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
I love any comments or questions. Please feel free to leave them below.
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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.
Jamie
This is so easy and delicious! I made this for the family and topped it with guac and salsa. It'll be a regular weeknight meal for us!
Eileen xo
Wonderful news Jamie. So glad you and your family enjoyed it.
Sam
Yum, this burrito bowl looks delicious!! I am always looking for quick and easy meals so this is perfect! Bookmarking to try.
Eileen xo
Excellent Sam. Come back and let us know how the burrito bowl worked for you. Glad you are going to make them.
Debbie
I am so glad I came across your recipe! This burrito bowl is so easy and so delicious! I adored the avocado crema , it really was the perfect touch. My oldest son asked me when I was making this again so it's safe to say it will be on a regular dinner rotation.
Eileen xo
You made my day Debbie. I am happy your son loved the burrito bowl. I am very happy you are adding these to your weekly rotation/
Mikayla
Yum! We actually made taco salads with this, which was absolutely perfect. The beef was great with all the additions and the crema was a really nice touch.
Eileen xo
Fantastic Mikalya. These bowls are so versatile. The taco salad sounds wonderful. I am thrilled you enjoyed the recipe.
Sara
Would you believe I have never had a burrito bowl? This looks like a great lunch option,and I know I would love it! Can't wait to try it for myself.
Eileen xo
Well, Sara, it is definitely time to make a burrito bowl. Let us know how the bowls turned out for you.
Paula Montenegro
You had me at 'perfectly seasoned'! Just the type of recipe that I love, easy and super flavorful. Those fire-roasted tomatoes are the best thing. Love this.
Eileen xo
Love it, awesome. Enjoy the burrito bowls.
Mama Maggie's Kitchen
This Beef Burrito Bowl looks SO deliciously good. I wish I could eat that right now!
Eileen xo
I hope you make it soon and enjoy.
Tara
This beef bowl was perfect for our gluten free family! Filling, full of flavor and delicious!
Eileen xo
Excellent Tara. I hope your family enjoys it often.
Candice
So much yum in here!! This burrito bowl is officially on our weekly menu. It was so easy to make, and the flavors in here are incredible. I just love your spice blend for the beef... yum!!
Eileen xo
I'm so glad you and your family enjoy the burrito bowl
Jenny
Your fabulous burrito bowls saved the day, I know now what I making for dinner. I have all the ingredients on hand (thanks to your wonderful, easy recipe) so I am going for it!. Thanks so much!
Eileen xo
Fantastic. Glad you are enjoying the bowls. I agree the ingredients are super easy to gather.
Camilla M Mann
Thanks so much for including me in the virtual cooking party! I had a blast and, now, have a great new favorite recipe.
Eileen xo
I'm so happy you enjoyed the cooking party and the burrito bowl. It was a pleasure cooking.