You won’t believe how easy it is to make this taco bowl at home. Made up of perfectly seasoned homemade taco meat paired with cilantro lime rice and topped with homemade Pico de Gallo, sliced avocado, black beans, corn, shredded cheese, and sour cream, you’re going to want to make this every single day! It comes together quickly, and you can make parts ahead of time to get dinner on the table even faster.
Even better, you can customize your bowl to your preferences or use it as an opportunity to clear out any leftover vegetables you have in the fridge. The world is your oyster when it comes to making these taco beef bowls! See my suggestions down below if you need some more ideas of what goes well with these bowls.
Key Ingredients You Need
- Ground beef — I like using 80% to 85% lean beef for taco meat as super lean ground beef isn’t as flavorful and is easier to overcook, leading to dry meat.
- Taco seasoning — I love using my homemade blend of taco seasoning as I find it more flavorful and contains no filler ingredients, but store-bought taco seasoning will work as well.
- Cilantro lime rice — While regular rice will work for this recipe, I love the bright herb taste of cilantro lime rice and how well it pairs with taco meat. Again, I love my homemade version, but if you’re in a rush, store-bought is fine as well!
How to Make Taco Bowls
Step 1: In a skillet or pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.
Step 2: Once warmed, add in ground beef and taco seasoning.
Step 3: Cook for approximately 5 minutes, occasionally stirring until the meat is cooked.
Step 4: To assemble the taco bowl, add the cilantro lime rice to the bottom of your bowl.
Step 5: Then, top off with cooked ground beef and your favorite toppings.
Step 6: Garnish and serve.
Tips For This Recipe
- You can lighten this meal up by using cauliflower rice instead of regular rice.
- If you like to add salad dressing to this bowl, a creamy cilantro dressing or ranch pairs well.
- If you’re out of ground beef, ground chicken, turkey, or pork can be used in place.
- If there’s any liquid in the pan from the fat, be sure to drain it to keep the ground beef from being greasy.
- If you don't have olive oil, you can use any oil of your choice, like canola oil, vegetable oil, or sunflower oil, in place of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can cook and assemble most of the bowl ahead of time. Add cooked and cooled cilantro lime rice, taco beef, beans, and corn to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days, then heat up in the microwave when ready. Toppings such as avocado, pico de gallo, sour cream, and shredded cheese should be added to the dish before serving. You can make the Pico de Gallo and store it in the fridge ahead of time as well.
This is a freezer-friendly recipe as both the beef and rice can be frozen, so you can have dinner ready in a jiffy later on. To freeze the cooked ground taco beef and rice, allow them to cool completely, transfer them to a separate freezer-safe bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw them overnight in the fridge and then microwave until heated through. The beef will take longer than the rice to reheat, which is why I recommend freezing them separately.
Don’t feel confined to the toppings that I use! Almost everything goes well with this taco bowl. Try adding romaine lettuce, pinto beans, Greek yogurt (in place of sour cream), guacamole, Mexican blend cheese, pickled onions, refried beans, Doritos chips, tortilla chips, jalapeños, mango salsa, and more.
I like serving these bowls with my Goat Cheese Balls, Watermelon Salad, Grilled Romaine Heart Summer Salad, and Gluten Free Baked Parmesan Asparagus Fries. For the adults, I also like to pair it with my Cucumber Margarita and Skinny Margarita.
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried this Taco Bowl Recipe then don’t forget to leave me a 5 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Taco Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp taco seasoning
- 4 cup cilantro lime rice
Toppings
- 1 cup black beans
- 1 cup corn
- 1 bunch cilantro
- lime juice
- 1 avocado
- 1 cup Pico de Gallo
- ½ cup cheddar cheese
- ½ cup sour cream
Instructions
- In a skillet or pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Once warmed, add in ground beef and taco seasoning. Cook for approximately 5 minutes, occasionally stirring until meat is fully cooked.
- To assemble the taco bowl, add in cilantro lime rice to the bottom of your bowl and top off with cooked ground beef and your favorite toppings.
Video
Notes
- You can lighten this meal up by using cauliflower rice instead of regular rice.
- If you like to add salad dressing to this bowl, a creamy cilantro dressing or ranch pairs well.
- If you’re out of ground beef, ground chicken, turkey, and pork can be used in place.
- If there’s any liquid in the pan from the fat, be sure to drain it to keep the ground beef from being greasy.
- If you don't have olive oil, you can use any oil of your choice, like canola oil, vegetable oil, or sunflower oil, in place of it.
I’m in! Making it w fresh cooked black beans that I soak over night. Can’t wait for the ? cilantro lime rice perfection
Awesome! I hope it comes out fantastic for you!
Great to hear! You’re going to love it!