This Ground Beef and Taco Quinoa Skillet is a nutritious and delicious meal idea that is ready in just 30 minutes! Filled with healthy quinoa, kidney beans, spices and more, it’s a family favorite!
15ouncescanned red kidney beansdrained but not rinsed
1 ¼waterdivided
1 ½teaspoonschili powder
¼teaspoonground cumin
½teaspoonoregano
⅛teaspooncrushed red pepper flakes
1cupMonterey Jack cheeseshredded
½cupuncooked quinoa
For the Garnish (optional)
¼cupfresh cilantro
Instructions
To Make the Ground Beef Mixture
In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and chopped onion.
Add minced garlic, tomato sauce, kidney beans, green chilies, ¼ cup water, chili powder, salt, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Save remaining water for quinoa.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed, stirring occasionally.
To Make The Quinoa
While ground beef mixture is simmering, add 1 cup of water and ½ cup quinoa to a medium sauce pan.
Follow package instructions by bringing to a boil then reduce heat to let mixture simmer for about 10 minutes or until water is absorbed. Stir occasionally to avoid quinoa from sticking the the pan.
Remove cooked quinoa from heat then stir into the ground beef mixture in large skillet.
At the same time, add the shredded Monterey Jack cheese and stir gently into mixture until melted and combined.
Remove from heat and serve warm.
Garnish with chopped avocados, a bit of sour cream and/or chopped cilantro.
Video
Notes
Ingredient Tips
Quinoa is usually found in the same section as rice and dried beans. It usually comes in a bag or a box and the most common type in grocery stores is white or ivory in color. I like to keep a stash of frozen chopped onions and refrigerated jarred minced garlic on hand as they work so well in recipes like this. To save money, I often buy store brands of the canned ingredients.
Make Ahead Tips
There are a few things I do to meal prep ahead of time for this recipe such as:
The quinoa can be cooked up to a day or two in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container (affiliate link).
The ground beef and onions can also be browned and cooked a day before and stored in the refrigerator. Or you can even freeze this mixture to thaw out on the day you plan to make the recipe. Don't forget to date and label it (affiliate link) and what it's for.
Another idea is to make a spice “packet” by measuring out all the spices and storing them together in a small container so that all you need to do is add them to the pan during the rest of the recipe assembly.
Is ground beef and taco quinoa skillet freezer friendly?
While I’ve not frozen this exact dish, I have frozen similar dishes and they freeze really well! You can make it up entirely and then divide out and store in reusable storage bags (affiliate link) or other freezer safe container. Don’t forget to date and label (affiliate link) the bag.