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Mexican Ground Beef Skillet Recipe
View more Beef Recipes, One Dish Recipes
Prep Time
10 min
Total Time
40 min
Yield
Feeds 4 – 6
We love skillet recipes, and this Mexican Ground Beef Skillet recipe is a staple in our household. We always seem to have ground beef on hand, and we love cooking in one dish instead of using multiple dishes to save on clean up time!
This recipe has everything for a complete meal in one big skillet – ground beef, vegetables, beans, rice, plus cheese on top! Our method is easy to make and you can easily modify it to your specific tastes. Don’t like beans? Omit them, no big deal. Watching carbs? Skip the rice and broth. The recipe will still be tasty without them.
It only took about 40 minutes total to get this meal on the table and didn’t require much prep work, so it was perfect to enjoy on a weeknight after work. My entire family, including my 2 year old daughter, really enjoyed the recipe, and we think you’ll like it too.
This is Mexican ground beef skillet is seriously such a simple recipe to make, but there are some twists you may want to try, or questions you may have, so we’re trying to answer them below. If you have questions that we didn’t answer, leave us a comment below and we’ll get back to you?
What type of ground beef did you use for this recipe?
For this recipe, we used our standard 85% lean ground beef. We think this is the perfect lean – fat ratio for this recipe. You don’t want the meat too lean or it won’t cook right, but you also don’t want it too fatty, because the recipe will get greasy. Sticking with 85% lean is our suggestion!
Can I use other meats than ground beef in this recipe?
You could definitely swap out other the ground beef for other meat you may have on hand or prefer. Here are suggestions to try:
- Ground chicken – if you prefer a more lean meat than ground beef.
- Ground turkey – if you prefer poultry to beef.
- Ground pork – if you want a little bit more fat to the recipe.
- Beef sirloin cut into small 1/2″ cubes – if you want crispy and delicious chunks of meat in the recipe.
How would you suggest making this Mexican Ground Beef Skillet a spicy skillet?
We did not make this recipe very spicy, but it does have just a touch of heat. If you want a spicy skillet, here are ways you can bring some spice to the recipe:
- Use a spicy taco seasoning or add a little bit of cayenne pepper to your taco seasoning to bring up the spice levels.
- Add a can of green chiles to the mixture.
- Sauté some jalapeño or other spicy peppers alongside the bell peppers.
- Add a touch of your favorite hot sauce to the mixture along with the broth.
How do you eat this Mexican Ground Beef Skillet?
We enjoyed this skillet with tortilla chips! It’s very scoopable and delicious. You can also serve this as a “power bowl” by just scooping the mixture into a bowl and digging into a complete bowl. Finally, this would make a great taco filling if you’d like to eat the filling on a tortilla shell!
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE TACO SEASONING TO USE IN THIS RECIPE?
Why yes, we do! We really like this Mesa Rosa Chipotle Spice Blend from Stonewall Kitchen. It’s not too spicy, but has enough heat to let you know it’s there, plus just a bit of smoky notes that we really like.
There are obviously a ton of different taco seasonings that are available, and you can use your favorite. If you have a little bit of time and want to make a homemade taco seasoning to use in your ground beef taco skillet, here’s
- 1 tbsp. Kosher Salt
- 1 tbsp. Chili Powder
- 2 tsp. Garlic Powder
- 2 tsp. Onion Powder
- 2 tsp. Ground Cumin
- 1 tsp. Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper (omit if you prefer a more mild taco seasoning)
If you have a great taco seasoning recipe, we’d love to hear it – just leave us a note in the comments below!
What type of cookware do you suggest using for this recipe?
We used our 12″ Lodge Cast Iron Skillet for this recipe. It worked great! Having a dish that lets you sear and then reduce heat and simmer is key. Many types of skillet will work for this, but cast iron is our favorite.
For even easier clean up, try using an enameled cast iron skillet. You could also use a Dutch oven for this recipe – the taller sides can be a very nice benefit.
We hope that answers all of your questions about our Mexican Ground Beef Skillet recipe. If you have more questions, made a tweak to the recipe, or any other feedback, leave us a comment or rating below. And if you’re looking for even more ground beef recipes, you can just follow this link to see even more ideas. Have a great day – we hope to see you soon at Lake Geneva Country Meats!
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 1 Leahy’s Angus Ground Beef
- 1 White Onion (diced)
- 3 Bell Pepper (diced, your choice of colors, we used green, yellow, and red)
- 2 Tbsp Taco Seasoning (your favorite seasoning)
- 1 can Black Beans (rinsed and drain, 15 oz. can)
- 1 can Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies (like Ro-Tel, 10 oz. can)
- 1 cup(s) Quick Cooking Rice (white or brown)
- 1 cup(s) Chicken Broth (or water)
- 1 cup(s) Shredded Cheese
- Green Onion (sliced, for garnish)
Directions
Add vegetable oil to a large nonstick skillet (we like cast iron), and heat to medium high heat. Once hot, add ground beef and cook for two minutes. Add diced white onion and cook until onion is soft, stirring occasionally, and breaking up the ground beef as it cooks.
Once onion is soft, add the diced peppers and cook for another 5 minutes. After five minutes, add taco seasoning, black beans, diced tomatoes with green chilies, quick cooking rice, and chicken broth. Mix together, bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to simmer.
Simmer the mixture for about 20 minutes, or until the rice is cooked through. Add shredded cheese on top, and if you’re using an oven proof skillet, let cook for about 3 minutes under the broiler to melt the cheese. You can also let the cheese naturally melt from the heat of the dish if you’re not using an oven proof skillet.
Serve the Mexican Ground Beef Skillet with chips, in a bowl, or in taco shells with sliced green onions on top for garnish and freshness. Enjoy!
