My beef & brown rice taco bake is one I make WEEKLY in our home! My husband and kiddos love it and so do I! There is another similar recipe which calls for quinoa and ground turkey instead of brown rice and ground beef, but this fits my family’s tastes better. It is easy and satisfying and the best part is the serving size is 1/4 of the pan! YES! You read that right!
Beef & Brown Rice Taco Bake
2015-03-03 23:18:38
Serves 4
This is a family favorite at our house and one we have about once a week! It is really great for leftovers too and freezes well. Serving size - 1/4 of the pan!!
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
1 hr
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked brown rice
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Jalapeno, chopped (optional)
- 20 oz lean ground beef
- Red, yellow or green pepper,chopped
- 1-2 tsp fresh lime juice
- 2 T Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Oregano
- ½ tsp Thyme
- 2 tsp cumin (optional)
- 1/3 cup Cilantro, chopped
- Hot Sauce (to taste – optional)
- 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce (low sodium)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9X13 baking dish with EVOO, set aside.
- Boil brown rice in water on stovetop. Set aside
- In a 12” pan, spray with EVOO or cooking spray, add onion, garlic & jalapeno & sauté over medium-high heat for 1 minute.
- Add ground beef, breaking it up as it browns. Cook for about 5 minutes & add peppers. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink.
- Add lime juice and seasonings. Stir to combine. Adjust seasonings to taste.
- Remove from heat - add rice (see notes below), tomato sauce, 1/4 cup of cheese & hot sauce (if using) to the skillet and stir to mix well.
- Pour mixture into baking dish. Top with remaining Cheddar.
- Cover with foil & bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove foil & bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted & edges are bubbling. Remove from oven & let cool for 10 minutes.
21 Day Fix Counts
- 1 Red, 1 Green, 1 Yellow, 1 Blue, 1/4 Purple
Notes
- You may sub out quinoa for the brown rice and turkey for the beef.
- *1 cup uncooked brown rice = 2 cups cooked (roughly) -- 1 yellow container is roughly 1/2 cup. If you are following an active round of the Fix, measure out 4 yellows of rice to add to the meat mixture to ensure an accurate container count.
Fit Mom Angela https://fitmomangelad.com/
I just found this on Pinterest and made it – so good! The only change I made was to measure my rice out in the yellow container 4 times so I had exactly 1 yellow per svg. There were about 1-1/2 yellow containers left so I’m glad I measured (I only get 2 yellows a day so I’m very careful). Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you Lisa! I am so happy you enjoyed it! It is a favorite around here too! 🙂 I will add a note per your comment about measuring out the cooked brown rice with the yellow container. The yellow container is ROUGHLY 1/2 cup and 1 cup uncooked rice (according to the box) = 2 cups cooked. Measuring it out is a great idea before adding it to the mix!! 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment! Best of luck to you on your fitness & health journey and I hope you try some more of my recipes! 🙂
So are you saying to add 4 yellows of uncooked rice?? Or 4 yellow containers of cooked rice? This detail is puzzling to me sorry :/
Hi Candace! Sorry it was unclear – add 4 yellows of cooked rice! 🙂 Hope that helps! Enjoy!
Angela
So we put chili powder and
Not taco seasoning? Does it matter the brand?
Totally fine! I usually make my own taco seasoning. Whatever seasoning you plan to use, just check the ingredient label – the fewer the ingredients, the better! No added sugar! 🙂
What size dish do you use? It looks like a 9×13 but that seems like a lot of food for one serving. We can’t wait to try this.
Hi Dana! Yes 9×13″ baking dish and YES it is a big serving but its also not really thick. :). Enjoy!!
I made this last night and it was absolutely amazing. We used to live in Wisconsin so having 3-4 times as much cheese used to be the norm for us – until I started the 21 Day Fix. This was the perfect combination of cheese, spices and beef. Thank you for all the recipes and I can’t wait to try even more recipes in the future!
That’s awesome! The taco bake is definitely a staple around here, too!
Do you know the nutrition numbers or even calorie count per serving?
Hi Lisa! I actually do not count calories. 🙂 I count my containers and fill them only with foods from the nutrition guide.
Lisa Z: I have been counting my calories for years and still do while even though I am on round 5 of the 21 Day Fix. When I made the dish the first time (exactly as the recipe states), I calculated the calories to be 359 for 1/4 of the 13×9 pan. I have not added extra ingredients since it was perfect the way it was. I hope this helps.
Thank you Dana! That is awesome information! 🙂 I appreciate it! 🙂
Where is the 1/4 purple? Did I miss something in the recipe?
Here is a short video from the woman herself. 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/autumncalabresefitness/videos/1662374950659709/
I was kind of wondering the same thing about the purple…..can someone explain?
Hi Stacey – So, awhile back, Autumn clarified that as long as it is sugar free, the tomato sauce counts as a green. I need to update the container counts on this one! 🙂 Enjoy! Angela
This was delicious! I left out the jalapeno and hot sauce, and it was still great! My 10 y/o even approved!!
I am SO happy to hear you loved it! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know. <3 🙂 Angela
This was such a satisfying meal!! It totally felt like cheating, but I even measured out 4 yellows of rice and the portions were still huge! Delicious, going to become a regular in our house! Thank you!
Thank you Kate! I am so happy you loved it! 🙂 That reminds me, I should add that one on our menu again soon! 🙂 YUM! 🙂 Angela
I used ground turkey. Didn’t have jalapenos, so instead of tomato sauce used fire roasted tomatoes with green chilies for a tiny kick. So delicious!
Sounds delicious Terri!! 🙂
can you skip the boiling and just use 4 yellow containers of pre-cooked brown rice?? Making this tonight, looks so good!
Hi Katie – if it is pre-cooked, yes! 🙂 I hope you enjoyed it!
Angela
Hey! How many peppers do you use? It is unclear in the recipe. Or I am losing it lol!
I have one on there – but you can’t really overeat on veggies, so if you want to add more, go for it! 🙂
Hahaha! I didn’t read the “or”. I added 3 peppers! One of each color!! It is delicious!!!
Another great recipe! Thank you!
You are so very welcome! 🙂
Hello Angela,
I made the recipe this afternoon for dinner. I have a quick clarification question since I’m new to the 21 day Fix program. A serving would be a (1/4)quarter of the serving dish? This serving size would be then count as the containers list?
Hi Martin! Yes – 1/4 of the pan counts as the containers listed! Enjoy! 🙂
Just made this tonight. My husband and I loved it. And the portion was just right! Thanks for posting.
So happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
This was a great recipe! Thanks! Hubby even asked for it to go into our regular meal rotation and since he’s not a health nut or anything, that’s saying something! I think I’ll try adding some black beans next time for fun. Great recipe, we thoroughly enjoyed it! 🙂
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
Hi! Thanks for the recipe. I’m making it now but I’m not sure where the cilantro come in.
Absolutely Ariel! 🙂 I usually mix a little into the casserole and add a sprinkle over the top – totally up to YOU!
I just made this I ended up adding 1 extra tsp each of cumin and chili powder. I also used Kraft 2% cheddar cheese I like spicy food but only used 1/2 of a jalapeno. I tasted it and it’s fabulous great recipe I will definitely make this again.
Sounds delicious! 🙂 Happy you enjoyed it!
20 oz of beef? It’s always sold by the pound here. How should I adjust it?
You can easily do it with just 1 pound – it is 4oz vs 5oz of the meat – roughly 1 red container. I think I made this with a 20oz package of meat the first time, but 1 lb is optimal. (Its been a long time since I have made this one! 🙂
How long do you boil the brown rice? Like just cook it as the directions for the rice state?
Hi Stephanie – yes, prepare as the directions say – I use the quick cooking brown rice. 🙂
I cheated on cooking the rice by buying the already cooked microwave package!
Hi Angela! This looks AMAZING! Can’t wait to try it but I do have a question. My whole household very much dislike bell peppers. Is there any other veggies I could use so that I could get all of the veggie container worth? We love onions and all other veggies. Just wanted your suggestion on that. This is my biggest struggle because most of the 21 Day Fix recipes have bell peppers in. I really wish we liked them. We love all other peppers. Thank you!
Hi Cheyene! 🙂 What about Zucchini or another summer squash? 🙂 I bet that would be delicious! 🙂
This might sound stupid, but when you list the number of containers the recipe counts as, are those per serving or for the whole recipe?
Hi Christy – there are no stupid questions! The container counts are per serving. 🙂
This dish was delicious! My Greek family loved it, even my 89 year old momma!
Thanks for sharing!
That is so awesome! 🙂
I just found dinner tonight! Thanks for the recipe! I can’t wait to try it. 🙂
How much chopped peppers do I need? It just says red, green or yellow peppers but doesn’t say how much? Thank you!!
Usually my peppers are about 1 cup each. 🙂 It is really hard to over eat on your veggies, so I am not as strict if it happens to go over. If you have really small peppers, add more. 🙂