Southwest Protein Bowls (2024)

This southwestern Beef Protein Bowl is so delicious, low carb friendly, and inexpensive to put together with seasoned ground beef, eggs, spinach, cauliflower rice, and zucchini. It’s healthy for a filling breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

A wonderful low carb bowl that packs over 30 grams of protein, it's easy to make and a great way to get in extra vegetables.

Over 30 Grams of Protein

Protein is a macronutrient that is essential for building muscle and also helps to keep us feeling fuller for longer. Studies have also shown it can help you lose weight while also increasing strength.

Protein can be incredibly important for people with a migraine disorder because it will help with:

• Maintaining a stable blood sugar.
• Keep you from snacking on unhealthy foods and leave you feeling more satisfied after eating.
• Help you stay more alert and energized - especially during an attack.

I've seen other recipes for "protein bowls" and they have less than 12 grams. I don't even know how that can be considered a protein-rich recipe!

This beef protein bowl contains 34 grams of protein, lots of vegetables, and fits a low carb or keto diet. It’s important to balance high protein meals with some complex carbohydrates, vegetables, and healthy fats.

Ingredients

• Eggs - Eggs, including egg whites are filled with protein. A single egg has 6 grams of protein.
• Lean Beef - Beef is high in protein as well as iron and B12. A pound of ground beef has around 65 grams of protein and also contains a good amount of Iron, B6 and Magnesium.I recommend one that's 90/10. Bison would also work well here too.
• Cauliflower Rice - Low carb and easy to cook, one cup of cauliflower contains 2 grams of protein and only around 25 calories. It’s a great way to have a filling meal while also getting more vegetables in.
• Spinach - While not incredibly high in protein, spinach is anti-inflammatory and contains a good amount of vitamin C, as well as magnesium.
• Spices - With so much healthy proteins and vegetables, we need to bump up the flavor with lots of seasonings. This taco seasoned beef is one of my favorites and so versatile. You can blend this seasoning in larger batches and keep on hand for taco night or this protein bowl.

Ways to Add More Protein

This protein bowl is already great as is, but if you want to add even more, here are a few options:

• Ground Chicken
• Beans, like kidney or black beans
• Quinoa or Millet
• Collard Greens
• Broccoli
• Hemp Seeds (or other seeds)
• Fish
• Steak
• Shrimp

How to Make a Protein Bowl

Step 1: Cook the beef

Start by browning the ground beef in a large nonstick pan over medium heat and mix in the spices. Once cooked through, remove from heat and set aside.

Step 2-3: Cook vegetables

In the same pan, cook the cauliflower rice over medium heat and add the spices. Mix in chopped zucchini and stir, until everything is just starting to soften (around 4 minutes total). Remove from the heat and set aside.

Step 3: Cook eggs and spinach

Finally, add a little bit of oil to your pan and turn to medium high heat. Crack the eggs and gently put the egg into the pan. Fry for about 1-2 minutes, until the white becomes opaque, and flip the egg. Pan fry another minute - you want the yolk still runny but the whites fully cooked.

Meanwhile, add spinach to the pan on the other side of the eggs. This will allow the spinach to wilt down slightly, but not completely shrink up. You just want it softened.

Step 4: Build the bowl

Layer the cauliflower and zucchini in the bottom of your bowl, top with ground beef, eggs, and spinach.

Salsa verde goes great on top of this and is one of my favorites, but any salsa will be delicious.

Recipe Tips

• This recipe is easy to customize to make it work for you. Feel free to substitute cauliflower rice with quinoa, or zucchini with broccoli. Hate eggs or are allergic? Just leave them out.
• This is a wonderful meal prep option and will last in the fridge for 2-3 days.
• If following a migraine diet, you want to avoid tyramine build up which happens in protein-rich foods. To do this, you can freeze the cooked beef and defrost later to build your bowl. The vegetables will not have the same tyramine build up as quickly as beef.
• Eggs are best cooked the day of, so slide those on once you’re ready to eat.
• This recipe is automatically gluten and dairy free, plus migraine diet friendly.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you make this, tag me #thedizzycook or @thedizzycook onFacebookandInstagram. And if you love the recipe, please leave a review below! Follow along on my Pinterest for more great recipes.