$1.77per plate
Ground beef dinners, priced per plate
26 Easy Ground Beef Dinner Ideas
26 easy ground beef recipes pulled from real Budget Plates dinners - skillets, pasta, burgers, meatloaf, comfort classics, soups and chili - each with its total time, servings, and estimated cost per plate shown up front. Every idea links straight to the full recipe.
Browse the 26 ideas
26ground beef dinners
$1.28cheapest plate
19recipes under $2 a plate
$1.77median cost per plate
What can you make with ground beef? Just about anything - it is the best value in the meat case and stretches further than almost any other protein. Start with what you are in the mood for: a fast skillet, a cheesy pasta, a burger or meatloaf, a hearty comfort classic, or a big pot of soup or chili. Every one of the 26 ideas below links to a full recipe with its total time, servings, and estimated cost per plate. Cooking leaner? See our ground turkey recipes. Numbered 1-26 for easy reference; it's a curated mix, not a ranking.
Fast & easy
See all recipes
Quick ground beef skillet dinners
The fastest way to turn a pound of ground beef into dinner: brown it in a skillet, add a starch or some vegetables, and eat. These quick ground beef recipes are all on the table in about 30 minutes, and most land under $2 a plate.
$1.91per plate
$1.95per plate
$2.05per plate
$2.27per plate
Cupboard comfort
All pasta recipes
Ground beef pasta & noodle dinners
Beef and pasta is the cheapest kind of comfort food. From a creamy stroganoff to a from-scratch hamburger helper, these one-pan dinners skip the seasoning packet and the jarred sauce and still feed the whole table.
$1.35per plate
$1.5per plate
$1.67per plate
$1.71per plate
Still can't decide?
Let Budget Plates pick your ground beef dinner
The Random Food Generator hands you one affordable recipe at random - with its cost per plate, cooking time, and servings shown up front. Browsing the ideas gives you choices; the generator gives you an answer.
The classics
See all recipes
Burgers, meatballs & meatloaf
The dishes ground beef was made for. A proper grilled cheeseburger, a batch of baked meatballs, and two takes on meatloaf - simple, crowd-pleasing, and easy enough for a first-time cook.
$1.28per plate
$1.75per plate
$2.21per plate
$2.38per plate
Homestyle
See all recipes
Hearty ground beef comfort classics
Slower, stick-to-your-ribs ground beef dinners for when you want something hearty. Cottage pie, stuffed peppers, sloppy joes, and Salisbury steak all stretch a pound of beef into a filling meal without much fuss.
$1.56per plate
$1.85per plate
$2.06per plate
$2.37per plate
Cook a whole week
Turn ground beef into a weekly plan
Buy beef in bulk and spread it across the week. The Budget Meal Planner builds a full week of dinners into one shopping list with a running total, so you know what the week costs before you get to the store.
Baked & slow
All casserole recipes
Ground beef casseroles & slow cooker
Ground beef bakes into some of the cheapest crowd-feeding dinners there are. Two loaded casseroles and a hands-off slow-cooker base each stretch a pound or two of beef across six to eight servings and reheat into lunch all week.
$1.5per plate
$1.6per plate
$1.78per plate
Bowls & chili
All soup recipes
Ground beef soups & chili
Ground beef makes some of the cheapest, most freezer-friendly soups going. Chili, taco soup, cabbage roll soup, a smoky cowboy soup, and two cheeseburger-style bowls each cook in one pot and reheat into lunch for days.
$1.58per plate
$1.66per plate
$1.74per plate
$1.8per plate
$1.84per plate
$2.12per plate
Ground beef know-how
Cooking with ground beef
How much ground beef per person?
Plan on roughly a quarter to a third of a pound of raw ground beef per adult for a main dish. A single pound comfortably feeds four when you stretch it with pasta, rice, beans, or vegetables, which is how most of the recipes here are built.
How do I drain ground beef?
Brown the beef over medium-high heat until no pink remains, then tip the pan and spoon the fat off, or drain the meat in a colander set over a bowl. Never pour grease down the drain - let it cool and bin it. Leaner beef (90/10) often needs no draining at all.
What lean-to-fat ratio should I use?
80/20 (80% lean) stays juicy for burgers, meatballs, and meatloaf. 90/10 is tidier for chili, tacos, soups, and skillet dinners where you would otherwise drain the fat. Either works in most recipes; the ratio mostly changes how much grease you pour off.
How do I make a pound of beef go further?
Beans, lentils, rice, pasta, oats, or extra chopped vegetables all stretch ground beef into more servings for less money. Nearly every recipe in this collection leans on a cheap starch or vegetable to turn one pound into dinner for four to six.
How long does cooked ground beef keep?
Cooked ground beef keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge in a sealed container. Cook fresh or thawed ground beef to 160 degrees F. Reheat leftovers until steaming hot before serving.
Do ground beef meals freeze well?
Most do. Chili, soups, meatloaf, meatballs, sloppy joe filling, and casseroles all freeze for 2 to 3 months - cool completely, portion into airtight containers, and thaw in the fridge overnight. Pasta and potatoes soften a little on reheating but keep well.
Good to know
Ground beef dinner FAQ
What can I make with ground beef?
A lot - this page collects 26 easy ground beef dinners across skillets, pasta, burgers and meatloaf, comfort classics, and soups and chili. Use the quick chooser at the top to jump to the style you want, or let the Random Food Generator pick one for you. Every idea links to a full recipe with its cost per plate shown.
What are the cheapest ground beef dinners?
Soups, pasta, and skillet dinners are the cheapest here - 19 of the 26 recipes come in under $2 a plate, and the cheapest is about $1.28 a serving. Stretching the beef with beans, rice, or pasta is what keeps the cost per plate down.
What ground beef dinners can I make in 30 minutes?
Plenty - 9 of these are ready in about 30 minutes or less, mostly the skillet dinners, tacos, sloppy joes, and stir fry in the Quick ground beef skillet dinners section up top.
Is ground beef cheaper than ground turkey?
They trade places by store and season, and both are among the cheapest proteins going. If you would rather cook lean, we keep a separate collection of ground turkey recipes priced the same way.
Do these ground beef meals freeze well?
Most do. The chili, soups, meatloaf, meatballs, and sloppy joe filling all freeze for 2 to 3 months; cool them completely, portion into airtight containers, and thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating until steaming hot.
Keep going
Continue exploring
All recipesthe complete browsable index50 easy dinner ideasour broad dinner collectionUnder $2 per plateevery recipe below two dollars a servingGround turkey recipesthe leaner ground-meat lineupPasta recipesbakes, skillets, and creamy platesSoup recipesbig-batch, freezer-friendly bowlsRandom Food Generatorlet us pick one dinnerBudget Meal Plannerplan a costed week of dinners