30-Minute, One-Pan Mexican Ground Beef features tomatoes, black beans, corn, mild green chiles, and green onions. It's packed with flavors and seasoned just right with homemade taco seasoning. This family-favorite dinner is high in protein, packed with veggies and fiber, gluten-free, and dairy-free! Use it as taco meat, to stuff the burritos, or add it to casseroles or pasta. Or, simply serve corn tortillas or rice on the side.
Mexican ground beef (30-minute, one-pan meal)
If you're looking for quick and easy Mexican-inspired dinner ideas, you will be impressed with this flavorful ground beef skillet recipe! Tex-Mex flavored beef makes an incredible combo together with black beans, yellow corn kernels, mild green chiles, green onions, and fresh cherry tomatoes. The whole recipe is made entirely in one pan in 30 minutes - a perfect option for an easy weeknight meal. It's high in protein, gluten-free, dairy-free, and packed with veggies and fiber. Serve it as is or with my side dish recommendation: cilantro-lime black bean rice. Or, use this recipe for taco meat, to stuff the burritos, or even serve this with pasta!
If you want more Mexican-style weeknight dinner inspiration, don't miss this tasty Mexican street corn black bean chicken bake or this easy creamy Mexican chicken pasta with bell peppers.
Why make it
- Well-rounded meal. Mexican ground beef is this ultimate comfort food recipe that has everything! Protein, veggies, fiber, and carbs. It's gluten-free, dairy-free, and perfect for taco meat!
- Flavor-packed. Ground beef can taste so flavorful when combined with the right ingredients and spices. Here, the ground beef is cooked with Mexican-style spices (you can also use store-bought taco seasoning). Then it's combined with black beans and lots of veggies (corn, cherry tomatoes, green onions, mild green chiles). Add fresh cilantro for even more flavor!
- It's a budget-friendly recipe that uses easily accessible ingredients, such as ground beef, canned black beans, canned corn, and canned green chiles.
- Beautiful presentation. Often, ground beef recipes lack vibrancy and are dull in color, because, obviously, ground beef is not very colorful. In this recipe, however, the Mexican ground beef is dressed up with colorful veggies that are not only healthy and delicious but also add vibrancy and turn this 30-minute meal into a restaurant-worthy presentation!
Main ingredients
- Ground beef. Use the leanest kind as you will be draining all excess fat and liquid anyway after browning the meat.
- Black beans. I used low-sodium black beans that I rinsed and drained really well.
- Corn. I used canned sweet corn kernels drained really well.
- Canned green chiles. I used the mild variety. If you like your food spicier, use medium or hot.
- Green onions. Chopped green onions are milder than regular onions, and work great as garnish!
- Tomatoes. I used sliced cherry tomatoes, you can also use regular tomatoes or canned tomatoes.
Spices you need
I like to make my own taco seasoning for the Mexican ground beef, however, you can definitely use a store-bought taco seasoning here instead, as a shortcut. If you like to mix your own spices, here is what I recommend for 16 oz of ground beef:
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt or more
How to make Mexican ground beef
1) Cook the ground beef together with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet until cooked through. Drain any fat or liquids.
2) Add spices - chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and salt. Or, use store-bought taco seasoning instead.
3) Add veggies and beans. Add drained and rinsed black beans, corn, sliced cherry tomatoes, diced mild green chiles, and chopped green onions to the same skillet and mix very well to combine over medium heat. Taste and season with more spices and more salt, if needed.
Substitutions, variations, and add-ins
- Ground beef can be swapped for ground turkey or ground chicken. Or, use a plant-based alternative to make this recipe meatless.
- Beans. I used canned black beans rinsed and drained. You can also use canned garbanzo beans, cannellini beans, or pinto beans.
- Tomatoes - you can use any fresh tomatoes you like or canned tomatoes.
- Use your favorite taco seasoning instead of mixing your own spices.
- Add spice by adding chipotle powder or canned hot green chiles.
- Add fresh cilantro. It's a classic ingredient in Mexican cuisine.
- Add Cheese. While I wanted to keep this recipe dairy-free, and therefore, there is no cheese involved, you can certainly add it if you like. I recommend Pepper Jack and/or Cheddar cheeses. They will pair really well with Southwestern flavors. Top the Mexican ground beef with shredded cheese and bake in the oven-proof skillet for about 15 or 20 minutes at 400 F until the cheese melts.
Storage and reheating tips
- Fridge. Refrigerate the leftover Mexican-style ground beef in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezer. Because there is no cream and no cheese, this is a freezer-friendly recipe. Freeze it in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
- How to reheat. This easy weeknight meal is so simple and low maintenance. You can reheat the refrigerated leftovers in the microwave oven. Or, add the leftover cooked ground beef to the skillet seasoned with olive oil and reheat on medium heat until heated through.
Can you make it ahead?
This Mexican ground beef is great for meal prep. You can make the whole recipe ahead and refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 5 days. It's easy to reheat this in a microwave oven or on the stovetop in a skillet (with a tablespoon of olive oil added).
What to serve with Mexican ground beef
While the obvious choice is to use this recipe for taco meat, it's much more versatile than that! Here are some ideas:
- Rice. This is a great recipe to serve with plain rice. There is so much flavor in this Mexican ground beef, that plain rice will do.
- Cauliflower rice is a great lower-carb option.
- Serve this over pasta. My favorites are angel hair pasta, bow-tie, penne, and fusilli.
- Roasted spaghetti squash - it's a great low-carb and gluten-free option.
- Zoodles or spiralized zucchini is another tasty low-carb and gluten-free veggie side.
- Corn tortillas. Warm up corn tortillas and serve them as a side.
- Add a side dish. My favorite is this delicious cilantro-lime black bean rice.
- Add a salad. For a Mexican-style salad, try this Mexican street corn pasta salad with fresh corn, cilantro, bell peppers, lime juice, and Cotija cheese.
Other Mexican-inspired recipes you might like
- Vegetarian Enchiladas with Butternut Squash and Black Beans
- Fajita Chicken Bake with Bell Peppers and Green Chiles
- Southwestern-style Black Bean and Butternut Squash Enchilada Casserole
- Queso Baked Chicken
- Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
30-Minute, One-Pan Mexican Ground Beef
Ingredients
Ground beef
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 16 oz ground beef
Homemade taco seasoning
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt or more
Veggies
- 15 oz black beans canned, rinsed, drained
- 15 oz corn kernels cooked, canned, drained
- 4 oz diced mild chiles canned
- 8 oz cherry tomatoes sliced
- 6 green onions chopped
Instructions
- In a large, high-sided, heavy-bottomed skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat. Add ground beef and cook until completely cooked through. Drain any fat and liquid.
- Add all the spices listed in the recipe card (chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt) to the drained and cooked ground beef. You can also use a store-bought taco seasoning instead. Mix to combine.
- Add drained and rinsed black beans, corn, diced mild green chiles (with liquid), half of the chopped green onions, and half of the sliced cherry tomatoes to the same skillet and cook over medium heat for several minutes until the tomatoes release their juices.
- Taste and season with more spices and more salt, if needed.
- When serving, top with the remaining sliced cherry tomatoes and the remaining chopped green onions.
- Note: depending on how you want to serve this (as taco meat, with pasta, rice, etc - see suggestions below) you might want this ground beef to be moister. In this case, you can add tomato sauce, salsa, or Pico De Gallo. Or, add a small amount of crushed tomatoes. Or add more chopped fresh tomatoes and cook on medium heat until they release juices, adding a small amount of water to the mix, if necessary.
Notes
- Rice. Plain or flavored.
- Cauliflower rice is a great lower-carb option.
- Pasta. Angel hair pasta, fettuccine, linguine, penne, etc.
- Zoodles. Spiralized zucchini.
- Roasted spaghetti squash. Lower carb side dish.
- Corn tortillas. Warm up corn tortillas and serve them as a side.
- Add a side dish. My favorite is this delicious cilantro-lime black bean rice.
- Add a salad. For a Mexican-style salad, try this Mexican street corn pasta salad with fresh corn, cilantro, bell peppers, lime juice, and Cotija cheese.
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Leave a Reply