Easy Ground Beef Recipes

Many of our favorite meat-based recipes revolve around a culinary superstar: ground beef, from your mother's meatloaf to staples like burgers and foreign cuisines like Mongolian beef and Cuban picadillo.

If you're seeking dinner inspiration, we've included a number of easy ground beef recipes to get you started.

Best Easy Ground Beef Recipes

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Instant Pot Sloppy Joes Recipe

These Sloppy Joes will knock your socks off with pleasure-prompting aromas. It doesn’t help that the classic burger flavors are simmered soft in an instant pot until balmy. It’s a game changer, to put it mildly.

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Korean Beef Bowl Recipe

The intense sweetness of brown sugar and caramelized garlic is just the perfect complement to cooked rice. For that reason, this recipe is your best bet to introduce Korean flavors to your dining table. Everyone will be thrilled.

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Ground Beef and Broccoli Recipe

Broccoli always makes a dish look effortless. Pair it with ground beef, and you get this trouble-free yet impressive meal.

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Beefy Butternut Squash Pasta Recipe

This dish guarantees there’s no better way to enjoy Butternut Squash Pasta. The sweet and nutty after-roast tang is addictive. And once you add the tomato sauce broth, it glosses over the butternut cubes and delivers a bittersweet finished taste.

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Crustless Pizza Bowl Recipe

No one will be able to resist this Crustless Pizza Bowl. It’s everything good about pizza except the crust. So low-carbers can also get their fill.

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Taco Soup Recipe

We love a recipe that uses only one pot. This Taco Soup involves dumping meat, veggies, and cheese in a stew and simmering them all in one go. You’ll reap hot Mexican flavors you can enjoy with a simple pico de gallo.

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Hamburger Soup Recipe

Filled with alliaceous flavors and nutritious veggies, this meat and pasta dish is a weekday lifeline. You’ll suffer no compromise of flavors with this one-pot stew that’s ready in under an hour.

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Vegetable Beef Casserole Recipe

The ease of preparing a casserole is enough to win any hungry soul over. Throw in potatoes, carrots, green beans, and cheese, and you’ve got a fetching weeknight meal.

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Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe

When you plan a dish you want everyone to love, Spaghetti Bolognese should come to mind. It’s a time-tested meal that requires little effort yet never fails to impress. The kids will be lining up for seconds.

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Chili Spaghetti Recipe

Ever pushed the envelope of a simple spaghetti dish? This Chili Spaghetti lets you indulge in a mighty spicy main that’ll set your taste buds ablaze; you won’t settle for anything less fiery after trying it.

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Ground Beef and Potatoes Recipe

In need of comfort food? You’ll serve this at the drop of a hat. Potatoes in a rustic form never fail to please even the pickiest of appetites, and neither will this rice bowl.

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Creamy Tomato Rigatoni Pasta Recipe

Rigatoni is wide, cylindrical pasta with ridges on the exterior. All the better to soak up as much of these savory mushroom and parmesan flavors in each spoonful!

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Ground Beef and Cabbage Recipe

This simple mix is humble yet glorious. You could be raggedy or rich, yet still want — or need — this meal with a bowl of rice at the end of a long day. After all, who doesn’t love simple comfort food?

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Mexican Spaghetti Recipe

Maybe you’re too tired to go all out on dinner. No worries. You’ll only have to do the bare minimum with this recipe. Simply dump the ingredients into one skillet to simmer together, and you’ll have a hearty, flavorsome meal (that tastes like it’s been cooking all day!) in 25 minutes.

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Taco Salad Recipe

The seasoning and spiciness in this Taco Salad make it so outstandingly appealing. That, plus how it comes together in 15 minutes tops. That’s just the kind of dish you need for a stress-free night.

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Beef Burger Recipe

Got some beef? We’ve got buns. Precisely crisping up in the oven at 430 ℉. It’s the recipe for perfect grab-and-go burgers that are also ideal for a party.

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Meatloaf Recipe

If reviews are anything to go by, you can expect only good things from a Meatloaf like ours. It’s gorgeous and succulent and should be on every beef lover’s bucket list!

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Instant Pot Meatloaf Recipe

Turning a traditional classic into an instant pot version can be either genius or disastrous. You be the judge. Make this 35-minute meatloaf, dig into it, and let us know!

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Cabbage Rolls Recipe

If you’re looking for a no-frills, comfort food, this is where to start. These Cabbage Rolls include arborio rice to absorb the intense stock flavors and present a fulfilling dish balanced in taste.

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Cocktail Meatballs Recipe

This recipe turns rustic meatballs into a cocktail-worthy treat. Traditional ingredients such as ground beef, ground pork, and ketchup still make up this dish, while a well-arranged display makes all the difference to the final meal.

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Meatball Soup Recipe

A good soup almost always disappears by the end of the meal. Make a big batch of this meatball soup; if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, you can enjoy it the next day.

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Thai Basil Beef Recipe

We love Thai Basil anything. In fact, we love Thai anything when it comes to food. This red bell pepper, chili, carrot, fish sauce, and brown sugar mix is precisely why. A furious, red dish that’ll take your diners by storm.

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Beef Kofta Recipe

Kofta is a Middle Eastern meatball or meatloaf dish commonly served on skewers. We’ve cooked it on a griddle to impart a slight char to irresistible paprika aromas.

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Stuffed Shells Recipe

This recipe includes conchiglie, a shell-shaped pasta of medium size. We stuffed them with ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan, poured meat sauce, and baked them to a rich, caramelized finish.

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Asian Beef and Noodles Recipe

“Udon” want to miss this Asian stir fry! If you’re unfamiliar, udon is a thick Japanese noodle made from rice or wheat flour. Simply sauteed in a ground beef, mushroom, and soy-oyster sauce mix, it makes an excellent vehicle for deep umami flavors.

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Taco Pie Recipe

Take a moment to meet your new favorite hybrid dish. Taco flavors delivered in pie fashion are ten times better than just tacos! Now there’s a crunchy crust to go with them. This simply can’t be missed.

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Spaghetti and Beef Meatballs Recipe

We love the simplicity and style of Spaghetti and Meatballs. It’s semi-rustic, yet it just cuts it as a classy meal. It’s our idea of an all-purpose dish at its finest.

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Cheeseburger Soup Recipe

Keep your belly warm and satisfied on cold nights with this cheeseburger soup recipe. It’s so easy to make with simple ingredients like veggies, dairy, and ground beef. You won’t have any trouble putting together a big, budget-friendly pot for the whole family to enjoy.

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What to Make With Ground Beef

When it comes to meat, ground beef is arguably the all-American go-to ingredient for a variety of reasons. It is affordable, cooks quickly, and can be utilized in an infinite number of tasty ways.

Any collection of scrumptious, traditional ground beef dishes should include meatloaf, hamburgers, chili, and lasagna. These ultimate comfort foods are delicious crowd-pleasers and have enjoyed widespread popularity.

Or, if you're in the mood for something different, try new ways to use ground beef in soups, calzones, and shepherd's pie. These foods are ideal to serve for a weeknight dinner or freeze for a future gathering.

When it comes to handling and cooking ground beef, even the most experienced chefs may benefit from learning a few new techniques. Whether you cook with it frequently or maybe occasionally, there is likely something you might do better with your ground beef tray.

Tips for Cooking Ground Beef 

1. Understand Your Meat Preferences

For dishes such as chili, bolognese, and tacos, you will brown and cook the beef thoroughly, or until it is tender. If you’re cooking the beef this way, there is no need to worry about the internal temperature. As long as the meat has been broken up and cooked until it is no longer pink inside, it’s good to go.

On the other hand, preparing hamburgers or meatloaf might be more difficult. The USDA suggests cooking ground beef to an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Texture or firmness is not a reliable sign of doneness, so the best way to determine the internal temperature is by using a meat thermometer.

2. Cook in a Large Skillet

Using a large skillet enables the meat to be spread out evenly, which increases the surface area and browning process.

If you cook your meat in a small skillet, it will steam and end up with a rubbery texture. Note that the greater the quantity of ground beef, the larger the skillet should be. 

Nonstick pans simply do not hold heat as effectively, so we prefer stainless steel or cast iron. To prevent the meat from adhering to your stainless steel or cast iron pan, use a small amount of oil and ensure that the cast iron is well coated.

3. Avoid Constant Stirring 

Many cooks make the error of continually turning ground beef while it browns; however, this causes the meat to lose moisture and become harder. To brown, the meat must remain in contact with the pan for a period of time.

It’s recommended to let the meat brown and simmer for a few minutes before breaking it up with a wooden spoon. It creates the dark brown, crispy texture you've likely tasted in a delicious burger or steak.

Check out our: Easy Ground Beef Recipes With Few Ingredients

How Long Is Ground Beef Good in the Fridge?

Ground beef may be kept in the refrigerator for up to two days. To store the product, place it in an airtight container or move it to a Ziplock bag and mark it with the date. 

Like many other leftovers, cooked ground beef will survive for three to four days in the refrigerator and three to four months in the freezer. Be sure to keep it in a freezer bag or an airtight container.

So, if you want to cook tonight's supper at home, here are some quick and tasty ground beef dishes that everyone will like.