These Mexican potatoes with ground beef are a quick, protein-packed skillet dinner ready in just 30 minutes! Crispy potatoes, peppers, zucchini, and my classic taco meat get a blend of bold spices and a cheesy topping, with 46.5 grams of protein per serving.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Skillet Mexican Potatoes with Ground Beef
- Ready In: 30 minutes
- Serves: 0 servings
- Calories: 460 cal
- Protein: 46.5g
- Fat: 15g
- Carbs: 32g
- Why You'll Love It: These Skillet Mexican Potatoes with Ground Beef are a quick, protein-packed dinner that comes together in just 30 minutes! Made with my Classic Taco Meat, a tender mixture of potatoes, peppers, and onions, and a blend of bold spices. This hearty meal is simple, satisfying, and packs 31 grams of protein per serving.
Who grew up eating meat and potatoes every week? If you love the classic combo of meat, cheese, and potatoes, you’re going to LOVE this fun version with a Mexican flair. It’s perfect for busy weeknights, the whole family loves it, and the leftovers are even better the next day (if you have any left!).
I love to pile my portion on top of chopped romaine for a yummy taco salad vibe. My kids eat theirs with tortilla chips or in a tortilla for quesadillas. Or just enjoy it in a bowl with your favorite toppings.
What Is Mexican Ground Beef and Potatoes Called?
The traditional Mexican dish is called picadillo con papas, where ground beef and potatoes simmer in a seasoned tomato sauce. My skillet version is a little different. The potatoes get crispy first, then it’s loaded with veggies, taco meat, cottage cheese, and broiled cheddar on top.
Can You Make Mexican Potatoes Without Meat?
YES! Skip the meat and enjoy these skillet potatoes as a side dish for one of my other Mexican recipes, like my skinny creamy chicken enchiladas, Instant Pot chicken enchilada casserole, or stacked Mexican chicken thighs. Without the meat, a 180g serving is 198 calories with 14.3g protein.
Is This Recipe Gluten-Free?
It’s naturally gluten-free. To make it dairy-free, swap in dairy-free yogurt or dairy-free ricotta for the cottage cheese, plus a dairy-free cheddar for the topping. I’ve never found a cheddar substitute I like, but I do like Forager Plant-Based sour cream as a yogurt or cottage cheese substitute here.
Important Ingredients and Substitutions
- Frozen potatoes O’Brien: or a frozen mix of potatoes, peppers, and onions. Fresh diced potatoes or sweet potatoes work too, just cook them for about 20 minutes before adding the other veggies.
- Classic taco meat: it’s made with lean ground beef, a simple blend of spices, and a splash of tomato sauce, and it’s a weekly staple for us. No batch prepped? Use 1 lb of cooked 96/4 lean ground beef.
- Low-fat cottage cheese: my secret ingredient! It makes the potatoes nice and cheesy without lots of extra fat, and it adds protein.
- Tomato paste in a tube: I buy it this way so I can use just a little at a time.
- Liquid smoke: totally optional. I just love the little touch of smokiness.
- Zucchini and cauliflower rice: they bulk up the skillet with veggies. Frozen or fresh cauliflower rice both work.
Before You Start Cooking
- Use a large, heavy-bottomed, oven-safe skillet. It goes under the broiler at the end.
- Prep your taco meat ahead. This recipe uses leftover classic taco meat, so the meat just needs to be cooked before it goes in.
- Give the potatoes time alone. Let the frozen potatoes cook by themselves for 10 to 12 minutes so they crisp up before the veggies go in.
- Plan for about 30 minutes. That’s 5 minutes of prep and 25 minutes of cooking.
- Weigh your empty skillet if you track macros. One serving is 437g. Here’s how I add a recipe to MyFitnessPal.
How to Make Mexican Potatoes with Ground Beef
- Crisp the potatoes. Heat the skillet over high heat with a spritz of oil. Add the frozen potatoes and let them cook alone for 10 to 12 minutes, tossing a few times.
- Add the veggies. Add the zucchini, bell peppers, cauliflower rice, tomato paste, liquid smoke (if using), and dry seasonings. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are tender.
- Add the meat. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Stir in the cooked meat and cottage cheese.
- Broil. Top with cheddar and pop it under the broiler on low for 3 to 5 minutes until bubbly and starting to brown.
- Top and serve. Sprinkle with green onions and serve with your favorite toppings.
Heads up: this recipe was edited in Nov. 2025 to remove half a cup of broth and water after feedback that the potatoes were too mushy. If you prefer the original, feel free to add it after the meat and cottage cheese.
What to Serve with Mexican Potatoes
Serve it with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt and some avocado. A little salsa, a drizzle of your favorite hot sauce, or jarred enchilada sauce is great too! I love a pile of chopped romaine on top for taco salad vibes, and a spoonful of avocado cilantro cream never hurts.
For a fresh side, try my corn avocado salad. More Mexican favorites: my Mexican sloppy joe and creamy Mexican chicken bake.
How to Freeze Mexican Potatoes with Ground Beef
This one is on my list of macro-friendly freezer meals. Reheating in a skillet or the oven keeps the potatoes from getting soft.
- Let it cool, then portion into containers and label with the date and grams (one serving is 437g).
- Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- Reheat in a skillet or the oven instead of the microwave to keep the potatoes from getting soft. Pop it under the broiler for a minute to get the cheese bubbly again.
- Add your sour cream, avocado, and salsa fresh after reheating.
- Keeps up to 3 months.
Want more skillet dinners for the freezer? Try my ground beef philly cheesesteak skillet, fajita ground turkey skillet, cauliflower rice enchilada skillet, or sweet potato chipotle chicken skillet.
Meal prepping for the week? My macro-friendly meal plans send a new menu and categorized grocery list every Thursday, with meal prep tips and the macros already done.
Mexican Potatoes with Ground Beef Calories and Macros
One serving (437g) of these Mexican potatoes with ground beef has 460 calories, 46.5g protein, 15g fat, 32g carbs, and 4.3g fiber. The recipe serves 4, and the full nutrition is in the recipe card below.
Never Miss a Recipe! Sign Up for My Emails!
If you enjoy having macro-friendly recipes that are delicious and easy to track, then make sure to sign up for my email list!
Come say hi on Instagram, I share what we’re eating all week.
Skillet Mexican Potatoes with Ground Beef
Ingredients
- 4 cups frozen potatoes O’Brien or potatoes, peppers, and onions 400g
- 2 cups zucchini diced (200g)
- 14 oz frozen or fresh bell peppers chopped (400g)
- 10 oz frozen or fresh cauliflower rice 283g
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste 30g
- 1 Tbsp liquid smoke 15g *optional
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp pepper
- 4 frozen garlic cubes
- 1 lb taco meat 448g, I used my Classic Taco Meat recipe but you can also use 1lb 96/4 lean ground beef (cooked)
- 1 ½ cups low-fat cottage cheese 360g
- 1 cup cheddar cheese grated (112g)
- ¼ cup green onion chopped (8g)
Instructions
- Heat a large, heavy-bottomed, oven-safe skillet over high heat with a spritz of oil. Add frozen potatoes and let them cook alone for 10-12 minutes, tossing a few times. Add zucchini, bell peppers, cauliflower rice, tomato paste, liquid smoke (if using), and dry seasonings. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all veggies are nice and tender.
- Add garlic and cook for a minute. Stir in prepared meat and cottage cheese. Then top with cheddar cheese and pop in the broiler on low for 3-5 minutes until bubbly and starting to brown.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and top with green onions. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt and some avocado. A little salsa or a drizzle of your favorite hot sauce or jarred enchilada is also great! I love a pile of chopped romaine on top for taco salad vibes. My kids loved this served with tortilla chips or in tortillas for quesadillas. Or, of course, just enjoy it in a bowl with some toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
Tag @LillieEatsAndTells on Instagram with #LillieEatsandTells! We’d love to see your creations!
The macros are not correct. I just looked up only the meat, cottage cheese and reg cheese in the recipe and with only these 3 ingredients it is
453 calories
40 protein
30.5 fat
This does NOT include all the veggies/potatoes etc…..
How on earth did you figure this was only 15 grams of fat? I am so disappointed.
I will say I made this totally from scratch with no shortcuts because I live in a country where we don’t have the same type of frozen vegetables available. I subbed in grated zucchini for cauliflower rice. I cooked every element (except peppers and onions-that I did together) separately and then put them all together toward the end, covered them in the cheese and put it under the broiler. It was a huge it in our household! Thank you so much!
Very flavourful but I found it to be very watery. Could have been from the zucchini.
Easy and delicious!
Yummy! But agree with those who said it was a bit too liquidy with the broth addition at the end. Would still make again-will be great for left overs.
I can’t wait to try this one! I just wanted to let you know that the meat-option recipe isn’t showing up in MacrosFirst. Thanks!
I made the recipe as stated. The flavor is there and the portion is big, but the texture is mush. It kind of taste more like a thicker mushy chili. I would try to make it again without the broth to see if the texture is different. The name is also misleading because its definelty more of a vegetable “skillet” with guest appearences by potatoes.
I used fresh potatoes and peppers, and left out the broth. The whole family loved it! A rare feat. It was flavorful and nutritious!
Tasted great! I didn’t add the water/broth as I thought the consistency was perfect without it. Thanks so much for the recipe!
One of my favorite Lillie recipes! So filling and flavorful on its own. I would not skip the liquid smoke it definitely gives the dish a kick.
I love the flavor and the way you fit in all those veggies but the texture was mushy and was a stew consistency–it felt a bit like slop as the potatoes turned to mush being cooked that long. I would undercook the potatoes, remove them from the pan, sautee the zucchni and bell peppers with seasonings just a bit, remove them from the pan. Add in the meat and season that until the meat is cooked through–keepng some chunks, then remove from the pan. Heat the pureed cauliflower with the cottage cheese into a sauce, then stir back in all the undercooked veggies and meat combining gently to keep some texture. I definitely had to serve it with lots of melted cheese on top and tortilla chips for my family. But the flavor was good! The liquid smoke was an excellent addition. Thank you Lilli!
Can you skip using the zucchini and cauliflower in this recipe?