One Pan Cheesy Mexican Beef and Rice
With adjustable spicing to suit your family, this easy One Pan Cheesy Mexican Beef and Rice (with beef mince) is perfect for busy weeknights.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 500 g beef mince 5% fat (ground beef)
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 large green pepper (bell)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- ½-1 teaspoon mild or hot chilli powder (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon tomato purée (paste US)
- 400 g tinned chopped or crushed tomatoes (canned)
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 700 ml beef stock
- 300 g basmati rice, washed and drained
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 165 g mature cheddar (sharp cheddar), grated
See notes for baby & toddler tweaks
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a wide-bottomed non-stick cooking pot (ideally a shallow casserole pot or dutch oven) over a med-high heat. Add the beef mince and fry for a few minutes, breaking up the meat with a spoon.
- Then add in the onion and green pepper and fry for a 5 minutes, or until onion is softened, stirring often. Drain off the excess fat if there is any.
- Add in the cumin, paprika, chilli powder and garlic and stir for 1 minute.
- Then add the tomato puree, the chopped tomatoes, rice, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper and stock. Stir well.
- Bring to the boil over a high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Lift the lid to stir occasionally so the food doesn’t stick. If the rice isn’t cooked at 15 minutes, add a little bit more hot water, stir, level out and then recover for up to 5 more minutes.
- Then sprinkle over cheese. Cover with the lid and leave for 1 minute with heat on low. Then turn heat off and leave for another 1-2 minutes until cheese has melted.
Notes
Spicing Recommendations
Babies and toddler first spice - ½ teaspoon mild chilli powder | Children used to mild spice - 1 teaspoon mild chilli powder | Children & adults who can take some heat - ½ teaspoon hot chilli powder | Heat loving adults & older children - 1 teaspoon hot chilli powderBaby & Toddler
Use no or low-salt beef stock and refrain from adding salt to the cook. See above notes for spicing advice.
Baby-Led Weaning For younger babies remove the melted cheese from their serving. Ensure there are no large clumps of beef (chop if so) and serve to baby to grab handfuls. For older babies, chop through the cheese.
Spoon-Feeding See blog post above.
STORAGE
Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days (cook day + 2). Leftovers can also be frozen, just defrost for 24 hours in the fridge and reheat in the microwave, until steaming hot all the way through.
Nutrition
Calories: 1216kcalCarbohydrates: 103gProtein: 66gFat: 59gSaturated Fat: 26gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 23gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 148mgSodium: 46042mgPotassium: 1633mgFiber: 4gSugar: 35gVitamin A: 1674IUVitamin C: 37mgCalcium: 507mgIron: 7mg
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