Healthy Curry Beef Bowl
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You’re going to love this healthy, Whole30-compliant Curry Beef Bowl. It’s made with cauliflower rice, then topped with red peppers and red curry-marinated beef, and it comes together in under 30 minutes!
This Thai red beef curry is so delicious, and honestly couldn’t be simpler. You know I’m always looking for healthy, quick weeknight dinners, and this beef curry is just that!
It kind of reminds me of my butternut squash curry, but with beef. And you know I adore using cauliflower rice as a base (like in my teriyaki salmon bowl and mediterranean lamb bowl), but you can absolutely sub regular white rice if cauliflower rice isn’t your jam.
Recipe features
- Gluten free, paleo and whole30 compliant
- Ready in under 30 minutes
- Incredibly flavorful — uses both red curry paste and curry powder
Ingredient notes:
Beef – I used ribeye, but flank steak would work great. I was able to find a package of grass-fed ribeye, and it happened to be .5 lb., but you can use a little more (I’d keep it less than 1 lb. though, since the serving size for this recipe is only 2).
Coconut milk – I almost always use full fat coconut milk because it’s creamier, but you can definitely sub light coconut milk in this recipe if you prefer
Curry paste – Any brand of red curry paste; if you have a favorite, use it! I tend to opt for Thai Kitchen brand because it’s easiest to find.
Cauliflower rice – I always buy and recommend using frozen cauliflower rice because it’s quick, but you can also sub white or brown rice.
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Slice the beef. Begin by thinly slicing the beef, then place it directly into a plastic bag or in a large bowl.
Step 2: Make the marinade. Whisk the coconut milk, curry paste, shallot, ginger, curry powder, and salt together, then pour it over top of the beef. Let the beef marinate for at least 10 minutes, or up to two hours in the refrigerator.
Step 3: Cook the beef. Start by adding the oil and bell peppers to a large skillet, then sauté them for 2-3 minutes. Next, add the beef and sear for 1 minute per side, then pour in the marinade from the bag and simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes or until the beef is cooked to your liking.
Step 4: Assemble. Pour the cooked cauliflower rice into a bowl, then top it with the beef, peppers and marinade. Top everything with chopped cilantro and lime juice and dig in!
Tips and tricks
-If you don’t have or can’t find ribeye, you can substitute flank steak instead. To learn more about substituting beef, check out Food52’s article on substituting cuts of meat.
-Though the cilantro is technically optional, I highly recommend sprinkling a handful of chopped cilantro on top as garnish, which will add a ton of flavor.
-If you don’t want to go all in with the cauliflower rice, you could always do half cauliflower rice and half basmati or jasmine rice.
-I recommend using a large, nonstick skillet, but a cast iron skillet works too.
More easy weeknight dinner recipes:
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Healthy Curry Beef Bowl
Ingredients
for the beef:
- .5 lb. beef ribeye, thinly sliced
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 3 tbsp red curry paste
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tsp curry powder , grated
- 1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 12 oz. frozen cauliflower rice, cooked
toppings:
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped, more or less to taste
- 1 tbsp lime juice , or more
Instructions
- Begin by slicing the beef and placing it in a large plastic bag. *NOTE: you can use anywhere between .5 and .75 lb. of beef (the package I bought was .5 lb. but a little more is fine).
- Whisk coconut milk, curry paste, shallot, ginger, curry powder, and salt together in a bowl and then pour mixture into the plastic bag, evenly coating the beef. Seal the bag shut and allow the beef to marinate for anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours in the refrigerator. The longer you marinate it, the more flavorful it will be, but if you're lazy and impatient like me, 10 minutes will do the trick!
- Add olive oil to a large skillet, then add the sliced red peppers and sauté for 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Then, use kitchen tongs to add the marinated beef and cook for approximately 1 minute per side until it's just browned.
- Reduce heat to a simmer, pour the curry sauce from the bag/bowl into the skillet and simmer everything for 2-3 more minutes.
- While the beef is cooking, cook the cauliflower rice according to the package instructions.
- To serve: pour cauliflower rice into a bowl or on a plate and top it with beef, red peppers, curry sauce, and some cilantro and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
UPDATE NOTE: This post was originally published in July 2017. It was updated with new text and photos in January 2021.
This seems delicious further to pretty quick, clean, and painless. Will honestly do this the following day! thank you. photograph is first rate as always!
I have been loving curry anything lately!!! This is right up my alley!
Thanks so much Lindsay! I’m also obsessed with curry 😀
This looks delicious as well as pretty quick, easy, and painless. Will definitely try this tomorrow! Thanks. Picture is amazing as always!
Thanks Connie–I hope you give it a try!