Spanish Rice Recipe – Spanish Rice is a well-loved side dish. But this family favorite Spanish Rice with Beef recipe is a delicious main dish ready in under 30 minutes!
Looking for more easy ground beef recipes? I think you’ll love my Classic Chili, Lasagna, and Stuffed Peppers.
One of my favorite dishes to order when we go to our local Mexican restaurant is their Spanish rice. Well, along with the chips, salsa, queso dip, and guacamole! Ha!
Their Spanish rice though always just goes perfectly with whatever I order for my entree – from enchiladas to whatever their specials are for the day.
But, as much as I love their Spanish rice, it still doesn’t really compete with the version that my Mama has made since as long as I can remember. While theirs is served as a side dish, Mama’s was always the main attraction, served with a salad or beans.
Her Spanish rice is made with ground beef that takes it to a whole new level!
I love that it comes together in less than thirty minutes and just takes one skillet to prepare. We also love to prepare this for a camp style meal as well. No wonder Mama loved making this recipe so much! It’s an all-around favorite for sure!
Spanish Rice Recipe
How to Freeze Spanish Rice
Once cooked, allow to cool completely. Portion into freezer-safe container(s) and freeze up to 3 months.
To serve, thaw in the refrigerator overnight, reheat and serve.
Here’s her Spanish Rice Recipe with Ground Beef. So simple, I think you’ll love it, too!
Skillet Spanish Rice with Ground Beef Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound ground beef
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup uncooked white rice
- 1/4 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chiles
Instructions
- Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently. Drain and set aside.
- Drizzle olive oil into the skillet over medium heat. Saute onions until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and rice, stirring frequently until rice is lightly browned. Add ground beef, oregano, chili powder, cumin, salt, black pepper, water, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Turn heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
I used riced cauliflower instead of rice. My husband loves it!
Thanks so much Marlea! xo
Can you use minute rice with this recipe? Or is instant rice too mushy?
Increase rice to 1 1/4 cup for instant.
This recipe is well known in the south as Texas hash. My mother never used anything but instant rice for anything..lol
Very good! I used ground pork instead of ground beef, and added a small can of mild chili’s since I didn’t have tomatoes with chili’s. This recipe s a keeper!
Glad you enjoyed it, Pat! Thanks!
First comment I read said rice was slightly crunchy and they liked that.
Rice was slightly crunchy and I didn’t like that.
Not sure exactly what to do to it so the rice being crunchy. I dont want mushy rice either. Maybe skipping the light browning of the rice?
It was edible but fairly bland besides the crunchy rice. I only made it once so I can only guess or sugest tweaks. Maybe slightly more spices or green chilies?
If you have ever under cooked white rice by 15 percent or so, thats what this rice was like.
Not sure my results with this particular recipe were good enough to experiment with tweaking this recipe to my liking.
Good luck if you try it. Expect it to be slightly bland with slightly crunchy rice.
Hi TJ,
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the recipe. It is one of my favorite recipes my Mama made when I was growing up.
I’ve not had a problem with my rice being crunchy – it always gets done when I use this recipe.
You are definitely welcome to add more chilis/spices to your dish if you wish…I leave it where those that want it hotter can add more heat to their taste.
Thanks so much!
I made this recipe last night and my family and I loved it. I have no idea how anyone’s rice came out crunchy. Long grain white rice cooks in 20 minutes. Maybe they forgot to add the water.
I love this meal and will add it to my regular rotation.
Thanks so much, Shelley! I’m thrilled you and your family enjoyed it! My family has loved this for years! xo
Delicious!!! I added chicken sausage to make it more like Jambalaya, so good.
EVEN EASY TO MAKE WITH KIDS RUNNING IN AND OUT GETTING IN THE WAY
My wife and I made this together and it was super easy….very filling and we served it was tortilla chips and a dollop of sour cream. It was a great ‘what’s for dinner—I’m too tired to cook’ recipe!!!!!!!!!!!!
I grew up eating this. My mother always made a huge skillet of it so there would be leftovers. She then used the leftovers to stuff bell peppers. She poured a small can of tomato sauce over and around the peppers and baked them in a 350° oven until the peppers were tender.
I just made this, but left made it moderately spicy as I want the 3 yr old to eat it. I just tasted it and it’s great! Will most likely add some hot sauce and dried chilies to my plate, but it was easy and it’s super tasty. I used brown rice and I left out diced tomatoes with green chilies as I did not have any in the pantry.
Tried this and it was fabulous! I traded out all the different spices N added 2 tbs. Of taco seasoning N a half cup of shredded cheese on top. Loved it. My son put his on nachos N added sour cream. Can do alot with this recipe. Yummy!