Beef is so great when it’s ground because it’s a little cheaper than a whole steak. I will say, with ground beef, I am currently buying the ground beef that is from the USA, and I prefer one that is grass-fed.
So if you can find those, that would be my first choice, rather than ground beef from other countries where you don’t know what their standards might be. Finding one that is USDA and specifically from the US and grass-fed is ideal.
1) Weeknight Beef Chili
I love this recipe. It’s great because you’re going to have the protein from the beef. You could also do ground turkey, either one would be fine, you’re going to get protein from either one. Then chili typically has beans. I know there’s chili out there without the beans, and chili out there without the meat, but I like a good chili with meat and beans because you’re going to get the protein and the fiber. So delicious.
You could add whatever kind of beans you like here, like kidney beans or black beans. You could easily chop up a lot of different vegetables in chili too. I like to typically do chopped up mushrooms, carrots, and celery. Onions are a great choice, and of course garlic and some tomato paste. It’s going to give you lots of flavor and lots of nutrients.
2) Smashburgers
Use your favorite buns. If you have a hamburger bun that you like the best, I would toast that, and then go ahead and cook those smash burgers on the stove or on the barbecue, adding your favorite toppings like tomatoes, avocado, ketchup, bacon, or whatever you want.
This is great because it’s a balanced meal. You’re going to have your protein, your carb, and then whatever fruits and veggies you add on top. You could do a side salad or some sweet potato fries on the side. That would be delish.
3) Beef And Rice Skillet
This one is great, especially on a budget. You could use ground beef or ground turkey, doesn’t matter. Go ahead and add some diced onions. Bell pepper is going to give you some nutrients and some color there. Then you can serve this over white rice or brown rice. You could even use quinoa if you want to, it has a little extra protein in there.
If you’d like to add some more vegetables, you can definitely do that. Some asparagus spears would be delicious, or a side salad would be really good as well.
4) Spaghetti With Meat Sauce
Of course, it’s such a great budget meal. We’ll do meat sauce with ground turkey or ground beef, or if we have frozen meatballs, we’ll throw those in instead. So good, so budget-friendly. Truthfully, you can use any shape of pasta here, but it’s fun to twirl that spaghetti on your fork.
I like to add some veggies to the meat sauce if I can. Mushrooms and carrots all diced up go really well in this, hide really well, and give you a bit more nutrients. You could also do a side salad if you’d like to round out this meal, making sure that you get your protein, your carb, and your veggies.
5) Ground Beef Tacos
Who doesn’t love a taco Tuesday, right? You can use whatever taco shells you have. You could do the hard shells, or the soft tortillas like a corn tortilla, flour tortilla, low-carb tortilla, spinach tortilla, whatever you like. I like the raw tortillas, the uncooked ones. I get them at Costco and just warm them up on either side, and they cook really quickly.
Then you can put some sort of Mexican cheese down on there if you’d like to melt your cheese, or just warm up the tortilla, pull it off, and add the meat and cheese. You could add some beans in there, or you can have some beans on the side for some delicious fiber.
I like to add some lettuce and tomatoes in my taco to get a little bit more color and freshness and get my veggies and fruits in, and then of course I’m going to top off that taco with sour cream and some guacamole, maybe some hot sauce if you like hot sauce. Great meal.
6) Beef Burrito Bowls
It’s like a burrito, but you’re just taking all the contents and throwing them in a bowl. Think about if you’ve been to Chipotle. So delicious. What’s cool is that you can set out all your ingredients, and everyone can just pick whatever they want and put it right in their bowl.
You could start off with some meat if you like, so ground beef or ground turkey, then you can put some canned beans, black beans, pinto, kidney, some sort of beans in there. If you want to put some salsa, that would be really delicious and flavorful, and of course you’re going to want some lettuce, tomato, avocado, sour cream. I love cilantro. Then you could serve that with some tortilla chips if you’d like to give it that tortilla feel like it’s a taco, or you can leave it out. Such a great, delicious, fun meal.
Don’t forget the taco seasoning because that’s delicious. You could put the taco seasoning over the meat while you’re cooking it, or you can add the taco seasoning to the sour cream and then put that on top like a salad dressing. Both ways are delish.
7) Sloppy Joes
Yes, I ate this all the time growing up. Use a hamburger bun of your choice and toast that. Sloppy joes are really easy. You’re going to get your ground meat and add in some onions and a bunch of yummy flavorings like ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard, however you’d like to make your sloppy joes. And you can easily chop up some mushrooms in this recipe, you wouldn’t even notice it.
You could also serve it with some pickles or coleslaw, a side salad, or a veggie of your choice to round out this meal.
8) Korean-Style Beef Bowls
This is so great with the garlic and the brown sugar. It’s going to give you so much flavor, and I love a little ginger as well, so I’m going to add that. You can definitely serve this over a bed of rice, like brown rice, white rice, or quinoa if you want a little extra fiber and protein in there. And you could top it off with a fried egg if you’d like.
You could definitely serve this with some veggies too, like some edamame, carrots, green beans, peas, or asparagus, whatever you like in this one. Super good.
9) Beef And Cabbage Stir-Fry
Love this because you’re going to get protein and plenty of veggies from that cabbage. If you want to add your carb of choice to round out this meal, that would be delicious, or you can keep this as a low carb meal option as well. You could easily serve this with rice if you’d like, as your carb.
10) Cheeseburger Mac
So it’s like mac and cheese, but you’re adding ground meat in. You know what you’re going to say? Sounds like Hamburger Helper. And you’re right. Who didn’t love Hamburger Helper growing up? So delicious. It’s easy to make mac and cheese from home. You could also use a box of mac and cheese, but it’s really not hard to make it from home.
I just boil the noodles, whatever noodles I have lying around. We really like Goodles because they’re half garbanzo bean and they add a little more protein. So you could use those, boil any shape that you have, then strain them in the colander. Then you can melt some butter and some milk or cream, whatever you have. Shred up your sharp cheddar cheese, put that in till it melts, and then add the noodles back in. In a separate pan, you could cook up that ground meat and then add that in, and voila. Super good.
Of course, I’d add some veggies on the side. I feel like some broccoli would go really well with this one, but you could add any veggies or a side salad.
11) Beef And Potato Hash
You’re going to use some potatoes, of course, and some ground meat. This meal is so great because it’s high protein and you get your carbs from a plant, which is awesome. And if you want to add some veggies to this meal, I would definitely do that, whatever veggies you have on hand to complete this meal.
12) Salisbury Steak
You’re going to have some mushroom onion gravy on top of these hamburger patties. Super great, super flavorful. And you can serve this with some potatoes if you’d like, a carb with this meal. That sounds really good to me, like some mashed potatoes underneath and then putting the patty on top. I would probably add a little veggies or maybe a fresh side salad to this to round it out.
13) Stuffed Bell Peppers
You just take bell peppers, chop off the top, and carve them out. You could use any color bell pepper you like. Then you’re going to create the stuffing you want to use. So your ground meat, and you could dice up some more veggies if you’d like, some mushrooms, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and put that all inside.
You can put rice inside as well if you’d like, or you can serve a carb on the side. This is such a fun way to eat because you’re eating the stuffing out of an edible bowl. So fun.
14) Beef Quesadillas
Who doesn’t love a quesadilla? I feel like I ate them exclusively for lunch every single day at a certain age. For your tortillas, I like flour tortillas. You could also use a spinach tortilla or another tortilla that you have on hand. And I like the grated Mexican cheese, it has so much flavor. You can use sharp cheddar if you have that as well.
Then cook your ground meat. You could add a little veggies to your ground meat if you’d like. If you like onions in there, you could also chop up some tomatoes, carrots, or mushrooms if you want to add a little more veggies. Or you can keep it simple and cook that meat up and put some taco seasoning in there. And then, of course, put the meat on top of your tortilla with the melted cheese. Delish!
I would definitely serve this with a side of fruit or a veggie. You could have a little side salad here with some tomatoes, and it would almost be like a quesadilla with a salad on the side, almost giving it a taco salad sort of flavoring when you’re eating both together. So it’s kind of fun.
15) Beef And Lentil Bolognese
So delicious. I love bolognese sauce because it’s so good, and it has tons of veggies inside. I like carrots, mushrooms, and celery. I feel like these are veggies that are super easy to add to a number of different meals. And you can serve this over any pasta that you have, any shape, it doesn’t matter.
It’s going to give you such a delicious meal. You could serve a veggie on the side if you don’t put too many veggies in your sauce, or if you want to double up on your veggies, that’s great too.
16) Beef Fried Rice
So fried rice, like shrimp fried rice or chicken fried rice, but with beef. Day old rice is the best way to use it because you want your rice to be cold. I like to use some garlic, ginger, and some diced green onions and put those in the pan, then soft scramble an egg, throw the cooked meat in there, and then add in the rice.
I also like to add frozen peas and carrots to give it a little bit of color and some more veggies, and you can easily put some veggies on the side if you’d like.
17) Classic Meatloaf
Yes, meatloaf is so great, and you can make it with beef or with turkey. You could make it in a loaf pan, or you could just shape it onto a cookie sheet, that’s fine too. I like to add sun-dried tomatoes to mine because I’m always looking for ways to add fruits and veggies to my meals. And of course you’re going to top it all off with some ketchup when it’s done cooking. I usually put a little ketchup in the meatloaf as well, along with some Italian bread crumbs, garlic, and Worcestershire. It’s super good.
I like to serve this with some mashed potatoes, I just feel like they go together, and then some veggies. I’ll usually do some asparagus, something like that, some green veggie with this.
18) Beef Ramen
There’s actually so much you could do with ramen. I know, because I was super broke in college and found lots of ways to eat top ramen. So this one’s really fun. You could use some ground meat and get that ramen packet, I love the creamy chicken, but you can choose whatever one you like the best. That’s it. You just make the ramen and put the ground meat right on top.
Of course I would add some veggies to this. Whether you want the veggies inside, like some frozen peas and carrots, or you want to serve it with a side salad, some asparagus, or canned green beans, whatever you’ve got around would be great and would round out this meal.
19) Beef And Green Bean Stir-Fry
Oh yes, who doesn’t love a delicious Asian stir fry? So good. There’s so much you can do with stir fry. I like to add plenty of vegetables here. You could do some green beans or any veggies that you like, and frozen peas and carrots are always a good one.
And of course you’ve got your delicious ground meat. It’s going to give you tons of protein, and then you can serve this with some rice, brown rice, white rice, or some quinoa. It’s going to be such great flavoring here and a balanced meal. You can make it spicy also if you like, by adding some hot sauce on top.
20) Beef Enchilada Skillet
It’s like enchiladas, but you’re going to be cooking this on the skillet with some ground meat, diced onions, of course some taco seasoning, and you’ve got to have that red enchilada sauce. You can buy enchilada sauce in a number of different heat levels, mild, medium, or spicy. You can also add some beans in there, I love black beans, but choose whatever beans you like.
Cook this right on the skillet with some corn tortillas that are torn or chopped up. That’s going to give it the outside of the enchilada. So you’ve got your meat and cheese and onions, that’s the inside, and then the sliced up tortillas thrown right in there to represent the outside of the tortilla. I would of course top this off with some sour cream, cilantro, maybe some avocado if you have some. You could put some salsa too.
21) Cabbage Roll Bowl
You’re going to use your ground meat in this one, some diced onions, garlic, and plenty of paprika and oregano for your seasoning. You can use some rice in this one, white rice or brown rice, whatever you have. Brown rice would give you a little bit more fiber, more of a complex carb. Then some green cabbage.
Basically, think about this as the inside of a cabbage roll, you’re just not getting the outside, so it’s all in a bowl together. You’re getting your protein and your veggies, and then rice would be the carb instead of the outside of the roll. Super good. You could add some more veggies on the side if you’d like, but you do have cabbage inside, so that does complete the meal.
22) Beef Nachos
Such a great idea when you just want something simple, easy, and not too filling, or maybe like a party platter, or you’re just out of options and ideas. Take some tortilla chips and put those on a cookie sheet, then I would cook the ground meat on the stove, adding some taco seasoning in there. Once the meat is cooked, I would put it on top of the chips with lots of cheese. You could use some shredded Mexican cheese, lots of it, then melt it in the oven. You could put some beans on there too, actually, I’d put the beans on and then put it in the oven.
Then when it comes out, I would add my cold toppings. Maybe you like some jalapenos, pico de gallo, diced tomatoes, onions, cilantro, guacamole. Super good. I feel like this is a great date night, movie night, family meal, or party meal.
23) Beef And Broccoli Bowl
Yes, I love to make my beef and broccoli in the crock pot, I just feel like it is so easy, but you could also easily make this on the stove. And what’s great is that the vitamin C from the broccoli helps you to easily absorb the iron from the beef. So they complement each other really well.
So good, with tons of flavor in this meal. You feel like you had takeout, but you didn’t, you stayed at home and saved money. Good for you. I would serve this over rice, brown rice or white rice, whatever I have. That is a delicious, complete meal.
24) Beef Picadillo
This is like a Cuban-style dish if you’ve never had it before. You’re going to use the ground meat with bell peppers and onions for some veggies and flavoring, and plenty of seasonings with the garlic and oregano. For the diced tomatoes, you could use a can of that, and in there some green olives and raisins.
This is such a fun, different meal, fancy but not fancy, and you feel like you went to a different country. Such a fun, cultural meal. You can put a fried egg on top of this if you’d like to up it a little and add a little more protein. And you can serve it over a bed of rice if you want to be traditional.
25) Shepherd’s Pie
Shepherd’s pie always reminds me a little bit of chicken pot pie. The bottom layer in the casserole dish is going to be the ground meat with the peas and carrots, and then you’re going to add tons of flavoring to that, of course with the garlic. Then you’re going to put the mashed potatoes on top and kind of smear that around. Delicious. It’s a complete meal here with the protein, the carb, and the veggies. Such a great choice.
26) Beef Hand Pies
This is such a fun meal because you have these cute little hand pies that you make from the refrigerated pie crusts, like the one that you use for chicken pot pie. You’ll use some onion, some potatoes, and frozen peas, and you could use some Worcestershire sauce in there. So delicious.
It kind of reminds me of empanadas. It’s like these little hand pies that you fold up, make, and just hold and eat. It’s so good, and something so different. I would definitely add some veggies on the side to even this meal out and round it out.
27) Beef Flatbread Pizza
There’s so much you could do with pizza, right? I mean, why not? This sounds amazing. You could use a flatbread or naan, and use your seasoned ground meat, tomato paste, and Italian seasoning. Just make like a pizza on this naan or flatbread using the ground meat.
If you don’t put veggies on it, I would serve some veggies on the side, but you could easily add tons of veggies to this. What a fun and different way to eat pizza.
28) Beef Stuffed Shells
These are like the hard pasta shells that you can buy at the grocery store, and you can stuff them with really whatever you like. I like to stuff them with meat and ricotta cheese and then bake them in the oven with pasta sauce poured on top. So if you don’t add any veggies inside, you can go ahead and serve it with some asparagus or a side salad.
This is such a great, delicious Italian meal. The shells also come in the manicotti shape, which is like tubes, so either one is fine and they’re both delicious.
29) Beef Cornbread Skillet
Who doesn’t love some cornbread? So easy to make, actually, it’s not complicated. You’re going to use the oven for this, and you can use a cast iron skillet. If you don’t have one, I highly recommend it. They’re so awesome because you can use them on the stove and also put them in the oven. Sometimes some of my recipes require both, heating something on the stove and then slipping it into the oven. So it’s a great kitchen tool to have.
You’re going to use some black beans, crushed tomatoes, and beef broth in this recipe, and then take a box of cornbread mix and spread it on top. Cook the meat with chili powder, cumin, tomato paste, and garlic, and put that in the cast iron pan. Then prepare the cornbread mix from the box if you like, and once it’s all mixed up, add that on top and put it in the oven. It’s so delicious.
And if you didn’t add some veggies in, I would put some veggies on the side.
30) Beef Pasta Skillet
You can use any pasta you like, whatever shape you have. We like to have a lot of different shapes at our house just because it keeps things fun. Some of our favorites are fusilli, the wheel pasta, or bow tie pasta, but any pasta will work here. You’re going to use your ground meat with diced onions, garlic, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and whatever your favorite brand is of marinara sauce. We like Rao’s a lot, but anyone will do.
You’re going to cook this all in the skillet and then serve it over your pasta. Super delicious. If you didn’t add some veggies in, I would definitely serve some veggies on the side.
31) Beef Lettuce Wraps
This is a great high-protein, low-carb meal if that’s your vibe. You can take lettuce, trying to find ones that will wrap nicely, such as a butter lettuce, that would be really delicious. You’re going to use some ground meat and cook that up with lots of flavoring. You could add some mushrooms, some onions if you’d like, garlic and ginger, and mix it all together with a number of other ingredients. Then you could scoop and put those right into the lettuce wraps. So delicious.
There’s a lot you can do with this meal. You could add some shredded carrots, cucumbers, peanuts, cilantro. If you don’t have access to butter lettuce, you could use really any lettuce leaf that’s going to kind of stay open. Even if it doesn’t wrap up, you could just pick it up and eat it kind of like P.F. Chang style, if you’ve been there. An iceberg lettuce, a big lettuce leaf, would work too. And if you want to add carbs on the side, you totally can.
32) American Goulash
American goulash is such a great meal. It’s basically like a casserole, and you can have some ground meat in here with some elbow macaroni, or any pasta you like, some bell peppers, tomato paste, garlic, and paprika to give it lots of flavor. You’re going to cook this over the stove and then add some cheese on top. Super good, delicious meal. And if you didn’t add veggies in, I would go ahead and add some, or if you want additional veggies on the side.
33) Budget Meatballs
Yes, you can absolutely make your own meatballs. Super yummy, especially if you know what you like to add, like some fresh basil leaves, garlic, and parmesan. You could easily add lentils for a little bit of fiber. There’s so much you could do with your own meatballs. When you roll them up, you usually add some eggs or breadcrumbs inside to help them stay together, and then you can bake those right in the oven.
Of course, you could serve them with some marinara, pesto, or even alfredo sauce, any sort of sauce you want. And then you could serve that with some pasta and some veggies.
Pantry & Tools I Reach For on Ground Beef Nights
- Hontent Glass Food Storage Containers with Lids. For the chili that gets better on day two, the picadillo, the goulash, and the spaghetti sauce that always makes more than one dinner.
- ThermoMaven Instant-Read Meat Thermometer. Pulls the meatloaf at 160, the shepherd’s pie filling at temperature, and any beef-and-rice skillet protein without slicing into it.
- Stainless Steel Potato Masher Set. The right tool for shepherd’s pie potato topping and the beef-and-potato hash, beats the back-of-a-fork method without dirtying a ricer.
