These Skillet Mexican Potatoes with Ground Beef are a quick, protein-packed dinner that comes together in just 30 minutes! Made with my Classic Taco Meat, a tender mixture of potatoes, peppers, and onions, and a blend of bold spices. This hearty meal is simple, satisfying, and packs 31 grams of protein per serving.
About This Recipe
Who grew up eating the staple dish of meat and potatoes every week? Well, if you love the classic flavors of meat, cheese, and potatoes, you’re going to love this fun recipe with a Mexican flair!
This dish is perfect for busy weeknights when you want something hearty, flavorful, and macro-friendly. It’s a recipe that’s guaranteed to be loved by the whole family, and the leftovers are even better the next day (if you have any left!).
For this recipe, I use my Classic Taco Meat recipe as the protein, but you can also just cook up a batch of regular lean ground beef. Or, omit the meat completely and enjoy these skillet potatoes as a side dish for one of my other Mexican recipes like my Skinny Creamy Chicken Enchiladas, Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Casserole, or Stacked Mexican Chicken Thighs.
I love to pile my portion on top of chopped romaine for a yummy taco salad vibe. And my kids love to eat theirs with tortilla chips or in a tortilla for quesadillas. Of course, you can easily enjoy this recipe in a bowl with your favorite toppings like sour cream (or Greek yogurt, avocado) and a little drizzle of salsa or enchilada sauce!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Frozen potatoes: Use frozen potatoes O’Brien, or a frozen mixture of potatoes, peppers, and onions. You can also use fresh diced potatoes or sweet potatoes, just cook them for about 20 minutes before adding the additional veggies.
- Veggies: Fresh zucchini, frozen (or fresh) bell peppers, and frozen (or fresh) cauliflower rice, and green onion.
- Tomato paste: Adds that bold, tomato flavor. I prefer to buy the tomato paste in a tube so I can use just a little bit at a time.
- Liquid smoke: The liquid smoke is optional! I just love the little touch of smokiness.
- Seasonings: Salt, oregano, chili powder, paprika and black pepper
- Garlic: Always frozen garlic cubes for me (but fresh minced also works)
- Classic taco meat: This recipe uses my Classic Taco Meat recipe. It’s made with lean ground beef, a simple blend of spices, and a splash of tomato sauce and is a weekly staple for us. However, if you don’t have a batch of this prepped, you can just use regular lean 96/4 ground beef, just be sure to cook it beforehand.
- Low-fat cottage cheese: The cottage cheese is my secret ingredient for making these skillet potatoes nice and cheesy without adding lots of extra fat. Plus, the cottage cheese adds protein!
- Cheddar cheese: Freshly shredded cheese will taste and melt best but store-bought will also work.
Dietary Adaptations
GF/DF: This recipe is naturally gluten-free. To keep it dairy-free, you’d need to swap in dairy-free yogurt or dairy-free ricotta for the cottage cheese, as well as a dairy-free cheddar for the topping. I’ve never found a cheddar substitute I like, but I do like Forager Plant-Based sour cream as a yogurt or cottage cheese substitute in this dish.
How To Make
- Heat a large, heavy-bottomed, oven-safe skillet over high heat with a spritz of oil. Add frozen potatoes and let them cook alone for 10-12 minutes, tossing a few times. Add zucchini, bell peppers, cauliflower rice, tomato paste, liquid smoke (if using), and dry seasonings. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all veggies are nice and tender.
- Add garlic and cook for a minute. Stir in prepared meat and cottage cheese. Then top with cheddar cheese and pop in the broiler on low for 3-5 minutes until bubbly and starting to brown.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and top with green onions. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt and some avocado. A little salsa or a drizzle of your favorite hot sauce or jarred enchilada is also great! I love a pile of chopped romaine on top for taco salad vibes. My kids loved this served with tortilla chips or in tortillas for quesadillas. Or, of course, just enjoy it in a bowl with some toppings.
For More Delicious Mexican Recipes
- Mexican Sloppy Joe
- Macro-friendly Fajita Ground Turkey Skillet
- Cauliflower Rice Enchilada Skillet
- Sweet Potato Chipotle Rotisserie Chicken Skillet
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Skillet Mexican Potatoes with Ground Beef
Ingredients
- 4 cups frozen potatoes O’Brien or potatoes, peppers, and onions 400g
- 2 cups zucchini diced (200g)
- 14 oz frozen or fresh bell peppers chopped (400g)
- 10 oz frozen or fresh cauliflower rice 283g
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste 30g
- 1 Tbsp liquid smoke 15g *optional
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp pepper
- 4 frozen garlic cubes
- 1 lb taco meat 448g, I used my Classic Taco Meat recipe but you can also use 1lb 96/4 lean ground beef (cooked)
- 1 ½ cups low-fat cottage cheese 360g
- 1 cup cheddar cheese grated (112g)
- ¼ cup green onion chopped (8g)
Instructions
- Heat a large, heavy-bottomed, oven-safe skillet over high heat with a spritz of oil. Add frozen potatoes and let them cook alone for 10-12 minutes, tossing a few times. Add zucchini, bell peppers, cauliflower rice, tomato paste, liquid smoke (if using), and dry seasonings. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all veggies are nice and tender.
- Add garlic and cook for a minute. Stir in prepared meat and cottage cheese. Then top with cheddar cheese and pop in the broiler on low for 3-5 minutes until bubbly and starting to brown.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and top with green onions. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt and some avocado. A little salsa or a drizzle of your favorite hot sauce or jarred enchilada is also great! I love a pile of chopped romaine on top for taco salad vibes. My kids loved this served with tortilla chips or in tortillas for quesadillas. Or, of course, just enjoy it in a bowl with some toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
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I will say I made this totally from scratch with no shortcuts because I live in a country where we don’t have the same type of frozen vegetables available. I subbed in grated zucchini for cauliflower rice. I cooked every element (except peppers and onions-that I did together) separately and then put them all together toward the end, covered them in the cheese and put it under the broiler. It was a huge it in our household! Thank you so much!
Very flavourful but I found it to be very watery. Could have been from the zucchini.
Easy and delicious!
Yummy! But agree with those who said it was a bit too liquidy with the broth addition at the end. Would still make again-will be great for left overs.
I can’t wait to try this one! I just wanted to let you know that the meat-option recipe isn’t showing up in MacrosFirst. Thanks!
I made the recipe as stated. The flavor is there and the portion is big, but the texture is mush. It kind of taste more like a thicker mushy chili. I would try to make it again without the broth to see if the texture is different. The name is also misleading because its definelty more of a vegetable “skillet” with guest appearences by potatoes.
I used fresh potatoes and peppers, and left out the broth. The whole family loved it! A rare feat. It was flavorful and nutritious!
Tasted great! I didn’t add the water/broth as I thought the consistency was perfect without it. Thanks so much for the recipe!
One of my favorite Lillie recipes! So filling and flavorful on its own. I would not skip the liquid smoke it definitely gives the dish a kick.
I love the flavor and the way you fit in all those veggies but the texture was mushy and was a stew consistency–it felt a bit like slop as the potatoes turned to mush being cooked that long. I would undercook the potatoes, remove them from the pan, sautee the zucchni and bell peppers with seasonings just a bit, remove them from the pan. Add in the meat and season that until the meat is cooked through–keepng some chunks, then remove from the pan. Heat the pureed cauliflower with the cottage cheese into a sauce, then stir back in all the undercooked veggies and meat combining gently to keep some texture. I definitely had to serve it with lots of melted cheese on top and tortilla chips for my family. But the flavor was good! The liquid smoke was an excellent addition. Thank you Lilli!
Can you skip using the zucchini and cauliflower in this recipe?