Mexican Ground Beef Skillet

By Lee Funke

1/29/2026

This one-pot Mexican ground beef skillet has hundreds of 5-star reviews, and so many of you have made it time and time again, making it, IMO, the internet’s most popular ground beef dinner recipe .

Whether you’re making this for game day or an easy dinner, this Mexican Ground Beef Skillet requires just one pan and takes only 30 minutes from start to finish! You can serve it in so many different ways — with chips, in a burrito, as a bowl, and more.

This ground beef recipe is a Fit Foodie reader favorite and also one I make in my own kitchen on repeat. I love how veggie-packed it is, and it’s also high in protein (27g/serving) thanks to ground beef and beans. I personally love serving this nacho-style with tortilla chips, but it’s tasty straight from the skillet, too!

Featured Comment

“ This was absolutely delicious. My kids made burritos with it and we also used tortilla chips. “ – Sharon

ground beef skillet ingredients on cutting board. - 6

Ingredients You’ll Need

Garlic: Every good Mexican dish starts with garlic, and that’s just a fact. Feel free to add more if your heart desires.
Yellow onion
Bell Pepper: I love sneaking veg into my dishes when I can, and bell peppers go quite nicely in this skillet meal. Choose any color you’d like and even double it if you feel like it.
Ground Beef: This is the star ingredient of this dish. Now, I like a little fat in my ground beef, which is why I used 85%, but feel free to use leaner beef, or even swap it out for ground turkey.
Taco Seasoning: I always have an all-purpose taco seasoning on hand at my house. It’s meant exactly for recipes like this! Basic spices, but a whole lot of flavor.
Tomato Sauce: A little tomato sauce goes a long way. All I need is 1/2 cup, and I’m good to go!
Green Chiles: Green chiles are mild for a pepper, yet they add really great flavor. If you like it spicy, be my guest and use jalapeños instead!
Black Beans: Black beans are another one of those essential ingredients. I keep a stockpile of cans in my cupboard because they’re cheap and high-protein. Feel free to use pinto instead!
Instant Rice: Instant rice is pure magic. Let me stress the instant because in order for this to cook properly, you need to use instant rice, not regular rice. I tested this with both brown and white, and they both work great, too!
Shredded Cheese: All skillet dishes deserve to be topped with shredded cheese. Add as much or as little as you’d like!

How to Make Mexican Ground Beef Skillet

As you know, this recipe only requires one pan and one pan only. That means the instructions are rather simple:

Cook Veggies: Start off by partially sauteeing the bell pepper, garlic, and onion in olive oil. The goal here is to get them partially cooked, but not completely.
Add Beef: Move the veggies to one side and add ground beef. Sauté until the beef is fully cooked, and then mix everything together.
Add Rest of Ingredients: Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan and bring to a boil. Then, turn the burner down to low and cover it. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the rice has softened.

It’s incredibly easy, and clean-up is a breeze because I only dirtied one pan!

Do I Have to Strain the Beef Before Moving On?

It’s not required to strain the fat from the beef before moving on, but you are more than welcome to if you want!

Can I Use Regular White Rice Instead?

While I haven’t tested this method, I am confident that jasmine rice would work. I recommend adding an additional 1/2 cup of broth and simmering until the rice is fully cooked.

What Does This Mexican Ground Beef Skillet Taste Like?

Similar to my Mexican casserole , this skillet is made with ground beef, taco seasoning, rice, beans, and tons of veggies. It tastes similar to a burrito bowl, but it’s made in one pan on the stovetop.

Serving Suggestions:

Nachos: My personal favorite way to serve this skillet is with tortilla chips. That means you can either eat it as nachos for a main meal or as an appetizer! (Cough, cough game day!) Try my ground beef nachos.

Tacos: Grab a few street taco shells and plop some of this in there as the filling. You get it all — meat, veggies, and rice! Top it with a scoop of guac, and you’re good to go! Here’s my favorite ground beef tacos recipe .

Bowls: Eat this skillet as-is with all the toppings. Think avocado, hummus, fresh cilantro, and lime juice! Here’s a recipe for my go-to Beef Taco Bowls .

Burritos: Got leftover skillet? Use it as filling for freezer burritos. Simply follow the directions in my Freezer Beef Burrito post on how to freeze for later!

Storage Directions

Fridge: Let the ground beef skillet cool completely. Then, transfer into a glass container. It will last in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.

Freeze for Later

This is a great recipe to freeze for later! Hold off on adding the cheese and then let the skillet cool completely. Transfer into a freezer-safe, gallon-size bag and then remove as much air as possible. Seal and freeze for up to 3 months.

Yes! Any type of beans will work for this recipe.

The best way to make this less spicy is to reduce the spice from the taco seasoning you use. Omit the paprika and cayenne pepper.

I have tested this with a plant-based ground and it came out great. Feel free to use your favorite kind.

While I haven’t personally tried this, many of you have and said that quinoa works just as great.

Yes! Many of you have made this recipe with ground turkey, ground chicken, and ground venison.

Ingredients1x2x3x

▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
▢ 1 tablespoon minced garlic
▢ 1/2 medium yellow onion , minced
▢ 2 large bell peppers , diced
▢ 1 lb. 85% ground beef
▢ 3 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning
▢ 1/2 cup tomato sauce
▢ 2 tablespoons green chiles
▢ 15 oz. canned black beans , drained and rinsed
▢ 1 cup quick-cooking brown rice , quick-cooking white rice works too!
▢ 1.5 cups beef broth , any kind
▢ 1/2 cup Mexican shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Heat olive oil over medium/high heat in a large nonstick skillet.*
When olive oil is fragrant, add garlic, onion, and bell pepper. Saute for 3-5 minutes.
Then, move veggies to the side and add in ground beef. Saute ground beef for 7-9 minutes, or until fully cooked. Mix everything together in the pan.
Once the beef is fully cooked, add taco seasoning, tomato sauce, green chiles, and black beans and cook for a few minutes. Then, add in quick-cooking rice and broth. Bring to a boil over medium/high heat.
Once boiling, turn down to low and cover. Let simmer for around 20 minutes or until the rice has softened and absorbed the majority of the liquid.
Sprinkle cheese on top of skillet and either let melt naturally or pop it in the oven at 400ºF for a few minutes to fully melt cheese.
Serve beef skillet with chips!

Tips & Notes

Skillet size: we used a 16-inch skillet, but if you use something smaller, just make sure it is deep enough. A dutch oven would work perfectly!
Nutrition information includes our homemade taco seasoning recipe .

Watch It

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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