Mediterranean Ground Beef and Rice
Updated Dec 28, 2025
This Mediterranean Ground Beef and Rice is the ultimate comfort meal. It's a quick, easy-to-make one pot recipe the whole family will love!
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One Pot MEDITERRANEAN Meal!
This ground beef and rice recipe is like my Mediterranean version of rice and beans. It’s a staple recipe that I grew up having for dinner, and now I often make it for my family when I just can’t be creative in the kitchen and want something simple and hearty. My kids devour it so quickly and I love that it’s a well balanced nutritious meal.
The base of this recipe is the hashweh – which is an Arabic word meaning stuffing. It’s made up of ground beef, onions and spices, and is often used with or without rice for beef stuffed peppers, stuffed squash or stuffed grape leaves. Here, I’m using it as a one pot meal and adding chickpeas on top.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
How to Make Ground Beef and Rice
Mediterranean Ground Beef & Rice
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon 7 Spice
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt divided
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 2 cups basmati rice rinsed
- 3 ½ cups chicken broth
- Fresh parsley for serving
Instructions
- In a large pot of medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onions and ground beef and season with the 7 Spice and ½ teaspoon of salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are soft and the ground beef is browned, about 5-8 minutes.
- Add the chickpeas and the rice, remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and stir to combine. Pour the chicken broth or water on top.
- Mix all the ingredients together, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for 15 minutes, until the rice is fully cooked. Remove from heat but keep covered, and allow the steam to continue cooking the rice for 5-10 more minutes.
- Fluff the rice, sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve warm.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Video Tutorial
Recipe Tips
- Use a wooden spatula to break up the ground beef as you’re cooking. This will help them brown easier and cook faster to add more flavor to the dish.
- Don’t use short grain rice. Long grain rice has a firmer texture as well as less starch. If you use short grain rice it can become sticky rather than separating once it is cooked and the dish will become clumpy.
- Allow the rice to steam before fluffing it. The rice will absorb any extra liquid in the pot and it helps to let the grains separate. I always recommend at least 5-10 minutes of resting time off the heat.
Serving Ideas
- Mediterranean Salads: Fattoush Salad, Tabbouleh Salad, Lebanese Cabbage Salad
- Sauce: Plain Yogurt (this is how my kids eat it!), Cucumber Yogurt Sauce, Greek Yogurt Sauce
Comments
This is very easy to make and came out very tasty. I also used your 7-spice recipe. Next time I will add more chickpeas or more meat so it’s higher protein.
Yay, so happy you liked it!! Love the idea of adding more protein. Yum! Thanks, Sherry!
Made this recipe for our family tonight. It was very delicious. I also added mushrooms. Definitely making it again!
Yum! Love the addition of mushrooms. So happy you all liked it!!
I have this recipe saved and plan to make it very soon. My question is what if I want to use brown rice instead? How is that changing reflected in the recipe? Thank you.
Hi there! You can use a long grain brown rice but you may have to increase the cooking time. I recommend checking the rice’s package to help you adjust the timing.
Made this recipe just as it’s written and it’s so very good. Used chicken bone broth for more protein. Thank you for the incredible recipe. So easy and so yummy.
Yay, so happy you loved it!! Thank you!
My sister made this for us a few years ago and shared this recipe with me. It is soo easy and always comes out absolutely delicious, this is on repeat at our house.
Aww, I love that! Thank you, Faye!!
Question about the rice, your instructions say reduce heat to low and then simmer. Do you mean lower the heat and let simmer? Low on my stove is not quite a simmer. Do you mean simmer or turn to low? Thanks for the recipe, I made it but couldn’t get the rice quite right. It was still delicious but I want to make it as you instructed. Thank you!
Yes, I mean reduce to a simmer. Low is a simmer on my stove. Sorry for the confusion!
This recipe is very good and have been making it on a regular basis. My family loves it too
Aww thank you, Sandra! So happy your family loves it!!
The best. As is. Easy and delicious. Every single time. I like to eat it in a piece of romaine lettuce as a lettuce wrap …. with a generous amount of fresh parsley and feta of course! Yumna, you’re the best! ❤️ your biggest fans from Dearborn!
Yum, love that!! Romaine lettuce wraps sound so good. So happy you love the recipe! Thank you, Stephanie!!
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