20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (2024)

From savory meatballs to burgers to stir-fry, ground beef is one of the most versatile—and delicious—meat products out there. Plus, it's inexpensive and family-friendly, which gives us even more reason to love it. That's why we're sharing 20 different ways to cook with ground beef.

Of course, ground beef lends itself to several Italian-American staples, such as Lasagna with Meat Sauce (ours is made with both ground beef and sweet Italian sausage), or Grandma's Bolognese, which is hearty and extra flavorful thanks to the addition of pancetta and dried porcini mushrooms. Serve the latter over thick noodles such as pappardelle or tagliatelle for a spectacular dinner.

Switch up your dinner routine any night of the week with these ground beef recipes.

01of 20

Skillet Chili Nachos

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (1)

Corn tortilla chips are layered on the bottom of a cast iron skillet and topped with beef chili, black beans, and shredded cheddar cheese. The whole dish is baked until bubbly and warm.

View Recipe

02of 20

"Steak and Egg" Skillet Pizza

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (2)

It's pizza night! Even if you don't have a pizza oven or ceramic pizza stone, you can easily make a savory, breakfast-inspired pizza in your kitchen. All you need is a cast iron skillet to bring this ground beef recipe to life.

View Recipe

03of 20

Beef-and-Barley Burgers

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (3)

These ground beef burgers gets even more texture thanks to cooked barley, which is mixed with grated carrots, minced fresh ginger, and soy sauce. Whether you cook the burgers on a grill pan or in a skillet, they're sure to be delicious.

View Recipe

04of 20

Grandma's Bolognese

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (4)

Have you always wanted to know the secret to Grandma's Italian-inspired Bolognese sauce? She wouldn't tell us the exact formula, but we think we got it pretty close with a combination of dried porcini mushrooms, pancetta, ground beef, and ground pork.

View Recipe

05of 20

Easy Beef Chili

Chili is the quintessential ground beef recipe. The warming use of chili powder, cocoa powder, and fire-roasted tomatoes breathe new life into ground beef.

View Recipe

06of 20

Beef-Zucchini Meatballs

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (6)

Enjoy these lightened up meatballs any night of the week (they only take 30 minutes to prepare!). They're made with ground beef, grated zucchini, and millet. Keep the meal nourishing and healthy by serving them over roasted spaghetti squash.

View Recipe

07of 20

Lasagna with Meat Sauce

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (7)

Our secret to making this epic Italian-American casserole is using no-boil lasagna noodles, which save prep time. The duo of ground beef and sweet Italian sausage bring both flavor and heft to the filling.

View Recipe

08of 20

Pappardelle with Quick Fennel Ragu

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (8)

In under one hour, you can build plenty of flavor in this tomato-based ground beef ragu made with chopped onion and fennel. It's tossed with pappardelle for a family-friendly meal any night of the week.

View Recipe

09of 20

Test Kitchen's Favorite Spaghetti and Meatballs

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (9)

Master this Italian-American dish with this recipe—our meatballs are made with ground beef and finely chopped cremini mushrooms, which add texture along with dried breadcrumbs and plenty of finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

View Recipe

10of 20

Jennifer's Meatloaf Sandwiches

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (10)

As much as we love meatloaf for dinner, you can also repurpose the leftovers into a handheld bite for lunch. Ground beef and ground pork work in tandem to make a classic meatloaf that is moist and flavorful.

View Recipe

11of 20

Classic Burger-Joint Cheeseburger

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (11)

Is this the ultimate ground beef recipe? Everyone loves a juicy burger that's stacked high with melted cheese, tomato slices, shredded iceberg lettuce, and a special sauce (usually made from ketchup and mayonnaise).

View Recipe

12of 20

Cajun Dirty Rice

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (12)

Two kinds of meat—ground beef and chicken liver—shine in this super flavorful stir-fry. Paprika, dried oregano, and green bell pepper all make an appearance to add pizzaz to this entrée.

View Recipe

13of 20

Sweet-Potato Shepherd's Pie

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (13)

If you love shepherd's pie, then you'll love this vibrant iteration, which is made with sweet potatoes instead of the regular russets. The filling is a satisfying, stick-to-your-ribs combination of ground beef, cremini mushrooms, and chopped onion.

View Recipe

14of 20

Taco Casserole

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (14)

Celebrate Taco Tuesday with this 30-minute recipe. Ground beef is sautéed in a skillet along with bell peppers and onions, plus pinto beans, diced tomatoes, and plenty of spices. Top with tortilla chips and two kinds of cheese for a casual, family-friendly meal.

View Recipe

15of 20

Picadillo-Style Chili

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (15)

This all-beef chili gets loads of flavor from ground cumin and a hint of heat from poblano chile peppers. Serve over rice with typical picadillo garnishes of green olives, toasted almonds, and currants.

View Recipe

16of 20

Beef and Cabbage Tacos

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (16)

Short on time? Try this ground beef recipe, which comes together in just 20 minutes. The meat and shredded cabbage are sautéed simply with lime juice and zest, which are tucked into flour tortillas.

View Recipe

17of 20

Mini Meatballs in Lettuce Cups

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (17)

Looking for a ground beef appetizer? Try these Asian-inspired meatballs, which get unique flavor from a combination of garlic, ginger, fish sauce, and toasted sesame oil.

View Recipe

18of 20

Beef and Cheddar Hand Pies

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (18)

Store-bought puff pastry shines in these comforting hand pies that are perfect dinner or as an appetizer. It's a fun and flavorful ground beef recipe for any occasion.

View Recipe

19of 20

Meatball Casserole

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (19)

Turn a basic meatball recipe (ours are made with ground beef and ground pork) into a casserole topped with melted mozzarella cheese. Instead of serving them with spaghetti, we love digging into this entrée with crusty bread.

View Recipe

20of 20

Deep-Dish Meatball Pizza

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (20)

Can't take a trip to Chicago? Make this Midwest recipe at home. It calls for pizza dough (store-bought or homemade), ground beef, and two kinds of cheese (shredded mozzarella and grated Parmesan), and is made using a glass pie dish.

View Recipe

20 Ground Beef Recipes to Mix Up Your Dinner Routine (2024)

FAQs

How to get 80/20 ground beef? ›

However, you can achieve that 80/20 target ratio by blending different cuts of meat as well. You can take a fattier cut of meat, such as brisket trimmings, and mix it with a leaner cut, such as ground sirloin. In the proper blend, you can achieve a very flavorful 80/20 mix.

What is 80/20 ground beef good for? ›

Burgers. You're looking for beef with a pretty high fat content, but nothing too extreme. So for burgers, go 80/20 beef. While picking up a package with this marked on it is fine, if you can get the butcher to grind the beef for you, that's even better.

What is 80/20 ground beef called? ›

Ground chuck is made from the chuck primal, the shoulder area of the animal. It is preferred by many for its rich, beefy flavor and higher fat content. Most ground chuck is frequently listed as 80/20, meaning 80% lean meat and 20% fat.

What is 73/27 ground beef good for? ›

Ground Beef that is not less than 70% lean (usually a 73/27 or 75/25 lean-to-fat ratio) is used for burgers and in recipes calling for browning (crumbles) and pouring off drippings, such as chili, tacos and spaghetti sauce. When properly cooked, it is moist and juicy.

Does McDonald's use 80 20 ground beef? ›

What are McDonald's burgers made of? Here are the facts: All of our burger patties in the U.S. are always made with 100% USDA-inspected beef. That's the only ingredient: 100% real beef.

Is 80/20 ground beef good for meatloaf? ›

Like meatballs, many meatloaf recipes include a blend of meat, which will determine whether you need fattier or leaner beef. If it's an all-beef recipe, avoid 90/10, and go for 80/20 or 85/15. Most recipes call for 70/30 or 80/20 ground beef, which makes a rich and juicy burger patty with a good exterior crust.

What kind of ground beef makes the best burgers? ›

Chuck is the most commonly used cut of beef in burger blends. Marbled throughout and well-balanced in flavor with a decent lean-to-fat ratio, chuck steak is generally the primary cut used in burger blends and is supplemented with one or two other cuts of meat.

What is 100 ground beef? ›

The Department of Agriculture requires food labeled "ground beef" to be 100 percent ground beef, although seasonings are allowed. The maximum amount of fat allowed is 30%. Taco meat filling needs to have at least 40 percent beef, according to the USDA.

Do stores add water to ground beef? ›

There is no added water in any fresh, unprocessed beef. Beef is washed during slaughter, but the small amount of water would be absorbed on the surface of the meat, not bound to the protein or inside the tissue and would quickly evaporate or drip out. Beef is often ground while partially frozen.

What does 93 ground beef mean? ›

the percentage of fat. For example, “93/7” means 93 percent lean meat and 7 percent fat. The lower the fat content, the less saturated fat you'll consume. To help reduce consuming extra fat from both ground turkey and ground beef, Hueschen recommends these options: Drain grease from the pan.

What to use 90 10 ground beef for? ›

90/10 Ground Sirloin

Because it is so lean, it's not a good choice for hamburgers, but it is great for casseroles, sauces, chili, and stuffed peppers.

What is 92 8 ground beef? ›

92% Lean 8% Fat Ground Beef

Our ground beef is all-natural, with nothing added to it: no water, no fillers, no additives, no preservatives, no coloring or dye. Our beef is sourced from cattle that NEVER EVER receive antibiotics or added hormones.

How is 80/20 beef calculated? ›

80/20 means 80 percent lean ground beef with 20 percent fat. This ground beef recipe has excellent flavor without needing much else.

How to make lean ground beef extra lean? ›

There's a simple and, in my opinion, quite profound way to reduce the fat content in ground beef by 50 percent! Just rinse the fat off. The other awesome thing — rinsing and draining ground beef washes away the fat without decreasing the vitamins and minerals or messing up the flavor.

How to remove all fat from ground beef? ›

Place the meat in a colander. Set the colander on a ½ quart or larger sturdy bowl. Pour the hot water over the cooked ground beef. Drain 5 minutes.

How to increase fat content in ground beef? ›

The obvious choice is to use a little bit of fat — this could be in the form of oil, lard, beef tallow, bacon grease, or even grated butter. Cheese, uncooked sausage, fresh chorizo, or ground meat with a higher percentage of fat will also work.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Geoffrey Lueilwitz

Last Updated:

Views: 6222

Rating: 5 / 5 (80 voted)

Reviews: 87% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Geoffrey Lueilwitz

Birthday: 1997-03-23

Address: 74183 Thomas Course, Port Micheal, OK 55446-1529

Phone: +13408645881558

Job: Global Representative

Hobby: Sailing, Vehicle restoration, Rowing, Ghost hunting, Scrapbooking, Rugby, Board sports

Introduction: My name is Geoffrey Lueilwitz, I am a zealous, encouraging, sparkling, enchanting, graceful, faithful, nice person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.