One Pan Taco Rice (+Video)
This easy, one pan Taco Rice recipe is a whole meal in one. Ground beef, taco seasonings, salsa, rice and cheese. A family favorite meal!
AN ENTIRE MEAL IN ONE PAN
If there is one item I always tell new cooks to keep in their pantry – is rice. Especially quick-cooking rice like Minute Rice. It can be pulled out and added or mixed with so many other meals and it’s easy to get creative with. It beefs up meal time to make it more filling and you can add just about any flavor to it. Note: brown rice is totally acceptable in this recipe.
WHAT DO YOU SERVE WITH TACO RICE?
I love my Mom’s Spanish Rice, so I figured, why not a taco version? And let me tell you, this turned out crazy good! It also made for awesome leftovers. I topped it with lettuce and tomato and later added a dollop of sour cream but that’s not necessary to make this taste outstanding. This would make a great filling for burritos too and it can be made meatless! You could also substitute with ground pork or turkey if you prefer. Or serve it as a side to my favorite Layered Taco Bake or Mexican Lasagna!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- ground beef
- taco seasoning
- water
- Minute Rice
- salsa
- shredded cheddar cheese
HOW TO MAKE TACO RICE:
In a large skillet, brown and crumble ground beef. Drain excess grease.
Add in taco seasoning and water.
Stir well and allow mixture to come to a boil.
Turn down heat, then add in uncooked Minute Rice and stir.
Cover and cook for about 5 minutes (until rice is tender.) Then remove lid and stir in salsa and cheese.
Turn off heat and it’s ready to serve.
If I am making this a whole meal, I will usually serve it topped with some sour cream, lettuce and diced tomatoes. You could even serve it wrapped in a tortilla.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
One Pan Taco Rice (+Video)
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups Minute Rice uncooked
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet, brown and crumble ground beef. Drain excess grease.
- Add in taco seasoning and water. Stir well and allow mixture to come to a boil.
- Turn down heat, then add in uncooked Minute Rice and stir.
- Cover and cook for about 5 minutes (until rice is tender.) Then remove lid and stir in salsa and cheese.
- Turn off the heat and it’s ready to serve!
Video
Notes
- Serve topped with diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce and sour cream. You can also serve this with your favorite tortillas.
- This can be made meatless.
- Ground pork or ground turkey can be substituted.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: November 2015
Updated & republished: June 2019
I made this for a dinner party and topped it with the works and it was a hit! Thanks for this amazing idea!
Thanks so very much Steve!
Beautiful quick meal.
Delicious my partner was very happy thanks for sharing
Delicious!!
Yay!! So happy it turned out good for you! Thanks Linda!
During the quarantine, the rice shelf was pretty cleaned out. I have regular rice. I’m going to use 1 cup with 2 cups of water and cook it for the required time on the package. I’ll let you know how it turned out.
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My husband really enjoyed it. Next time I think I will use cut-up boneless chicken instead of gd. beef.
Love it, I Make and use it as a filling for soft tacos or burritos also.
Easy, fast and delicious. I add onion, garlic, green pepper, a can of fire-roasted tomatoes and half a bag of frozen corn. My husband loves it.
Love it Kathy!! Thanks so much!
Can I substitute the minute rice for precooked rice? I have some leftover white rice to use up, if so should I reduce or omit the water all together?
I just made this recipe. I’m a big fan of easy-to-make recipes. I added one chopped to ground beef. I added water before adding taco seasoning so it would mix together easier. I love this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing.
I love rice and this recipe looks so easy and delicious! I have ground beef in the fridge and Minute Rice in the pantry … think I’ll try this tonight!
Yay!! Love when a meal can be made with what you already have on hand in the pantry! Hope you love it!
I DID make this dish tonight and it was delicious and so easy! Because I live alone, I split the recipe … only used half of each ingredient. Served it with shredded lettuce and tortilla chips. I will certainly make this again when I have company .. everyone will love it!
Thanks so much Peggy!! I love hearing that!!
This is soooo good & easy to make! I’ve also put it in a tortilla.
Love hearing that Ellen – thanks so much!
Would this work to substitute Quinoa for the rice? I can’t eat much rice, but love quinoa.I wonder how the liquid amount would need to be changed.
Hi Darlene – I enjoy quinoa but I’ve actually never cooked it for myself. So I am honestly not sure. Perhaps someone on here who is more familiar with cooking with quinoa can help us out! 🙂
This was so good!
Just made this tonight. My whole family loved it: I added mushrooms, onions and corn. Will be having leftovers with tortilla chips tomorrow!
Made this a few times. My whole family loved it! Can this recipie be frozen?
Made this the other night and I’m wondering why I never made it before?! So simple and quick yet so good! For sure my new go to when I need a quick meal! Thank you!
The pictures don’t do it justice – ha! It really is one of my favorites. So happy you loved it too!! 🙂