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Meet the high protein taco bowl that’s taking the internet by storm! This viral Southwest ground beef bowl with roasted sweet potatoes and a creamy cottage cheese queso not only tastes amazing, it packs in some pretty amazing macros. One bowl contains 60 grams of protein, 40 grams of fat, and 30 grams of carbs. Guaranteed to keep you full and happy!
Before You Get Started
- Use lean ground beef (85/15 or 90/10) so you don’t end up with super greasy taco meat.
- Large curd cottage cheese contains more moisture than small curd cottage cheese, which may give you a creamier queso.
How to Make This Recipe
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Roast the Sweet Potatoes
Toss cubed sweet potatoes in olive oil, salt, pepper, and cumin. Spread the seasoned sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, then roast them for 25-30 minutes or until browned and tender. Flip the sweet potatoes once halfway through cooking so they roast evenly on both sides.
cOOK THE gROUND bEEF
Brown one pound of lean ground beef in a large skillet, breaking the ground beef up into small pieces as it cooks. When the meat is partially browned, stir in a little taco seasoning. Once the meat is completely cooked through, drain any excess fat from the pan.
Make the cOTTAGE cheese queso
Add cottage cheese, shredded cheese, and a little taco seasoning to a blender and blend ’til smooth. If you’re using a high-speed blender, you can keep blending until the queso is warm. Otherwise, microwave the queso until it’s warmed through, or just serve it at room temperature.
Build Your bOWLS
Layer half the sweet potatoes in the bottom of a bowl. Top the sweet potatoes with taco meat and cottage cheese queso, add some pico and guac if you want, then drizzle a little hot honey over the top. Enjoy!
What I Love About This Recipe
- This Southwest ground beef bowl is going viral for one very big reason – it’s INCREDIBLE! If you’ve been on social media at all in the last couple of months, you’ve definitely seen a version of this dish. It’s full of simple, satisfying ingredients and so much amazing flavor. It’s easy to see why everyone’s so obsessed!
- This is a fabulous way to hit your daily macros! Between the ground beef and the cottage cheese queso, this bowl has a whopping 60g of protein. 60 grams! It’s a full meal in one bowl so you’re looking at roughly 700 calories, but that’s way less than you’d consume with a restaurant taco bowl. You can bring that number down with some simple adjustments, too!
Cheryl’s Tip: I strongly encourage you to use a macro calculator and plug in your specific ingredients and portion sizes if you’re watching your macros closely! Small tweaks can make a big difference.
Recipe Variations
- Watch the Macros: You can easily adapt this recipe to fit your macros better if needed. Swapping the ground beef for ground turkey or ground chicken will cut the calories and the fat content down a bit. Reduced fat cottage cheese will help in that regard, too. If you’re hesitant about the sodium content, use a homemade taco seasoning and skip the salt on the sweet potatoes. You can also scale back on the numbers with smaller portions.
- Sweet Potato Alternatives: If you want a faster method for cooking the sweet potato cubes, try the air fryer instead of the oven! You could also turn this Southwest ground beef bowl into a (very loose) poutine-inspired dish by using sweet potato fries instead of cubed sweet potatoes.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Southwest Ground Beef Bowl with Cottage Cheese Queso
Equipment
- Oven
- large mixing bowl
- Silicone spatula
- large baking sheet
- standard blender
- Large skillet
- Large wooden spoon
- Serving bowls
Ingredients
For the Sweet Potatoes
- 2 medium sweet potatoes approximately 5 ounces each; peeled, cubed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt to taste
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- ยฝ teaspoon cumin
For the Ground Beef
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning store-bought or homemade
For the Cottage Cheese Queso
- 1 cup cottage cheese whipped or regular
- ยผ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese or shredded Mexican cheese blend
- ยฝ teaspoon taco seasoning store-bought or homemade
Serving Suggestions (All Optional)
- hot honey store-bought or homemade
- pico de gallo
- guacamole
Instructions
For the Sweet Potatoes
- Preheat oven to 425ยฐ Fahrenheit.
- Add 2 medium sweet potatoes, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and ยฝ teaspoon cumin to large mixing bowl. Stir or toss cubed sweet potatoes until coated in spices and oil.
- Transfer sweet potato cubes to large baking sheet. Arrange sweet potatoes in one even layer.
- Place baking sheet in preheated oven. Roast potatoes 15 minutes, then carefully remove baking sheet from oven.
- Flip sweet potato cubes over, then return baking sheet to oven. Roast potatoes 10 to 15 minutes more, or until potatoes are golden brown and tender.
- Remove baking sheet from oven and set aside.
For the Ground Beef
- Place large skillet on stovetop over medium heat. Add 1 pound lean ground beef to skillet and cooking, breaking up ground beef with spatula or wooden spoon, until beef is partially browned.
- Add 2 tablespoons taco seasoning to skillet. Stir to incorporate. Cook, stirring occasionally, 7 to 10 minutes or until ground beef is cooked through and crumbled.
- Drain skillet if needed. Set aside.
For the Cottage Cheese Queso
- Add 1 cup cottage cheese, ยผ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, and ยฝ teaspoon taco seasoning to blender. Blend ingredients together until fully combined into smooth mixture.
- If desired, continue blending mixture until warmed. Alternately, microwave mixture until just warmed, or serve at room temperature.
For the Bowls
- Divide roasted sweet potatoes evenly into serving bowls. Top sweet potatoes with ground beef and queso.
- Drizzle hot honey over top of bowl if desired. Add pico de gallo and/or guacamole. Serve immediately.
- Sweet Potatoes: You can roast the sweet potato cubes in the air fryer instead of the oven if you want to speed things up a little!
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tag @40aprons on Instagram and be sure to leave a review on the blog post!
More of My Favorite “Bowl” Recipes
- Fully Loaded Burger Bowl with โSpecial Sauceโ
- Egg Roll in a Bowl with Creamy Chili Sauce
- Salmon Rice Bowl (TikTok Recipe)
- Instant Pot Burrito Bowls with Chicken
- Chicken Egg Roll in a Bowl
- Whole30 Chicken Burrito Bowls (Keto, Paleo)
- Blackened Fish Taco Bowls with Mango Salsa and Cilantro-Lime Rice
- Southwestern Egg Roll in a Bowl
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