If you love quick, flavor-packed dinners, this easy beef burrito bowl recipe will be a regular on your menu. Seasoned ground beef, fluffy rice, black beans, corn, and your favorite toppings come together in one satisfying bowl that tastes like takeout—without the price tag.
Perfect for busy weeknights, meal prep lunches, or feeding a hungry family.
My family requests this burrito bowl all the time. I love it not only because it is delicious, but also because it's easy to put together. My Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef, Baked Beef Tacos, and Skillet Beef Tacos are on repeat in our meal rotation.
Jump to:
- Better than Chipotle - Why these Burrito Bowls Work
- Ground Beef Burrito Bowl Ingredients
- Kitchen Tools Needed
- How to Make Beef Burrito Bowls
- Make-ahead, storage, and freezer tips
- Toppings for Burrito Bowls
- How to Meal Prep Beef Burrito Bowls
- Eileen's Tips for Success
- Change up Flavors
- Beef Burrito Bowl FAQs
- What to serve with Beef Burrito Bowls
- More Ground Beef Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
Better than Chipotle - Why these Burrito Bowls Work
- Ready in about 30 minutes
- Better than takeout
- Budget-friendly family dinner
- Great for meal prep lunches
- Easy to customize for picky eaters
- High protein and filling
- Delicious leftovers
Ground Beef Burrito Bowl Ingredients
Beef Burrito Bowl Ingredients
- Ground Beef: Use lean ground beef for less grease. If using 80/20, drain excess fat after browning.
- seasonings: onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, salt, black pepper, smoked paprika
- fire-roasted diced tomatoes - fire-roasted gives a nice char to the tomatoes, which adds flavor to the burrito bowl.
- green chiles
- black beans: I make these bowls a lot, black beans are always my first choice, but any favorite bean can be used.
- corn: Great for using leftover roasted corn.
- white rice: White rice, brown rice, cilantro lime rice, or cauliflower rice all work well.
Avocado Crema
- avocado
- plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- lime
- Fresh cilantro - please use fresh cilantro.
- garlic clove
- salt
- black pepper
Kitchen Tools Needed
- Large Skillet
- Measuring Spoons and Cups
- Cutting Board
- knife
- cheese grater
How to Make Beef Burrito Bowls
This is an overview of the recipe. The full instructions are below in the recipe card.
- Brown the beef until no pink remains. Discard excess grease from the pan.
- Add the spices to the browned beef.
- Mix in corn, black beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, and green chilies.
- Simmer for 15 minutes to blend the flavors.
- Use a food processor to make the avocado crema
- Serve in bowls with rice, quinoa, or, for low-carb options, cauliflower rice or shredded lettuce.
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Make-ahead, storage, and freezer tips
Storage - Store leftover beef mixture in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Store the toppings separately in airtight containers.
Reheat: Microwave until hot, or warm in a skillet over medium heat.
Freezer - Freeze the cooked beef mixture for up to 2 months. I use a food saver to freeze all my freezer bags to prevent freezer burn.
Toppings for Burrito Bowls
Make each bowl your own with these favorites:
- chopped cilantro
- shredded cheese
- sour cream
- avocado slices
- guacamole
- pico de gallo
- salsa verde
- hot sauce
- jalapeños
- lettuce
- tomatoes
- green onions
How to Meal Prep Beef Burrito Bowls
Divide rice and beef into meal prep containers. Pack toppings separately and add just before serving.
Perfect for grab-and-go lunches all week.
Eileen's Tips for Success
- Citrus: Use fresh lime. A squeeze of lime brightens all the flavors.
- Make Extra Beef for Additional Meals: The leftover beef mixture is delicious in tacos, nachos, quesadillas, or stuffed peppers.
- Meal Prepping: Store rice, beef, and toppings separately so ingredients do not get soggy.
- Crowd-Pleasing: Set up a beef burrito buffet, and everyone builds their own bowl.
Change up Flavors
Do you want to change up this recipe?
- High Protein Burrito Bowl: Use lean ground beef, brown rice, Greek yogurt or cottage cheese, roasted sweet potatoes, and extra veggies.
- Low Carb Burrito Bowl: Swap rice for roasted cauliflower or chopped romaine.
- Ground Beef: Use ground chicken, diced chicken breast, ground turkey, or chorizo.
- Steak Burrito Bowl: Use sliced flank steak or sirloin steak as your protein.
- Spicy Burrito Bowl: Add chipotle peppers in adobo or cayenne pepper to the protein.
Beef Burrito Bowl FAQs
Yes. Cook the rice and beef mixture up to 2 days in advance. Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Assemble bowls when ready to eat
White rice, brown rice, cilantro-lime rice, or cauliflower rice all work great for these bowls.
Yes. You can use homemade taco seasoning or fajita seasoning instead of the spices listed in the recipe card.
What to serve with Beef Burrito Bowls
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Eileen xo
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card, you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
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Beef Burrito Bowl
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 ½ pounds ground beef, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, saute and brown the meat until no longer pink, about 5 to 7 minutes. Break up the beef until cooked through.
- Remove and discard any excess grease in the pan.
- Mix in 10 ounce can, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, 4 ounce can,chopped diced green chiles, 15.5 ounce can, black beans, drained and rinsed, and 1 cup frozen corn (thawed). Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Cover the skillet with a lid, reduce the heat to a low; simmer for 15 minutes to blend flavors and thoroughly cook the meat. Note: Taste the meat, and if you prefer more spice, adjust the seasoning to your spice level. See note 6, below.
- Serve in bowls with and divide 2 cups cooked rice and your favorite toppings, sliced avocado, shredded Colby jack and cheddar cheese, salsa, chopped green onions, Pico de GalloDrizzle with avocado crema.
- In a blender, add 1 large avocado, 1 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, 1 large lime, juiced, ¼ cup fresh cilantro, 2 cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. Blend to combine.
- If the mixture is very thick, add 1 Tablespoon water and blend.
- Taste for seasoning. Re-seaason if needed.
- Refrigerate until ready to use. Serve drizzled on burrito bowls.
