Ground beef dishes, such as meatloaf and goulash, have long been staple foods known for their convenience and versatility. These dishes come in many variations, offering exciting recipe choices for those who enjoy ground beef. Many recipes are easy to prepare, often requiring just a few ingredients, making them both fulfilling and accessible. Popular worldwide, ground beef recipes can be customized to suit various tastes, making them a go-to choice for quick, satisfying home-cooked meals.
1. Traditional goulash recipe
When it comes to goulash, barely any recipe beats that of the classic one. Also called hamburger goulash for the use of ground beef, this recipe only requires a few ingredients, including elbow macaroni, chopped onions, garlic, canned tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and shredded cheddar cheese. For seasoning, one would need herbs, salt, and black pepper.
- Start by cooking the ground beef along with onions until the meat turns brown. Once cooked, drain the fat.
- Add garlic to the meat for flavor and fragrance.
- Next, add tomato sauce, water, diced tomatoes, and the seasonings to the pot with beef and let it simmer. One can also use beef broth instead of water.
- Then add dry macaroni noodles to this pot and let it simmer until thoroughly cooked.
- Apply shredded cheddar cheese on top, and the traditional goulash is ready to serve.
2. Goulash casserole recipe
This is another popular ground beef recipe that is easy to make and versatile. For this recipe, the ingredients can remain the same—ground beef, elbow macaroni, chopped onions, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, shredded cheddar, and seasonings. The cooking process is what makes this recipe stand out.
- Start by preheating the oven to 350°F.
- Cook the ground beef with onions until the meat turns brown, and then drain the fat.
- Simultaneously, boil the macaroni—but not completely. Since the pasta will also be cooked in the oven, boiling it fully is not recommended.
- Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, and water (or beef broth) to the beef, and allow the mixture to simmer.
- Next, add the macaroni to this mixture and stir it properly.
- Transfer this mixture to a casserole dish and top it with shredded cheddar cheese.
- Bake the dish until the cheese turns slightly brown.
3. Classic meatloaf recipe
While there are quite a few meatloaf recipes to try, the classic meatloaf recipe is preferred by many individuals. To prepare this, one would need ground beef, eggs, onions, milk, and breadcrumbs. For the seasonings, one can either stick to just salt and black pepper or, for more flavor, use mixed herbs and garlic powder as well. And for the sauce, one would need ketchup, brown sugar, and yellow mustard.
- Start by preheating the oven to 350ºF.
- In one bowl, mix eggs and milk properly.
- Now, mix the ground beef, the egg-and-milk mixture, chopped onions, breadcrumbs, and seasonings. Transfer this mixture to a meatloaf pan.
- In another bowl, prepare the sauce by combining the ketchup, brown sugar, and yellow mustard.
- Pour the sauce onto the ground beef mixture, and place the pan into the oven.
- Bake until the meat is properly cooked (until its center part loses its pink color).
- Take the meatloaf out of the oven, slice it, and serve.
The classic meatloaves can also be served with a side of roasted broccoli, rice, garlic bread, or potatoes.
4. Cheeseburger meatloaf recipe
This recipe will work for those looking to add a fun twist to their traditional meatloaf meal. Most of the ingredients would remain the same as the classic recipe—ground beef, eggs, milk, breadcrumbs, ketchup, mustard, onions, and seasonings. And for the cheeseburger touch, the additional ingredients that one would need include dill pickle relish and, of course, cheese. For this recipe, one can use any cheese that one is comfortable with—cheese slices, shredded cheddar, or gouda.
- Begin by preheating the oven to 350ºF.
- In a bowl, combine all the meatloaf ingredients—beef, milk, some ketchup, eggs, seasonings, onions, and breadcrumbs.
- Next, transfer the mixture onto waxed paper and slightly flatten it into a rectangular form.
- On top of this spread meat, add ketchup, dill pickle relish, mustard, and cheese.
- Roll up the loaf and place it in a baking pan.
- Place the pan in the oven, and bake the meatloaf until the meat loses all its pink color. This will take nearly 45 minutes.
- Take the meatloaf out, slice it up, and serve with fries for an indulgent, savory meal.
5. Ground beef lasagna recipe
Besides goulash, another pasta dish that one can try making with ground beef is the classic lasagna. For this, one would need ground beef, chopped onions, olive oil, chopped garlic cloves, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, ricotta cheese, mozzarella balls, and lasagna noodles. For seasoning, one would need salt, black pepper, and oregano. To prepare this recipe:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Cook the ground beef with onions and garlic in olive oil until the beef is browned.
- Add tomatoes and tomato paste to the mixture, and cook until the mixture slightly thickens.
- Add ricotta cheese into a baking dish, and top it with some portion of the beef mixture. Then, top that layer with a few lasagna noodles. Once again, add the beef mixture and top that with a couple of slices of mozzarella cheese. Now, add the beef mixture again and top it with some lasagna noodles. Repeat the process twice, and top the final layer with mozzarella cheese.
- Place an aluminum foil onto the mixture, and move the dish to the oven. Let it bake until the mixture bubbles, which takes about 45 minutes. Now, remove the foil and bake until the cheese starts turning brown.
- Take the dish out and wait 15 minutes before serving the ground beef lasagna.
