Burrito bowls are a family favorite around here! My goal with this recipe? The best tasting burrito bowl with the least amount of effort. I paired this recipe down to the basics, using a few ingredients in a smart way to get these tasty burrito bowls on the table in about 45 minutes!

What is a Burrito Bowl?

A burrito bowl is the contents of a burrito without the tortilla. Pretty straightforward, right? And just as there are endless combinations of ingredients for a burrito, you can make a burrito bowl with just as many things.

Why you’ll love this Beef Burrito Bowl Recipe

The downside to burrito bowls (and a lot of Mexican food) is that they usually have a lot of components and toppings. You could go nuts with these and spend all day on this if you wanted to. That’s not today, my friend.

This particular burrito bowl is hearty and delicious and doesn’t take forever to prep! I wanted to give you the biggest bang for your buck — the best flavor with the least amount of effort. I’m all about lazy, tasty food that’s good for you.

Beef Burrito Bowl

One of my favorite burrito bowl combination is ground beef and black beans. I always have a stash of ground beef in my freezer and black beans in the pantry!

A secret to this recipe is making sure every component is packed with flavor, but in an easy way.

I used my Homemade Taco Seasoning for the ground beef and threw a little (along with some pico de gallo) into the beans when I warmed them up.

Squeezing a little lime juice and adding some fresh cilantro to the steamed rice adds flavor as well.

And I relied on pre-made pico de gallo and guacamole instead of making my own.

Ground Beef Burrito Bowl Ingredients

• Ground Beef: We use grass-fed beef from our beef share, but you can use whatever ground beef you prefer. Grass-fed is usually really lean, so if yours isn’t extra lean, you might have to strain off some fat.
• Taco Seasoning: My Homemade Taco Seasoning is my go-to for stuff like this, but to change it up you could also use my Smoky Chipotle Taco Seasoning or my Chorizo Seasoning.
• Black Beans: Canned is fine for this.
• Pico de Gallo or Salsa
• Rice: I use jasmine rice because it’s what I buy. More on this below.
• Limes: Optional, but it gives your rice a little extra flavor
• Fresh Cilantro: Also optional. For the same reason
• Extra toppings: Crumbly cheese, guacamole or avocados, hot sauce, tortilla chips

Best rice for burrito bowls

Like I mentioned above, I use jasmine or basmati because that’s the kind we use for most things. You can use regular long-grain white rice, brown rice, or even a brown/wild rice mix.

If you use anything other than white rice, factor in the extra cooking time since brown and wild rice takes about 45 minutes to cook. Those types of rice also have a stronger flavor which will affect your bowl.

How to make a Burrito Bowl with Ground Beef

• Start cooking your rice.
• Brown the ground beef and add the seasoning toward the end.
• Combine the drained black beans, seasoning, and pico de gallo with a little water and cook them for a few minutes.
• While everything is cooking, prep and gather your other ingredients — chop some cilantro, cut your limes in half, and gather your toppings.
• Assemble your bowls by adding some rice, meat, and beans to each bowl and top with desired toppings.

How to make a Burrito Bowl ahead

You can totally make these ahead of time or use this as a meal prep for the week! Here are a few tips for you:

• Cook the meat, rice, and beans as directed. When they’ve cooled, store them separately, covered, in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Reheat the meat by transferring it to a large skillet and warming it over medium-high heat.
• Transfer the beans to a saucepan and heat them over medium heat until steamy.
• You can reheat the rice by adding a couple tablespoonfuls of water to the container of rice and cooking it in the microwave for 3-4 minutes. OR try putting the cold rice in a large fine-mesh colander and pouring boiling water over it from a tea kettle. (This works fabulously, by the way.)
• If you plan on reheating the rice with boiling water, don’t add the lime and cilantro until after you warm it up.
• Gather your toppings and assemble bowls!

Burrito Bowl Recipe Variations

Change up the meat: Swap out the ground beef for ground turkey/chicken/pork, or sliced grilled chicken or steak.

Make it meatless: Ditch the meat completely and double the beans!

Low-carb options: Instead of rice, build your burrito bowls on a bed of cauliflower rice — I love this Roasted Cauliflower Rice and you can make it with frozen riced cauliflower. You could also use roasted low carb vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower. Or turn it into a taco salad with a bed of salad greens.

Paleo/Whole30 adaptation: Omit the beans and dairy and swap the rice out for a grain-free base. You could use a mexi-ranch (with a mayo/almond milk base) to add a creamy component. To ensure that it’s Whole30 compliant, check the ingredients on your taco seasoning to make sure it’s grain free or make your own.

Burrito Bowl Tips

• If you plan on using rice, start making the rice at the beginning so it’s ready when the rest of your components are.
• Let the ground beef cook until crispy edges form — that’s extra flavor right there!
• Use any type of salsa you like if you don’t want to get pico de gallo. Regular jarred salsa or salsa verde works well here, too (for the bowls and the beans).

How to serve a Ground Beef Burrito Bowl

Grab some bowls, put in some rice as a base and add ground beef, black beans and any toppings you like!

This doesn’t need a side dish as it stands well on its own.

Beef Burrito Bowl topping suggestions

Here are some ideas for burrito bowl toppings:

• Guacamole or sliced avocado
• Salsa or pico de gallo
• Lime wedges
• Mexican cotija cheese or shredded Monterey Jack (or pepper Jack) cheese
• Tortilla chips
• Sour cream
• Hot sauce
• Fresh chopped cilantro

Burrito Bowl Storage

Burrito bowls are great for meal prep! To assemble them, put the rice, meat, and beans in a food prep container (like these meal prep containers on Amazon).

If you can, try to store the toppings separately so you don’t end up microwaving them. (Or if that doesn’t bother you, go ahead and put them on top!)

Store, refrigerated, for up to a week. The avocados/guac will get gross after a day, so maybe add that right when you’re ready to eat.

Leveled Up Burrito Bowls

If you’re wanting to make these extra special for some reason (feeding a crowd?), you can try a bougie version of some of the components with these recipes below:

Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice

Instant Pot Mexican Black Beans

Southwestern Coleslaw (a fabulous option in place of rice to make these low-carb)

The Best Homemade Guacamole

The Best Homemade Pico de Gallo

More like this Burrito Bowl Recipe:

Ground Turkey Bowls with Rice – These ones can be spicy (or not) and feature coconut rice as the base!

Mediterranean Bowl Recipe – Another one with ground turkey and a blast of Mediterranean flavor!

Spicy Shrimp Roll Bowls – Take my shrimp maki roll recipe and turn it into a bowl.

California Roll Sushi Bowl – Another take on a sushi roll turned into a roll

Ahi Tuna Poke – Similar to sushi bowls with raw tuna and spicy mayo.

Egg Roll in a Bowl Recipe – One of our all-time favorite family recipes

If you make one of my recipes, be sure to post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!

Continue to Content

Beef Burrito Bowl Recipe

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Burrito bowls are a family favorite around here! My goal with this recipe was to give you the best tasting burrito bowl with the least amount of effort. I paired this recipe down to the basics, using a few ingredients in a smart way, to get these tasty burrito bowls on the table in about 45 minutes!

Print

Ingredients

• 2 cups white rice
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 3 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon taco seasoning, divided
• 2 15-oz cans black beans, drained
• 2/3 cup salsa or pico de gallo
• 2 limes
• 1/3 cup fresh chopped cilantro
• Desired toppings: additional pico de gallo/salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cotija cheese, hot sauce, tortilla chips

Instructions

1. Start cooking your rice if you haven't already by adding the rice, salt, and 4 cups of water in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let it sit, covered, for another 10 minutes or so. (You can use a rice cooker for this if you have one.)
2. Meanwhile, add the ground beef to a large skillet heated to medium-high. If your ground beef is especially lean, you can add a little oil to keep it from sticking initially. Cook the meat until it is no longer pink and also has crispy, caramelized bits -- 15-20 minutes. Stir in 3 tablespoons taco seasoning and cook for another 5 minutes or so. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
3. While the meat is cooking, add the drained beans to a smaller saucepan along with 2/3 cup pico de gallo, 1 teaspoon taco seasoning, and 2/3 cup of water. Simmer over medium heat until a semi-thick sauce has developed and no longer looks clear. Set aside and keep warm.
4. When your rice is finished, fluff it with a fork. Squeeze 1/2 a lime's juice into the rice along with the 1/3 cup chopped cilantro. Stir it well.
5. Gather your toppings. When the rice, meat, and beans are finished, assemble bowls by putting spoonfuls of rice, meat, and beans into each bowl and adding desired toppings.

Notes

1. If you use my Homemade Taco Seasoning, you'll notice that's it's more concentrated than store-bought because it has less thickeners. I took this into consideration in the recipe, so if you are using store bought taco seasoning, you may want to add more seasoning.
2. If you'd like your taco meat a little saucier, add 2/3 cup water when you add the taco seasoning and cook it for a few minutes longer to create a light sauce around the meat.

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Nutrition Information

Yield 8 Serving Size 1 bowl
Amount Per Serving Calories 440Total Fat 15gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 102mgSodium 1324mgCarbohydrates 34gFiber 9gSugar 2gProtein 41g

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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