Easy Ground Beef & Bell Pepper Rice Bowls
This delicious dinner recipe is tossed with a simple asian-style sauce that can be served over your choice of rice for a quick and healthy weeknight meal! It's versatile, budget friendly, and made with just a handful of common ingredients.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1½ cups uncooked rice
- 2-3 tbsp oil
- 1 small yellow onion (chopped)
- 2 bell peppers (chopped)
- 1 small zucchini (chopped)
- 2 tbsp chopped garlic
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to the package instructions (read the notes below for helpful tips).
- While the rice is cooking, heat a large skillet to medium and sauté the veggies in oil for 5-10 minutes. Add the chopped garlic during the last few minutes.
- Scoot the veggies to the side of the pan and add your ground beef. Chop and brown it until no longer pink. You can optionally remove some of the grease if your beef has a high fat content.
- Add ⅓ cup soy sauce, 2 tbsps brown sugar, a tbsp of vinegar, and 1+ tsps of red pepper flakes. Combine well and allow the mixture to simmer for a few minutes.
- Enjoy over cooked rice! You can optionally serve with extra soy sauce, red pepper, or sesame seeds.
Notes
- Any kind of rice can be used for this recipe! White, brown, jasmine, etc. For the best rice, sauté it dry in the pan with a few tablespoons of butter until it browns a bit. You can also add a ton of flavor by replacing some or all of the water with chicken or beef broth.
- Remember, soy sauce is very salty so you probably don't need to add any extra salt. Do a taste test once everything is mixed to see if you'd prefer more sauce. It's always best to start with less and add more if needed!
- The fat percentage in your ground beef will determine whether you'll want to drain the grease or not.
- Not a fan of beef or watching your calories? Replace ground beef with ground turkey or chicken. You could also replace the rice with frozen cauliflower rice for a healthier option.
- Make this dish heartier by adding a bit of butter or sesame oil to the beef mixture.
- Want to bring it up a notch? Drizzle with Yum Yum sauce, a popular creamy sweet and spicy sauce you can purchase at most grocery stores.
- Include any sort of sautéed veggies to this stir fry including broccoli, mushrooms, cabbage, etc.
- If you don't have fresh garlic or onion on hand, feel free to use garlic powder and onion powder as an easy replacement.
- If you're looking for more ground beef dinner ideas check out this List of 10 Super Easy Ground Beef Dinner Recipes Your Family Will Love!