These colorful bowls are perfect for an easy meal-prep lunch or dinner. From the photo, they appear to combine a flavorful seasoned ground beef mixture with a grain base, fresh vegetables, shredded cheese, pickles or jalapeños, and a creamy sauce. The result is hearty, crunchy, creamy, and full of flavor.
This recipe makes 4 generous bowls and can be customized with whatever vegetables, grains, or toppings you have available.
🛒 Ingredients
For the bowls
- 500 g ground beef
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 small head romaine lettuce, finely chopped
- 1 large tomato, diced
- 1 small cucumber, diced
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup sliced pickles or pickled jalapeños
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley or chives
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Seasoning for the beef
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon chili flakes, optional
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons water
Creamy sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice or pickle juice
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1–2 tablespoons water, if needed
🍚 Step 1: Prepare the Rice
Start with the rice because it forms the base of the bowls.
You can use freshly cooked white rice, brown rice, basmati rice, jasmine rice, or even quinoa.
For four bowls, prepare approximately 2 cups of cooked rice.
If you’re meal-prepping, allow the rice to cool slightly before assembling the bowls. You don’t want very hot rice sitting underneath fresh lettuce because it can make the vegetables wilt.
For extra flavor, you can season the rice with a pinch of salt, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a little chopped parsley.
🥩 Step 2: Cook the Ground Beef
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil.
Add the ground beef and break it apart with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Cook for approximately 6–8 minutes, stirring regularly, until the beef is thoroughly cooked and nicely browned.
If there is a lot of excess fat in the pan, carefully drain some of it.
Now add:
- Paprika
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Cumin
- Oregano
- Black pepper
- Salt
- Chili flakes, if using
Stir everything together.
Add the tomato paste and two tablespoons of water. Mix well and allow the beef to cook for another 2–3 minutes.
The tomato paste helps the seasoning cling to the meat and gives the beef a richer flavor.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
🥬 Step 3: Prepare the Vegetables
While the beef is cooking, prepare the fresh ingredients.
Wash and finely chop the lettuce.
Dice the tomato into small pieces.
Dice the cucumber.
Slice the pickles or pickled jalapeños.
You can also add other vegetables such as:
- Red onion
- Corn
- Avocado
- Bell pepper
- Shredded carrots
- Cabbage
- Black beans
For a bowl similar to the picture, keep the vegetables relatively small so you get a little bit of everything in every bite.
🥣 Step 4: Make the Creamy Sauce
The sauce is what brings all the ingredients together.
In a small bowl, combine:
½ cup mayonnaise + ½ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream.
Add the ketchup, mustard, lemon juice or pickle juice, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper.
Mix thoroughly.
If the sauce is too thick, add 1–2 tablespoons of water until it reaches a pourable consistency.
Taste it.
For a tangier sauce, add more pickle juice or lemon.
For a spicier sauce, add hot sauce or a pinch of cayenne pepper.
For a sweeter sauce, add a small amount of honey.
Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to assemble the bowls.
🥗 Step 5: Assemble the Bowls
Now comes the fun part.
Use four glass meal-prep containers or bowls.
Divide the cooked rice between them.
Next, add a layer of chopped lettuce.
Add the diced tomatoes and cucumber.
Sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese over the vegetables.
Then divide the seasoned ground beef between the four bowls.
Add sliced pickles or jalapeños on top.
Finally, drizzle each bowl generously with the creamy sauce.
Finish with chopped parsley or chives.
The layers will give you a beautiful presentation similar to the bowls shown in the photograph.
🌮 Make It Even More Flavorful
If you want to turn these into loaded taco-style bowls, add:
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- Fresh cilantro
- Lime juice
- Black beans
- Corn
- Avocado
- Salsa
You can also replace the cheddar with Monterey Jack, mozzarella, pepper jack, or a Mexican-style cheese blend.
For extra crunch, add crushed tortilla chips immediately before serving.
🥒 Pickle-Lover’s Version
The image appears to include sliced pickles or pickled vegetables, and they add a fantastic contrast to the rich beef and creamy sauce.
For a stronger pickle flavor, chop several pickles finely and mix them directly into the sauce.
You can make a quick pickle burger-style sauce by combining:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped pickles
- 1 tablespoon pickle juice
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Black pepper
Mix everything together and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before serving.
This sauce works particularly well with ground beef and cheddar.
🥑 Healthy Ingredient Swaps
These bowls are very flexible.
For a lighter version, replace some of the mayonnaise with Greek yogurt.
Instead of white rice, use brown rice, quinoa, bulgur, or cauliflower rice.
Use lean ground beef if you prefer a lower-fat option.
You can also increase the amount of lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and other vegetables to make the bowl more vegetable-forward.
For additional protein, add black beans, chickpeas, grilled chicken, or boiled eggs.
If you’re avoiding dairy, simply leave out the cheese and use a dairy-free sauce.
❄️ Meal-Prep Instructions
These bowls are particularly convenient for preparing several meals at once.
For the best texture, keep the creamy sauce separate until you’re ready to eat.
You can also keep the pickles separate if you don’t want their flavor spreading throughout the bowl.
Store the cooked beef and rice in the refrigerator and allow them to cool properly before sealing the containers.
When you’re ready to eat, add the sauce and toppings.
If reheating, it’s best to warm the rice and beef separately and then add the cold lettuce, cucumber, tomato, pickles, cheese, and sauce afterward.
This keeps the vegetables crisp instead of turning the entire bowl into a hot, soggy mixture.
🍽️ How to Serve
For lunch, serve one bowl with a little extra creamy sauce and a squeeze of lemon or lime.
For dinner, you can make the portions larger and add warm tortillas on the side.
You could even turn the same filling into wraps:
Spread the creamy sauce over a tortilla, add lettuce, rice, beef, cheese, tomatoes, cucumber, and pickles, then roll tightly.
For a party, place all the ingredients in separate bowls and let everyone build their own loaded bowl.
⭐ Final Recipe
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Total time: approximately 35 minutes
Servings: 4
Bowl
- 500 g ground beef
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 small head lettuce
- 1 tomato
- 1 cucumber
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- ½ cup pickles or pickled jalapeños
- Fresh herbs
Beef seasoning
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp oregano
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tsp mustard
- 1 tsp lemon or pickle juice
- Garlic powder
- Paprika
- Salt and pepper
Cook the beef with the seasonings and tomato paste. Prepare the rice and vegetables. Mix the creamy sauce. Layer everything into four bowls, finishing with cheese, pickles, sauce, and fresh herbs.
The best part of this recipe is how adaptable it is: you can make it spicy, cheesy, fresh, crunchy, or extra creamy without changing the basic method. For a bowl closest to the photo, use seasoned ground beef, rice, lettuce, tomato, shredded cheddar, pickles, and plenty of the creamy garlic sauce.