What can I make with ground beef and rice?
Ground Beef and Rice is the ingredient most weeknight dinners get built around, and it rewards a little technique more than a long ingredient list. Below are recipes from our library that use ground beef and rice, followed by the browning, temperature, and storage notes that make the difference between a good result and a grey one.
12 recipes with ground beef and rice
Pad See Ew
Wide rice noodles stir-fried with dark soy, egg, and Chinese broccoli.
Thai25m3Bibimbap
Mixed rice bowl with sautéed veggies, beef, and a fried egg.
Korean40m4Bibimbap
Korean rice bowl with sautéed vegetables, beef, fried egg, and gochujang.
Korean45m4Stuffed Bell Peppers
Bell peppers baked with a beef, rice, and tomato filling.
American45m6Beef Pho
Vietnamese noodle soup with star anise broth and rare beef.
Vietnamese180m6Pho
Aromatic beef broth with rice noodles and thin-sliced beef.
Vietnamese200m4
Syrian Rice with Meat
Heat 1/4 cup butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
Syrian4
Beef Banh Mi Bowls with Sriracha Mayo, Carrot & Pickled Cucumber
Add'l ingredients: mayonnaise, siracha 1 Place rice in a fine-mesh sieve and rinse until water runs clear.
Vietnamese4
Golabki (cabbage roll)
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
Polish4
Massaman Beef curry
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6, then roast the peanuts on a baking tray for 5 mins until golden brown.
Thai4
Beef Mandi
1.
India4
Egyptian Fatteh
To prepare bread for bottom of dish: Take pita bread and rip into bite size pieces.
Egyptian4
How to cook ground beef and rice so it stays tender
- 1Pat the ground beef and rice dry and salt it 15-40 minutes ahead. Dry surface means browning instead of steaming.
- 2Preheat the pan until a drop of water skitters, then add a thin film of oil. Crowding the pan is the number one reason ground beef and rice turns grey.
- 3Brown in a single layer without moving it for 2-3 minutes per side, then build the sauce in the same pan so the browned bits dissolve into it.
- 4Cook to temperature, not time: 160F for ground meat, 130-135F for a medium-rare cut, then rest 5 minutes before slicing.
What goes well with ground beef and rice
Ground Beef and Rice is at its best with onion, garlic, tomato, potato, paprika and red wine. Any two or three of those, plus ground beef and rice, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing ground beef and rice
Keep raw ground beef and rice on the bottom shelf of the fridge and use it within 1-2 days, or freeze it flat in a bag for up to three months. Cooked leftovers keep 3-4 days and reheat best with a splash of stock in a covered pan rather than in the microwave.
Substituting ground beef and rice
If you are out of ground beef and rice, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Ground Beef and Rice recipes: common questions
- What can I make with ground beef and rice and not much else?
- Plenty. With ground beef and rice plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest ground beef and rice recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute ground beef and rice?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover ground beef and rice?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover ground beef and rice without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.
- What temperature should ground beef and rice be cooked to?
- Use an instant-read thermometer rather than timing: 165F for poultry, 160F for ground meat, 145F for whole cuts and fish, all measured at the thickest point away from bone. Rest larger cuts for five minutes before cutting.