25 Comfort Food Dinners with Ground Beef (2024)

Enjoy one of these comforting dinner recipes made with ground beef. Ground beef is a quick-cooking, budget-friendly protein that works in a variety of dishes including pasta, chili and more. Try recipes like Broccoli, Beef & Tater Tot Hotdish and Mini Meatloaves with Green Beans & Potatoes for a cozy, delicious dinner that you'll turn to again and again.

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Chili-Cheese Nachos

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25 Comfort Food Dinners with Ground Beef (1)

Make nachos a healthy dinner when you top them with an easy 30-minute chili. Serve this healthy recipe with sliced scallions, avocado, fresh tomatoes and sour cream, if desired.

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Sweet & Sour Beef-Cabbage Soup

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25 Comfort Food Dinners with Ground Beef (2)

This wholesome sweet-and-sour soup combines beef, caraway seeds, sweet paprika and cabbage--ingredients that star in a number of German dishes. It is particularly nice served with crusty rye bread. For an even heartier soup, add diced cooked potatoes along with the cabbage. Recipe by Nancy Baggett for EatingWell.

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Mini Meatloaves with Green Beans & Potatoes

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25 Comfort Food Dinners with Ground Beef (3)

This healthy meatloaf recipe and side dishes are all made in the oven on two sheet pans so that everything's ready for the dinner table at the same time. The potatoes go into the oven first to start roasting while the mini meatloaves and green beans are prepped and added to the oven partway through.

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American Goulash

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25 Comfort Food Dinners with Ground Beef (4)

American goulash, also known as old-fashioned goulash, is the perfect economical family meal. The pasta cooks right in the sauce, so this satisfying dish can cook in just one pot.

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Baked Beans with Ground Beef

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25 Comfort Food Dinners with Ground Beef (5)

Upgrade baked beans from classic side dish to a meaty main meal by adding lean ground beef. The final result, a superfast hearty casserole, is an easy and fast dinner option. Ground turkey or even sausage would work nicely in this dish. Just watch the sodium.

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Cincinnati Chili

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25 Comfort Food Dinners with Ground Beef (6)

Cincinnati has a unique spin on chili--they serve it over spaghetti. Typically the chili is just made with meat, no beans, but we couldn't resist adding beans to add fiber and nutrients. Serve with sliced cucumber and red onion with lemon juice and olive oil.

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Broccoli, Beef & Tater Tot Hotdish

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25 Comfort Food Dinners with Ground Beef (7)

Hotdish may be a Minnesota tradition but everyone, everywhere, should add this cheesy casserole to their fall dinner rotation.

Beef & Bean Enchiladas

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25 Comfort Food Dinners with Ground Beef (8)

These beef enchiladas, topped with a zesty green and red homemade sauce, are perfect for a party or a potluck. To cut calories and saturated fat we fill them with 90%-lean beef bulked up with chopped portobello mushrooms and beans. Although white-flour tortillas are traditional in San Antonio, we go for whole-wheat or corn tortillas to add a little fiber.

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Nonna's Spaghetti & Meatballs

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25 Comfort Food Dinners with Ground Beef (9)

The meatballs and sauce are cooked in the slow cooker for this traditional Italian spaghetti and meatballs recipe. You could also serve the meatballs over creamy polenta or on a sandwich with melted provolone.

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Skillet Chili Mac

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Poblanos add a kick of heat to this chili mac recipe. If that's not your thing, swap in green bell peppers to tone down the heat in this easy pasta dish, which mashes up mac and cheese and chili into a seriously satisfying skillet dinner.

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Better-Than-Takeout Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

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This healthy take on burgers and fries swaps in chopped mushrooms for some of the meat in the burger patties, to cut back on calories and saturated fat.

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Old-Fashioned Meatloaf

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Mushrooms, garlic and oats sneak some extra nutrients into this hearty and easy meatloaf. Serve with sweet potatoes and your favorite green vegetables for a super-satisfying comfort food dinner.

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Mom's Chili

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25 Comfort Food Dinners with Ground Beef (13)

This healthy basic beef chili recipe is well worth doubling so you can throw a batch in the freezer. Serve topped with diced red onion, sliced scallions, shredded cheese and your favorite hot sauce.

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Cuban Beef Picadillo over Plantain Mash

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25 Comfort Food Dinners with Ground Beef (14)

Ground beef cooked with tomatoes and briny olives can be found all over Latin America. This is a favorite Cuban variation served over plantains, starchy vegetables that look like giant bananas. You can also serve the picadillo over rice or potatoes, so this easy dinner recipe is versatile too.

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Ground Beef & Pasta Skillet

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Sneak extra vegetables into your child's day (and yours too!) with this easy one-skillet pasta recipe. Finely chop mushrooms to resemble the texture of ground beef and stir them into a classic meat sauce for an extra-healthy twist on a dinnertime favorite.

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Turkish Beef Patties with Eggplant, Pepper & Tomato

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In this healthy ground beef recipe, ground beef patties seasoned with Turkish spices are cooked with eggplant, pepper, tomatoes and herbs to create a delectable stew. Serve the beef patties and vegetables over bulgur or brown rice to soak up all of the sauce.

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Chili Cornbread Casserole

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Here's a fun way to serve chili and cornbread together. Don't let the ingredient list intimidate you--this casserole is easy to make and a real crowd pleaser.

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Ground Beef Stroganoff

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How do you get classic beef stroganoff on the dinner table in under an hour? Use ground beef instead of cubed steak. Ground beef cooks in a fraction of the time but is just as delicious in a creamy sauce with mushrooms and served over whole-wheat noodles.

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Salisbury Steak with Sweet Paprika Sauce

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In this easy steak recipe made with ground beef, Salisbury steaks are matched with a creamy paprika and roasted red pepper sauce. We like to serve the Salisbury steaks with whole-wheat egg noodles and a mixed green salad.

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Pimiento-Cheese Patty Melt

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A healthy pimiento-cheese spread makes an insanely delicious topping for this easy patty melt recipe. To keep the bread-to-burger ratio even (and calories in check), look for a smaller loaf of country bread or cut large slices in half.

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Sloppy Joe-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

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25 Comfort Food Dinners with Ground Beef (21)

Take sloppy Joes to a new level with tender sweet potatoes standing in for the bun. Sweet potatoes pair perfectly with the tangy, flavorful filling of ground beef, black beans and spices. Chopped dill pickle sprinkled on top adds crunch to this quick weeknight dinner the whole family will love.

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Mexican Beef Bake with Cilantro-Lime Cream

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This hearty casserole features ground beef, beans, and pasta baked in a flavorful Mexican-inspired sauce and topped with cheese and sour cream. Kids will love it!

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Skillet Ravioli Lasagna

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This easy inside-out ravioli lasagna is the ultimate weeknight comfort food--no layering or mixing bowls required. Feel free to swap in ground turkey for the beef. Look for fresh mozzarella balls (also called "pearls") in the specialty cheese section of your grocery store.

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Cheeseburger Stuffed Baked Potatoes

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Skip the bun and serve all of your favorite cheeseburger ingredients--beef, cheese, tomatoes, red onions and lettuce--with baked potatoes for a hearty and easy dinner recipe that kids and adults will love. Feel free to swap out the ground beef for ground turkey or tofu crumbles.

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Cheesy Beef Enchilada Casserole

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This veggie-packed beef enchilada casserole is mild, so put out hot sauce and chopped jalapeños if you're feeding heat-seekers. The quick and easy dinner recipe makes extra cheese sauce--save it to make One-Pot Mac & Cheese with Cauliflower & Brussels Sprouts later in the week (see Associated Recipes) or serve it with steamed vegetables, such as broccoli, for an easy side dish.