25 Easy Ground Beef and Rice Recipes

When you aren’t sure what to make for dinner, you can’t go wrong with ground beef and rice recipes.

So, you have a pound of ground beef in your fridge, but you’re feeling uninspired. 

Ground beef often finds its way to burgers or maybe taco night.

However, these ground beef and rice recipes are a great way to mix things up.

These recipes hail from Morocco, Italy, China, and Korea. They’re full of exciting flavors, and they are so very cheap!

If you’re cooking on a budget, these dishes help to keep your grocery bill low. 

1. Korean Ground Beef and Rice Bowls  

These Korean ground beef and rice bowls are perfect for a hectic weeknight dinner.

They whip together in a flash and are Picky Eater Council-approved. 

Infuse a pound of lean ground beef with dynamic spices (sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, and brown sugar), and serve over rice.

The meat cooks simultaneously with the rice, so this entire meal comes together in just 20 minutes. 

2. Mexican Ground Beef Casserole with Rice 

Casseroles aren’t just vehicles for American cuisine. This Mexican-inspired dish isn’t exactly a casserole, but it’s just as simple to make!

The filling for this dish is similar to the ingredients found in stuffed peppers. 

It’s simple to whip up, packed with punchy Mexican flavors, and so cheesy.

3. Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole 

This cheesy and delicious casserole deserves a permanent spot in the meal rotation as a flavorful meal on a budget.

While the list of ingredients is simple (and affordable), this casserole is anything but basic. 

The massive flavors found in this dish come from a can of cream of mushroom soup.

Dump your mushroom soup into your beef and rice mixture, and let those flavors marinate in the oven.

4. Taco Casserole with Rice 

Everyone will get excited about this casserole once it comes out of the oven.

The simple mixture infuses rich Mexican seasoning, beef, and rice all in one dish.

Top it with plenty of cheese and crushed tortilla chips and bake. 

It has all of the flavors and crunch of taco night but comes together in a flash. 

5. Arancini 

Arancini is a little more time-consuming than spaghetti and meat sauce, but well worth the extra effort.

These delectable stuffed (and deep-fried) rice balls taste as delicious as they look. 

The filling is a meaty ragu infused with savory veggies like carrots and meatballs.

You can fill some with meat and veggies and reserve a few with just cheese for your picky eaters. 

6. Crockpot Fritos Taco Bowls

Walking tacos are one of my favorite camping treats. They’re tasty and crunchy and utilize the best snack food: Fritos!

These taco bowls give off serious walking taco vibes.

Simmer your taco meat in the Crockpot all day and pour it over a bowl of Fritos. It’s so simple yet still packed with big Mexican flavors. 

7. Thai Basil Beef (Pad Gra Prow) 

Are you looking to spice up that ground beef? Pad gra prow is simple ground beef, basil, and veggies that cook in a spicy Thai sauce.

If the base sauce is a little too spicy (or not spicy enough), you can easily adjust the heat. 

The sauce is a little liquidy, but that’s ok! The rice absorbs all that sauce for a simple dinner dish packed with rich Thai flavors. 

8. Spicy Italian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls 

Ground beef and rice go hand in hand with cabbage rolls.

While your grandma’s recipe for cabbage rolls is good, these spicy Italian stuffed cabbage rolls are even better. 

To kick the flavors up to an 11, mix some spicy Italian sausage into your basic ground beef mixture.

The cabbage rolls possess all of the savory goodness as the classic recipe.

However, the punch of Italian sausage makes all the difference. 

9. Healthy Meatloaf 

How can you make meatloaf healthy? By infusing your ground beef mixture with tons of veggies and adding some ground turkey.

Ground beef has a lot of fat, so swapping out half of the ground beef still delivers beefy flavors without the unnecessary calories.

It’s moist, tender, and just as delicious!

Serve this meatloaf with potatoes, or serve it with roasted veggies for an even healthier option. 

10. Ground Beef Stuffed Pepper Skillet 

This simple skillet recipe is rich in flavors and so cheesy! It’s a perfect dish for a busy weeknight without sacrificing taste.

The addition of fire-roasted amplifies the pepper and onions, and the rice cooks right in the pan. 

Top it with plenty of melted cheese, and serve. 

11. Crockpot Cabbage Roll Soup 

Cabbage rolls are the ultimate comfort food, but they’re tedious.

Try this Crockpot cabbage roll soup for all of the meaty flavors of cabbage rolls without all that rolling!

Dump all of your staple cabbage roll ingredients (including the rice) into your Crockpot and let it do all of the work.

Cook it low and slow all day, and it’s ready to serve. It’s great alone or paired with a crisp salad and crusty bread. 

12. Moroccan Beef Stew with Lentils

Classic Moroccan seasonings are savoy, sweet, and a little smoky, perfect for ground beef.

The addition of dried raisins and apricots adds a unique flavor profile that elevates this dish to something special. 

With beef, lentils, and dried fruit, this savory Moroccon dish is insanely filling and a great way to spice up dinner. 

13. Dirty Rice

I love dirty rice. It’s simple, cooks in one pan, and there are never any leftovers.

The ground beef and rice cook in smoky Creole seasonings and topped with green onion. 

The trick to this dish is the seasoning. If you don’t have any Cajun or Creole seasoning on hand, add it to your grocery list!

14. Stuffed Pepper Soup 

Stuffed peppers are great, but those fresh pepper can get pretty pricy when serving more than two people.

This soup delivers the same comforting flavors of stuffed peppers, making enough to feed an army. 

This recipe only requires two peppers and a pound of ground beef.

To keep calories low, you can also use ground turkey or chicken.

Cook the rice in the rich beef broth, top it with cheese, and serve it with bread. 

15. Taco-Stuffed Peppers With Ground Beef (Gluten-Free) 

Who needs tortilla shells when you have peppers?

These Mexican-inspired stuffed peppers are super simple to make and deliver all of the flavors of taco night, sans the shells. 

Top with plenty of melted cheese, and bust out the hot sauce. 

16. Taco Bell Quesarito (Copycat) 

The Taco Bell Quesarito is the ultimate indulgence.

Only the fine folks at Taco Bell would think to make a burrito wrapped in a quesadilla! Luckily, replicating this modern classic is super easy. 

Make a quesadilla with two tortilla shells, and add your ground beef and seasoned rice.

Roll it into a burrito (this is the tricky part), then brown it on the grill. It’s even better than the original. 

17. Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers

Bust out those air fryers! 

Why cook stuffed peppers in an air fryer rather than an oven, you ask?

Because an air fryer cooks your peppers in half the time as an oven.

If you want classic comfort food and you want it fast, this recipe is worth checking out. 

It contains all of the staples of classic bell peppers, including melty cheese.

The cheese bubbles up to a delicious golden brown in the air fryer while the stuffing is rich, tender, and aromatic. 

18. Chili Cream Rice Bake

This recipe is one part casserole and one part chili.

The rice steals the show, while the ground beef infuses classic savory and spicy seasoning. 

I love this dish because it’s more than simple white rice. The rice is rich and creamy with added cottage cheese and sour cream.

Paired with smoky ground beef, it’s insanely delicious and satisfying. 

19. Crockpot Hamburger Wild Rice Casserole 

Hamburgers are the classic ground beef recipe, but they can get boring after a while.

If you want the flavors of burgers but are out of buns, this recipe is a great way to spice things up. 

This recipe cooks similarly to dirty rice without creole seasoning.

Pour beef, cream of wild rice soup, cream of mushroom soup, and additional veggies into the Crockpot.

Cook it low and slow, and it’s ready to go!

20. Enchilada Dipping Rice 

Whether used as a show-stopping appetizer at a potluck or as a main dish, this recipe is sure to impress.

It infuses rich enchilada seasoning into a beef and rice base with plenty of cheese! 

Dish it into a bowl with classic taco toppings, or pair it with tortilla shells as a dip. 

21. Hamburger Potato Casserole

Can’t decide between potatoes and rice? 

This casserole is the ultimate dinner dish for those gloomy nights.

It cooks up in a flash and uses rich and flavorful ingredients that you likely have on hand.

Plus, it infuses potatoes and rice for a bit of carbohydrate indulgence. 

22. Hamburger And Zucchini Skillet 

This one-skillet dinner is a great way to use extra zucchini from your garden.

The rich and meaty flavors of ground beef pair so well with the earthy notes from the zucchini. 

This dish is nutritious and filling with a healthy portion of brown rice and plenty of veggies!

23. Beef and Rice with Veggies

Beef and rice are heavy ingredients, and the added veggies in this recipe keep things light-ish.

What’s great about this recipe is that it’s packed with additional nutrition from the vegetables, and the robust seasoning packs a punch. 

Frozen veggies work well in this dish to make your life a little easier in place of fresh veggies.  

24. Classic Porcupine Meatballs 

No porcupines were harmed in the making of this dinner. 

Porcupine meatballs earn their name due to the rice added to the ground beef mixture.

They don’t look like your classic meatballs, they look like a porcupine!

The dish originated during the Great Depression as a way to beef up meatballs without the extra meat. 

Serve these with marinara and top them over mashed potatoes or pasta.

25. Sesame Ground Beef Stir-Fry

This stir-fry is insanely colorful and filled with Asian flavors.

Cook the ground beef with ripe peppers, cabbage, onions, and celery with punchy Asian seasoning.

When you cook your grown beef, add garlic and ginger for added savory notes to this dish. 

Serve over perfectly cooked white rice.