Syrian Rice with Meat

Name: Syrian Rice with Meat
Prep time: 12 min
Cook time: 22 min
Total time: 34 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Syrian
Ingredients: 1/4 cup Butter; 2 Pounds Ground Beef; 2 teaspoons Salt; 1/2 teaspoon Allspice; 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon; 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper; 5 Cups Chicken Stock; 2 cups Rice; 2 tablespoons Butter; 1/2 cup Pine Nuts

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Miscellaneous recipe with Syrian flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 43 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 34 min total

1/4 cup Butter
2 Pounds Ground Beef
2 teaspoons Salt
1/2 teaspoon Allspice
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
5 Cups Chicken Stock
2 cups Rice
2 tablespoons Butter
1/2 cup Pine Nuts

Step-by-step instructions

Heat 1/4 cup butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and season with salt, allspice, cinnamon, and black pepper. Cook and stir until beef is browned and crumbly, 7 to 10 minutes.
Stir chicken broth and rice into beef in the saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir pine nuts in hot butter until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes.
Mix pine nuts into beef-rice mixture before serving.

Why this works on a weeknight

Syrian Rice with Meat lands at about 34 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Rice & Grain Bowls collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Syrian Rice with Meat actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🍚 Rice & Grain Bowls Miscellaneous Syrian