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Make Southwest Ground Beef Bowl with Cottage Cheese Queso with clear ingredient guidance, step-by-step instructions, and practical tips.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes (approximately 5 ounces each; peeled, cubed)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • salt (to taste)
  • freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (store-bought or homemade)
  • 1 cup cottage cheese (whipped or regular)
  • ¼ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or shredded Mexican cheese blend)
  • ½ teaspoon taco seasoning (store-bought or homemade)
  • hot honey (store-bought or homemade)
  • pico de gallo
  • guacamole

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425° Fahrenheit.
  2. Add 2 medium sweet potatoes, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and ½ teaspoon cumin to large mixing bowl. Stir or toss cubed sweet potatoes until coated in spices and oil.
  3. Transfer sweet potato cubes to large baking sheet. Arrange sweet potatoes in one even layer.
  4. Place baking sheet in preheated oven. Roast potatoes 15 minutes, then carefully remove baking sheet from oven.
  5. 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.
  6. Remove baking sheet from oven and set aside.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Drain skillet if needed. Set aside.
  10. Add 1 cup cottage cheese, ¼ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese, and ½ teaspoon taco seasoning to blender. Blend ingredients together until fully combined into smooth mixture.
  11. If desired, continue blending mixture until warmed. Alternately, microwave mixture until just warmed, or serve at room temperature.
  12. Divide roasted sweet potatoes evenly into serving bowls. Top sweet potatoes with ground beef and queso.
  13. Drizzle hot honey over top of bowl if desired. Add pico de gallo and/or guacamole. Serve immediately.

Notes

roasting
sautéing
blending
Number of total servings shown is approximate.
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.
▢ hot honey store-bought or homemade ▢ pico de gallo ▢ guacamole
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.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://theproteincook.com/southwest-ground-beef-bowl-with-cottage-cheese-queso/