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American

Smoky Tomato Ground Beef

Ground beef, onion, smoked paprika, and crushed tomatoes make a skillet you can spoon over rice. It is a plain, useful dinner with a real spice measurement.

Prep
8 min
Cook
18 min
Total
26 min
Servings
4
Difficulty
Easy
Jump to recipe
Smoky tomato ground beef in a skillet beside rice.

Why you’ll love it

  • Smoked paprika does the work of a long chili simmer.
  • Beef is cooked until no pink remains.
  • It is cheap and fast.
  • Rice is in the recipe so the plate is complete.

Ingredients

Servings4

Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.

Rough grocery estimate for the full recipe: about $10–13 at a typical US supermarket. Prices vary by store, region, and season.

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Instructions

  1. 1

    Brown the beef with the salt over medium-high, breaking it up, until no pink remains, about 6 minutes. Spoon off extra fat.

  2. 2

    Add the onion and cook 3 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, and cumin. Stir 30 seconds.

  3. 3

    Pour in the tomatoes, water, and pepper. Simmer 8 minutes, until the sauce thickens a little.

  4. 4

    Taste for salt.

  5. 5

    Warm the rice if it is cold.

  6. 6

    Spoon the beef over the rice.

Pro tips

  • Paprika turns bitter if it fries dry for too long. Get the tomatoes in.
  • A fattier beef needs the extra fat poured off or the sauce will look greasy.
  • This is not a chili. Do not expect beans unless you add a can.

Easy substitutions

Ground beef
Ground turkey, cooked to 165°F.
Rice
Warm tortillas.
Smoked paprika
1 tsp regular paprika plus a few drops of liquid smoke, if you keep it.

Storage and reheating

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days.

Reheating

Warm in a skillet with a splash of water.

Nutrition

Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.

Calories
480
Protein
28 g
Carbs
46 g
Fat
20 g
Fiber
3 g

Budget friendly · Stovetop · Dairy-Free

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From the kitchen

Kitchen tools we love

Practical tools these recipes actually use. This is not a review roundup, and these are not paid placements. If affiliate links are added later, they will be labeled and disclosed.

  • A heavy 12-inch skillet

    Most of the chicken and steak recipes are written for one pan that holds heat. Stainless or cast iron both work.

  • An air fryer with a real basket

    The air-fryer recipes expect a single layer. A crowded basket steams instead of browning.

  • A half-sheet pan

    Drumsticks, potatoes, sausage, and carrots all use one. A dark pan browns faster than a very shiny one.

  • A sharp chef’s knife

    These recipes do not need a specialty blade. A sharp 8-inch knife is faster and safer than a dull one.

  • A large cutting board

    Big enough that the onion and the raw chicken are not sharing the same puddle.

  • Dry cups and a liquid cup

    Desserts in particular expect level dry measures and a separate cup for milk.

  • An instant-read thermometer

    Use it for poultry, pork chops, and meatloaf. Color is a weak guide.

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Ingredients