Crock-Pot Beef Spanish Rice

Crock Pot Spanish Rice With Ground Beef

The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 3 hrs 30 mins
Total: 3 hrs 50 mins
Servings: 8 servings

Crock pot meals are the easiest lunches and dinners that you can make. A few minutes of preparation and you're set, as the rest of the work is done by the pot. Beef, chopped peppers, and onions are quickly sautéed together and then left to cook in the crockpot alongside the rice and tomatoes. It doesn't get easier than that. With busy lives, dinner shouldn't be another problem to solve, but the time to come together and eat as a family. This Spanish rice checks all the boxes: easy, hands-off, nutritious, and delicious. Plus, it makes great leftovers and freezes fantastically.

Lean beef is our choice, but it can be replaced by ground turkey, chicken, or pork. Depending on how lean your preferred meat is, you should check your pot a few times while it's cooking to ensure the meat isn't drying out. This flavorful combination of meat and vegetables makes a one-pot meal that delivers nutrition and convenience. You can choose to cook it on high or low, depending on how much time you have and the time of the day you're starting the process. Any leftovers can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days or frozen for up to three months. Serve with a salad or coleslaw for a contrast in flavor and texture. Alternatively, add sunny-side-up eggs on top to make it into a brunch meal. Or stuff it in big flour tortillas and sprinkle on some shredded cheese for easy go-to burritos that you can bring as lunch to the office, school, or a backyard picnic.

If you've never used your crockpot or are thinking about buying one, know that this is one of the most reliable, easy-to-use, and wonderful kitchen appliances you can have. Cooking soups, stews, rice, varied potatoes preparations, apple sauce, meatballs, chicken wings, and yes, even cakes, crockpots are a savior when it comes to making cooking fun and easy. A quick word: a crockpot is a type of slow cooker, but not all slow cookers are crockpots. They are, however, very similar in how they are built and how they heat up the food. They're both electric appliances consisting of a ceramic or porcelain pot, a heating unit that transfers the heat, and a lid that preserves the moisture while the cooking process takes place.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds lean ground beef

  • 1 cup onion, chopped

  • 2 green bell peppers, chopped

  • 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes

  • 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons chili powder

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

  • 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

  • 1 cup long-grain converted rice, uncooked

  • 1 cup water

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Crock Pot Spanish Rice With Ground Beef ingredients

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble beef into skillet and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

    beef in a skillet

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  3. Add chopped onion and bell peppers and continue to cook for a few minutes longer, or until beef is no longer pink.

    chopped onion and bell peppers with beef in a skillet

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  4. Drain browned ground beef, onion, and bell pepper and transfer to slow cooker.

    beef and pepper mixture in a crock pot

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  5. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, salt, Worcestershire sauce, rice, and water to beef mixture. Stir to blend.

    tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, salt, Worcestershire sauce, rice, and water with the beef mixture in a crock pot

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

  6. Cover pot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or high for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, until rice is tender. If crockpot cooks quickly, check rice for doneness after about 5 hours on low or 2 hours on high.

    Crock Pot Spanish Rice With Ground Beef

    The Spruce / Eric Kleinberg

Recipe Variations

  • For spicier Spanish rice, add some cayenne pepper or add one or 2 minced jalapeño peppers.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
330 Calories
14g Fat
15g Carbs
35g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 330
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g 18%
Saturated Fat 5g 27%
Cholesterol 101mg 34%
Sodium 727mg 32%
Total Carbohydrate 15g 5%
Dietary Fiber 3g 10%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 35g
Vitamin C 20mg 98%
Calcium 56mg 4%
Iron 5mg 27%
Potassium 854mg 18%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)