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Dinners | Trader Joe's Meals
Chimichurri Beef Bowls
Your easy weeknight bowl just got a lot more interesting.
Yet another super easy and delicious high-protein Trader Joe’s meal you can make in just 30 minutes. These Chimichurri Beef Bowls has everything you want in a bowl: meat, veggies, rice, cheese, and an unbelievably flavorful sauce that you can make yourself or buy pre-made.
Beef and chimichurri is one of the most perfect flavor pairings that you just know is going to work every single time. It’s bright, fresh, rich, and satisfying at the same time. When added to a bowl with rice, a bunch of fresh raw veggies, and chickpeas, it’s literally the perfect summer bowl. Definitely add this one to the rotation.
Table of Contents
What is Chimichurri?
Ingredients and Substitutions
How to Make It
Storing and Reheating
Tips
Reasons to Love It
Chimichurri Beef Bowl Recipe
What is Chimichurri?
Chimichurri is an uncooked green herb sauce from South America traditionally made with parsley, oregano, garlic, oil, and vinegar. It’s one of the best sauce recipes to have in your back pocket because you can blitz it up in a food processor in a few minutes or chop everything and mix it in a jar or bowl almost as quickly.
Chimichurri has a zippy, herbaceous flavor, which makes it super versatile. I use it as a sauce for bowls like this one, but it’s also an amazing salad dressing and marinade for chicken, beef, and seafood. It pretty much goes with everything.
Chimichurri Ingredients and Substitutions
You can buy Chimichurri at Trader Joe’s and most other grocery stores, but I prefer to make my own using these ingredients:
Parsley and Cilantro
Even though chimichurri is traditionally made with parsley and oregano, I use a mixture of parsley and cilantro because I like the flavor and more tender texture. If you prefer one over the other you can use all cilantro, all parsley, or the classic parsley and fresh oregano combo.
Garlic
I mince fresh whole cloves of garlic for this sauce, and there’s really nothing like it. Sorry, no subs here!
Jalapeño
Mince half of a seeded jalapeño if you want just a little heat or leave the seeds in for more spice. You can dial the jalapeño up or down to suit your spice preference.
Oil and Vinegar
Always use extra-virgin olive oil for dressings and sauces! It has a richer, fuller flavor that really shines in a raw sauce like chimichurri. I use red wine vinegar like in traditional chimichurri, but you could use white wine vinegar instead.
Salad Ingredients and Substitutions
Chickpeas
I use one can of drained and rinsed chickpeas (AKA garbanzo beans), but you could use any other kind of bean you prefer, or leave them out. You can cook your own dried chickpeas if you have the time.
Cucumber, Tomatoes, Avocado, Onion
I add this simple veggie salad to the Chimichurri Beef Bowl for a variety of textures. I use Persian cucumbers (the small ones), but you could use larger English cucumbers. I use grape tomatoes, but cherry tomatoes or even a chopped large tomato both work great, too. I love thinly sliced red onion here, but you could use shallot or white or yellow onion instead. Any of these salad ingredients can be omitted or increased. Thinly sliced snap peas, diced bell pepper, and fresh peas or corn would also be yummy.
Feta Cheese
I like the crumbled feta cheese at Trader Joe’s for these bowls, but you could use goat cheese or another soft crumbly cheese instead.
Beef Ingredients and Substitutions
Ground Beef
I recommend using 93% lean ground beef. If you want to stick with ground meat, but don’t want to use beef, you could substitute ground pork or chorizo, or ground turkey or chicken for a lighter bowl. Aside from ground meat, you could also use a thin cut of steak like flank steak, cook according to your temperature preference, and slice thin.
To make this dish vegetarian, use extra-firm tofu.
Spices
I keep it simple with paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
How to Make Chimichurri Beef Bowls
Step 1
Make the chimichurri: In a medium bowl, combine the cilantro, parsley, garlic, jalapeño, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. This can be made a day ahead of time if kept refrigerated!
Step 2
Prepare the salad: To a medium bowl, add the drained chickpeas, sliced cucumber, halved tomatoes, chopped avocado, diced red onion, and crumbled feta. Use a spoon to toss to combine, then set aside.
Step 3
Make the beef: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Use a meat masher or wooden spoon to break up the beef. Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned.
Step 4
Build the bowls: Scoop rice into four shallow bowls. Spoon the beef onto one half of the rice. Spoon the salad onto the other half of the rice. Drizzle a couple tablespoons of chimichurri over everything. Enjoy!
Storing and Reheating Chimichurri Beef Bowls
Because everything is made separately, you can store them separately as well. Store everything in their own airtight container. I like making and storing sauces like this chimichurri in a mason jar. The salad isn’t dressed with anything so it’s okay to store the mixed salad as-is for leftovers.
For leftovers, reheat a fresh bag of Trader Joe’s frozen rice, or any leftover cooked rice you might have, along with the ground beef in the microwave in 30-second increments until warmed through. Add the salad and chimichurri on top and enjoy!
Tips for Making the Best Chimichurri Beef Bowl
- Save time by making your chimichurri in a food processor so you don’t have to chop everything by hand. Or save even more time by buying pre-made chimichurri at the store.
- If you choose to make your own chimichurri, double the recipe and save it for other meals throughout the week.
- I let the chimichurri season everything, but you can also season the salad separately with a little salt and pepper.
- Make sure to rinse your canned chickpeas thoroughly before adding to the salad so you get rid of all of the canning liquid and its flavor.
- The pre-cooked frozen bags of rice at Trader Joe’s are truly easy weeknight meal workhorses. I love having them on hand for when I want dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. They also save on dishes!
Why You’ll Love These Chimichurri Beef Bowls
- High-protein: Ground beef already has a decent amount of protein per serving, but the addition of rice and chickpeas adds even more plant-based protein for a super filling high-protein meal.
- Trader Joe’s haul: Like with all my other Trader Joe’s meals, you can find all the ingredients for these Chimichurri Beef Bowls at your local Trader Joe’s, or at a regular grocery store if you’re not blessed with a local TJ’s.
- Complete meal: You get carbohydrates from the rice, tons of fiber from the crunchy veggies in the salad, plus tons of protein from the beef and chickpeas. It’s a complete, flavor-packed meal you can make any day of the week.
- Quick and easy: Even if you make your own chimichurri and cook your own rice (which I’d recommend starting first so it cooks while you prep everything else), these bowls still come together in just 30 minutes.
- Shortcut options: If you use the frozen bags of pre-cooked rice and a pre-made chimichurri, all you have to do is chop some veggies and cook your ground beef.
