This recipe for the Instant Pot Ground Beef and Rice Shawarma is what happens when you come home tired after 4 long days of driving, everyone is hungry, there’s almost nothing in the fridge and you need to cook dinner for 5 people.
It really was just time for some plain comfort food.
I had ground beef, a package of shredded cabbage and cole slaw, the odd onion and a few slivers of garlic, and of course, I always have rice and spices in my house (Asian girl syndrome).
So I decided to just throw what I had into the Instant Pot, and decided if it didn’t work, there was also Pizza on call.
Everyone had been moving, driving, hauling boxes, etc. all day, and we were all tired and just needed some comfort food before we went to bed.
Some of us may or may not have eaten 3 servings of the rice and meat before crawling into bed.
I served this with a side of kale, and we had Vietnamese Yogurt for dessert. The whole thing took 20 minutes from start to finish. It doesn’t get easier than this.
History of Shawarma
Okay let’s be specific–this is not really a shawarma. A Shawarma (Arabic: شاورما) can be either one of those loaf of meat, not unlike my Gyro recipe a or it can be chunks of spiced chicken, like in my Chicken Shawarma recipe. Or if you’re like me and like to play around with food traditions, you can make Shawarma green beans.
Shawarma typically looks like this hunka grilled meat. Long slices are cut off and inserted between pillowy pieces of pita bread, with a little tzatziki on it, and off you go, with one of the tastiest sandwiches you’ve ever had.
But when it come to chicken shawarma, usually it’s chunks of meat. So why am I calling this Ground Beef Shawarma then?
I’m doing that because it actually tastes a lot like the Chicken Shawarma recipe I created, and it has the same spice mixes.
So if you have leftover spice, I’d like you to check out the Chicken Shawarma recipe and see if that doesn’t fit the bill for you as well. Here’s what that Chicken Shawarma looks like:
The Recipe steps for this Instant Pot Ground Beef and Rice Shawarma are:
- Sauté aromatics briefly
- Sauté ground beef briefly
- Add spices, water, and rice
- Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes, 10 mins NPR
Equipment & Ingredients You May Need to Make Ground Beef & Rice Shawarma
- Instant Pot Mini Duo or Instant Pot 6 quart or Instant Pot 8 Quart
- Measuring cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Vegetable Oil
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Instant Pot Ground Beef Shwarma and Rice combines ground beef and rice with spices to create a new twist on comfort food in your pressure cooker.
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1.5 cups water or broth
- 1.5 cups basmati rice rinsed and drained
- 4 cups shredded cabbage
- 3 tablespoons shawarma spice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)
Turn your Instant Pot onto Sauté on high. When the display reads HOT, add oil. When the oil is hot and shimmering, add the minced garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
Add onions and ground beef. Stir while breaking up the ground beef clumps. Don't worry about cooking the beef at this stage, just break it up well. Note, if you have ANYTHING sticking to the bottom of the Instant Pot, pour in 1/4 cup of water and thoroughly deglaze the bottom of your pot.
Add rice, water, cabbage, salt, and shawarma spice.
Cook on High Pressure for 5 minutes, and allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. Release remaining pressure.
I am not a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information is provided a courtesy, and can vary depending on the exact ingredients you use.
I love using high quality accessories for my Instant Pot like Fat Daddio’s cake pan used with the Keto Gluten-Free Coconut Almond Cake. Check out all my favorite Instant Pot accessories and my top 20 favorite kitchen gadgets for foodies!
Beth Shumack says
Love this dish! Fabulous! Definitely do-over! And I and taking this to my next pot luck! I just love it! Thank you!
Susie says
Hi Urvashi! Could I use frozen ground beef for this recipe?
URVASHI PITRE says
I am not sure that’s a good idea because you probably will have trouble getting it to mix with the rice and spices.
Linda says
I made this for the first time last night. I had some mushrooms that were on their last legs so decided to throw them in, too. I also used long-grain brown rice because it’s what I had. It turned out great, and my husband, who thinks he doesn’t like Indian food, even had two helpings!
Linda L Snowden says
Can I use a bag of coleslaw mux for the cabbage?
URVASHI PITRE says
Yes! I do that all the time.
Liz Wright says
I’ve made this twice and it’s so easy and delicious. Tonight I made it with roughly chopped chicken thighs and browned them first. Added onions and garlic and went from there. I serve with a tahini yogurt sauce.
Vilya says
I made this today and was very happy with it. I think it’s going to taste even better tomorrow, because the flavor improved just from sitting in the pot for an hour or so (I took one last taste before I put the leftovers away, haha!). I don’t love vegetables, and the fact that the cabbage kind of disappears into the finished dish is great! I tricked myself into eating veggies. 😉 Thanks for such a quick, easy, and delicious recipe!
Jan Tucker says
We made it tonight for dinner and it was very tasty! Made a chickpea and herb salad to go with. Any recipe from here that I have tried has been very good!
Yuki says
I love the flavor of this (although I do add cayenne for some kick!). I’m curious if you have suggestions on how to change this to use cauliflower rice instead of rice? Also, I see in the comments that it says not to stir but I don’t see that in the recipe. Can you clarify?
URVASHI PITRE says
So for cauliflower rice you’d be better off doing stovetop. Check out my low carb chicken biryani recipe for a base recipe for that
Karen says
Can I skip the cabbage and use same settings?
URVASHI PITRE says
Yes you can
Abby says
Can I use basmati rice instead of jasmine rice? If so, same cooking time?
URVASHI PITRE says
I think the deduoe called for basmati to start with. So I’m assuming you want to know can you make it with jasmine 🙂 yes you can but I don’t know if perhaps it will be a little more sticky with it than with basmati. They both cook in the same time, yes.
Courtney says
I attempted to double the recipe and got a burn notice. Does it matter whether you mix the ingredients? I mixed, then realized I probably shouldn’t have. Not sure what else I did wrong (although I didn’t deglaze pot after adding meat).
URVASHI PITRE says
It’s the deglaze skipping that probably got you is my suspicion
Dee Germany says
One of the best things about my Instant Pot(s) is finding this recipe & Urvashi!!! LOVE, Love, love……..
Kerstin says
Loved it!! Thank you!!
Kerstin Milazzo says
Loved it!! Thank you!!
Maggie says
How would I adjust if I wanted to use brown basmati rice?
Betsy says
I would like to know too about brown basmati. I am experimenting now, but hope for some professional guidance.
URVASHI PITRE says
Brown rice takes 22 minutes to cook with 10 mins NPR. The ground meat will overcook in that time unfortunately
URVASHI PITRE says
Sounds like you hate soy curls not the recipe?
Sophie Krich Brinton says
This is delicious!! We’ve made it a bunch and it’s always a hit with the partner and toddler. I double the cabbage since it cooks down so well. Love all your recipes!
URVASHI PITRE says
Good way to sneak some veggies in 🙂
GEORGIA RISING says
Can I make this ahead of time? I want a good recipe to drop off to a new mom. How would I suggest to reheat?
URVASHI PITRE says
Yes you can. I freeze it in one serving portions which in our case is one cup. Then, it takes 3 minutes to reheat in the microwave