Mexican Ground Beef Skillet

4.94 from 148 votes
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Whether you’re making this for game day or eating it as an easy dinner idea, this Mexican Ground Beef Skillet requires just one pan and only 40 minutes of your time! You can serve it in so many different ways – with chips, in a burrito, as a bowl, etc.

This ground beef recipe is a Fit Foodie reader favorite and also one we make in our own kitchens on repeat. We love how veggie-packed it is and it’s also high in protein (27g/serving) thanks to ground beef and beans. I personally love serving this nacho-style with tortilla chips, but it’s quite tasty eaten out of a bowl, too!

beef skillet in skillet.
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This was absolutely delicious. My kids made burritos with it and we also used tortilla chips. – Sharon

Looking for healthy ground beef recipes? We got you!

This one-pot Mexican ground beef skillet has hundreds of 5-star reviews and so many of you have made it time and time again, making it IMO, the internet’s most popular ground beef dinner recipe.

The rundown: Cook garlic, onion, and bell pepper in olive oil. Then, move that to the side and brown your ground beef in the same skillet. Add the seasonings, tomato sauce, beans, quick-cooking rice, and broth and bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer on low for around 20 minutes.

What does this Mexican Ground Beef Skillet Taste Like?

Similar to our Mexican casserole, this skillet is made with ground beef, taco seasoning, rice, beans, and tons of veggies. It tastes similar to a burrito bowl, but it’s made in one pan on the stovetop.

ground beef skillet ingredients on cutting board.

What You Need for this Mexican Ground Beef Recipe

  • garlic: every good Mexican dish starts with garlic and that’s just a fact. Feel free to add more if your heart desires.
  • yellow onion
  • bell pepper: we love sneaking veg into our dishes when we can and bell peppers fit quite nicely in this skillet. Choose any color you’d like and even double it if you feel like it.
  • ground beef: the star of this dish really is the ground beef. Now, we like a little fat in our ground beef, which is why we used 85%, but feel free to use a less fatty beef OR even swap it out for ground turkey.
  • taco seasoning: we always have an all-purpose taco seasoning on hand at our house. It’s meant exactly for recipes like this! Basic spices, but a whole lot of flavor.
  • tomato sauce: a little tomato sauce goes a long way. All you need is 1/2 cup and you’re good to go!
  • green chiles: green chiles are mild for a pepper, yet they add really great flavor. If you like it spicy, be my guest and use jalapeños instead!
  • black beans: black beans are another one of those Mexican essential ingredients. I keep a stock-pile of cans in my cupboard because they’re cheap and high protein. Feel free to use pinto instead!
  • Instant rice: instant rice is pure magic. Let me stress the instant because in order for this to coo properly, you need to use instant rice, not regular rice. We tested this with both brown and white and they work swimmingly!
  • shredded cheese: all skillets deserve to be topped with shredded cheese. Add as much or as little as you’d like!
taco seasoning and brown rice

How to Make a Mexican Ground Beef Skillet

As you know, this recipe only requires one pan and one pan only! That means the Instructions are rather simple.

  1. Cook Veggies: Start off by partially sauteeing the bell pepper, garlic, and onion in olive oil. The goal here is to get them partially cooked, but not all the way.
  2. Add Beef: Move the veggies to one side and add ground beef. Saute until the beef is fully cooked and then mix everything together.
  3. Add Rest of Ingredients: Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan and bring to a boil. Then, turn the burner down to low and cover it. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the rice has softened.

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3! And, clean-up is a breeze because you only dirtied one pan.

Do I have to strain the beef before moving on?

It is not required to strain the fat from the beef before moving on, but you are more than welcome to if you want!

Can I use regular white rice instead?

While we haven’t tested this method, we are confident that jasmine rice would work. We recommend adding 1/2 cup more broth and letting it simmer until the rice is fully cooked.

I read in the comments that other people have cooked their regular white rice separately and mixed it all together at the end and that works, too! If that is the case, we recommend reducing the broth by at least 1/2 cup so it’s not soupy.

ground beef skillet in pan.

Storage Directions

Fridge: Let ground beef skillet cool completely. Then, transfer into a glass container. Will last in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.

Freeze for Later

This is a great recipe to freeze for later! Hold off on adding the cheese and then let the skillet cool completely. Transfer into a freezer-safe, gallon-size bag and then remove as much air as possible. Seal and freeze for up to 3 months.

pan of ground beef skillet.

FAQ

Can I use pinto beans instead of black beans?

Yes! Any kind of beans will work for this recipe.

How do I make this less spicy?

The best way to make this less spicy is to reduce the spice from the taco seasoning you use. Omit the paprika and cayenne pepper.

Can I make this vegetarian?

We have tested this with a plant-based ground and it came out great. Feel free to use your favorite kind.

Can I sub quinoa instead?

While we haven’t personally tried this, many of you have and said that quinoa works just great.

Can I use a different kind of ground meat?

Yes! Many of you have made this recipe with ground turkey, ground chicken, and ground venison.

Serving Suggestions:

Nachos: Our personal favorite way to serve this skillet is with tortilla chips. That means you can either eat it as nachos for a main meal or an appetizer! Cough cough, game day! Try our ground beef nachos.

Tacos: Grab a few street taco shells and plop some of this in there as the filling. You get it all –> meat, veggies, and rice! Top it with a scoop of guac and you’re good to go! Here’s our fav ground beef tacos recipe.

Bowls: Eat this skillet as-is with #allthetoppings. Think avocado, hummus, fresh cilantro, and lime juice! Here’s a recipe for our fav Beef Taco Bowls.

Burritos: Got leftover skillet? Use it as filling for freezer burritos. Simply follow the directions in our Freezer Beef Burrito post on how to freeze for later!

4.94 from 148 votes

Mexican Ground Beef Skillet

Looking for healthy ground beef recipes? Whether you make this on game day or eat it as a main meal, this Mexican Beef Skillet requires one pan only and only 40 minutes of your time!
By: Lee Funke
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 6
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Ingredients 

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, minced
  • 2 large bell peppers, diced
  • 1 lb. 85% ground beef
  • 3 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning
  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce
  • 2 tablespoons green chiles
  • 15 oz. canned black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup quick-cooking brown rice, quick-cooking white rice works too!
  • 1.5 cups beef broth, any kind
  • 1/2 cup Mexican shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions 

  • Heat olive oil over medium/high heat in a large nonstick skillet*.
  • When olive oil is fragrant, add garlic, onion, and bell pepper. Saute for 3-5 minutes.
  • Then, move veggies to the side and add in ground beef. Saute ground beef for 7-9 minutes, or until fully cooked. Mix everything together in the pan.
  • Once the beef is fully cooked, add taco seasoning, tomato sauce, green chiles, and black beans and cook for a few minutes. Then, add in quick-cooking rice and broth. Bring to a boil over medium/high heat.
  • Once boiling, turn down to low and cover. Let simmer for around 20 minutes or until the rice has softened and absorbed the majority of the liquid.
  • Sprinkle cheese on top of skillet and either let melt naturally or pop it in the oven at 400ºF for a few minutes to fully melt cheese.
  • Serve beef skillet with chips!

Tips & Notes

  • Skillet size: we used a 16-inch skillet, but if you use something smaller, just make sure it is deep enough. A dutch oven would work perfectly!
  • Nutrition information includes our homemade taco seasoning recipe.

Watch It

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”FTga3YeF” upload-date=”2020-08-22T09:00:00.000Z” name=”Mexican Beef Skillet” description=”Whether you make this on game day or eat it as a main meal, this Mexican Beef Skillet requires one pan only and only 40 minutes of your time!”]

Nutrition

Calories: 379 kcal, Carbohydrates: 28 g, Protein: 27 g, Fat: 16 g, Fiber: 6 g, Sugar: 4 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About Lee Funke

Lee is the founder of Fit Foodie Finds and based in Minneapolis, MN. She started this website in 2010 as a way to share her love for real food and wellness. The internet has changed so much since then and so has Fit Foodie Finds. Today we're a female-run recipe website publishing hundreds of tried and true recipes developed and tested by our team.

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amilia
March 21, 2024 1:47 am

Chick-fil-A menu has yummy choices, like our famous Chicken Sandwich and tasty salads. With their delicious ingredients, Chick-fil-A always makes sure everything tastes super delicious.
https://chickfilamenu.org/

Katie
Katie
February 11, 2024 7:16 pm

5 stars
Super tasty! I added some jalapeรฑos for extra spice but otherwise this was super easy and tasty!

Lรฉlรฉ
Lรฉlรฉ
November 16, 2023 2:51 am

Am I suppose to strain the beef and veggies before adding the other ingredients?

I know instant rice is 2:1 ratio and the recipe only calls for 1.5c of broth. Is the other 1/2c come from the grease or the tomato sauce?

Even if the recipe calls for it, would be OK to leave out the grease and replace it with something else?

I bought all the ingredients today and I can’t wait to make it so any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! ๐Ÿ™

JJJ
JJJ
August 29, 2023 4:42 pm

5 stars
I enjoyed this one, as did the rest of the family. I kicked up the garlic, onion, chiles, and cheese. And tossed in some leftover jalapeรฑo and cilantro from another recipe. I served it alongside some chips and corn. Yum! Definitely a repeat and one I plan to double next time to create a freezer meal!

Helen
Helen
August 2, 2023 6:14 pm

5 stars
This was very, very nice and fun to make. It made 6 servings of a slightly heaping 1 cup each. I cooked the basmati rice separately and put it on top.

The Taco seasoning is great. I omitted the onion powder and used Hungarian paprika vs smoked. And I only used 2 TBSP of the seasoning in the recipe.

I always use a pork/beef mixture for almost everything. I didnโ€™t have any green chilis, so to add some other zip, I used some Tabasco, a splash of plain rice vinegar, and about 1/2 cup of Harp ale. And homemade chicken broth b/c thatโ€™s what I have on hand. I also added corn niblets, frozen last summer.

Morgan Pavel
Morgan Pavel
June 30, 2023 10:21 am

5 stars
My husband and I make this recipe all the time! It is an absolute staple in our home. Itโ€™s so quick and easy and we can eat off of it for 2-3 days. I highly recommend!!

Dean
Dean
June 6, 2023 6:36 pm

This was simple yet satisfyingly complex in its flavors. We thoroughly enjoyed it and my wife insists I keep it in the short rotation recipe pile. (I’m happy to do so!) Served simply with tortilla chips and sliced avocado – fantastic.

Emily Richter
June 7, 2023 2:52 pm
Reply to  Dean

So happy to hear it!

Kristin
Kristin
May 23, 2023 5:18 pm

5 stars
This was easy and delicious!

Nutra Gesture
May 6, 2023 12:58 am

5 stars
My kids made burritos with it and we also used tortilla chips.

Shere
Shere
April 6, 2023 6:17 pm

I really want to make this but I only have regular white rice. Is there a way to use that without cooking it first?

Shere
Shere
April 6, 2023 6:24 pm
Reply to  Shere

I just saw your note about this so never mind. I will definitely try it when I get some instant rice though! It looks delicious!

Helen
Helen
August 3, 2023 1:17 am
Reply to  Shere

5 stars
I cooked my rice separately.. And used regular basmati. A bit more wet, served it in a wide bowl. Added the cheese, then the rice on top and stirred in the rice at the table. No more excess wetness. A great recipe.