Ground beef is cooked with onion, garlic and Middle Eastern spices, then served over rice with fresh vegetables for a quick, easy and delicious meal.
If you haven’t noticed, bowls have become a family favorite meal around here, and these Israeli Beef Bowls are one of our latest dinner creations.
This recipe is based on arayes, or stuffed pitas, which are basically kebabs grilled inside of a pita bread to capture all of the delicious flavor (instead of having it drip into the grill).
We absolutely love the ground beef filling for arayes, but I decided to simplify the process by serving the filling over rice and adding some fresh veggies on top.
Let me tell you, these bowls were a huge hit, especially with my youngest son. I think he’d eat this meal every day of the week!
And, if I’m being honest, so would I. These bowls are budget friendly, quick and easy to make, relatively healthy, and taste amazing.
Technically, this recipe replaces the pita bread with rice, but I still like to serve pita or naan on the side because we love carbs around here.
Our favorite toppings are cucumber, tomato, and tzatziki sauce, which give these bowls a bit of a Mediterranean flavor.
But we also love pomegranate seeds, fresh herbs and green onions. Use whatever you have on hand, or whatever sounds good to you–this is a great way to get rid of all those odds and ends in your refrigerator.
And although I almost always make this with ground beef, ground lamb is another traditional choice. It’s the spices that really matter here. So even if some of them seem odd, don’t leave any of them out.
However you decide to top these Israeli Beef Bowls, this simple, flavorful meal is one you’ll want serve again and again.
Be sure to save this recipe for Israeli Beef Bowls to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Here’s what you’ll need to make Israeli Beef Bowls
- Ground beef
- Produce: onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, lemon, cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions, pomegranates
- Spices: cumin, cayenne pepper, allspice, cinnamon, salt and pepper
- Rice
- Tzatziki sauce
Israeli Beef Bowls (Arayes Bowls)
Ingredients
For the beef
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the bowls and optional toppings
- Hot cooked rice
- Diced cucumber
- Diced tomato
- Chopped fresh herbs
- Chopped green onions
- Pomegranate seeds
- Tzatziki sauce
Instructions
- In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add the ground beef, along with the parsley, cilantro, cumin, cayenne, cinnamon and oregano. Cook, breaking up the meat as you go, until beef is no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve the beef mixture over cooked rice with tzatziki sauce and any optional toppings you choose.
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Nutrition
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Who Dished It Up First: Adapted from Eitan Eats the World
