Looking for a simple one dish meal to throw together? This beef and rice is easy to make and you can customize it anyway you would like. We keep it simple with carrots and mushrooms for the vegetables, but you can add your favorite vegetables in it as well.
The kids used to like a packaged beef rice and this is similar but homemade so without the processed stuff. In our house we have cut back on most of the processed foods we eat.
We have tried various combinations in this dish. You can add eggs and make it like a beef fried rice, tho usually you would use already cooked rice for fried rice.
Some broccoli or peas go rather well in this one dish meal as well. We have even put peppers in it a couple times. Mixing it up and experimenting makes cooking fun!
Tips for making beef rice
Quite often I make it after making our slow cooker cheesesteaks or even after a pot roast. There is always left over juice from them to use and this is perfect for it! You can use regular broth if you are not planning on making cheesesteaks before making beef and rice.
Be sure you have a big enough frying pan for this and it is one of few rare moments that I am not going to recommend cast iron. I love my iron pans, but not for this dish. We recommend using a 5 quart pan with a lid. The link is to our favorite 5 quart, it is a little more expensive then some but is our favorite non cast iron frying pan.
Experiment with the vegetables. As it is written, it is similar to a popular packaged beef rice. Our purpose for keeping it simple was to give a homemade alternative. By adding the beef, it makes the perfect 1 dish meal!
Most vegetables (raw or frozen) you would add in with the rice and cook them all together. If the vegetables are already cooked, add them in at the end of the cook time.
Can I make this gluten free?
Yes! Either omit the pasta and add a quarter cup more rice in place or use a gluten free pasta. We also keep the spices simple here so there shouldn't be a need to adjust to them.
Liquid aminos are preferred here over soy sauce and this is written using them, but you will need to be sure to use them instead of soy sauce. Soy sauce is not gluten free, but the liquid aminos we shared in the link are.
Easy Homemade Beef Rice
Equipment
- 5 quart pan
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 4 cups beef broth unsalted or low sodium
- 2 tbsp liquid aminos or soy sauce, see notes
- 2 mushrooms white button or baby bella
- 1 carrot
- 1¾ cup white rice rinsed, see notes
- 1 ounce spaghetti noodles uncooked and broken into 1-2 inch pieces
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp dried minced onion
- ¼ tsp salt adjust to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Chop the mushrooms and grate the carrot.Break the spaghetti noodles into pieces around 1 inch long
- In the skillet, cook the ground beef for about 5 minutes and carefully remove the fat. It will still be pink which is ok.
- Add in the broth, aminos (or soy sauce), rice, pasta, chopped mushrooms, grated carrot, garlic powder, dried onion, salt and pepper. Stir well.
- Bring the ingredients to a rapid simmer (almost boiling) and stir one more time and cover before lowering heat to low. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes covered or until rice is tender.
- Allow the beef rice dish to sit with the lid on but removed from heat for about 5 minutes before serving.
Leave a Reply