If you also love a loaded bowl situation, these Mediterranean ground beef rice bowls will be right up your street. You’ve got sticky harissa-spiced beef, a zesty Greek-ish salad, golden fluffy rice, and a vibrant green tahini sauce to pull it all together. Fresh, filling, easy to prep ahead, and genuinely something I could eat every night.
Table of Contents
Mediterranean Beef Rice Bowls, at a Glance
⏰ Total time: 30 minutes
🍽 Servings: 4
🛒 Key Ingredients: Ground beef, rice, harissa paste, tahini, garlic, cucumber, tomatoes, flat-leaf parsley
🧠 Skill level: Beginner-friendly
🔥 Cooking Method: Stovetop
🥣 Base: Fragrant golden rice (with easy swaps)
💪 Protein: 37g per serving
🥗 Perfect For: Weeknight dinners, meal prep, high-protein lunches
The Bowls I Make Every Week
My Mediterranean chicken rice bowls are one of the most popular recipes on the site, so I had to bring you a slight riff on that favorite with these lovely, ridiculously easy ground beef bowls.
It’s the type of recipe I genuinely never tire of making, or eating. Everything comes together in the time it takes for the rice to cook, the beef is loaded with clever flavor shortcuts (thank you, harissa paste!), and the toppings keep things fresh and vibrant.
These bowls have become a bit of a regular in my house, thanks to my boyfriend’s current high-protein obsession (😅), and they tick that box perfectly without feeling like boring meal prep. I also LOVE how customizable they are – throw in extras to your salad, add creamy hummus for more protein, swap the rice for a different grain – it’s very easy to play around based on what you have on hand.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ground beef. I prefer using lean ground beef (5% or 10%), so the bowls don’t end up too greasy. You could also use ground lamb, chicken, turkey, pork, or a plant-based alternative.
- Rice. I’m using long-grain rice (specifically basmati) in the recipe, and that’s what works best with the specified liquid quantities. You can switch this up if you like, but you’ll need to adjust the liquid quantities accordingly. Use the packet to guide you here.
- Harissa paste. This is a gorgeous North African chili paste – it’s smoky, a little sweet, and it can be quite spicy, depending on the brand you use. It’s a super-easy shortcut to flavor here because it usually includes ingredients like roasted red peppers, chilies, cumin, and coriander. You’ll find it with the spices at the grocery store. In the UK, I like using Belazu Rose Harissa.
- Tahini. Look for a smooth, runny tahini if possible for the best flavor and texture. Good tahini should be creamy, pourable, nutty, and not overly bitter. Don’t worry if there’s oil sitting on top when you open the jar – that’s just natural separation. Give it a really good stir before using it, making sure to get right down to the bottom of the jar (I like using a butter knife for this).
- Flat-leaf parsley. This is used in the vibrant green tahini sauce, but you can swap this for different herbs or baby spinach. Chives, basil, or cilantro are good swaps.
How to Make the Mediterranean Beef Bowls
This is a step-by-step photo overview of how to make the bowls – the full recipe with ingredient quantities is at the bottom of the page for you.
- Add the olive oil and spices to a pot you have a lid for, and stir until fragrant.
- Add the rice and stir to coat the grains in the oil and spices.
- Add the chicken stock – or water – and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, then pop the lid on.
- Cook until gorgeously fluffy and fragrant.
- Make your green tahini sauce – it’s easiest in a blender, but you can mix it by hand if you like.
- Brown the ground beef, then add the spices, harissa paste, and pomegranate molasses.
- Cook until deeply sticky and caramelized.
- Divide the golden rice, sticky beef, and salad between plates, then drizzle with the green tahini sauce to serve.
Kate’s Top Recipe Tips
- Taste your harissa first. Harissa varies widely by brand – some are mild, and others are spicy. Start with a little less if yours is particularly spicy.
- Let the ground beef properly brown and caramelize. This is the difference between deeply flavorful beef and something wet and watery. Let it sit in the pan for longer than you might think is needed.
- Don’t worry if your green tahini sauce thickens. As the sauce sits, it will thicken, but you can easily loosen it up by stirring a little water through it again.
- Things tasting flat? A squeeze of lemon juice does wonders to lift the flavor of the bowls if you feel they need a little something extra.
Make the Bowls Your Own
This is the kind of recipe that’s endlessly customizable:
- Swap the ground beef for ground lamb, turkey, chicken, grilled chicken thighs (try hot honey harissa chicken, or use the chicken in my Mediterranean chicken bowls recipe), shredded rotisserie chicken, or honey harissa halloumi for a vegetarian version.
- Instead of long-grain rice, you could go for brown rice, quinoa, bulgar wheat, two-ingredient dough flatbreads, baked pita chips, couscous, or cauliflower rice. Just keep in mind you’ll need to adjust your liquid ratios and cooking time if you use a different grain – use your packet to guide you here.
- Swap or add to the salad topping – try dollops of creamy hummus, pickled red onion, shredded lettuce, roasted red peppers, sliced or smashed avocado, or a drizzle of chili crisp or chili oil.
- Switch out the green tahini sauce for creamy tzatziki sauce, garlic tahini yogurt sauce, spicy zhoug sauce, whipped feta, spicy whipped feta, or vibrant pink beet whipped feta dip.
Mediterranean Beef Bowl FAQs
You can! They’re brilliant for meal prep. Keep the rice, beef, salad, and green tahini separately, and then just assemble when you’re ready to serve.
The beef, rice, and tahini sauce will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge, and the salad will keep for 4 days.
This really depends on the harissa paste you use. Some brands are very spicy, while others are milder and smoky. I recommend tasting it before you use it, so you can decide. If it’s very spicy, you can reduce the amount to 1 to 2 teaspoons, then add more to taste.
The other elements of the bowls are designed to balance any spiciness, too.
If you don’t have or can’t find tahini, you could use garlic aioli, or mayo, tzatziki, whipped feta, or hummus. It’s really there to add a creamy, zesty, garlicky element – so anything along those lines will also work well.
I prefer using lean ground beef because there are lots of other flavorful elements in the bowls, and it means the beef doesn’t get too greasy.
My preference if 5% fat beef, but 10% or 15% will give you a slightly juicier result.
Like this recipe? Try these quick bowls next
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a recipe rating and a comment below. And remember to tag @DishedByKate on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok if you’ve made one of my recipes. Seeing your recreations really makes my day 😊.
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Mediterranean Ground Beef Rice Bowls
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
If you also love a loaded bowl situation, these Mediterranean ground beef rice bowls will be right up your street. You’ve got sticky harissa-spiced beef, a zesty Greek-ish salad, golden fluffy rice, and a vibrant green tahini sauce to pull it all together. Fresh, filling, easy to prep ahead, and genuinely something I could eat every night.
Ingredients
For the golden rice –
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 1/2 cups long-grain rice (like Basmati)
- 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock (or water)
For the green tahini drizzle –
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup water
For the salad –
- 7oz (200g) cherry tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cucumber, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup pitted olives, chopped
- 2 oz (50g) creamy Feta, crumbled
- 1 teaspoon sumac
- Black pepper
For the sticky ground beef –
- 1 lb (500g) lean ground beef (I like using 5% or 10%)
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon harissa paste
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Toast the rice in the spices. I like starting with the rice because it can cook while you prep the rest of the bowls, then by the time it’s done, so is everything else. Set a medium saucepan or pot with a lid over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then add 1 teaspoon each of ground turmeric and cumin, and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute). Pour in 1 ½ cups of long-grain rice, then stir to coat the rice in the oil and spices. Cook for another 2 minutes, stirring often, to gently toast the rice.
- Simmer the golden rice. Add 2 ½ cups of chicken stock (or water). Increase the heat, and bring the rice to a boil. Once it’s boiling, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover with the lid. Let it cook, undisturbed, for 15 minutes. Then remove the pot from the heat, keeping the lid on, and let the rice steam for another 10 minutes before serving. Fluff the grains with a fork once it’s done.
- Make the green tahini sauce. Meanwhile, to a blender or food processor, add ½ cup of tahini, ½ cup of flat-leaf parsley leaves, 2 garlic cloves, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ⅓ cup of water. Blend until super smooth and vibrant green. It should have the consistency of heavy cream. Taste, then add a little more salt if you like. PRO TIP: You can easily loosen or thicken the sauce – add a little more water to make it runnier, or a little more tahini for a thicker sauce. It will also thicken as it sits.
- Make the salad. Toss the chopped tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and feta with 1 teaspoon of sumac and a good grind of black pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
- Cook the sticky ground beef. Set a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, then use a wooden spoon or spatula to break it up in the pan. Cook for 3 minutes, until it’s starting to brown. Add the crushed garlic, 2 teaspoons of ground cumin, 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika, 1 tablespoon of harissa paste, 1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Stir the seasoning through the beef.
- Finish the sticky beef. Continue cooking the beef for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it’s super sticky, deeply caramelized, and any water from the beef has evaporated. You want it dark, glossy, and slightly crisp in places. At this point, remove the pan from the heat.
- Arrange the bowls. Divide your golden rice between bowls, then top with the sticky beef. Spoon the salad on the side of each bowl, then finish with a generous drizzle of the green tahini sauce. Serve with pita, two-ingredient dough flatbreads, or baked pita chips on the side if you like.
Notes
MAKE AHEAD INSTRUCTIONS: Every element of these bowls can be made ahead of time and stored until you’re ready. I prefer storing the elements separately, then assembling them when I’m ready to serve. You can enjoy the bowls hot or cold. The rice, beef, and green tahini sauce will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge, while the salad is really best used within 4 days.
SUBSTITUTIONS AND VARIATIONS: Swap the ground beef for ground lamb, chicken, turkey, pork, or a plant-based alternative. You could add honey harissa glazed halloumi for extra protein, or use it instead of the beef for a vegetarian option. Swap the green tahini sauce for garlic yogurt tahini sauce, creamy tzatziki, spicy zhoug sauce, garlic aioli, whipped feta, or creamy super smooth hummus. If you use a different grain, make sure you use the packet instructions for guidance on the liquid ratios and timings, as it’ll most likely be different from cooking long-grain rice.
WHAT TAHINI TO USE: Look for a smooth, runny tahini if possible for the best flavor and texture. Good tahini should be creamy, pourable, nutty, and not overly bitter. Don’t worry if there’s oil sitting on top when you open the jar – that’s just natural separation. Give it a really good stir before using it, making sure to get right down to the bottom of the jar (I like using a butter knife for this).
HOW TO MAKE GREEN TAHINI SAUCE WITHOUT A BLENDER: Chop your flat-leaf parsley as finely as possible, then add it to a small mixing bowl. Crush your garlic cloves, then add them, along with the tahini, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Use a fork to mix it – the tahini will stiffen and seize up, but that’s what you want. Slowly drizzle in the water, mixing until a smooth, creamy sauce forms. It should be similar to the consistency of heavy cream. If you’d like it runnier, add a little more water, and add a little more tahini to thicken it. The sauce will also thicken as it sits, so don’t worry if you think you’ve added too much water at this point.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: bowls
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: mediterranean
Nutrition
- Calories: 660
- Sugar: 7g
- Sodium: 1440mg
- Fat: 25g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 19g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 73g
- Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 37g
- Cholesterol: 76mg
