Beef and Pepper Rice Bowl
When you can’t decide, make the bowl that tastes like dinner with almost no thinking.
This is for the night when you’re hungry, a little fried, and want dinner to happen without a long debate. It gives you the comfort of beef and rice with the bright crunch of peppers, all in one bowl and on the table fast. The sauce is simple, savory, and flexible, so you don’t need a perfect pantry to make it work. It’s not fancy, and that’s the point: quick, filling, and easier than scrolling for 20 minutes. If you already have cooked rice, this gets even faster.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef — 85/15 or leaner
- 1 unit bell pepper — sliced
- 1 unit small yellow onion — thinly sliced
- 2 unit garlic cloves — minced
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 0.25 cup water
- 3 cup cooked white rice — warm
- 2 unit scallions — sliced
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds — optional
Method
- 1 Whisk the soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, rice vinegar, cornstarch, and water in a small bowl.
- 2 Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and onion, then cook until the beef is browned and the onion softens, about 5 to 6 minutes.
- 3 Add the bell pepper and garlic. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the pepper starts to soften but still has some bite.
- 4 Pour in the sauce and stir for 1 to 2 minutes until it thickens and coats the beef and vegetables.
- 5 Spoon the beef mixture over warm rice and top with scallions and sesame seeds.
Variations
- Vegetarian swap — Use crumbled extra-firm tofu or cooked lentils instead of beef, and brown them well before adding the sauce.
- Faster swap — Use leftover cooked rice and pre-sliced peppers and onions to shave a few minutes off prep time.
- Substitutions — Use any color bell pepper, swap white rice for brown rice or microwave rice, and replace scallions with chopped cilantro if that’s what you have.
Notes
If your rice is cold, splash it with a little water and microwave it covered until hot. For extra heat, add chili flakes or a drizzle of sriracha at the end. Keep the pepper slightly crisp so the bowl stays lively instead of mushy.
Equipment that helps
- Large skillet — A wide pan lets the beef brown instead of steam and gives the peppers room to cook evenly.
- Small bowl — Mixing the sauce separately keeps the cooking fast and helps the cornstarch dissolve smoothly.
Find more dinners like this
More like this
