Quick Taco Rice Bowls – 3 Pantry Ingredients + Toppings

These quick taco rice bowls are an easy, real-food meal made with just three pantry ingredients and whatever toppings you love. Rice, beans, and taco seasoning come together fast (even less with leftover rice), with options to add extra protein, keep it vegetarian, or use what you have on hand. It’s a simple, flexible lunch or dinner that works well for busy days when you want something filling and homemade without spending much time in the kitchen.

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This is another recipe in our occasional, ongoing series of easy meals from your pantry! For this series “pantry” includes not only the pantry shelves, but also the things we may have (or that we preserved!) in our fridges and freezers, too.

I think you’re going to love this taco flavored pantry recipe! It’s everything we love about these quick, economical meals we can make from what we regularly keep in our kitchens:

• Flexible.
• Easy to repeat.
• Perfect for picky eaters or difference diets and tastes.
• Cheap to make.
• 15 minutes to make (when you start with cooked rice or use cauliflower rice).
• Delicious!

This is a 10-15 minute recipe if you regularly keep beans and cooked rice on hand – this is your sign to start making extra rice to freeze for meals like this! Even if you have to cook white rice (or cauliflower rice), it will be a 30 minute meal.

We know, though, that when it comes to rice, brown is where it’s at – both for added protein, nutrients, and fiber (did you know that fiber is what doctors prioritize for long-term health?). In order to have brown rice available for recipes, you do have to do a bit of meal prepping, though my favorite way is to make double when I’m making it for another recipe and then refrigerate or freeze the leftovers.

We eat some variation of this taco rice bowl regularly – I hope it becomes a part of your easy meal planning recipes, too!

Recipe Ingredients & Substitutions

Three Pantry Ingredients with Options for the Base

• Cooked rice: Use brown rice for more protein and fiber, white rice for cooking quickly. To keep this low carb, use cauliflower rice. TIP: This is the type of recipe it pays to cook more rice than you need for another recipe, and you can FREEZE rice, so cook up a lot and freeze it in portions you need for recipes like this!
• Beans: Black beans, pinto, and red beans are all good. Use canned beans from the pantry or cooked beans you’ve frozen.
• Taco seasoning: Any homemade (included in the recipe card) or store bought seasoning works here.
• Optional: Lime juice (if you have it definitely use it).
• Additional protein options: Any cooked meat, poultry, or seafood works wonderfully in the bowls. Keep the bowls vegetarian with more beans.

Choose Your Toppings

Use any of your favorite taco toppings for the bowls – here’s a list to get you started:

• Salsa (Home canned from your pantry, or freshly made in a blender.)
• Chopped onion
• Chopped tomatoes
• Shredded lettuce
• Shredded cheese
• Sour cream
• Sliced avocado or guacamole (I always prefer this yummy guacamole!)
• Lime wedges
• Hot sauce

How to Make Taco Rice Bowls

Step 3: Layer on the toppings and serve!

Serving TIP: If you’ve got kids, or company coming that you’re not sure about their preferences, this will become a favorite meal because you can lay out all the toppings – and even additional protein – and everyone can add just what they want!

Jami’s Tips

This is the ultimate in flexible, easy meals but a bit of preplanning makes them come together lightning quick.

1. Like I’ve mentioned, make extra rice whenever you are making it for another meal. Plan this meal within a few days or freeze the rice to be able to have this meal when you need it quick!
2. Keep the beans on hand, either in canned form or cooked and frozen from dry.
3. If you want to add more protein, keeping cooked chicken, turkey, or beef in the freezer makes pantry meals like this fast. You can also keep canned chicken in the pantry for adding to the bowls, too.
4. Don’t worry if you don’t have everything – this is the ultimate in a use-what-you-have meal, though I would say that salsa is probably the one thing you need to have to make them taco bowls.

I hope you enjoy these quick taco rice bowls – if you make them, be sure to leave a rating and review so I know how you liked it!

More Easy Bowl Recipes

• Easy Sriracha Chicken Noodle Bowls
• Sriracha Beef and Vegetable Rice Bowls
• Quick Mexican Breakfast Bowls (great for dinner, too)