One pound of ground beef is the most forgiving thing in the refrigerator, and it is also the easiest thing in the world to cook the exact same way every single Tuesday. I learned to cook because I complained. My mother made country food, I was not shy about how I felt regarding the fried half of it, and she finally told me that if I did not like what was on the stove I could go make something myself. So I did. That is the spirit of this list of ground beef recipes: 46 dinners that all start from the same cheap pound of meat and end up nowhere near each other. Skillet suppers, casseroles, tacos, chili, meatballs, lettuce wraps and a few low carb ideas. Most are done inside 40 minutes, and the ones that are not are worth the wait.
1. The Best John Wayne Casserole
Biscuits go in the pan first and bake for 10 to 12 minutes before anything else touches them, which is the step that keeps the bottom from turning to paste under two pounds of taco seasoned beef. On top of that go diced tomatoes with green chilies, corn, onion, bell pepper, jalapenos and a mayonnaise and sour cream layer that bakes into something closer to a sauce. Cheddar and mozzarella finish it. It feeds a crowd for very little and picky eaters never argue with it.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
2. One-Pot Cheeseburger Macaroni
This is hamburger helper without the box, and the whole thing happens in one skillet in about 30 minutes. Garlic goes in the oil first, then a pound of lean beef, then Dijon and Worcestershire and onion powder to coat it. The pasta cooks straight in a cup of chicken broth, so the starch stays in the pan and you never drain anything. Two cups of cheddar go in off the heat with the lid back on for a few minutes. It serves six to eight.
Get the full tutorial at The Slow Roasted Italian.
3. Taco Zucchini Boats
Halve the zucchini, scoop them into boats and bake them empty at 375F for 20 minutes before they get filled, which is what stops them going watery under the meat. The beef is seasoned with cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder and chili powder, then everything goes back under a high broiler for about five minutes to melt the Mexican cheese blend. Cilantro, red onion, tomato and avocado on top. It is low carb and gluten free without anybody having to call it that.
Get the full tutorial at Salt and Lavender.
4. Best Swedish Meatballs and Gravy
The reason these taste like the ones you remember is allspice and nutmeg, half a teaspoon of each, in the meatballs and again in the gravy. A pound of ground beef is cut with a pound of ground pork or country style sausage, bound with panko, two egg yolks and a quarter cup of Worcestershire. The gravy is a butter and flour roux loosened with four cups of beef broth and finished with two thirds of a cup of sour cream. Serve over egg noodles or rice.
Get the full tutorial at DIY Joy.
5. Taco Bake
Seven ingredients, and one of them is a bag of tortilla chips. The beef simmers for five to ten minutes with diced tomatoes with green chilies, half a cup of water, sour cream and taco seasoning, then it gets layered into a greased 9×13 with chips and Colby Jack until the top layer is cheese. Twenty minutes at 350F and it is bubbling. This is the one to hand a kid who wants to learn to cook, because there is almost nothing in it to get wrong.
Get the full tutorial at Can't Stay Out of the Kitchen.
6. Easy Cheeseburger Gnocchi Skillet
Gnocchi does not get boiled here. It goes straight into melted butter and fries for three or four minutes a side until it takes on color, then comes out while the beef, onion and garlic cook. Everything returns to the pan with diced tomatoes and a cup of beef broth and simmers down until barely any liquid is left. A third of a cup of cheese and a lid for two minutes finishes it. If you have never bought gnocchi, this is a very easy place to start.
Get the full tutorial at Love Your Body Well.
7. Ground Mongolian Beef
All the flavor of the takeout version for the price of a pound of 85/15 beef, and it is done in 20 minutes. The beef is browned deeply in sesame oil first, which is the whole point, then most of the fat comes off before the garlic and two tablespoons of fresh ginger go in. The sauce is mirin, rice vinegar, half a cup of brown sugar and a quarter cup of low sodium soy. Scallions and red pepper flakes at the end. Serves four over rice.
Get the full tutorial at Dinner Then Dessert.
8. Ground Beef Chili
No oil at all in this one. The onion, bell pepper and garlic soften in a quarter cup of broth before the beef goes in, which is a genuinely useful trick if you are watching what is in your food and not just how it tastes. Oregano, cumin, chili powder and cayenne, then pinto beans, black beans and 28 ounces of diced tomatoes. Five minutes at a boil, 20 covered at a simmer, and six people eat. Cheese and cilantro on top if you want them.
Get the full tutorial at Sunday Supper Movement.
9. Spicy Ground Beef Nachos
Season the meat properly before it ever meets a chip and the rest of the tray takes care of itself. Two chipotles in adobo, seeded and minced, plus a tablespoon of the sauce, a tablespoon of chili powder, cumin and a splash of water to keep the beef moist. Build one dense single layer of chips, not a pile, then beef and plenty of cheese, and bake at 400F for five to seven minutes. There is a tomatillo guacamole and a pico on the same page.
Get the full tutorial at Mexican Please.
10. Greek Burgers With Spinach, Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Five ounces of chopped raw spinach goes into a single pound of beef, along with feta, sun-dried tomatoes and an egg to hold it all together. That much wet green in a patty is exactly why the recipe insists on an hour in the refrigerator before they hit the pan, and skipping that hour is how they fall apart. Cook to 160F, toast the buns face down in oil, and finish with tzatziki, sliced tomato and shallot. Four burgers that taste like a restaurant.
Get the full tutorial at Savory Tooth.
11. Chopped Steak with Bacon and Mushroom Gravy
Half an ounce of dried wild mushrooms soaks in a third of a cup of simmered heavy cream for 30 minutes, and that cream is what turns an ordinary hamburger steak into something you would serve guests. Bacon crisps first, all but two tablespoons of the fat comes off, and the patties brown hard without cooking through. Fresh mushrooms, onion, garlic, beef broth, Worcestershire and thyme build the gravy around them. Four servings, 45 minutes, and a very good reason to buy dried mushrooms.
Get the full tutorial at The View From Great Island.
12. Cheesy Tomato Ground Beef and Rice
Condensed tomato soup and a cup of milk are doing the work of a sauce here, which is the sort of shortcut that gets sniffed at and then eaten twice. Instant rice, a pound of lean beef, diced onion, canned corn, dried chives and minced onion all go in one frying pan. Two cups of cheddar stir through, another half cup sits on top and melts undisturbed. Twenty eight minutes start to finish and it feeds four without a single extra dish to wash.
Get the full tutorial at This Is Not Diet Food.
13. Low Carb Mongolian Beef Meatballs
There is no brown sugar in these. Half a cup of Swerve and a teaspoon of molasses whisked together stands in for it, which is what keeps them at 2.4g of carbs for ten meatballs. A pound of beef and a pound of ground pork make the meatballs, they brown in an oven-proof skillet, the sauce is built in the same pan with the browned bits, then everything bakes 20 minutes at 350F. Eat them over cauliflower rice or take them to a party.
Get the full tutorial at My Life Cookbook.
14. Spicy Ground Beef and Butternut Squash
A big pinch of freshly grated nutmeg is the ingredient that makes this one work, sitting behind the paprika, cumin and a minced serrano. Onion and serrano cook for six or seven minutes until the onion starts to brown, then garlic, spices and a pound of beef, then a pound of cubed butternut squash. Lid on, heat down, ten minutes, and the squash is through. Fresh minced sage at the end. It is paleo, it is one pan and it does not feel like diet food.
Get the full tutorial at My Heart Beets.
15. Loaded Potato Meatloaf Casserole
Meatloaf and loaded mashed potatoes in one dish, and the potatoes come from a garlic flavored instant packet, which I will not pretend is anything other than a shortcut that works. Beef, onion, two tablespoons of brown sugar, Worcestershire, Italian breadcrumbs and an egg get mixed by hand and pressed into an eight inch square dish. Potatoes spread over, cheese and bacon bits on top. Thirty minutes covered at 400F, then ten uncovered. Let it sit before you cut it.
Get the full tutorial at This Is Not Diet Food.
16. Best Spaghetti Bolognese
This is the long one, and it earns it. Smoked bacon lardons render first and the onion cooks in that fat, then 2.2 pounds of beef browns, tomato paste fries for a minute and a cup of red wine goes in to cook off. Passata, beef stock, sun-dried tomatoes, rosemary, basil and Worcestershire simmer with the lid on for an hour and a half. Six people. Make it on a Sunday, eat half, and the rest is better on Tuesday.
Get the full tutorial at Don't Go Bacon My Heart.
17. Spicy Beef and Cheese Empanadas
Give yourself the afternoon. The dough needs two full hours in the refrigerator, which is most of the 175 minutes this takes, and the instruction that matters is to resist kneading it. Combine the flour, butter, eggs, vinegar and ice water just enough to form a cohesive ball and stop. The filling is the same chipotle beef used on the nachos further up this list, with Monterey Jack folded in. Eight empanadas, flaky rather than tough, and they freeze beautifully.
Get the full tutorial at Mexican Please.
18. Instant Pot Chili
A tablespoon of raw cacao powder goes in with the tomatoes, and if that sounds odd it is the same idea that makes mole work. The aromatics saute right in the pot, the beef browns in the same pot, then diced tomatoes, soaked kidney beans, mushrooms and zucchini go in and it runs 15 minutes on the bean and chili setting. Natural release, then the bell pepper goes in last so it keeps some bite. Jalapeno if you want it hot.
Get the full tutorial at Melissa Torio.
19. Peruvian Beef Noodle Soup
Sopa criolla, and it is on the table in 30 minutes. Two tablespoons of aji panca paste is the ingredient that makes it Peruvian rather than generic, and it is worth ordering if your store does not carry it. Beef, onion and garlic brown, then the paste, tomato paste and diced sweet potato, then four cups of stock. Peas, half and half and angel hair go in at the end and a poached or basted egg sits on each of the four bowls.
Get the full tutorial at Beyond Mere Sustenance.
20. Super Easy Ground Beef Enchiladas
The detail that keeps these from going soupy is the quarter cup of water cooked into the seasoned beef until it is fully absorbed before anything gets rolled. Half a cup of enchilada sauce coats the bottom of a 9×13, then a third of a cup of beef and a quarter cup of cheese go in each of eight tortillas, seam side down. The rest of the sauce and a full pound of marbled cheddar over the top, 20 to 25 minutes at 375F.
Get the full tutorial at I Wash You Dry.
21. Weekday Ragu with Veggies
Every vegetable in this goes through a food processor before it goes anywhere near the pot, and so does the meat, which is why children who will not eat a carrot will eat this. Carrots, onion, garlic, zucchini and bell pepper get pulsed fine, spinach gets blended separately and added in the last 20 minutes. Beef, Italian sausage, fire roasted tomatoes, red wine and broth do the rest. Slow cooker or Instant Pot, ten servings, and it freezes in portions.
Get the full tutorial at My Kitchen Love.
22. Asian Ground Beef
Three cups of chopped bell pepper to one pound of beef is an unusual ratio and it is the reason this counts as a healthy dinner rather than a beef dish with a vegetable garnish. The sauce is beef stock, soy, a tablespoon of maple syrup, Frank’s Red Hot and Worcestershire, thickened at the end with two tablespoons of cornstarch slaked in water. Thirty minutes, five servings, served over rice. Keep stirring while the cornstarch goes in or you will get lumps.
Get the full tutorial at Forgetful Momma.
23. Stuffed Pepper Casserole
The rice goes in raw. That is the part people get wrong and then wonder why the casserole is crunchy, because it needs the full 75 covered minutes at 350F to soften in the beef broth, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Brown the beef with garlic and onion for about ten minutes first, tip it into an 11×8, add everything else and stir. Mozzarella goes on for the last ten minutes uncovered. All the flavor of stuffed peppers with none of the stuffing.
Get the full tutorial at Brooklyn Farm Girl.
24. Baked Burrito Casserole
All the Tex Mex flavor of a burrito with none of the rolling, which on a weeknight is the entire argument. Ground beef, plenty of cheese and a creamy filling bake in one dish, and the writer suggests serving it with chips and salsa so the table feels like the restaurant. If your family likes heat, a can of green chilies or some chopped jalapenos go in without changing anything else. It is filling enough that a side salad is all it needs.
Get the full tutorial at Written Reality.
25. Paleo Sloppy Joes
Twelve ounces of tomato paste, not sauce, is what makes these thick enough to stay on a bun instead of running down your wrist. Two pounds of beef, onion, red bell pepper and three diced tomatoes, then vinegar, maple syrup and gluten free soy. Cook until there is no extra sauce in the bottom of the pan and the meat still clings together. Twenty minutes, eight servings. Toast the buns under a broiler and watch them, because they go fast.
Get the full tutorial at One Clever Chef.
26. Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers
The peppers go in the microwave for three or four minutes first and then you tip the water out of them, which is the small step that decides whether dinner is dinner or soup. Mushrooms cook in a single layer for two or three minutes before the onion joins them, the beef browns, and eight slices of provolone melt over four peppers. Forty minutes, four servings, no bread anywhere. It tastes far more like a cheesesteak than it has any right to.
Get the full tutorial at Low Carb Maven.
27. Taco Pita Pizza
Pocketless pitas heat directly on the oven rack at 350F for five to seven minutes, then get wrapped in foil to stay warm while the beef cooks. Two thirds of a cup of salsa simmers into a pound of 93% lean beef for two minutes and that is the whole sauce. Cheddar, red onion, a diced roma, sliced avocado and shredded lettuce go on at the table. Twenty five minutes for four, and children will happily build their own.
Get the full tutorial at The Nutrition Adventure.
28. Korean Ground Beef Egg Rolls
Twenty four egg rolls out of one pound of beef, which is why this is a party recipe rather than a Tuesday one. The filling is browned beef with sesame oil, garlic and ginger, then brown sugar, soy and half a tablespoon of Sriracha, plus torn napa cabbage and matchstick carrots. Wrap, fry, done. Use less Sriracha if you are feeding anyone small. Plan for the full time this takes, because rolling twenty four of anything is not a ten minute job.
Get the full tutorial at Dinner Then Dessert.
29. 10-Minute Beef Teriyaki Skillet
Ten minutes, one skillet, and the shortest ingredient list on this entire page. Sesame oil, a pound of beef, a cup of finely diced onion, garlic and fresh ginger all go in together and cook five to seven minutes, then three quarters of a cup of thick teriyaki sauce simmers in for another three to five until it clings. Buy a thick sauce rather than a thin marinade or it will never coat properly. Over rice, in tortillas or in lettuce cups.
Get the full tutorial at The Seasoned Mom.
30. Easy Make Ahead Baked Ziti
Twelve servings and three cheeses, and the reason it is worth the 85 minutes is that you can build the whole thing, freeze it, and thank yourself later. Ground chuck and Italian sausage cook together, the pasta comes out at eight minutes and firmly al dente because it keeps cooking in the oven, and mozzarella, ricotta, Parmesan, parsley and two beaten eggs get folded through before the sauce goes in. Assemble, cover, freeze. Bake from thawed at 375F.
Get the full tutorial at Grits and Pinecones.
31. Cincinnati Chili
Do not brown the beef. That single instruction is what gives Cincinnati chili its fine, almost sauce-like texture, and it goes into the pot raw with four cups of beef broth and gets broken up as it simmers. Cocoa powder, cinnamon, allspice and cloves are the spices that make people argue about this dish. An hour uncovered, then spaghetti, sharp cheddar, diced onion and kidney beans if you want the full five-way. It is not like any other chili.
Get the full tutorial at Cucina de Yung.
32. One Pot Lasagna Soup
Lasagna noodles broken into one or two inch pieces go straight into the pot uncooked, which is the whole reason this exists. Beef and onion brown, then a jar of marinara, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, two teaspoons of balsamic, sugar, herbs and a bay leaf, and the noodles simmer in it for 20 to 30 minutes. Broth gets added at the end to reach the thickness you want. Mozzarella, Parmesan and a spoonful of ricotta go in each bowl.
Get the full tutorial at Carlsbad Cravings.
33. Picadillo with Potatoes
Filipino picadillo, and a tablespoon of fish sauce cooked into the beef for a minute or two before the tomatoes is what separates it from every other ground beef and potato dish. Onion and garlic soften, the beef browns, the fish sauce goes in, then chopped roma tomatoes mashed down until they release their juice, then water and cubed potatoes. Thirty minutes, six servings, over steamed rice. The fuller version on the same page adds carrots, raisins, peas and olives.
Get the full tutorial at Kawaling Pinoy.
34. Easy Korean Beef Bibimbap
Bibimbap looks like a project and it is really just five small jobs running at once. Rice goes on first, then the bean sprouts blanch for five minutes and the watercress for one, both get rinsed cold and squeezed dry, the carrot gets julienned and the beef cooks with soy and sesame. Forty five minutes for four bowls. Squeezing the greens properly is the step nobody skips twice, because wet vegetables turn the rice to mush. Gochujang and kimchi on top.
Get the full tutorial at The Woks of Life.
35. Korean Beef Lettuce Wraps
Whisk the sauce before you touch the pan. Brown sugar, soy or tamari, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, rice wine vinegar and red pepper flakes go together in a bowl and wait, so that when the beef is browned you pour and reduce for three to five minutes rather than measuring over a hot skillet. The white parts of the green onions cook with the meat and the green parts go on at the end. Bibb, Boston or butter lettuce holds up best.
Get the full tutorial at The Complete Savorist.
36. Mushroom Beef Burgers
Five ounces of gourmet blend mushrooms get cooked, cooled and diced before they go into the meat, and cooking them first is what keeps the patties from steaming themselves apart on the grill. Egg, Italian seasoning and Worcestershire bind them, then they rest in the refrigerator to firm up. Five minutes a side on medium, swiss on top with the lid down for a minute. Twenty one minutes total for four burgers that are noticeably juicier than plain beef ones.
Get the full tutorial at A Healthy Life For Me.
37. Chipotle Beef Avocado Bowls
The sauce is the whole thing here. A poblano goes under the broiler until it blackens, then into a blender with garlic, tomato salsa and chipotle powder. Half the filling is really mushrooms, eight ounces of minced baby bellas cooked down with the beef until the liquid goes, which is how half a pound of meat feeds four people. It all goes over cilantro lime cauliflower rice with a big scoop of guacamole, minced red onion and more cilantro on top. Thirty minutes start to finish, Whole30 and paleo, and it does not taste like a compromise.
Get the full tutorial at 40 Aprons.
38. 4-Ingredient Crescent Roll Ground Beef Casserole
Crescent roll dough, a pound of beef, a cup of thick and chunky salsa and a cup of cheese. That is the list. The dough presses into the bottom of an 11×7 as a crust, the beef goes on with just enough salsa to moisten it and no more, then cheese, then 20 minutes at 350F until the crust is golden. The reason to use thick salsa rather than thin is that a wet filling makes the crust soggy underneath. Six servings.
Get the full tutorial at The Seasoned Mom.
39. Homemade Meat Sauce
Sixteen servings, so this is a make-once-eat-four-times sauce. A pound of hot Italian sausage and a pound and a half of lean beef go in together, then crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and a full six ounce can of paste. Half a teaspoon of fennel seeds is the ingredient that makes it taste Italian rather than just tomatoey. It needs an hour and a half to two hours on low, skimmed and stirred, and it goes into lasagna as happily as over spaghetti.
Get the full tutorial at Queenslee Appetit.
40. Beef Noodle Casserole
Egg noodles, a rich tomato sauce and two cups of cheddar, which is comfort food with nothing clever about it at all and that is the appeal. The noodles cook while the beef browns with onion and garlic, everything tosses together with tomato sauce, drained diced tomatoes and Italian seasoning, then it goes into a 9×13 under cheese for ten to fifteen minutes at 400F. Use the petite cut diced tomatoes if you can find them. Six servings, 40 minutes.
Get the full tutorial at Dinner at the Zoo.
41. Lebanese Beef and Green Beans
The green beans go in ten minutes before serving, not at the start, and that timing is the whole difference between bright beans and grey ones. Onion softens slowly for five minutes, then garlic, then a pound of beef crumbled as it cooks, then two 14 ounce cans of tomato sauce, Worcestershire and two tablespoons of red wine. It simmers anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, so it waits for you. Serve over garlic smashed potatoes or rice. Eight to ten servings.
Get the full tutorial at Barefeet in the Kitchen.
42. Creamy One-Pot Shells and Beef
Two cups of marinara and two cups of water cook the pasta right in the pan, and then a cup of heavy cream or half and half goes in after the heat comes down, which is the order that stops it splitting. A pound and a half of extra lean beef, onion, garlic, medium shells and two tablespoons of Italian seasoning. Thirty five minutes, seven servings, one pot. Parmesan at the end is optional and I would not skip it.
Get the full tutorial at Meatloaf and Melodrama.
43. Tamale Pie
A box of Jiffy corn muffin mix with an egg, sour cream and creamed corn stirred in bakes for 20 minutes at 400F, and then you poke holes all over it and pour half a can of red enchilada sauce straight in. That is the step that makes this work, because the cornbread drinks the sauce instead of sitting under it. Seasoned beef and two cheeses go on and it bakes another 20 minutes. One 8×8, cilantro and jalapeno on top.
Get the full tutorial at Aunt Bee's Recipes.
44. Ground Beef and Potato Casserole
The sauce is made properly here rather than poured from a can alone: butter and flour cooked together, then beef broth and milk whisked in until smooth and thickened, and only then a can of cream of mushroom. Cubed potatoes, sauce and beef layer twice in a 9×13, then cheddar. It wants 75 to 90 covered minutes at 350F because the potatoes go in raw, then five more uncovered. This is the one that tastes like somebody’s grandmother made it.
Get the full tutorial at A Taste of Madness.
45. Baked Greek Feta Meatballs
Keftedes, and the lemon zest is not optional. Half a pound of beef is cut with half a pound of lamb or pork, then grated onion rather than chopped, panko, parsley, oregano, coriander, cumin and two ounces of crumbled feta. Twenty equal meatballs bake at 425F for ten to fourteen minutes, which is fast enough for a weeknight. Serve them in warm pita with roma tomatoes, red onion and tzatziki. Grating the onion is what keeps them tender.
Get the full tutorial at House of Nash Eats.
46. Ground Beef Pie
Seven ingredients and fifteen to twenty minutes in the oven. Browned beef and a cup of spaghetti sauce go into a greased pie dish, then a mixture of half a cup of sour cream and a cup and a half of mozzarella spreads over the top, then separated crescent roll triangles cover the whole thing and get crimped at the edge. Melted butter and Parmesan brushed over the dough is what browns it. Bake at 375F until the crust is golden.
Get the full tutorial at Written Reality.
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