These Global Ground Beef and Rice Recipes Will Take Your Taste Buds on a Trip

Middle Eastern-Style Stuffed Peppers

Ground beef and rice recipes are good, but rice and ground beef recipes stuffed inside an edible vessel are even better. Stock up on short, wide peppers to load up with beef and brown rice seasoned with sweet-and-savory spices. Nutty walnuts, salty feta, and sweet dried cranberries might sound like more common components in a salad recipe rather than stuffed peppers, true. Trust the process: the resulting balance of flavors here ranks these among our best stuffed pepper recipes ever.

Test Kitchen Tip: Get a head start on meal prep! Prepare as directed, except after filling pepper halves with beef mixture, cover and chill them for up to 24 hours. Add water to the dish and bake for an hour (instead of the listed 50 minutes).

Southwestern Meatball Soup

Italian wedding soup shouldn’t get all the glory. For a zesty twist on meatball soup, try this southwest-style masterpiece that’s stoked with roasted corn, diced green chiles, oregano, cumin, and ground ancho chile powder. Alongside broth, brown rice, and meatballs, those warm, smoky, and pleasantly-spicy flavors shine.

Meatballs with Coconut Curry Sauce

Give meatballs a Thai-style makeover in this takeout fake-out recipe. Peanut butter, red curry paste, and fish sauce join forces in the coconut milk-based sauce that’s good enough to drink by the spoonful. For the optimal experience, though, try tossing the sauce with sautéed garlic, red bell peppers, and onions, as well as those meatballs, fresh snow pea pods, and lime juice. To complete the ground beef and rice recipe, pile this all over cooked rice and garnish with peanuts to hint at the flavors hiding underneath.

One-Pot Bibimbap-Style Rice

Roughly translated from Korean to mean mixed rice, bibimbap traditionally consists of rice, veggies, meat, egg, and one of our go-to condiments: gochujang. To make the concept a quick and easy weeknight recipe, follow our lead. First, cook the brown rice with mushrooms, beef broth, garlic, and ginger to infuse it with umami and a subtle dose of warm aromatics. Once that’s done, transfer it to a platter and employ the same pot to brown the ground beef with rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, and our aforementioned fermented friend gochujang.

Cuban-Style Stuffed Poblanos

Wondering what makes these stuffed peppers Cuban? The filling is a nod to picadillo, a classic Cuban ground meat hash that often features green olives, raisins, garlic, tomatoes, and seasonings. We showcase all of the above, as well as brown rice, in the stuffing for the roasted poblanos. Pair it with a daiquiri or mojito, and you might just feel like you’re dining on the island.

Picadillo Poppers

If you'd prefer a party-style picadillo pepper, stop here. In place of larger poblanos, we call for jalapeños so this ground beef and rice recipe is all set for snacking! (The filling is pretty similar to the full-size format.) The easy appetizer idea is one we often mix into the cocktail party or game day repertoire when we’re in the mood for a break from more common meat options like meatballs, wings, or steak crostini.

Cabbage Roll Soup

Instead of chili, mix up your soup and stew menu with this mash-up recipe with rice and ground beef. Think of this slow cooker soup like a deconstructed version of stuffed cabbage rolls. Beef broth and spicy vegetable juice set the stage for the rice, tomatoes, beef, and cabbage. As the soup simmers, a whopping 4 cups of vegetables melt down into a hearty, picky eater-friendly package.

Indonesian-Style Beef and Rice Bowls

Easy and tasty,” according to one BHG fan who says, “even my 8 year old daughter enjoyed it.” This grain bowl works well as an easy family dinner idea or a meal prep lunch. Red curry paste, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cilantro perk up the ground beef and rice recipes so it feels just as exciting as a restaurant meal. 

Test Kitchen Tip: Make the most of leftovers or prepare the dish ahead for a few weekday lunches. Prepare the meat mixture, chop the vegetables, then refrigerate those in separate containers for up to 3 days. Reheat the beef and rice, then enjoy with the fresh veggies for crunch.

Bibimbap Bake-Up

Are casseroles as popular in your home as they are in ours? Then this bibimbap remix has your name on it. Bake the rice and ground beef recipe in a 9 x 13-inch pan. Doing so allows you to cook the eggs, vegetables, rice, beef, and tofu all together so you end up with a complete meal in a single dish.

Adobo Beef Burritos

In the past, busy BHG editors have been known to turn to a packet of taco seasoning to hit the “easy” button on homemade tacos and burritos. That was our M.O. until we were introduced to the magic of adobo, which acts as the seasoning and sauce all at once. Tomatoes, peppers, vinegar, and spices make this recipe with rice and ground beef brightly-flavored, saucy, and ready to roll inside your tortilla of choice. 

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Comfort food alert! One BHG reader says that she “swears by this absolutely amazing” cabbage roll recipe. The cabbage, rice, and ground beef recipe “comes out tasting just like my grandma's cooking,” she adds. As the cabbage cooks, it softens and mellows and becomes the perfect wrapper for the tomato, rice, cheese, and meat inside.