Middle Eastern Steak & Rice Pilaf
with Tzatziki, Almonds & Smoky Roasted Veggies
- Milk
- Tree Nuts
Marinating is the trick to juicy, tender, flavor-infused meat. The only problem? Foresight, planning, time...yeah, you’re busy enough during the week! As always, we’ve got you covered. This stellar steak comes pre-marinated(!) in Middle Eastern spices. And the flavor explosion doesn’t stop there: on the side, there’s garlicky, stock-simmered basmati rice, smoky roasted carrots and zucchini, homemade tzatziki, and crunchy almonds. The best part, though? Everything comes together in just 30 minutes. How’s that for a weeknight win?
Ingredients
6 ounce
Carrot
2 tablespoon
Sour Cream
1 unit
Zucchini
1 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
1 unit
Lemon
2 tablespoon
Yogurt
(Contains: Milk)
1 clove
Garlic
9 ounce
Middle Eastern Spiced Steak
1 unit
Mini Cucumber
1 teaspoon
Smoked Paprika
1 teaspoon
Chili Flakes
½ cup
Basmati Rice
½ ounce
Sliced Almonds
(Contains: Tree Nuts)
Not included in your delivery
4 teaspoon (tsp)
Olive Oil
1 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to top position (top and middle positions for 4 servings) and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and dry all produce. • Trim, peel, and cut carrots on a diagonal into ½-inch-thick pieces. Trim and halve zucchini lengthwise; cut crosswise into ½-inch-thick half-moons. Trim and grate cucumber on the largest holes of a box grater. Peel and mince or grate garlic. Quarter lemon.
• Toss carrots and zucchini on a baking sheet with a large drizzle of olive oil, paprika, salt, and pepper. (For 4 servings, divide veggies between 2 sheets; roast carrots on top rack and zucchini on middle rack.) • Roast on top rack until browned and tender, 18-22 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a small pot (use a medium pot for 4 servings) over medium-high heat. Reserve a pinch of garlic (you’ll use it in the next step); add remaining garlic to pot. Cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. • Stir in rice, ¾ cup water (1½ cups for 4), stock concentrate, and a big pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a low simmer. Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. • Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.
• While rice cooks, in a small bowl, combine yogurt, sour cream, half the cucumber (taste and add more if desired), juice from 1 lemon wedge (2 wedges for 4 servings), and a big pinch of salt. Stir in reserved garlic if desired.
• Season steak* with salt and pepper. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. • Add steak and cook until browned, 4-7 minutes on first side. Flip, reduce heat to medium, and cook until browned and cooked to desired doneness, 4-7 minutes more. • Transfer to a cutting board to rest.
• Fluff rice with a fork and stir in 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings). Divide between bowls. Arrange roasted veggies on one side of rice. • Slice steak against the grain and arrange next to veggies. Top with tzatziki and almonds. (TIP: Toast your almonds before garnishing if you like.) Sprinkle with chili flakes if desired. Serve with remaining lemon wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the Middle Eastern spices and found the steak flavorful and tender, with tzatziki adding a refreshing touch 🍲.
- Ease of prep: Customers appreciated the pre-marinated steak and found the meal quick and simple to prepare in about 30 minutes.
- Suggestions: Some recommend toasting the almonds for extra flavor and adjusting salt to taste; a few preferred less paprika on the veggies.
- Portions: Several wished for more veggies, especially carrots; a few found the steak portions small or uneven in size.
- Meat quality: While many enjoyed the tender steak, some reported issues with tough or gristly cuts, suggesting inconsistent quality.
Reviews from our home cooks
I loved everything about this meal. The spices marinating the beef were sensational. The tzatziki sauce made for a lovely contrast to the spicy beef. The basmati rice pilaf was fragrant and delicious. And the smoked paprika was a simple enough addition that elevated ordinary veggies. And by making lots of extra sauce and veggies I was once again able to create three meals from the kit. Truly well done!
The creamy goodness of the tzatziki sauce was the perfect compliment to the nuttiness of the roasted almonds and fresh, hot rice. Paired with the robust steak with all of its delicious spices and the baked vegetables it's a perfect combination of sweet, salty, sour, and umami.
I accidentally put the Tzatziki on the steak - whoops! Very delicious nonetheless. I also toasted the almonds as the recipe card suggested. I need a repeat with the meal because I want the full experience of the rice pilaf!
Just cooked tonight... my family loved it as well. I liked the combination of the toasted almonds with the basmati rice and roasted vegetables; the Middle-Eastern steak just added the right compliment to this unique dish😋
Never made a rice pilaf before, so I truly loved the almonds in there as I've never had that. The steak was good, too. Never made or had a tzatziki sauce with it before so that was nice to try something different!
Love to try new and different things, and the Middle Eastern steak was super tasty! Smoky veggies--yum! And the tzatziki was the perfect accompaniment.
We liked this one a lot. The seasoning on the steak was tasty, the rice was flavorful and the tziki sauce added a good tangy pop. I thought the roast veggies would have been better without quite so much smoky paprika, but over all very a very good meal.
This is now one of our favorites. The only thing that didn't come out good was the pilaf, and after reading articles on-line on how to make pilaf with basmati rice, it seems you left out the part to RINSE THE RICE UNTIL THE WATER WAS CLEAR. Because we didn't do that, the rice was sticky, almost mushy. And from what I read, one of the main ingredients to pilaf is ONION, and with this recipe there was no onion , the pilaf was pretty BLAND. But the meat! It was so tender and tasty, we want more. Also liked the zucchini & carrot combo. You need more dishes like this one. IT'S A WINNER!
The rice pilaf and tzatziki were delicious. The steaks were thicker than I was anticipating which meant they took much longer to cook to medium than I planned for, leaving the other food to get cold. I also did not love the spice blend on the steaks, had a slightly bitter taste.
I love authentic Middle Eastern food. I had never ordered a preselected recipe for Middle Eastern food before I was hesitant and was nervous that the steak would be tough or chewy. Though not as spicy as I am use to the taste was GREAT. THE MEAT COME PRE-MARINATED. Saving time. Was very tender and juicy. Cut like butter. Loved the rice and veggies. We will reorder this again. I first saw the size of the package of streak thought small. However it was more then we could eat at one sitting. " FILLING, DELICIOUS, EASY PREP, GRACIOUS PORTIONS." HAD LEFT OVERS FOR LUNCH. Hello "Fresh" is the word!
