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This fiesta skillet meal features beef, brown rice, veggies, black beans, and cheese. So Yummy!
Fiesta Skillet Meal Great Substitute for Helper
As a kid, my mom would serve me a cheeseburger macaroni helper from a box. It was okay. We enjoyed it, but it wasn’t something that I wanted very often. As an adult, I began looking for ways to make homemade one-dish “helper” meals. I loved the idea of one pot to cook and clean. However, this fiesta skillet meal requires you to boil your bag of rice separately unless you want to up the broth and let it cook within the meal.
Since this is a Mexican-inspired dish, I used brown rice. I prefer to boil the boil-in-a-bag rice first as a timesaver. This method is my preference and how I wrote this recipe.
You can use traditional white or Jasmine rice and let it cook within the meal in the skillet. However, the broth content would need a total of two cups.
Preparation for Fiesta Skillet Meal
I get into the kitchen plenty of time to do my prep work. Doing some of the little things ahead of the actual cooking makes the cooking less hectic.
For instance, I will chop my onions ahead of time and set them aside in a small bowl, making it easy to take and dump into the meat when it is time.
I also like to measure the taco seasoning and put it into a small bowl. This way I do not have to worry about something burning or boiling over because I am busy measuring other ingredients. It allows for grabbing and dumping pre-measured ingredients into my meal as I am cooking.
You will need to open the black beans can and dump it into a colander to rinse them. This way, they are ready to add them to the meal when it is time.
You can also open the diced tomatoes and green chiles can, as well, in preparation. The corn will need to be opened, drained, and measured into a small bowl.
Recipe Notes From the Chef
After I complete all of my prep work, I can begin cooking. I use a two- to three-inch deep stainless pan for this meal with a lid. You can use whatever works similarly.
First, I begin to cook the ground beef. If you prefer to use ground turkey, it will substitute very well. No the pre-chopped onions to the pan as the ground meat begins sizzling. I allow the meat and onions to cook thoroughly. I drain the ground meat and pour it back into the pan.
Time to Combine
Add taco seasoning, Rotel, corn, pre-boiled rice, and beef broth. Stir thoroughly. Bring to a boil and then let simmer covered for five minutes.
After five minutes, stir again. Re-cover the dish and let simmer for the remaining five minutes. Remove the lid and sprinkle cheese on top. At this point, I also sometimes mix about half a cup of cheese into the mix. The fact that I stir in the cheese allows the mixture to melt and stick together and allows every bite to have cheese, even if the topping cheese slides off when serving.
Ready to Serve
The meal is complete. I love to add various toppings. I prepare the toppings ahead of time and have them on the table. If I only have a few toppings, I use what I have. The toppings being separate allows the individual to personalize the flavor at the table.
Eat and enjoy!
Clean-Up and Leftovers
The clean-up is now a breeze because I only had to wash the skillet and the pot for the rice.
I put the remaining leftovers in a container and enjoy them the next day. This dish warms up tremendously and makes a supper easy leftover meal the following day.
Fiesta Skillet One-Dish Meal
Ingredients
- ½ onion chopped
- 1 pound ground beef browned
- 4 tbsp taco seasoning
- 1 bag Boil-in-a-Bag Brown Rice precooked
- 1 can Rotel undrained
- 1 cup fire roasted corn drain
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 ½ cup fiesta cheese
Optional Toppings
- sour cream
- cilantro chopped
- avocado diced
- green salsa
Instructions
- Brown ground beef. Add in chopped onions. Cook until the beef is fully cooked (no red meat remaining) and the onions are translucent. Drain grease.
- Add taco seasoning, Rotel, corn, rice, and beef broth. Bring to a boil.
- Cook covered and simmer for 10 minutes. Stirring at 5 minutes.
- Stir completely at 10 minutes. Top with shredded cheese. Cover and cook on low for three more minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Optional toppings can be added at the table.