Mexican Ground Beef Skillet (GF, Paleo, Whole30)

This Mexican Ground Beef Skillet is an easy and healthy dinner recipe for busy families. It’s super versatile and can be eaten on its own, with veggies, or used in tacos. It’s also gluten free, paleo, and Whole30 compliant.

Need an easy recipe that you can make into multiple meals? This Mexican Ground Beef Skillet is definitely for you! It’s got simple flavors that aren’t overly spicy, so it’s great for a family meal, plus it’s made from simple ingredients you probably already have.

When creating this recipe, I really wanted to make something that had universal flavors that everyone could enjoy and that would make for easy leftovers. This really fits the bill – you can eat it over vegetables or rice (or cauliflower rice), turn it into taco meat, use it on top of nachos, make burrito bowls, or even enchiladas! So many options. 

What Makes This Mexican Ground Beef Recipe So Great

• It’s fast and easy! You need less than 10 ingredients and it cooks up in under 30 minutes!
• This ground beef recipe is super versatile – eat it on it’s own, with some roasted veggies or cauliflower rice, or include it in other dishes like tacos or burrito bowls.
• It’s gluten free, paleo, and Whole30-compliant so it makes for a healthy dinner!

When making this paleo ground beef recipe, here are some cooking tips to keep in mind, as well as some fun recipe variations!

Cooking Tips

• Be sure to stir the diced onion and bell pepper when cooking so it doesn’t burn! Otherwise it will give the dish a charred flavor.
• When cooking the ground beef, stir it well to ensure all of it is browned! Sometimes uncooked pieces can be hard to spot.
• Depending on what beef you use, you may or may not need to drain the fat. I use a lean ground beef so don’t have that as an instruction, but if you use a fattier ground beef you should drain off excess fat.
• Don’t strain the diced tomatoes before you pour them in the skillet.  The extra juice will help cook everything and blend the flavors.

Recipe Variations

• Try using diced tomatoes with chiles to give a kick of heat to this dish!
• Replace the ground beef with ground turkey for a lower-fat version!
• For an earthier flavor use green bell pepper; for a slightly sweeter flavor use a red bell pepper

Now onto the recipe!

How to Make Mexican Ground Beef Skillet

Remove the skin and ends of the onion then dice it using a large cutting board and large sharp knife. Remove the stem and seeds of the bell pepper and dice it as well.

Pour oil in a skillet or large non stick pan over medium heat and add in the diced onion and bell pepper. Add in 1 tsp of the kosher salt and stir to combine. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are tender, then remove from skillet and set aside.

How to Cook Ground Beef on the Stove

Took cook the ground beef, place it in the pan over medium heat and break it up with a wooden spoon. Once it’s mostly browned (3-5 minutes), season it with the remaining kosher salt, ground cumin, garlic powder, & chili powder and cook until the meat is fully browned.

Should You Season Ground Beef Before Browning?

For this recipe, you should brown the meat a bit first, then season it with the spice blend (pictured below) and finish cooking it the rest of the way.

After the meat is browned, pour the cooked vegetables back in with the ground beef. Open the can of diced tomatoes and also pour them in (without draining). Stir everything together until well combined.

Next cover the skillet with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes over low heat. 

Once done, garnish with avocado and/or green onion and serve over cauliflower rice (or regular rice if not paleo).

See how simple this ground beef recipe is? It’s perfect for a weeknight meal and makes even better leftovers. Be sure to pin it below to save it for your next busy week!

Pin This Mexican Ground Beef Skillet for Later!

IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR MORE EASY BEEF RECIPES, CHECK THESE OUT!

• Easy Nacho Salad
• Weeknight Paleo Ground Beef Stroganoff
• Instant Pot Beef Chili
• Paleo Ground Beef and Broccoli

If you try this Mexican Ground Beef Skillet recipe (or any other recipe) then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it went in the comments below!

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Recipe for Mexican Ground Beef Skillet

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Mexican Ground Beef Skillet (GF, Paleo, Whole30)

This Mexican Ground Beef Skillet is an easy and healthy dinner recipe for busy families. It’s super versatile and can be eaten on its own, with veggies, or used in tacos. It’s also gluten free, paleo, and Whole30 compliant.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword #groundbeef, dinner

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 8

Calories 227kcal

Author Taryn Solie

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp oil canola or avocado
• ½ yellow onion
• 1 bell pepper
• 2.5 tsp kosher salt divided
• 1.33 lbs ground beef
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• green onion for garnish
• avocado for garnish

Instructions

• Remove the skin and ends of the onion then dice it using a large cutting board and large sharp knife. Remove the stem and seeds of the bell pepper and dice it as well.
• Pour oil in a skillet or large non stick pan over medium heat and add in the diced onion and bell pepper. Add in 1 tsp of the kosher salt and stir to combine. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are tender, then remove from skillet and set aside.
• Place the ground beef in the pan over medium heat and break it up with a wooden spoon. Once it's mostly browned (3-5 minutes), add in the remaining kosher salt, ground cumin, garlic powder, & chili powder and cook until the meat is fully browned.
• Open the can of diced tomatoes and pour them in (without draining). Put the cooked vegetables in the pan as well, then cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes over low heat.
• Once done, garnish with avocado and/or green onion and serve over cauliflower rice (or regular rice if not paleo)

Notes

*Depending on what beef you use, you may or may not need to drain the fat. I use a lean ground beef so don't have that as an instruction, but if you use a fattier ground beef you should drain off excess fat.

Nutrition

Calories: 227kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 858mg | Potassium: 362mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 630IU | Vitamin C: 24.3mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 2.4mg