Beef and Rice with Veggies

A complete meal made in one pot – this ground Beef and Rice recipe will be a terrific addition to your midweek meal rotation! Beef mince is economical, convenient (no chopping!) and makes a fantastic meal when cooked with seasoned rice and plenty of veggies. And it’s quick to make too!

How close is too close for food photos??? Back when I had a monthly spread in Super Food Ideas magazine, I was briefed specifically to pull back and take photos from further away, showing most of the entire plate / pot of food, rather than super close ups.

It made sense. The magazine is A4 size, so seeing a full page photo like this would almost be scary – like Attack of the Rice. Nightmares of a Rice Avalanche tumbling out of the pages of a magazines.

If you’re reading this on a phone, it might not look scary to you. But imagine that photo on a giant computer screen.

Scary?

Or tasty? 🙂

The main reason I shoot close ups is because I want to show detail. For example, so you can see how the rice is beautifully fluffy rather than mushy. Because, as regular readers know, I’m a rice snob. I may be Aussie, but I’ll always be a rice snob owing to my Japanese background. Dry bread and over cooked veggies I can handle. Mushy rice – I can’t stomach it.

Rice. Snob. 🍚

So cooking rice in one pot like I do with this ground Beef and Rice recipe (along with all sorts of other stuff) means getting the liquid to rice ratios right (and using the right rice) so you end up with perfectly cook fluffy grains of rice that have soaked up all that flavour.

Today’s ground Beef and Rice recipe is intended to be a quick, no fuss (yet super tasty!) midweek meal. Hence why it’s made in one pot, with ground beef, a combination of fresh and frozen veggies and a mound of baby spinach. Minimal chopping, yet plenty of flavour, a complete meal.

No need for toppings or garnishes. I actually don’t even know what I’d dollop on top. Maybe sour cream or yoghurt. I personally don’t think it needs it because the rice is well seasoned, but it’s optional! – Nagi 

PS Foodie translation: Ground beef = beef mince, though I’ve noticed some butchers in Australia nowadays are starting to call it ground beef.

PPS This recipe will work well with any ground / mince meat. Pork, chicken, turkey, even lamb.

PPPS Nice change from Spag Bol, no? 😇

5 from 28 votes

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Beef and Rice with Veggies

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

25 mins

 

Browned beef mince cooked with seasoned rice and plenty of veggies. Flavoured so well, it doesn't require any toppings - just serve it straight. A complete meal made in one pot! This dish is not spicy - the cayenne pepper just adds a touch of warmth, not spiciness. Recipe VIDEO below.

Servings: 5

Calories: 513 kcal

Author: Nagi

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion (or brown, yellow or white) , diced
• 1 red capsicum / bell pepper (large) , diced
• 2 garlic cloves , minced
• 500 g / 1 lb lean beef mince (ground beef)
• 2 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp EACH cumin, black pepper
• 1 tsp each onion powder, dried oregano (or other herb of choice)
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 1/4 cups / 225g long grain white rice (uncooked) (Note 1)
• 2 cups / 500 ml beef broth
• 2 cups / 300g diced frozen veggies (I used corn, pea, carrot mix) (Note 2)
• 2 large handfuls baby spinach (~ 90g/3 oz), or other leafy greens (Note 3)

Instructions

1. Heat oil in large pot over high heat. Add onion, capsicum and garlic. Cook for 1 minute.

2. Add beef, cook until brown, breaking it up as you go.

3. Add tomato paste, salt, pepper, onion powder, oregano, cumin and cayenne pepper. Cook for 1 minute.

4. Turn heat down to medium. Add rice and beef broth, mix well. Add frozen veggies and bay leaf, then stir.

5. Place lid on, lower heat to medium low so it's simmering gently. Cook for 12 - 15 minutes (might even take longer) until all liquid is absorbed (tilt pot to check). The rice should be just cooked, but will be wet.

6. Remove from heat. Quickly toss spinach on top of the rice and put the lid back on. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.

7. Fluff rice and mix through wilted spinach with a fork. Adjust salt if desired. Serve!

Recipe Notes

1. RICE - This recipe is best made with white long grain rice because it's less sticky than short and medium grain. Medium grain is the next best sub, then short grain or sushi rice though the rice at the end is a bit stickier rather than fluffy like you see in the video (still nice, just less pilaf-like). Basmati and jasmine will also work but will take about 5 minutes longer to cook. I don't recommend making this with brown rice as it takes around 40 minutes on the stove and by this time the vegetables will be mush. This recipe is not suitable for risotto or paella rice. Not yet tested with quinoa or other rice subs!

2. IMPORTANT: You can sub the frozen with more chopped fresh veggies. But if you opt to use fresh instead of frozen veggies, add 1/4 cup of water to the rice. This is because frozen veggies leech water as they cook and this is factored into the liquid to rice ratio in this recipe.

3. LEAFY GREENS: This can be substituted with any leafy greens that wilts quite easily. It will even work with torn kale (remove from the stems). Another idea is using the leafy part of Asian greens. Roughly chop it then use per recipe. Asian greens don't taste "Asiany"!

4. RICE FIRMNESS: This recipe makes al dente fluffy rice (ie tender and fluffy, not super soft rice that is kind of mushy on the outside). If you like your rice softer, add 1/4 cup of water to the rice. To adjust rice softness, when the liquid is absorbed but before adding spinach, taste the rice. If you want it softer, drizzle 1/4 cup of hot water over the surface and leave it on the stove for another 3 minutes. The proceed with recipe.

5. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings. (I know the sodium / salt looks high, and it is. This is a big pot of food and beef needs salt to bring out the flavour. If you need / want to reduce it, use reduced salt broth).

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

LIFE OF DOZER

I drive 100km to the outskirts of Sydney just to take Dozer to this dog wizard, Neil Barnsley of Animal Holistic Therapies. “Enthusiastic” playing + abnormally long legs for a Golden Retriever + being double jointed = regular “active dog” injuries. Whereas conventional vets order costly X-rays (that are only useful if they know where the injury is) or being unable to provide an exact diagnosis, will give a general instruction to keep him quiet (easier said than done!!!), Neil Barnsley has a 100% hit rate in pinpointing exactly where and what Dozer’s ligament/joint/muscle injuries are, through touch alone.

It’s fascinating to watch. Truly a dog genius. And (much) better value than normal vets too – a standard consult is $60, and there’s no expensive medication or Xray costs because he’s a natural therapist!

PS Yes that’s Dozer getting acupuncture. Not even I’VE had acupuncture!!!!🤣