One Pot Taco Skillet

Published by:
Liz Marino
| 05/04/2025 | Last Updated: 05/20/2026

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This is the best Taco Skillet dinner recipe. Loaded with ground beef, veggies and rice. It’s an easy one pan, cheesy, healthy dinner! This post is sponsored by my friends at ButcherBox.

An overhead shot of a taco skillet in a large pan garnished with avocado slices and lime wedges on a grey background


 

If you love easy, healthy meals, you will love this One Pot Cheesy Taco Skillet! This recipe is perfect for busy weeknights or when you just want to whip up something delicious without spending a ton of time in the kitchen!

Plus, it’s made in one pan with only 10 simple ingredients (that you probably already have on hand! One pan meals are the best, right?!

Whether you’re short on time or just want a yummy meal this easy, one pot dinner is about to become your new favorite!

Tips for This Recipe:

  • Chop your veggies ahead of time to save time. You can store them in the fridge for up to 48 hours before cooking.
  • Customize it: Choose your favorite toppings and add-ons, like extra cheese, guacamole, or salsa, to make it uniquely yours. Check out our favorite ways to serve below!
  • Use freshly grated cheddar cheese. It melts so much better.

Ingredients:

An overhead shot of ingredients for taco skillet in small bowls: olive oil, ground beef, onion, garlic, taco seasoning, tomato sauce, dry white rice, beef broth, bell pepper, shredded cheddar cheese

Substitutions

Olive Oil: You can substitute avocado oil, butter, or ghee in place of olive oil.

Ground Beef: We like 85/15 ground beef. Feel free to use leaner ground beef depending on what you like. To make vegetarian you can use cooked lentils or ground beef substitute. You’ll need to adjust your cooking time. I haven’t tried making this with ground turkey or ground chicken but I think it would work fine! If you have chicken breasts, try Chicken Taco Skillet.

Broth: Broth and stock are the same thing! You can use any broth or stock interchangeably. Beef BrothChicken Broth, or vegetable broth all work interchangeably. I always use low or no salt broth.

Tomato Sauce: You can use your own homemade tomato sauce, but we prefer canned tomato sauce. Note that canned tomato sauce and jarred pasta sauce are very different, jarred pasta sauce is much thicker and usually has seasonings added to it.

White rice: Brown rice should work as a white rice substitute in this recipe, but it will take much longer to cook and you may need more broth. I wouldn’t recommend subbing cauliflower rice because I think it would be very soggy and does not need all that broth.

Cheese: Cheese is optional on top. We always buy a block of cheddar and grate it ourselves because it melts better! Pepperjack or colby jack would also be great in this recipe.

Taco Seasoning: We love making our own taco seasoning. It’s lower in salt and doesn’t have any funky ingredients! We like this brand of taco seasoning if you don’t want to make your own.

Add beans: You can add 1 cup of cooked black beans or pinto beans to the pan.

Add extra flavor: This would also be delicious with diced green chiles added to it!

We used ButcherBox Ground Beef in this recipe. We enjoy their ground beef multiple times a week in healthier dishes like this Taco Pasta, Taco Casserole, and Taco Salad!

ButcherBox is super convenient because they deliver high quality meat right to your door. It arrives completely frozen so you can just defrost & cook as needed!

A close up of butcherbox ground beef before being cooked in a cheesy taco skillet

Their ground beef is 100% grass fed and grass finished. It’s an 85/15 blend which is perfect for burgers, soups, stews, and everything in between!

We have it in our freezer at all times and love to make easy healthy meals with it! Check out: Is Butcher Box a Good Deal

How to make One Pan Taco Skillet

An overhead shot of browned ground beef, onion, and garlic in a skillet with remaining ingredients for taco skillet on the side
  1. Brown ground beef in olive oil for 10 minutes until no longer pink. Add onions and garlic and sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
All ingredients (except cheese) in a skillet before they are fully cooked to make a taco skillet
  1. Stir in the remaining ingredients, except cheese, cover, and bring to a boil.
An overhead shot of a taco skillet in a large pan on a grey background
  1. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally until rice is cooked. Top with cheddar cheese, cover until cheese is melted.
An overhead shot of a taco skillet in a large pan garnished with avocado slices and lime wedges on a grey background
  1. Garnish with sliced avocados and fresh parsley. Enjoy!
A serving of cheesy taco skillet on a white plate with another white plate on the side on a grey background

Serving Suggestions

This Cheesy Taco Skillet is a complete meal on its own, but would also be delicious in a taco shell, or tortilla, with tortilla chips or on a bed of lettuce as a delicious twist on a taco salad.

Top with a variety of toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, cilantro, black olives, sour cream and extra shredded cheese. You can also serve it alongside:

Storage

Storing: This taco skillet will last in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container.

Freezing: You can freeze this cheesy taco skillet recipe for up to 3 months. We like these containers for freezing!

If you need more freezer friendly recipes check out our Fill Your Freezer Ebook with 22 easy freezer meals!

Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave or on the stove. If frozen, you can thaw for 12-24 hours in the refrigerator or heat directly from frozen.

A fork taking a bite out of a serving of cheesy taco skillet on a white plate with another white plate on the side on a grey background

Don’t forget! Right now you can get free ground beef. That means you’ll get 2 lbs of ground beef in your first box and $10 off!

An overhead shot of a taco skillet in a large pan garnished with avocado slices and lime wedges on a grey background

One Pot Taco Skillet

Recipe by: Liz Marino
4.96 from 21 votes
The Best Taco Skillet Recipe! This Taco Skillet Dinner is loaded with ground beef, veggies and rice. An easy one pan, cheesy, healthy dinner!
Prep Time : 5 minutes
Cook Time : 40 minutes
Total Time : 45 minutes
Serves : 4 1.5 cup servings
(hover over # to adjust)

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a large saute pan, heat olive oil. Brown ground beef for 10 minutes until no longer pink. Add onions and garlic and saute for an additional 5 minutes.
  2. Add taco seasoning, tomato sauce, white rice, beef broth and bell peppers to the pot. Stir together, cover and bring to a boil.
  3. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally until rice is cooked.
  4. Once rice is cooked, top with cheddar cheese, cover the pan for one minute and let the cheese melt.

Video

Youtube video

Notes

Liz’s Tips:
Ground Beef: You can substitute leaner ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken.
Tomato Sauce: Canned tomato sauce and jarred pasta sauce are very different, jarred pasta sauce is much thicker and usually has seasonings added to it.
Skip the cheese if you’d like to make this dairy free!
Add all your favorite toppings. This recipe is delicious as is but even better with all of your favorite taco toppings. We love adding salsa, guacamole and even olives on top!

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1.5cups rice + beef | Calories: 545kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 593mg | Potassium: 1056mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 4243IU | Vitamin C: 153mg | Calcium: 254mg | Iron: 5mg
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Tried this recipe?Share it! Make sure to tag @thecleaneatingcouple or use #thecleaneatingcouple!
4.96 from 21 votes

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Recipe Rating




40 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Very good and easy recipe, thank you! Will definitely use again! I used beef bone broth and purple rice instead of beef broth and white rice, and added a can of rinsed/drained beans and green chilis. No cheese, unfortunately I’m on a no-dairy diet right now. It was a little “soupy” (maybe from using purple rice and no cheese?) but I added some beef protein powder to thicken it. Tastes just as good next day reheated for lunch!

    1. Black rice and white rice require different liquid ratios/cook time so that is probably why it was soupy. Or from the extra liquid from the green chilis. Either way I’m so glad you liked it 🙂