This colourful ground Beef and Rice recipe will be a terrific addition to your ground beef recipes collection! It’s like a pilaf, except loaded with more veggies and packed with more flavour.
I’m a big fan of beef mince – it’s economical and convenient (no chopping!). And this is a great quick way make turn a packet of beef mince into a complete meal!
Ground beef and rice
Flavoured rice. Seasoned beef. AND veggies.
All made in ONE POT.
How handy is that?? This ground beef and rice recipe is a complete meal, with barely any chopping. Full of bright colours, plenty of nutrition, simple and fast to make.
And it tastes SO GOOD!!!
This ground beef and rice is a quick recipe that’s full of flavour and a complete meal in one pot!
I’m a big fan of rice in all forms. Chicken and Rice, rice soup, risotto, flavoured rices (Mexican Red Rice is a firm favourite along with Mushroom Rice!), Arancini balls.
In fact, I’m yet to meet a rice dish that I don’t like!!
But 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 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.
See? Fluffy. Not soft and mushy!!!
How to make it
This is made like a pilaf, starting off by sautéing onion and garlic for the flavour base. Then the beef and capsicum/bell peppers are added, then the rice and liquids and seasoning.
Give it a good mix, plonk the lid on and leave it to do its thing.
No peeking! It’s one of the biggest rice cooking mistakes – if you peek, steam escapes which affects the rice cooking process!
We can never have enough ground beef recipes for quick dinners!
Today’s 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.
And more One Pot Ground Beef / Mince recipes
-
Cheeseburger Casserole (Homemade Hamburger Helper)
-
Chili Mac – mash up of Mac and Cheese with Chilli Con Carne, so good!
-
Asian Beef and Ramen Noodles – one skillet, 15 minutes
-
Taco Soup – don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, it’s amazing!
-
Browse all One Pot recipes and Ground Beef / Mince recipes
Beef and rice recipe
Watch how to make it
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Beef and Rice with Veggies
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion , diced (any type)
- 1 red capsicum / bell pepper , diced (large)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 500g (1 lb) ground beef (mince) , lean
- 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 , low sodium
- 2 cups (300g) diced frozen veggies , I used corn, pea, carrot mix (Note 2)
- 3 big handfuls baby spinach (~ 90g/3 oz) , or other leafy greens (Note 3)
Instructions
- Heat oil in large pot over high heat. Add onion, capsicum and garlic. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add beef, cook until brown, breaking it up as you go.
- Add tomato paste, salt, pepper, onion powder, oregano, cumin and cayenne pepper. Cook for 1 minute.
- Turn heat down to medium. Add rice and beef broth, mix well. Add frozen veggies and bay leaf, then stir.
- 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.
- Remove from heat. Quickly toss spinach on top of the rice and put the lid back on. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.
- Fluff rice and mix through wilted spinach with a fork. Adjust salt if desired. Serve!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
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!!!!🤣
This is so tasty! I can make it from my freezer – we keep frozen onions, garlic, capsicum, mixed veg and spinach on hand. We also chuck in any veg that’s nearing its end. Perfect for when you’re scratching your head about what to make for dinner. Thanks Nagi!
This has become a weekly staple for our family (I subbed lamb mince for beef and it worked very well) – thanks Nagi!
The BEST!!!! So easy to make and tasty! Everyone in the house loved it (dad, husband, son and me) and al went back for 2nds. Will be made on repeat! Thanks so much x
Hi Nagi,
You just shared a recipe for a beef fried rice on facebook, when i pressed the link attached to that post it brought me here but this is a different recipe. Iv tried searching on your site but can’t find it….would you be able to post link please
Many thanks
Amy
I have NEVER seen my 2 year old eat so much dinner before. Another big time winner. Simple, quick and very tasty. Nagi where have you been my whole life.
Xx
Question: If I double the recipe to 10 servings, will it affect my cooking time? Thanks.
stumbles across this recipe and gives it a whirl. Used frozen baby spinach, rice was perfect, only had hot cayenne. Was a little spicier than I anticipated, but still a great recipe! thanks for ‘that’s tonights dinner sorted.’
Excellent recipe, love that it can be easily adapted to what ever I have in or I can alter the spices to change the flavours.
Great recipe! I added a can of black beans for more fiber. I cut up and added some grape tomatoes. Added more cayenne pepper for more spice. I also crushed some tortilla chips at the end and threw some in. Tasted like a Mexican dish!
DEEEEEE licious!! Thanks once again Nagi! The flavours are beautiful & it’s so great that everything is basically in your pantry & fridge already. Much appreciated 🙂
Wondering if this would work with leftover cooked rice? Thrown in near the end?
Planning on making large batches for the homeless, what would be the most you would double up this recipe?
Ps Neil and his dad are brilliant with dogs, and I have even had acupuncture from Neil as well.
Made this exactly like the recipe and it’s delicious! wouldn’t change a thing. My hubby is on a soft food diet and this was perfect! Thank you! 🙂
I made this tonight because I didn’t want to make the stand-by ground, rice & gravy & it was wonderful! I added in some mushrooms too.Thanks for this great recipe that was quick & easy!!!
Loved this meal. I substituted chillies for the cayenne and it was delicious.
I loved this! It was great and very adaptable too, thanks Nagi you are my 1st choice when looking for recipe ideas and you never disappoint.
Wondering how I would figure calorie content if I used ground turkey 99% fat free.
Hi Tiffany, it will cut the calories down to about 370 per serve. N x
Why is the potassium so high?
What items in the recipe causes this?
Hi Louise, the veg and spinach are potassium rich foods 🙂 N x
Thank you for answering. I used carrots, celery, onion, peas. I am on dialysis so I think this recipe is safe for me.
I made it with the beef on the side for my fiancé because I’m vegetarian and subbed in some cubed portobello mushrooms for mine, and used half frozen, half fresh vegetables. I also substituted the beef broth for vegetable broth. We both love it! It was so easy to follow and seems like it would be super adaptable if you need a cleaning out the fridge meal.
This was so good! A great meal for a family of 5. Everyone loved it, even my picky 3 yr old. It was not a heavy meal, so perfect for the warmer weather.