Learn how to make this hearty ground beef dish for your loved ones. This is a simple but very tasty one pan Caribbean recipe using a combination of lean ground beef, ripe yellow plantain, cho cho and bell peppers.

A medley of ground beef with vegetables in a skiller

Have you ever paired ground beef with some yellow plantain? Trust me, it pairs very well, if I do say so myself.

This ground beef stew is a combination of lean ground beef, red kidney beans with sweet plantain and bell peppers and cho cho.

While it might seem very simple, it's a really tasty dish and one that I'm excited to share with you.

It's a very easy and versatile one pot dish that is ready to eat in no time. There is no need for additional pot and pans which makes clean up so effortless.

The ground beef is seasoned with my homemade beef seasoning and green seasoning before being seared with the base ingredients (onion, scallion and garlic).

The use of soy(a) sauce and browning sauce helps to deepen the dark hue of the meat.

The tomato paste along with the hot water helps to thicken and flavour the stew as it simmers down with the rest of the ingredients

You can even add a whole scotch bonnet or my homemade scotch bonnet pepper powder to give the dish a spicy kick.

Ingredients you need

Ground beef - You will need beef that is lean with little or no fat. I used 5%, so something around that region works just fine.
Plantain - Use yellow plantain that is ripe, the outer skin should have some yellow with dark spots, you don't want the plantain skin to be black or it will be too sweet and too soft for the stew.
Red kidney beans - Also known as "peas" you will want cooked or canned kidney beans, if you are using canned make sure they are thoroughly drained and the beans are labelled "in water NOT salt water".
Bell peppers/cho cho - Red and green bell peppers are used but any colour works just fine. Cho cho (christophine/chayote) is used too but zucchini/courgette is a viable substitute.
Olive oil - for sauteing the beef and vegetables.
Beef seasoning - I like to use my homemade beef seasoning which compliments the ground beef.
Green seasoning - A must, marinade for many Caribbean recipes.
Browning sauce - I used my homemade browning sauce, this is used to darken the beef.
Soy(a) sauce - A flavour enhancer.
Tomato puree, black pepper and pink salt - For flavour and taste.
Beef stock - the stock really enhances the taste of the stew, although vegetable stock works just fine.

A large skillet with ground beef and vegetables.

Reasons to make this dish

An easy one pan recipe
Minimal effort and cleanup
A hearty and wholesome meal
Suitable for weeknight/meal prep (freezer friendly)
Serve the stew alone or over a bed of brown rice/vegetables
A great way to use plantain and lean ground beef

The steps

Season the ground beef with the beef seasoning, green seasoning, black pepper and pink salt in a medium sized bowl then set aside.
In a medium sized frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat and proceed to saute the onion and garlic until soft and translucent.
Add the meat, browning sauce and soy(a) sauce and sear the meat until the extracted juices evaporate (this helps to seal in the flavour, this should take several minutes).

Steps 5-10 adding the vegetables and stock

Add the thyme, tomato puree, bell peppers and cho cho, red kidney beans, plantain, scotch bonnet and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes.
Pour in the beef stock and bring the pan to a rolling boil.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan and simmer for 35-40 minutes (if there is too much liquid leftover, you can reduce the amount by removing the lid and increasing the heat to high, but becareful not to burn the food).
To a taste test and add black pepper and pink salt to suit.
Remove the scotch bonnet and thyme stems before serving.

Notes and tips

When searing (browning) the meat, when the juice extracts make sure to continue to cook the meat until it evaporates as this will help to lock in the flavour and make a HUGE difference the overall taste of the recipe.
You will need my Homemade Browning Sauce, Green Seasoning and Beef Seasoning recipe.
Any leftovers should be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
You can freeze this recipe for up to 3 months.
Make sure you are using YELLOW plantain that is RIPE with some dark spots on the outer skin, don't use plantain with predominately black skin and this will be too soft and turn to mush during the simmering stage.
You can purchase plantain/cho cho (christophine/chayote) from a supermarket that has a large population of Black/Latino/Asian people.
If you cannot get hold of cho cho use zucchini/courgette instead.
Feel free to use water or vegetable stock instead of beef stock (make sure it is free from gluten).
Make sure to do a taste test before serving, as the amount of black pepper and pink salt will vary.
Lean beef, contains less fat, so use beef that is 5% fat or less.
Make sure you are using canned kidney beans in WATER AND NOT SALT WATER!

More beef recipes to try

More side dishes you may like

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