Middle Eastern Ground Beef Bowls

Middle Eastern Ground Beef Bowls are delicious made with Baharat Seasoning, but if you don’t have that just switch it out for curry powder! This is an amazing low-carb bowl meal with great middle eastern flavors!

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Many years ago a reader from Israel named Effie sent me a box of middle eastern spices. One of the spices was Baharat Seasoning, and I used it in a recipe for Middle Eastern Ground Beef. I really liked the flavors of this, and recently I updated the recipe to make it into a bowl meal that’s served over cauliflower rice with a tomato-cucumber-parsley mixture topping the bowl.

The improved version was something Kara and I both loved when we tested it, and we also agreed that people who like middle eastern flavors but don’t have Baharat Seasoning can make it with spicy curry powder and it will be just as good!

This was a fresh-tasting bowl meal with so many interesting flavors and textures. If you like middle eastern flavors I hope you will give it a try!

What is Baharat Seasoning:

Baharat Seasoning is a mixture like curry powder where ingredients can vary and every middle eastern country has a slightly different variation of this spice blend. And it can be used in a wide variety of ways! There are a wide variety of Baharat Spice blends sold at Amazon.com (affiliate link) if you don’t want to make your own.

Prefer to make your own Baharat Seasoning?

• Baharat Seasoning from the Kitchn
•  Baharat Seasoning from Wikipedia
• Baharat Seasoning from The Daring Gourmet.

What are the layers in the Middle Eastern Ground Beef Bowls?

• We made the ground beef bowls with a layer of cauliflower rice first, similar to the Easy Califlower Rice Recipe that I make over and over.
• The spicy ground beef mixture with spices, onions, tomatoes, and parsley goes over the cauliflower rice.
• And over that we put a tomato-cucumber mixture with the flavors of Middle Eastern Tomato Salad.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• ground coriander (affiliate link)
• ground cumin (affiliate link)
• ground cardamom (affiliate link), optional
• ground caraway
• Ground Turmeric (affiliate link)
• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• onion
• Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
• Minced Ginger (affiliate link)
• ground beef
• petite dice tomatoes
• Baharat Seasoning (affiliate link), or spicy curry powder will work
• fresh parsley (or mint or cilantro will work)
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper
• frozen cauliflower rice
• garlic cloves
• green onion
• cucumber
• cherry tomatoes
• fresh-squeezed lemon juice, I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice

How to make Middle Eastern Ground Beef Bowls:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Mix coriander, cumin, cardamom, caraway, and turmeric with water. 
2. Heat oil and saute the onion, garlic, and ginger.
3. Then add the spice paste and saute about 2-3 minutes more.
4. Remove seasoned onions to a bowl, but don’t wipe out the pan.
5. Add more oil if needed and cook ground beef until it’s nicely browned, breaking apart with the turner.
6. Then add tomatoes and seasoned onions and simmer until the liquid has mostly evaporated.
7. Stir in Baharat seasoning (or curry powder) and cook 2-3 minutes, then add chopped parsley and turn off heat.
8. While the ground beef cooks, chop tomatoes, cucumbers, and parsley.
9. Mix cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, olive oil, and lemon juice.
10. Heat olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan and cook garlic slices just long enough to “season the oil”.
11. Remove garlic, add the cauliflower rice and season well with salt and fresh ground black pepper.
12. Cook cauliflower rice over medium-high heat, stirring often, until it’s just starting to soften and lose the raw flavor, about 3-4 minutes.
13. Turn off heat, stir in the green onions.
14. To assemble the bowl, put a layer of the cauliflower rice in the bottom of a flat serving bowl.
15. Top with the beef mixture.
16. Then add a few spoonfuls of the tomato-cucumber mixture.
17. Serve right away and enjoy!

More Middle Eastern Recipes to Enjoy:

• Grilled Middle Eastern Turkey Burgers
• Middle Eastern Beef Pitas
• Kabob Kubideh (Middle Eastern Ground Beef on Skewers)
• Fattoush Lebanese Salad
• Middle Eastern Tostadas with Hummus and Feta

Continue to Content

Print

Yield: 6 servings

Middle Eastern Ground Beef Bowls

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Middle Eastern Ground Beef Bowls are flavorful with Baharat Seasoning and other middle eastern spices, cauliflower rice, and a middle eastern tomato-cucumber mixture topping the bowl.

Ingredients

• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp. ground caraway
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric
• 4 T olive oil, divided
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. minced ginger root
• 1 1/2 lb. ground beef (see notes)
• one 14.5 oz. can petite dice tomatoes
• 2 tsp. Baharat Seasoning (see notes)
• 3 T + 4 T chopped fresh parsley
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
• 4 Cups frozen cauliflower rice
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup sliced green onion
• 1 European cucumber, finely diced
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 2 T lemon juice

Instructions

1. Mix together the coriander, cumin, cardamom, caraway, and turmeric with enough water to make a paste. 
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large frying pan and saute the onion, garlic, and ginger until the onions are softened.
3. Then add the spice paste and saute for about 2-3 minutes more. (Don't skip this step!) 
4. Remove the seasoned onions to a bowl, but don't wipe out the pan.
5. Add a tiny bit more oil if needed and cook the ground beef until it's nicely browned, breaking apart with the turner as it cooks.
6. While the ground beef cooks, chop the tomatoes, cucumbers, and parsley.
7. Add petite dice tomatoes and seasoned onions to the beef mixture and simmer until the liquid has evaporated and the tomatoes are well-softened.
8. Stir in the Baharat seasoning (or curry powder) and cook 2-3 minutes, then add 3 tablespoons of chopped parsley and turn off heat.
9. Mix cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and lemon juice to make the tomato topping.
10. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in another large non-stick frying pan and cook the garlic slices just long enough to “season the oil”. (This only takes a minute or so; don’t let the garlic burn.)
11. Remove the garlic and add the cauliflower and season well with salt and fresh ground black pepper.
12. Cook the cauliflower rice over medium-high heat, stirring often, until it’s just starting to soften and lose the raw flavor, about 3-4 minutes.
13. Turn off heat, stir in the green onions, and serve.
14. To assemble the bowl, put a layer of the cauliflower rice in the bottom of a flat serving bowl.
15. Top with the beef mixture.
16. Then add a few spoonfuls of the tomato-cucumber mixture.
17. Serve right away and enjoy!

Notes

You can use two pounds of ground beef if you prefer. If you don't have Baharat Seasoning and don't want to make it, just use a spicy curry powder.

Recipe adapted from Spicy Ground Meat with Baharat from The Spice House.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 445Total Fat 29gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 17gCholesterol 101mgSodium 735mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 3gSugar 4gProtein 34g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Middle Eastern Ground Beef Bowls have only about ten net carbs in the entire bowl so they’re perfect for low-carb or Keto diets. This recipe would also be suitable for any phase of the original South Beach Diet as long as you use lean ground beef.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Beef Recipes or Bowl Meals to find more like this one. Use the Diet Type index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
The Middle Eastern Ground Beef Bowls were first posted in 2012. The recipe was updated to be a bowl meal and improved with better photos in 2021. It was last updated with more information in 2024.

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