a few other spices.
- Beans – black beans, pinto beans, refried beans, etc.
- White rice
- Bell peppers – any color.
- White or yellow onion
- Romaine lettuce or mixed greens
- Cherry tomatoes
- Avocado
How to Make Taco Rice Bowls: Step By Step
Here are some quick visual instructions. The full instructions and ingredient list will be in the printable recipe card below!
- Cook the rice according to package directions. Keep warm.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat with olive oil. Add the sliced bell peppers and onions. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning along with a pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from the heat and transfer to a covered bowl.
- In the same skillet, cook the ground beef until no pink remains then add in tomato paste and the remaining 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning. Cook for 1-2 more minutes then transfer the beef to a covered bowl. Set aside.
- Assemble the bowls with cooked rice, leafy greens, ground beef, sauteed bell peppers and onions, beans, and halved cherry tomatoes. Serve with any additional toppings like sour cream, guac, avocado, hot sauce, etc. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the top before serving if desired.
Helpful Tips
- Use leftover rice or meal prep the rice and veggies to make the meal come together quicker.
- This bowls is delicious with any type of sauce. I topped mine with green onion pesto, but spicy cashew dressing would also be chef’s kiss!
Storage
Store the pepper onion mixture, ground beef, and cooked rice in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations
Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.
How can you make this taco bowl recipe using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- No white rice? – use brown rice.
- Make it plant based – use crumbled tofu instead of ground beef.
- Add-ins – roasted sweet potatoes, crushed tortilla chips, fresh toppings such as pico de Gallo, guacamole, fresh cilantro, hot sauce, dairy free sour cream (could also use unsweetened plain yogurt or cashew cream), etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely. You can use any type of ground meat for the taco rice bowls.
No, the taco bowls aren’t spicy at all. If you like things on the spicy side, I recommend adding cayenne pepper to the ground beef or using hot sauce as one of your toppings.
More Easy Weeknight Dinners
- One Pot Creamy Cajun Chicken Orzo
- Easy Crustless Pizza Bowls
- Honey Sriracha Shrimp
- Creamy Spinach and Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
I hope you love this Taco Rice Bowl! If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment & a star rating below. Thank you!
Taco Rice Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 cups white jasmine rice
- 3 cups water or broth
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 medium bell peppers of choice thinly sliced
- ½ medium white or yellow onion thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning divided
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 15 oz can black beans drained
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved or quartered
- 2 cups chopped romaine or mixed greens
- 1 avocado diced
Additional Toppings Of Choice (Optional)
- guacamole
- hot sauce
- cashew cream or sour cream
- fresh cilantro
- pico de gallo
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to package directions. Keep warm.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat with olive oil. Add the sliced bell peppers and onions. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning along with a pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from the heat and transfer to a covered bowl.
- In the same skillet, cook the ground beef until no pink remains then add in tomato paste and the remaining 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning. Cook for 1-2 more minutes then transfer the beef to a covered bowl. Set aside.
- Assemble the bowls with cooked rice, leafy greens, ground beef, sauteed bell peppers and onions, beans, and halved cherry tomatoes. Serve with any additional toppings like sour cream, guac, avocado, hot sauce, etc. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the top before serving if desired.