Chilli Beef Pilaf Meal Prep
This one’s built around a proper spiced rice pilaf, not just plain rice on the side. Cumin, caraway, and turmeric all get toasted with the onion and garlic before the rice even goes in, so the flavour’s cooked into every grain.
The beef is a sweet chilli mince, quick to brown off and finished with curry powder and peas. It’s punchy against the pilaf’s warmer, more fragrant spicing.
Toasted almonds and currants through the rice give it a bit of crunch and sweetness, and the whole thing comes together in about half an hour.
Chilli Beef Pilaf Meal Prep
BEEF · MEAL PREP · EASY
Proper Spiced Rice, Not an Afterthought
Toasting the whole spices and rice together before the stock goes in is what makes this a pilaf instead of just rice with spices sprinkled over the top. Every grain picks up flavour, not just the top layer.
Sweet chilli sauce and curry powder together give the beef a flavour that's warm and a little sweet, not just spicy. It works really well spooned over the fragrant rice.
Both parts freeze well, so this is a genuinely good one to batch cook and pull from the freezer whenever you need a fast dinner.
Chilli Beef Pilaf Meal Prep
Ingredients
Rice Pilaf
- 28 g Clarified Butter
- 1 Brown (Yellow) Onion Diced
- 5 Garlic Cloves Minced
- 5 g Cumin Seeds
- 3 g Caraway Seeds
- 2.5 g Ground Turmeric
- 300 g Basmati Rice Washed
- 600 g Chicken Stock
- 3 Dried Bay Leaves
- 10 g Coriander (Cilantro) Chopped
- 2 Spring Onions (Scallion) Sliced
- 30 g Slivered Almonds
- 80 g Currants Optional
- Salt & Pepper To Taste
Sweet Chilli Beef
- 15 ml Neutral Oil
- 1 kg Beef Mince 10% Fat
- 12 g Curry Powder
- 180 ml Sweet Chilli Sauce
- 125 ml Chicken Stock
- 4 Spring Onions (Scallion) Sliced
- 10 g Coriander (Cilantro)
- 200 g Frozen Peas
- Salt & Pepper To Taste
Method
Rice Pilaf
- Place a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the ghee, and allow it to melt. Add the onion, garlic, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, and turmeric. Sauté for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the washed rice, mix to combine, and toast for 1 minute, mixing regularly. Add the chicken stock, bay leaves, and seasoning to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and cook for 12 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, leave the lid on, and let sit for a further 5 minutes, undisturbed. While the rice rests, lightly toast the slivered almonds in a dry pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until golden.
- Remove the lid from the rice, discard the bay leaves, and add the currants, coriander, green stem spring onion, and toasted almonds. Mix to combine, check the seasoning, and remove.
Sweet Chilli Beef
- Place a large high-rimmed pan over high heat. Add the olive oil and allow it to heat. Add the beef mince and fry for 5 minutes, moving it around frequently, until well browned all over and cooked through to an internal temperature of at least 71°C (160°F).
- Add the curry powder, mix well, and cook for 1 minute. Add the sweet chilli sauce, chicken stock, white root spring onion, ¾ of the coriander, and frozen peas. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until slightly thickened and the peas are heated through.
Serving
- Portion the pilaf and beef between 5 meal prep containers. Garnish with the remaining coriander and the extra green stem spring onion. Store and serve.
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4 thoughts on “Beef Pilaf Meal Prep”
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Not a beef eater , would chicken or turkey mince work OK
Chicken or turkey mince will work perfectly.
The pilaf was delicious. The mince was too sweet for my liking but that could have been the brand of sauce I used. A few notes – There were no bay leaves in the ingredient list but in the method we’re instructed to remove them and the slivered almonds are in the ingredient list but not mentioned in the method.
Thanks for the heads up. I’ll get that sorted