The Best Fluffy Pancakes recipe you will fall in love with. Full of tips and tricks to help you make the best pancakes.
Last-minute Tuesday, half a pack of taco seasoning going stale in the cupboard, and a tray of sweet potato that needed dealing with. That’s the vibe of these hot honey beef bowls.
Crisp sweet potato. Taco-spiced beef mince with browned edges. Cold cottage cheese, sliced avocado, broccoli, and a big drizzle of hot honey over the top. Sweet, spicy, salty, creamy. Twenty-five minutes start to finish and you barely wash up.
Why This Works
The sweet potato needs the most attention, so it goes in first. It takes 15-25 minutes to crisp up, and everything else takes less time than that. Start the potato, then do the beef and broccoli while it cooks. Do it the other way round and you’re standing over cold mince waiting on potato.
One layer only. Pile the chunks up in the basket or on the tray and they steam instead of crisp. You get soft, slightly damp potato. [PLACEHOLDER: your real mistake-then-fix here, e.g. “the first time I crowded the basket and got mush.”]
The beef needs the pan properly hot before it goes in, and then you leave it alone for a bit. Lean 5% mince has hardly any fat to fry in, so it dries out fast if you fuss with it. Break it up, let the edges catch and go brown, then take it off the heat. That’s the whole trick.
Cottage cheese is the cooling bit. Hot honey and taco spice are punchy, and something cold and creamy sitting against them stops the bowl getting one-note.
Ingredients
Serves 2
- 2 tbsp hot honey
- 250 g lean beef mince (I use 5% fat)
- Half a pack of taco seasoning (approx 2 tbsp)
- 200 g cottage cheese
- 500 g sweet potato
- 200 g tenderstem broccoli
- 1 medium avocado
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- Olive oil spray
Method
- Peel the sweet potatoes and chop into bite-size chunks. Keep them roughly the same size or some will burn while others stay hard.
- Toss in a bowl with a little olive oil, the salt and the smoked paprika.
- Air fryer: spread the chunks in one even layer in the basket. Air fry at 200°C for 15-20 minutes, tossing halfway, until crisp.
- Oven: preheat to 200°C / Fan 180°C / Gas Mark 6 / 392°F. Spread the chunks on a baking sheet in one even layer and roast for 20-25 minutes, turning halfway, until crisp.
- While the potato cooks, spray a little oil into a frying pan and put it over medium-high heat.
- Once it’s hot, add the beef mince and taco seasoning.
- Break the meat up with a spatula and mix well. Fry until browned and starting to caramelise at the edges. Take off the heat.
- Steam the tenderstem broccoli over a pan of hot water for 3-4 minutes. Or, for more charred, crunchy broccolini, put it in the air fryer for the last 5 minutes of the potato time.
- Divide the potato and beef between two bowls.
- Add the broccoli.
- Peel and slice the avocado and share it out.
- Split the cottage cheese between the bowls.
- Drizzle each bowl with 1-2 tbsp hot honey.
- Serve straight away.
Prep Time, Cook Time and Servings
- Prep: 5 minutes
- Cook: 20 minutes
- Total: 25 minutes
- Serves: 2
Tips
- Check the taco seasoning label if you’re cooking gluten free. The bowl is gluten free on paper, but some packets use wheat as a filler.
- Don’t skip the smoked paprika on the potato. It’s only a teaspoon, but it gives the potato a savoury edge that plain salt doesn’t.
- Add the hot honey last, at the table. Put it on early and it soaks into the potato and softens it.
- Slice the avocado right before serving. It browns fast.
Variations
Air fryer broccoli. Worth doing. The tips char and go crunchy and it saves a pan. I’d pick this over steaming most nights.
Steamed broccoli. Fine if you’re using the oven for the potato and want the greener, softer texture.
Swap the beef for turkey mince. It works, but it’s leaner and drier, so I wouldn’t bother.
Swap sweet potato for regular potato. You lose the sweetness that makes the hot honey work. Skip it.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Cook the beef ahead, sure. Keep it in the fridge for a few days and reheat in a pan. The potato is the problem. Reheated, it goes soft and doesn’t crisp back up properly. Cook that fresh.
Don’t assemble the bowls in advance. Avocado browns, cottage cheese leaks, and the hot honey turns everything soggy. Keep the parts separate and build when you’re ready to eat.
FAQ
Can I make hot honey beef bowls in the oven instead of an air fryer?
Yes. Roast the sweet potato at 200°C (Fan 180°C) for 20-25 minutes, turning halfway. It takes a few minutes longer than the air fryer and the result is a touch less crisp.
How much hot honey per bowl?
1-2 tbsp. Start with 1 and go up if you want more heat. I go for 2.
Is this recipe gluten free?
It’s naturally gluten free as written. Check the label on your taco seasoning, though, because some brands add wheat.
What does cottage cheese do in a beef bowl?
It’s the cool, creamy part. Think of it doing the job sour cream does on tacos, with a bit more body and more protein.
Can I use a different mince?
Yes, but I stick with 5% beef. Fattier mince leaves more grease in the pan and the bowl ends up heavier. If you go higher-fat, drain it before the taco seasoning goes in.
Can I meal prep these?
Partly. Cook the beef ahead and keep it in the fridge. Do the potato, broccoli and avocado fresh, because they don’t keep well.
Closing Thoughts
These work best as a proper weeknight dinner, eaten straight away while the potato’s still crunchy. If you’ve got leftover beef, stuff it into a warm tortilla with the cottage cheese and a squeeze of lime the next day. Hot honey goes on that too.
Hot Honey Beef Bowls
These Hot Honey Beef Bowls are a quick and flavorful meal made with seasoned lean beef, crispy sweet potatoes, tenderstem broccoli, creamy cottage cheese, avocado, and a sweet-spicy hot honey drizzle. They are naturally gluten free and ready in about 25 minutes.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into bite-size chunks.
- Add the sweet potato chunks to a bowl and toss with a little olive oil spray, salt, and smoked paprika.
- For the air fryer method, arrange the sweet potato chunks in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Air fry at 200°C for 15 to 20 minutes, tossing halfway through, until crisp and tender.
- For the oven method, preheat the oven to 200°C / Fan 180°C / Gas Mark 6 / 392°F. Arrange the sweet potato chunks in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 20 to 25 minutes, turning halfway through, until crisp.
- While the sweet potatoes cook, lightly spray a frying pan with olive oil and place it over medium-high heat.
- Add the lean beef mince and taco seasoning.
- Break up the beef with a spatula and cook, stirring regularly, until browned and starting to caramelise around the edges. Remove from the heat.
- Steam the tenderstem broccoli for 3 to 4 minutes until tender. Alternatively, add it to the air fryer during the final 5 minutes of the sweet potato cooking time for a more charred texture.
- Divide the cooked sweet potato and seasoned beef evenly between two bowls.
- Divide the tenderstem broccoli between the bowls.
- Add the sliced avocado and cottage cheese evenly between the two servings.
- Drizzle the bowls with hot honey and serve immediately.
Notes
This recipe uses 5% fat lean beef mince.
The sweet potatoes can be cooked in either the air fryer or oven.
Tenderstem broccoli can be steamed or added to the air fryer for the final 5 minutes for a more charred, crunchy texture.
This recipe is naturally gluten free when using gluten-free taco seasoning and hot honey.
