Saucy Beef Burrito Bowls
with Cilantro Lime Rice, Salsa Fresca & Smoky Crema
- Milk
Bowls are way past “having a moment” and are now a pillar of meals because everything’s better in a bowl! (Adios, plates.) The customizable combo of carbs, protein, veggies, and a delicious sauce can’t be denied and our Tex-Mex rendition is fully loaded. Steamy cilantro-lime rice is topped with saucy spiced ground pork, charred green pepper and onion, salsa fresca, and smoky red pepper crema. Who needs a tortilla when you’ve got all that?
Ingredients
½ cup
Jasmine Rice
1 unit
Onion
1 unit
Long Green Pepper
10 ounce
Ground Beef
1 unit
Tex-Mex Paste
1 unit
Tomato
1 unit
Lime
¼ ounce
Cilantro
2 tablespoon
Smoky Red Pepper Crema
(Contains: Milk)
Not included in your delivery
2 teaspoon
Cooking Oil
Salt
Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• In a small pot, combine rice, ¾ cup water (1½ cups for 4 servings), and a 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, wash and dry produce. • Finely dice tomato. Halve, peel, and cut onion into ½-inch-thick wedges; mince one wedge until you have 1 TBSP (2 TBSP for 4 servings). Zest and quarter lime. Core, deseed, and dice green pepper into ½-inch pieces. Mince cilantro.
• In a small bowl, combine tomato, minced onion, and a big squeeze of lime juice; season with salt. • Add smoky red pepper crema to a separate small bowl. Stir in water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a medium pan (use a large pan for 4 servings) over medium-high heat. Add green pepper and onion wedges. Season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly charred, 7-9 minutes. • Transfer to a plate.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in same pan over medium-high heat. Add pork* and a big pinch of salt. Cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned, 4-6 minutes. • Stir in Tex-Mex paste and ¼ cup water (1/3 cup for 4 servings) until combined. Bring to a simmer and cook until mixture is saucy and pork is cooked through, 1-2 minutes more.
Swap in beef or turkey for pork.
• Fluff rice with a fork; stir in lime zest and half the cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. TIP: For extra richness, stir in 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings). • Divide rice between bowls and top with veggies, saucy pork, salsa, crema, remaining cilantro, and any remaining sauce from pan. Serve with remaining lime wedges on the side.
Ground Beef is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 160°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Sep 2026- Flavor: The Tex-Mex spiced beef and smoky red pepper crema deliver bold, satisfying flavor; some found the overall dish a touch mild and added hot sauce or extra seasoning to boost heat 🌶️.
- Ease of prep: The recipe is quick to cook, though several reviewers noted the prep — dicing tomato, onion, and pepper separately — takes longer than expected.
- Suggestions: Add black beans, pinto beans, or cheese to round out the bowl; some also found doubling the Tex-Mex paste gave the meat a deeper, saucier flavor. Reduce the vinegar in the salsa fresca if you find the acidity too sharp — a squeeze of lime works well instead.
- Leftovers: Leftovers kept well and made excellent burritos the next day when wrapped in flour tortillas 🎉.
- Portions: Several reviewers felt the rice portion was too small for two people; consider supplementing with an extra half-cup of cooked rice if you're hungry.
Reviews from our home cooks
The sauce level was perfect for the burrito bowl! Sometimes there's not enough sauce or 'wetness' so the rice just ends up being flavorless and dry, but this was so good.
Perfect dish. The poblano added a spicy kick to the ground beef mixture, and the tex mex paste added a beautiful flavor profile. Jasmine rice was fragrant and the smoky red pepper crème added a finishing touch on top.
This one was surprisingly good. I felt like it needed a little more rice/veggies to balance out the amount of meat, but the flavors were delicious. I would order this again.
The flavors in this dish are wonderful, savory and tangy. I added kidney beans to the recipe and a little extra spice. I'll definitely have this one again.
We LOVED this one. Great flavors. I added some of my own veggies to this - some shredded carrots, zucchini, and broccoli. I also made some cauliflower rice which was also quick. I have some that prefer that and some that prefer rice. I used a blend. It worked out. I loved that it was also quick and easy and not at all fussy and delicious!
I would give 4 stars. Except the burrito bowl portion size seemed a lot smaller than other meals we've received. When it was all done and in the bowl it looked like it was a child size serving. Other than that, really delish.
Jasmine rice is a better choice than plain white rice. A lime would have been better in the salsa than vinegar. Seems like Hello Fresh was using lesser quality ingredients to save money.
All the ingredients were fresh and mixed together so well. Fantastic with beef. We loved the sauce added to the meat and the toppings brought it so well together! Another great recipe from Hello Fresh.
This recipe was delicious. I did add some pinto beans to my dish and it made it even more delicious.
This was a great dinner! Whenever rice is an ingredient, we always seem to run out. A slightly bigger package of rice would be great. There is always plenty of meat and veggies.
