Hot Honey Ground Beef Bowls

This is the bowl everyone keeps making on repeat: taco-seasoned ground beef over rice, piled with black beans, sweetcorn, avocado and cottage cheese, then finished with a glossy drizzle of hot honey.

The sweet heat is what makes it work. The honey tames the chilli, the cottage cheese cools everything down, and the whole thing comes together in one pan in about 25 minutes.

It is also a brilliant fridge-clearer. Double the beef, keep the toppings separate, and you have lunches sorted for two more days.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 500 g (about 1 lb) ground beef
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chilli flakes, plus extra to serve
• 1 tsp salt
• 0.5 tsp black pepper
• 300 g (about 1.5 cups) cooked rice, warm
• 400 g (1 tin) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 200 g (about 1.25 cups) sweetcorn, drained

To serve

• 200 g (about 1 cup) cottage cheese
• 1 ripe avocado, diced
• 60 ml (4 tbsp) hot honey
• Fresh coriander leaves, to serve
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Instructions

1. Brown the beef: Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and onion and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, breaking the meat up with a spoon, until browned all over.
2. Season: Stir in the garlic, smoked paprika, cumin, chilli flakes, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Drain off any excess fat if you like.
3. Warm the beans and corn: Add the black beans and sweetcorn to the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until heated through. Taste and add more salt or chilli if needed.
4. Build the bowls: Divide the warm rice between 4 bowls. Spoon the beef mixture over the top, keeping each topping in its own little pile so the bowls look as good as they taste.
5. Finish: Add a dollop of cottage cheese and a handful of diced avocado to each bowl. Drizzle generously with hot honey, scatter over coriander and extra chilli flakes, and serve with lime wedges for squeezing.

Tips for the best result

• Do not stir the toppings into the beef. Keeping them separate gives every bite a different mix of cool, sweet and spicy.
• Use a runny hot honey for the drizzle; a thick one will clump on the cold cottage cheese.
• Swap the rice for cauliflower rice or quinoa if you want a lighter bowl; the beef seasoning stays exactly the same.

Storing and reheating

Cool and refrigerate the beef, rice and beans in airtight containers for up to 3 days. Reheat in a pan or microwave until piping hot, then add the cottage cheese, avocado and hot honey fresh. Do not freeze the assembled bowls.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make this less spicy?

Yes. The honey drizzle is what makes it, but leave out the chilli flakes and use a mild hot sauce so the heat stays gentle.

Can I use ground turkey instead of beef?

Yes. Ground turkey works well and cooks in the same time; drain it the same way and season a little more generously.

Can I meal-prep these bowls?

Warm the beef, rice and beans separately, then add the cold toppings fresh. Reheating the avocado or cottage cheese will spoil the texture.

What if I do not have hot honey?

A plain runny honey mixed with a pinch of chilli flakes will do in a pinch, though bottled hot honey gives a cleaner, spicier finish.