Description
A hearty and flavorful one-pot meal featuring lean ground beef, long grain white rice, and a medley of vegetables, infused with aromatic spices and finished with fresh baby spinach for a nutritious and satisfying dinner.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Protein and Vegetables
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced (any type)
- 1 large red capsicum / bell pepper, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 500g (1 lb) lean ground beef (mince)
- 2 cups (300g) diced frozen veggies (corn, pea, carrot mix)
- 3 big handfuls baby spinach (~90g/3 oz), or other leafy greens
Grains
- 1 1/4 cups (225g) long grain white rice, uncooked
Spices and Seasonings
- 2 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano (or other herb of choice)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 dried bay leaf
Liquids
- 2 cups (500 ml) low sodium beef broth
Instructions
- Heat Aromatics: Heat olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Add diced onion, red capsicum, and minced garlic. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Brown the Beef: Add the ground beef to the pot and cook until browned, breaking it up with a spatula as it cooks to ensure even browning.
- Add Spices and Tomato Paste: Stir in tomato paste, salt, black pepper, onion powder, dried oregano, ground cumin, and cayenne pepper (if using). Cook for 1 minute to meld the flavors.
- Add Rice and Broth: Reduce heat to medium. Add the uncooked rice and low sodium beef broth to the pot, stirring well to combine.
- Add Vegetables: Stir in the frozen diced veggies and add the dried bay leaf. Mix everything together carefully.
- Simmer: Cover the pot with a lid, reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is just cooked but still a bit wet. Tilt the pot to check that the liquid is gone.
- Rest with Spinach: Remove the pot from heat. Immediately scatter the baby spinach over the rice, replace the lid, and let it rest for 10 minutes. The spinach will wilt from the residual heat.
- Fluff and Serve: Remove the lid, fluff the rice and spinach together with a fork, adjust salt if needed, and serve hot.
Notes
- RICE: Best results with long grain white rice for fluffiness. Medium grain works next best, then short or sushi rice. Basmati and jasmine require 5 extra minutes cooking time. Not recommended with brown rice, risotto, or paella rice.
- VEGETABLES: Frozen mixed veggies can be replaced with fresh chopped veggies by adding 1/4 cup water to compensate for moisture lost from frozen vegetables melting.
- LEAFY GREENS: Spinach can be swapped for other leafy greens that wilt easily, such as torn kale (stems removed) or Asian greens (roughly chopped).
- RICE FIRMNESS: For softer rice, add 1/4 cup of extra water before cooking.
- NUTRITION: Based on 5 servings.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/5 of recipe
- Calories: 380 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 480 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 33 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 65 mg
