This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This easy, flavorful Texas Hash is a family favorite recipe! It’s made with ground beef, peppers, rice, tomatoes, and chili powder.

Quick and Easy Texas Hash
Texas Hash is a quick and easy skillet dish that combines ground beef, rice, and diced tomatoes cooked together with onions and bell pepper – plus a touch of chili powder and other seasonings.
What’s great about this recipe is that it all cooks in one skillet (love the easy cleanup!) – plus it’s a hearty and filling dish that the whole family will love.
It’s been a favorite recipe of A Family Feast followers for many years too. Some readers have told us that they serve it with buttermilk biscuits on the side and others use their Texas Hash as a filling for stuffed peppers!
Reader Review
“This was amazing!!! Smelling it while it was cooking was torture. I enjoyed every single bite and even kept the leftovers for myself instead of sending them to work with my husband. Even my “I don’t like rice” child ate every bite. I just went ahead and stirred the cheese into the entire thing at the end. Yummy!”-Stacy
As written, this easy tomato-based beef and rice dish is perfectly seasoned with just a bit of lingering heat in every bite from the added chili powder. If you are super sensitive to spicy foods, start with less – and if you love extra spicy foods, feel free to add more chili powder!
Key Ingredients
- Ground Beef – Choose an 80/20 ground beef mix (that means 80% beef/20% fat). While it’s higher in fat content than some other ground beef options, the fat adds flavor! Just be sure to drain any excess fat one you’ve browned the beef – see Cooking Tips below for more information.
- Onion – We typically cook with yellow onions for their prominent flavor. A white onion can also be used but it will make the onion flavor stronger in this dish. Spanish onions are another alternative. They are larger and milder than yellow onions.
- Green Bell Pepper – The pronounced flavor of green bell pepper works so well in this recipe. You can use a sweet red, orange, or yellow bell pepper instead, but the flavors will be mellower.
- Fresh Garlic – Always cook with fresh garlic – not the jarred stuff!
- Spices & Seasonings – Including dry mustard powder, chili powder, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Long Grain White Rice
- Tomatoes – Canned diced tomatoes are in this dish, as well as tomato paste to thicken the sauce. See the notes at the bottom of the recipe card for some additional information.
- Water
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese – For serving. This dish is equally good with or without cheese added on top when served.
Cooking Tips & Tricks
- Since you are using an 80/20 ground beef mixture, it’s very important to drain any excess fat from the skillet once you’ve cooked the ground beef and before you add the rice, tomato, and liquids. This will prevent the finished dish from being overly greasy.
- An easy way to remove the excess grease is to tip the skillet slightly, then use a turkey baster to suction up the excess grease.
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Texas Hash
This easy, flavorful Texas Hash is a family favorite recipe! It’s made with ground beef, peppers, rice, tomatoes and chili powder.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced yellow onion
1 cup diced green bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 pound ground beef, 80/20
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice (see notes for brand recommendations)
1 to 1 3/4 cups water
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, for serving
Instructions
- In a non stick or enamel skillet that has a tight fitting cover, heat olive oil over medium high.
- Add onion, peppers, garlic, ground beef, dry mustard, chili powder, salt and pepper. Sauté until ground beef is no longer pink, breaking up beef as you cook. (Drain any excess grease.)
- Add rice and cook for two minutes letting rice absorb liquid.
- Add tomato paste and cook for one minute.
- Add canned tomatoes with juice, one cup of water and Worcestershire sauce. Stir, cover and simmer on medium low to low for 10 minutes covered.
- Check the liquid. If the most of the liquid has absorbed, add a quarter cup more. Repeat this every five minutes of cooking.
- After 20 minutes, remove lid and check for doneness. If the mixture is too wet, cook for another few minutes with lid off, or add more tomato paste. If the rice is not fully cooked, add a little more water and continue cooking for about five more minutes.
- If you are using the cheese, sprinkle on top of individual portions.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Notes
Different brands of canned diced tomatoes have different tomato to water ratios. We made this recipe using Hunts canned diced tomatoes and one cup of water added to the cooking was enough. We made it again using Pastene canned diced tomatoes, and the ratio of water to tomatoes was less. This required us to add more water to cook the rice fully.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the origin of Texas Hash recipe? We found this recipe in my mother’s old recipe box, and (full disclosure) we made some adjustments to the seasonings to boost the flavor a bit. A reader in the comment section below mentioned that an old Betty Crocker Cookbook from the 1960s included a Texas Hash recipe that was baked. It’s entirely possibly my mom had that cookbook and/or found a recipe that adapted it to be a skillet meal.
- Can I make Texas Hash ahead of time? Yes! This dish reheats nicely.
- Can I make Texas Hash in a Slow Cooker? or Instant Pot? This recipe only takes 30 minutes to cook in a skillet so we’ve never tried making it in a slow cooker or instant pot. I’m sure it can be adapted but without some kitchen testing of a new recipe, we’d only be guessing at what changes to make.
- How do I reheat Texas Hash? We microwave individual portions to warm though. But, if you are serving a larger quantity, feel free to warm through in the same skillet you cooked in – just be sure to stir frequently so the hash doesn’t stick to the bottom of the skillet.
- How do I store leftovers? Place any leftovers in a covered container and refrigerate for up to three days.
- Can I freeze the leftovers? We’ve never tried freezing Texas Hash. (In general, rice softens and can even get mushy after it’s been frozen and thawed so the texture will likely change if you freeze this dish.)
- Can I use instant rice in this recipe? We haven’t tried it, but a reader in the comments had good luck adding instant rice about 10 minutes into the simmering process.
This Texas Hash recipe originally appeared on A Family Feast in September 2014. We’ve updated the post and photos but the delicious recipe remains the same.
What would be a good side to this dish, or is one not needed?
Hi Stephanie – we’d probably serve it with a salad! Or maybe some green vegetables. Hope that helps!
My Grandmother would put it over mashed potatoes… so good
Great idea!
I grew up eating Texas Hash – it came from an old Betty Crocker Cookbook that came out in the early 1960’s. It did not have dry mustard or Worcestershire. The version in the cookbook was baked. (My mother’s version) One time when my kids were young, out oven went out – and the kids loved Texas Hash, so I came up with a version that I could do on the stovetop. And we wound up liking it even better. I now realize that the baked version was more “dry” – in the skillet version it stays moister. It had bell peppers, onion, a quart of canned tomatoes, chili powder. My version has the bell pepper and onion, minced garlic (or garlic powder) but one regular store bought can (15 oz?) tomatoes, 1 can of tomato sauce, and while I put chili powder, I’ve found that 1 packet of a good quality taco seasoning packet was how we liked it. Those who wanted it hotter, sprinkled on some Tony Chachere’s at table.
Thank you for sharing Beverly! We love these classic recipes…
Ty so much.. my Grandmother made this all the time. I’m going to try it tonight the way you do it. My Grandma must of got the recipe from that cookbook lol. I never made this and haven’t had it for 20 years. Can’t wait!!
Hi Gwen! We hope our recipe is as good as your Grandmother’s version! 🙂
Put the cheese on and put it under the broiler, serve with a good sour dough
Sounds like a perfect way to serve this dish Bob!
I LOVE simple one-pot meals!! I’m pinning this recipe to try in the very near future!
Thank you Debi!
This sounds super delicious. It reminds me of a dirty rice! There’s nothing better than one pot meals. And cheese is never optional 😉 I can’t wait to make this!!
Thanks Alexis – yes – this dish seems to have a lot of different variations and goes by a lot of different names! All good… 🙂
This sounds like a much better version of what we used to stuff peppers growing up. Will definitely need to give this a try!
Hope you enjoy it Sarah!
Think this would work with quinoa? Maybe a little longer cooking time?
It might June! The water to grain ratio is similar (although I tend to cut back a bit on the water when cooking quinoa). And the cooking time might be a little different…please let us know how it comes out if you try it with quinoa!
We made this for dinner today, I added green chile because we live in New Mexico and add it to everything – was delicious. Thanks for a great new addition to our line up.
Thanks Cindy! Yes – this recipe is very adaptable! Glad you enjoyed it!
I make a similar recipe and use it for stuffed peppers…Delicious!
Great idea Michele! I’m going to try that soon!
This is perfect in so many ways! One pot of goodness…and even gluten-free!
Thanks Stephanie! Yes – gluten free! 🙂
I have made this recipe hundreds of times and
To this day I am still making it. I am making it today as a matter of fact. Elizabeth Rallon (Betty).
So glad you are enjoying the recipe Betty!
I thought I was tasting something sweet. It was the Lea and Perrins. Will omit it next time I think. I have made Texas Hash for more than 50 yrs!
Hi Amy – Yes – there is molasses and I believe a little sugar in Worcestershire Sauce.