Here’s an idea: Next time you have some ground beef at home, make this Mediterranean Beef and Rice. It’s an easy healthy dinner that needs only one pan, some good vegetables and, well beef and rice. This ground beef recipe will be done in around 30 minutes and makes 3 servings, which means if you’re on your own: meal prep for 3 days is done. Serve with some salad, tzatziki and olives to make yourself feel like you’ve ended up somewhere in the Mediterranean (well, in Greece!).
I am not a huge fan of ground beef or ground meat in general (ahem, makes these Greek meatball bowls and ground beef dinner skillet), but thanks to my husband, I again ended up with some ground beef at home and was completely lost.
But I remembered that A LOOONG time ago, when I was a student and found out I had iron deficiency like almost every young woman out there, I started cooking ground beef once a week. My doctor recommended it and I obeyed like a sheep following the leader.
I started creating different dishes, but the one I really loved was one with bulgur (for extra iron), eggplant and ground beef. It was so good, I would eat it even without the iron deficiency.
Somehow that dish flew out of my mind and my dinner rotation over the years, but now I’ve started cooking it again and am sharing it with you.
How To Make Mediterranean Ground Beef & Rice
Step 1: Prepare
- Wash your rice until water runs clear
- Chop the onions and other vegetables of your choice
Step 2: Cook
- Use a non-stick pan or skillet to cook the ground beef at medium heat
- Add in spices, onions garlic and cook, add some water if needed
- Add in the rice and salt and 1/3 water
- Stir in some green beans
- Cook until rice is done
Step 3: Serve
This dish is delicious on its own, but when you add a garlic sauce and some salad it gets even better. I served mine with tzatziki (that’s Greek yogurt with minced garlic, some thinly chopped cucumber and salt), an easy tomato cucumber salad and olives.
Options
- Change the rice: Instead of rice you could easily use bulgur (not gluten-free) or quinoa. This dish might work with cauliflower rice for a low-carb version, but I haven’t tried it.
- Change the meat: Instead of ground beef you could use any type of ground meat – turkey or chicken would work as well.
- Use stock instead of water: I don’t usually make or buy stock, so I always use water for cooking and then add salt to taste. If you do use stock in your kitchen – you can definitely do it here when cooking the rice – it will probably add even more flavor.
- Vegetables: You can add any type of vegetables you like in this dish. Some eggplant (make sure to cook through), zucchini, spinach, some broccoli, a carrot would all be a good choice.
Meal Prep
This recipe makes around 3 servings, so if you want to meal prep it for the week simply store in an airtight container and warm it up when it’s time to eat.
Serve with salad, olives and tzatziki (which you could also make ahead).
Now, here’s the recipe.
Mediterranean Beef And Rice
Mediterranean Beef and Rice is a delicious, easy healthy dinner that you could make in 30 minutes and meal prep for the week ahead. Serve with a salad, tzatziki and olives to make this ground beef recipe even better.
Ingredients
- 10 oz lean ground beef (300g)
- 1/2 cup rice, rinsed and drained
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 small tomato, chopped
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp mint
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 cup green beans
Instructions
- Chop your vegetables and rinse and drain the rice until water runs clear.
- In a pan (with a lid) add the ground beef and crumble it. Let cook at medium heat for 2-3 minutes, add a little bit of water, if not using a non-stick pan, cover with a lid.
- Stir in the cumin, coriander, mint and paprika until covered.
- Add some olive oil and stir in the chopped onion and garlic.
- Stir in the rice and add 1/3 cup of water, a few pinches of salt or stock of your choice, making sure everything is covered.
- Cover the pan with a lid and let cook for 10 minutes, checking every now and then whether you need to add water.
- Stir in the green beans and the tomato. Cook until rice is done.
- Once the rice is cooked, check whether you'll need to add some salt, I had to add a little bit and I added a Tbsp of olive oil.
- Serve warm with a salad, olives and a sauce of your choice (mine was tzatziki, but an avocado sauce could also work).
Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 255Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 63mgSodium 66mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 2gSugar 4gProtein 22g
