Taco Bowls
Posted Apr 23, 2025
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Taco bowls are like a deconstructed taco served over rice! They are easy to make & a delicious way to enjoy taco night leftovers!
I cook a taco-themed meal once a week, and when I want to change things up from traditional tacos, I make this recipe for taco bowls.
In this recipe, rice (like Mexican rice or cilantro rice) is topped with your favorite taco fixings (guacamole, salsa, etc.) for a hearty and easy meal ready in minutes.
This is also a great recipe to simply use leftovers from taco night, just like this Mexican casserole, making it even easier to prepare!
Taco Bowls: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Ground Beef Taco Meat. If you prefer, you can use ground chicken or turkey. Or crockpot chicken tacos or sweet potato tacos for a vegetarian version.
- Refried beans. I use an organic, canned variety, but these refried black beans are also delicious.
- Toasted corn. You can opt to just heat the corn and not toast it in butter, if you prefer.
- Rice. choose your favorite – white rice, cilantro lime rice, Mexican rice, brown rice, etc.
- Taco Seasoning. I suggest using homemade taco seasoning.
How to Make Taco Bowls
Lets’ walk through this recipe for taco bowls, and don’t forget to watch the video for further guidance.
There is a caveat to every step – if you are using leftovers you can skip the cooking and go straight to assembling the bowls!
Cook the Taco Meat
Begin by combining the ground beef, onion and minced garlic in a non-stick fry pan or cast-iron skillet.
Then, cover and and cook over medium-high heat until the meat begins to brown and is no longer pink in the center, stirring often.
Once the ground beef begins to brown, add taco seasoning and stir until it’s evenly distributed.
Then, add the lime juice and stir to combine.
Cook, uncovered, until the mixture is browned, stirring occasionally, then cover it and set the meat aside to keep it warm while you prep the rest of the taco bowl ingredients.
Cook the Corn
You can just use fresh corn on the cob that has already been cooked. However, cooking the corn in salted butter with a little bit of salt makes it so delicious.
So, cook corn with 1 Tablespoon butter over medium-high heat until lightly browned.
Once browned, sprinkle with sea salt. Then set aside.
Make the Refried Beans
Heat refried beans with water and taco seasoning until warmed through, stirring occasionally.
Assemble the Taco Bowls
Once all the components are prepped, layer the ingredients in 4 to 6 bowls, starting with rice on the bottom.
Then add refried beans, taco meat and toasted corn.
Then, add your desired toppings such as cheese (which I recommend putting on top of the warm ingredients to melt them slightly).
Topping Suggestions
Make sure topping ingredients are lukewarm/room temperature. If they’re all very cold, they will make the bowls too cold.
- Guacamole
- Salsa (tomato salsa, black bean & corn salsa, pineapple salsa, corn salsa, etc).
- Sour Cream
- Iceberg Lettuce
- Fresh Cilantro
Serve
Then, serve the bowls warm with the aforementioned toppings. We love a garnish of fresh cilantro to bring out the fresh, vibrant flavors in this taco bowls recipe!
Store
Store leftover taco bowl ingredients separately. Or, you can prep taco bowls for the week by assembling the bowls in glass containers with lids!
Taco Bowls Recipe FAQS
Yes, you can scale the recipe for the number of people you are serving.
No, ground turkey or ground chicken are great substitutes (you will need to add olive oil to cook those leaner meats). Or you can use crock pot chicken tacos or make them vegetarian with black bean and sweet potato tacos.
If you make and love my recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so I can see your creations!
Taco Bowls
Ingredients
Ground Beef Taco Meat
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ onion diced
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
Refried Beans
- 15 ounces refried beans
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
Toasted Corn
- 1 ½ cup corn
- 1 Tablespoon salted butter
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Rice
- 2 cups cooked rice
Additional Toppings
- Shredded Cheese
- Guacamole
- Salsa
- Sour Cream
- Iceberg lettuce
- Fresh Cilantro
Instructions
Cook the Taco Meat
- Combine ground beef, onion and minced garlic in a non-stick fry pan or cast-iron skillet.
- Cover and cook over medium-high heat until the meat begins to brown and is no longer pink in the center, stirring often.
- Once the ground beef begins to brown, add taco seasoning and stir until it’s evenly distributed.
- Add the lime juice and stir to combine.
- Cook, uncovered, until the mixture is browned, stirring occasionally.
Cook the Corn
- Cook corn with 1 Tablespoon butter over medium-high heat until lightly browned.
- Once browned, sprinkle with sea salt then set aside to use on the taco bowls.
Make the Refried Beans
- Heat refried beans with water and taco seasoning until warmed through, stirring occasionally.
Assemble the Taco Bowls
- Layer the ingredients in 4 to 6 bowls, starting with rice on the bottom. Then add refried beans, taco meat and toasted corn. Then, add your desired toppings such as cheese (which I recommend putting on top of the warm ingredients so it will melt slightly), sour cream, guacamole, salsa, fresh cilantro, etc.
- Serve warm!
Video
Notes
- Ground Beef Taco Meat. If you prefer, you can use ground chicken or turkey. Or crockpot chicken tacos or sweet potato tacos for a vegetarian version.
- Refried beans. I use an organic, canned variety, but these refried black beans are also delicious.
- Toasted corn. You can opt to just heat the corn and not toast it in butter, if you prefer.
- Rice. choose your favorite – white rice, cilantro lime rice, Mexican rice, brown rice, etc.
- Taco Seasoning. I suggest using homemade taco seasoning.
- Guacamole
- Salsa (tomato salsa, black bean & corn salsa, etc).
- Sour Cream
- Iceberg Lettuce
- Fresh Cilantro
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
