Ultimate Beef Taco Bowl with Fresh Guacamole
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These taco bowls are the perfect meal prep or to eat fresh! This beef taco has been one of my new favourite lunches lately!
I love making tacos and quesadillas. From Asian Fusion Chicken Tacos to Oven-Baked Quesadillas with Spicy Guacamole, I love celebrating Taco Tuesday! Now you don’t have to wait for dinner time to do it, though! Taco bowls are so versatile and fun to make and eat, and while there are many varieties, I'm sharing my current favourite recipe which is a beef taco bowl. This goes very well with basmati rice and topped with a fresh homemade guacamole. The meat is full of flavour, spicy, tender and adds great body to the dish. Be sure to try out this recipe and enjoy!
What is a Taco Bowl?
A taco bowl is simply a taco in a bowl without the tortilla! The beauty of a taco bowl is that the ingredients that are usually toppings in a taco are going to be the star here! The taco “toppings” are served over some rice. I’ve topped my taco bowl with sour cream, homemade guacamole and sour cream. Because we’re not using a tortilla, taco bowls are great for meal prepping because you won’t get your bread soggy if you wanted to eat this later!
Are Taco Bowls Healthy?
I’d say that they are because you can easily make a taco bowl that’s well balanced, providing you with plenty of essential nutrients that will fuel your day at that afternoon mark when your energy starts to dip. Don’t feel sluggish at lunchtime - use this bowl to energize you! Here’s what’s so great about these beef taco bowls:
Protein packed: We’re using extra lean ground beef here. It’s high in protein and will keep you satisfied, and it’s incredibly juicy and tasty! We’re also getting additional protein from the cheese on top.
Healthy fats: Our bodies need monounsaturated fats. I’ve topped my taco bowl with Quick Homemade Guacamole. Avocados are a wonderful source of monounsaturated fats, which help to lower the levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol. We’re going to cook our ground beef in some extra virgin olive oil, which is another great source of monounsaturated fats. The problem with take-out taco bowls is that you’re not totally sure with the quality of the ingredients used in the cooking, but here we know we’re packing our bowl with nutritious ingredients!
Lots of fibre: We’re adding black beans to this taco bowl to add some bulk and a nice gritty texture to the bowl. One cup of cooked black beans packs in 15 grams of fibre! This will help keep you satisfied throughout the day!
Ingredients for Ultimate Beef Taco Bowls
Here is my favourite combination for toppings in this taco bowl! I love the creativity of taco bowls for toppings, and I really like to go all-out!
Shredded cheese: I used cheddar cheese but you can use any cheese of choice!
Shredded lettuce: I shredded the iceberg lettuce myself but you could save some time and buy a bag of pre-shredded lettuce if you’d like.
Salsa
Sour cream
Incredible Easy Homemade Guacamole: Or use a store-bought one if you’d like.
Cilantro
I didn’t do it here, but I would also recommend some Authentic Pico de Gallo on top!
How to Make a Taco Bowl?
Heat a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add onions and garlic and sauté for 5-8 minutes or until they turn translucent.
Then add the ground beef and breakdown any large chunks of meat using a spatula or a wooden spoon. Continue cooking for 5-8 minutes or until it is no longer pink.
Add in salt, pepper and taco seasoning and mix well. Cooking for 2-3 more minutes or until mixture is fragrant. Add the tomato paste and mix well, cooking for another minute. Add the water and mix well of the mixture is too dry.
In the meanwhile, cook your rice as per package directions. Learn how to make easy fluffy rice for more tips and tricks! Once the meat and rice have cooked, assemble the bowl. Add the rice followed by the beef mixture.
Then, add the lettuce, cheese, black beans, salsa, and sour cream and top with guacamole and cilantro. Serve hot and enjoy :)
Meal Prepping Taco Bowls
This recipe is easy scale-able, so you can double, triple, or quadruple the recipe as needed and save it for the week. However, I would recommend that you store the beef and rice mixture with the beans, and add your toppings such as guacamole, salsa, cheese and sour cream when ready to serve.
To store, simply portion out the dish into containers. These beef taco bowls will stay good in the fridge for 4 days.
Reheating Taco Bowls
Simply heat your taco bowl in the microwave for about 3 minutes, stirring in 1 minute intervals to ensure that the rice, beans and meat are thoroughly warmed through. Once warm, add your toppings as desired.
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!