15 Quick and Easy Ground Beef Dinner Recipes (2024)

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Beef Recipes
Ground Beef Recipes

They all take around 30 minutes (or less).

Meghan Splawn

Meghan Splawn is a food editor and on-air host who wants to make cooking for your family a little more fun. She'll probably introduce you to your favorite sprinkles.

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Updated on 02/7/23

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15 Quick and Easy Ground Beef Dinner Recipes (2)

Scenario: you pulled some ground beef from the freezer to thaw for dinner tonight because you already know that a pound of it can cook in about 8 minutes and be turned into tons of different dinners. The only problem is that you also need a dinner recipe that is super fast, easy, and that the whole family will love—after all you’ve got a busy night ahead.

The solution? One of these 15 dinner recipes that use ground beef and takes around 30 minutes from start to finish. Most of them can be made with kitchen staples like canned beans, dried pasta, or burger buns and are almost guaranteed to be crowd pleasers.

01 of 15
Best Ground Beef Tacos
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Whether it is actually a Tuesday (you know, for taco Tuesday) or you just need a handheld meal that can be eaten while everyone gets ready for baseball practice, these tacos are simple adaptation of a weeknight classic. Save even more time and swap all the individual toppings for a bagged slaw or salad.
02 of 15
Easy Stovetop Ground Beef Stroganoff
Classic Beef Stroganoff takes at least 40 minutes for tender beef, but if you swap the sirloin or chuck for ground beef you can make a creamy and comforting weeknight version in under 30 minutes. You can serve the saucy beef over noodles or rice, which are also quick cooking.
03 of 15
30-Minute Chili With Ground Beef and Beans
Every kitchen needs two kinds of chili—the long, slow cooking kind made on Sundays and the lightening fast version that can be made from a few pantry staples on a weeknight. This recipe is the latter and ideal for serving over baked potatoes (shortcut those in the microwave).
04 of 15
Indoor-Grilled Burger
If you think burgers are a weekend only recipe, think again. Burgers are actually very quick cooking and can be the on-the-fly dinner you need tonight. Bored of basic burgers? Try out Cajun Burgers or mix up Middle Eastern Spiced Burgers.
Continue to 5 of 15 below.
05 of 15
Big Mac Salad
This recipe will make you so happy you skipped the drive-thru! Seriously, this salad starts with seasoned ground beef and ends with special sauce all over crispy lettuce, creamy cheddar, and sweet tomatoes. You’ll be making this even when you aren’t super busy.
06 of 15
Instant Pot Sloppy Joes
From-scratch sloppy joes (that is not made from a canned base) take a little longer than you think—about 50 minutes with chopping and cooking all the vegetables! So you need these quick Instant Pot Sloppy Joes for those rush dinners, plus most of the cooking time is hands off.
07 of 15
Texas-Style Chili With Ground Beef and Pork
For those unfamiliar, Texas chili has tons of meat, deep flavor, and no beans. It cooks quickly and can be used for topping tortillas chips or hot dogs for a quick but filling dinner for a crowd.
See Also
18 Ground Beef Recipes That Are Anything But Ordinary
08 of 15
The Best Beefy Taco Salad Recipe
This taco salad has it all: tender peppers and onions, crunchy lettuce, and cool sour cream; But the best part of this recipe is actually the salsa cooked ground beef. You brown the beef and add both broth and salsa and then add French dressing off the heat. Sounds weird but this Tex-Mex mash up is a huge hit at the dinner table.
Continue to 9 of 15 below.
09 of 15
Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed peppers are a great way to use up leftovers but the classic oven baked method takes over 90 minutes to make. This Instant Pot version takes a third of the time and doesn’t require pre-cooking the ground beef before pressure cooking.
10 of 15
Easy Loaded Nachos Recipe
Nachos are one of the best vehicles for ground beef and this recipe turns the basic sheet pan method into a deep dish casserole of layered beef, cheese, and chips. After baking, top the whole thing with your favorite toppings or scoop up individual servings and let each diner top their own.
11 of 15
Moroccan Beef Koftas
Beef kebab lovers have long been hip to pressing seasoned ground beef onto skewers and grill, and now you can be too. You can cook these skewers on the grill or in a pan and then turn them into a meal with pita, hummus, and chopped fresh veggies in less than 30 minutes.
12 of 15
Beef and Bean Burritos
These burritos take just over 30 minutes, but the extra 5 minutes is totally worth it. The ground beef and beans are simmered with enchilada sauce and then wrapped up with cheese into a cozy burrito. You’ll even have time to crisp the finished burritos in a hot pan.
Continue to 13 of 15 below.
13 of 15
Meaty and Cheesy Stuffed French Bread
This sandwich is a little like a cheesesteak sandwich with its creamy comforting sauce, melty cheese, and tender beef on crispy bread—but, of course, it takes way less time.
14 of 15
Instant Pot Goulash
Goulash dishes range from long braised beef and lamb dishes to quick cooking ground beef varieties. This version utilizes the Instant Pot to cook both the beefy, tomato sauce and the pasta at the same time. From prep to pressure release, this goulash cooks in 24 minutes.
15 of 15
Walking Tacos
A walking taco is quite possibly the most fun dinner you can make with ground beef! You brown beef, season it with taco season, add some beans and serve this chili-like base inside a bag of Fritos. You can literally eat this dinner walking out the door, if you need to.