Ground Middle Eastern Beef Bowl is a tasty, easy dinner in 15 minutes. Beef seasoned with traditional spices served over rice, like a Kofta kebab in a bowl!
With all the flavor of our delicious, popular Middle Eastern Kofta Meatballs, this easy new Main Dish Recipe is sure to be another family favorite for weeknights and special occasions!
GROUND MIDDLE EASTERN BEEF BOWL
Filled with warm spices and served over rice, these tasty Ground Middle Eastern Beef Bowls are a great light weeknight dinner or meal prep recipe for lunches. You can easily adjust how you serve the ground beef to meet most dietary needs. It’s naturally gluten free and low carb but so flavorful you won’t believe it’s a healthy main dish.
This Ground Middle Eastern Beef Bowl recipe makes international cooking easy for any level of cook. No need for fancy spices or trips to a specialty market. Using ground beef instead of lamb and common pantry seasonings, this is a family friendly dish that introduces you to Middle Eastern flavors in a budget friendly, accessible way.
You’ll love the way the seasonings in this Ground Middle Eastern Beef Bowl recipe all work together. Each one plays a part, so make sure to use them all. The mint is optional but we highly recommend it for the way it balances everything. If you do use mint, make sure to use spearmint because peppermint is way too strong for savory dishes.
For more authentic tasting Ground Middle Eastern Beef Bowls, you can substitute all the spices, except the cumin, with either Za’atar spice blend or Baharat spice blend. We’ve also included recipes to make these special spices at home, plus other delicious Middle Eastern seasonings to add.
You can make Ground Middle Eastern Beef Bowls ahead of time for a healthy meal prep. Just portion out with the rice and either refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. You can microwave individual portions straight from frozen, no need to thaw overnight.
These Ground Middle Eastern Beef Bowls are served with White Rice that you can have in the rice cooker while you are preparing the meat. It’s also delicious with Israeli couscous or Mashed Potatoes. Serve over Hummus for a traditional mezze (appetizer) and Greek Salad on the side. No matter how you serve these bowls, be sure to top with easy Middle Eastern Pickled Turnips!
MORE EASY, WORLDLY RECIPES YOU SHOULD TRY!
Easy Chicken Tikka Masala
One Pot Greek Mediterranean Chicken and Rice
Spanish Beef Stew
Moroccan Chickpea Pot Roast
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VARIATIONS ON GROUND MIDDLE EASTERN BEEF BOWL
- Meat: You can substitute ground lamb for a more traditional dish, or do a mixture of half lamb and half beef. For a lighter dish, use ground turkey or ground chicken.
- Veggies: Add cooked veggies to your bowl for a more complete meal. Use veggies like sautéed spinach or kale, roasted carrots and zucchini, diced sweet potatoes, or fresh tomato wedges.
- Seasonings: Some other traditional Middle Eastern seasonings to use are fresh parsley, red Harissa paste, paprika, red pepper flakes, turmeric, pine nuts, or sultana raisins.
- Za’atar Spice:
- Baharat Spice:
- Toppings: Top your kebab bowls with feta cheese, kalamata olives, green olives, tabouli, plain greek yogurt, or the cucumber yogurt sauce below.
Cucumber Yogurt Sauce for Ground Middle Eastern Beef Bowls
- Ingredients: 2 cups plain greek yogurt, ⅓ cup chopped English or Persian cucumber, 1 grated garlic clove, ½ tablespoon lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
- Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until combined, but chunks of cucumber remain.
- Refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 3 days in an airtight container.
MORE GROUND MEAT DINNER RECIPES:
Ground Kung Pao Chicken (1 Pan!)
Ground Orange Chicken (1 Pan!)
Korean Ground Beef
Ground Beef Teriyaki Ramen
HOW TO STORE GROUND MIDDLE EASTERN BEEF BOWL
- Serve: Ground Middle Eastern Beef Bowls can be at room temperature for up to 2 hours before they need to be stored.
- Store: Store beef and rice together or separately in airtight containers. Refrigerate Ground Middle Eastern Beef Bowls up to 3 days.
- Freeze: Once cooled, individually portion Ground Middle Eastern Bowls in sealed containers and freeze for up to 3 months. If freezing all of it in one large container, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 large yellow onion , diced
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried mint leaves , (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
- Add ground beef, onion, garlic, salt and pepper to a large skillet on medium high heat.
- Break beef apart as you cook it until browned, about 8-10 minutes.
- In a small cup add the water, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, cayenne, mint leaves and ginger and stir well to combine.
- Drain excess fat then add in the spices mixed into the water.
- Stir well and cook until the water has evaporated.
- Serve over rice.
Nutrition
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Good food, fast too! I used Shawarma spices.
Thanks for the 5 stars, Lauriem.
Fantastic flavour!!
This recipe looks really awesome. Nice that you are posting some Greek recipes too. We are trying to learn how to make some Mediterranean recipes like Fadi’s, which is a Greek restaurant in Houston, Texas. And, now, it is spreading to the bigger cities in Texas (like Dallas, Plano, etc.). Also, happy new year. I hope this year is better for all of us.
Happy New Year!
YUMMY, made half the recipe since it was just the two of us. Served with basmati rice, hummus and fresh tomatoes from the garden (roasted in a little olive oil). My husband kept saying “that smells so good” as I was cooking. Love to hear that.
Yes!! I love it, Thank you so much Chelsea!
I know I’ve commented on this recipe before. But it’s a favorite of ours and deserves another post!
It is delicious!!!
Common fare in our home however the coriander, cinnamon, and allspice we replace with chinese 5 spice as coriander and allspice are not available here. We use 5 spice in any recipe calling for anise, allspice, or any other exotic spices we cannot get.
Thanks for the tip!