Beef Patties-Sweet Corn, Rice, and Sauteed Veggies: Do you need more than that for a balanced meal prep loaded with veggies and protein?
The key to successful meal prep is to have a plan, keep it simple and make it taste good! This Beef Patties-Sweet Corn, Rice, and Sauteed Veggies meal prep does just that!
With just a handful of wholesome ingredients, you can be enjoying one of the summer's favorite foods - burgers with a balance of healthy carbs and the freshest veggies! We love these for so many reasons, but mostly they're delicious and versatile, and the recipe yields about 16 patties.
Beef Patties-Sweet Corn Rice and Sautéed Veggies Ingredients
For the patties:
- 16 oz lean ground beef (I used 93 percent lean)
- 1 cup chopped red onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 handful chopped parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin
The rice:
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- ¼ cup sweet corn (frozen/canned)
And the veggies:
- 4 to 5 medium size mushrooms
- 4 handfuls baby spinach
- 8 to 10 cherry tomatoes
- Coconut oil
How to Make Beef Patties-Sweet Corn, Rice and Sauteed Veggies
Simply combine the ground beef with the onions, garlic, parsley, and all the seasonings. Then you portion them out with a measuring spoon. They're cooked quickly in a nonstick pan (no oil needed), for about five minutes per side. Very easy. The rest of the prep involves cooked brown rice, corn, mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach.
How to Store Beef Patties with Sauteed Veggies
This meal prep keeps well for the usual duration in an airtight container for four to five days in the fridge. You can also freeze the patties ahead of time and even the veggies and rice, too, if desired. (Yes, you can freeze rice). Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Substitutions and Alterations
Lean ground beef is what this recipe calls for (about 93 percent), but feel free to combine beef, veal, and pork, or some combination thereof if you want some savory diversity. If you opt for something like turkey or chicken, just know that the fat content won't be quite as high and they might not be quite as moist. They'll still be good, though!
A bit of garlic or onion powder will amp up the flavor.
Use white rice instead of brown, or skip it altogether and boil up some quinoa if desired. These beef patties with corn and rice will be delicious even if you're not using rice, but some other grain or grain-like ingredient (quinoa isn't actually a grain but a pseudograin!).
Tips for Making Beef Patties
You can use a spatula or a spoon to combine the ingredients for the beef patties, but we suggest using something else: your hands. Using your hands for patties (or meatballs!) means you're less likely to overmix the ingredients, and it's more likely the ingredients get combined evenly. Overmixing can result in tough patties.
This recipe is a great way to use up leftover rice because it calls for cooked rice.
Canned or frozen corn can be used. If using canned corn, drain and rinse it first, though.
If you've never grated garlic, use the smallest holes in your box grater, or try a microplane grater instead to get the garlic nice and grated.
READ MORE: Tomato and Chickpea Rice with Beef Patties and Steamed Broccoli is calling your name!
Ingredients
Beef Patties
- 16 ounces lean ground beef 93%
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 1 handful parsley
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cumin
Rice
- 2 cups brown rice cooked
- ¼ cup sweet corn frozen or canned
Veggies
- 5 medium mushrooms sliced
- 4 handfuls spinach
- 10 cherry tomatoes
- Coconut oil as needed
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine ground beef, chopped red onions, grated garlic cloves, chopped parsley, and all seasonings. Mix with a spatula. Scoop the mixture into small patties evenly sized; you should get about 16 altogether.
- Preheat a large nonstick pan (no oil needed) and cook the patties over medium heat, about 5 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Wipe out the same nonstick pan with a paper towel and add the cooked rice with corn. Cook over meidum heat, about 5 minutes.
- Preheat about 1 teaspoon coconut oil in a pan. Add the mushrooms and cook until both sides are brown, just a few minutes until tender. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Melt 1 more teaspoon coconut oil for baby spinach. After the coconut oil is melted, toss baby spinach in the pan and turn the heat off. Salt to taste. Serve this dish slightly warmed.
