Brown Rice Taco Bowl Recipe

Make a Brown Rice Taco Bowl Recipe with seasoned ground beef and salsa, creamy avocado, juicy tomatoes, cheddar cheese and red onion over brown rice. All the flavors of a taco in a taco rice bowl for your next Taco Tuesday!

Taco Bowl Recipe

"Bowls" are all the rage now, so much so that this new food trend is known as "bowling"!

Your rice taco bowl is filled with a seasoned ground beef and salsa mixture, creamy avocado, juicy tomatoes, cheddar cheese and red onion all on top of hearty good-for-you brown rice.

And don't forget a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle of sliced scallions!

This easy taco bowl recipe can be on your table quickly on a busy weeknight and you'll be able to say you've gone "bowling" today!  

I filled my bowls with brown rice but you can also top white rice, lentils, or even cauliflower rice with our taco ingredients.

Turn your ground beef tacos into a bowl of deliciousness! You can even personalize individual bowls with everyone's favorite taco toppings!

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread is the perfect side dish for your Taco Tuesday dinners.

In addition to making our taco bowl recipe for lunch or dinner, you can go "bowling" all day long, starting off your day with a Berry Smoothie Bowl or a Cinnamon Honey Smoothie Bowl.

Dine on a Quinoa Lentil Broth Bowl for lunch, my copycat version of Panera's popular menu item, and finish off your day with a beef taco rice bowl. 

Got leftover taco filling? You’ll want to check out these recipes with taco meat!

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Whole30 Recipe

Make your taco rice bowl Whole30 with just three easy substitutions!

Are you feeling like a Taco Bowl for dinner tonight and you're doing Whole30? Our Taco Bowl recipe will be your next new Whole30 recipe with these three simple substitutions:

• Substitute cauliflower rice for brown rice. Steam the cauliflower rice in your microwave.
• Substitute non-dairy sour cream for the sour cream. Cashew sour cream will work well.
• Substitute non-dairy shredded cheddar cheese for the shredded cheddar cheese. Vegan shredded cheese is readily available and will be a great substitution.

Be sure you're doing it right! Check out all you need to know about Whole30 at the Whole30 website.

How to make a taco bowl recipe

Scroll down for the full recipe instructions and ingredient amounts in the recipe card below

• Cook brown rice according to package directions.
• Meanwhile, in large non-stick skillet cook ground beef, chili powder, cumin, kosher salt and garlic powder over medium-high heat until beef is cooked through.
• Stir in salsa and cook until the mixture is heated through.
• To assemble, divide ingredients evenly between four bowls beginning with brown rice. Top rice with ground beef mixture, avocado, tomatoes, cheddar cheese and red onion.
• Garnish with sour cream and sliced scallions. Serve with additional salsa, if desired.

Make-ahead directions for a taco rice bowl

• Cook the brown rice; cool and refrigerate.
• Cook the ground beef taco filling; cool and refrigerate.
• You can prepare all of the remaining toppings one day ahead also, except for the avocado.
• Chop the avocado right before serving to prevent it from turning brown.
• When ready to serve, heat the brown rice and ground beef in the microwave until heated through,
• Assemble your taco bowls according to the recipe directions.

Swirls of Flavor Recipe Tips

• Make a taco bowl salad and arrange your taco toppings over a bed of lettuce for a taco salad
• Arrange your taco toppings over lentils
• Arrange your taco toppings over cauliflower rice
• For a fun way to serve toppings, arrange toppings in a muffin tin
• Serve tortilla chips in brown paper bags
• Add black beans or pinto beans
• Save time and cook instant rice

Substitutions

• Substitute ground turkey for the lean ground beef
• Make this recipe with ground chicken in place of the ground beef and make chicken taco bowls
• Replace the brown rice with cilantro lime rice
• Substitute picante sauce for the salsa
• Make the recipe with salsa verde
• Season with homemade taco seasoning in place of the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and kosher salt

Storage

• Store beef taco bowl leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator
• As always, I find it helpful to visit the FDA website for food storage guidelines

Ingredients for a taco rice bowl

• brown rice
• ground beef
• chili powder
• ground cumin
• kosher salt
• garlic powder
• salsa
• avocados 
• tomatoes
• shredded cheddar cheese
• red onion
• sour cream
• scallion 

Decorations for a taco party

Taco time is a good time for a taco party! Tacos are the best party food and always put me in a fiesta state of mind!

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If you decide to actually go all out and have a taco party, you definitely must start with hanging this Taco About A Party Banner (this makes me crack up every time!).

Then add a colorful Serepe Plastic Tablecloth, or this set of hand woven serape table runners in fextive colors or both!

These adorable Fiesta Paper Striped Party Straws with Tacos, Sombreros and more are so much fun too.

A taco serving plate with all the sections is an ideal way to serve all your favorite toppings and be sure to don your let's taco about it t-shirt (again, cracking up here!) and let the fiesta begin!

Easy Taco Recipes

And if you're craving more tacos after your Brown Rice Taco Bowl then season and grill your favorite fish (mine is cod!) and top with a fresh Mango Pico De Gallo and Fish Tacos With Mango Pico De Gallo will be trending in your kitchen! 

Or just let your imagination run wild and combine your favorite foods, tacos and buffalo chicken, and make Buffalo Chicken Tacos! Fill a taco with saucy spicy buffalo chicken topped with celery, carrots, tomatoes and creamy Roquefort blue cheese. 

Change up your Taco Tuesday this week with our One Pot Taco Beef and Rice. A taco skillet recipe that’s quick, easy and delicious will soon become a family favorite taco alternative. With all the flavors of a taco, you can eat this easy taco rice recipe in a bowl or in taco shells.

Go for the beef and season slices of juicy skirt steak with a few basic spices and enjoy them nestled in a crunchy corn shell topped with lime-scented fresh heirloom tomatoes. Spiced Skirt Steak Tacos are a party in your mouth with a burst of flavor in every bite!

First Published: August 1, 2015... Last Updated: February 16, 2023, for better readability and user experience