Taco beef and potato meal-prep bowls
19 min · 47 g protein · 469 cals / serving
The beef-and-potato bowl the gym crowd eats all week, with the vegetables put back in: taco-spiced lean beef cooked down with sweet peppers and onion, tender paprika potatoes from the microwave, fresh pico de gallo and a tangy lime yogurt sauce. Four big boxes, 20 minutes.
Ingredients
Potatoes
Taco beef
- 1 1/2 lb ground beef (95% lean)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 red bell peppers, red or mixed, diced
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/3 cup water
Lime yogurt sauce
- 3/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tsp hot sauce
To serve
- 1 cup pico de gallo, store-bought
- 3 cups romaine lettuce, shredded
Steps
- Toss the potatoes with the oil, paprika and salt in a microwave-safe bowl, cover with a plate and microwave on high 8–9 minutes, stirring once, until tender. Leave covered.
- Meanwhile, brown the beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up, 5 minutes. Add the onion and peppers and cook 4–5 minutes more, until the beef has no pink left (160°F) and the peppers have softened. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano and salt for 30 seconds, then the tomato paste and water; simmer 1–2 minutes until it clings.
- Stir the yogurt, lime juice and hot sauce together with a pinch of salt.
- Divide the potatoes and taco beef between four containers. Pack the pico de gallo, the yogurt sauce and the lettuce separately and add them after reheating.
Good to know
Can I crisp the potatoes?
Yes, if you have 5 more minutes: after the microwave, tip them into the hot skillet before the beef with a teaspoon of oil and leave them alone for 3–4 minutes until browned underneath. An air fryer at 400°F for 8 minutes does the same while the beef cooks.
Rice instead of potatoes?
Two microwave rice pouches are the classic gym version, about 63 instead of 68. The potatoes give you more volume for the same calories.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 91
- Protein
- (41%)
- 9 g
- Fat
- (25%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (34%)
- 8 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 201 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1878 kcal goes into the pot and 2390 g of ingredients comes out as about 2065 g of food: 91 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.