18 Healthy Recipes to Make with a Pound of Ground Beef (2024)

Lean ground beef is a great ingredient to have on hand for healthy dinners. It's quick-cooking, inexpensive and packed with protein for a satisfying meal that the whole family will love. But if you're getting bored with the same old ground beef go-tos, recipes like Skillet Beef Potpie with Buttermilk Biscuits and Cauliflower Rice-Stuffed Peppers are creative, delicious and use the entire pound of ground beef.

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Enchilada Tostadas

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It's easy to make your own lower-sodium enchilada sauce to add rich flavor to these fresh and light tostadas.

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Cauliflower Rice-Stuffed Peppers

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18 Healthy Recipes to Make with a Pound of Ground Beef (1)

Slash the calories and carbs of traditional stuffed peppers by swapping white rice for cauliflower "rice." The riced cauliflower is hearty and won't turn to mush during baking. Use an assortment of red, yellow, orange and green peppers to make an appealing presentation.

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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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Taco Lettuce Wraps

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18 Healthy Recipes to Make with a Pound of Ground Beef (3)

Don't limit yourself to lettuce for this low-carb, gluten-free taco lettuce wrap recipe--any fresh green sturdy enough to wrap around 1/2 cup of filling works.

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Skillet Beef Potpie with Buttermilk Biscuits

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Sweet & Sour Beef-Cabbage Soup

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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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Pressure-Cooker Meatloaf & Potatoes

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18 Healthy Recipes to Make with a Pound of Ground Beef (6)

Meatloaf and potatoes cook together in your multicooker, such as the Instant Pot, in this weeknight-ready recipe. Cooking meatloaf in your pressure cooker keeps it nice and moist and, once assembled, the whole meal is cooked in just 20 minutes!

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Turkish Beef Patties with Eggplant, Pepper & Tomato

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18 Healthy Recipes to Make with a Pound of Ground Beef (7)

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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American Goulash

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18 Healthy Recipes to Make with a Pound of Ground Beef (8)

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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Spicy Meatloaf with Collards

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18 Healthy Recipes to Make with a Pound of Ground Beef (9)

Plenty of dark leafy greens deliver the moisture needed to balance lean ground pork and beef in this spicy meatloaf recipe. Serve any leftovers with extra ketchup as meatloaf sandwiches.

Ground Beef Stroganoff

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18 Healthy Recipes to Make with a Pound of Ground Beef (10)

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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Beef Kofta with Bulgur & Kale Salad

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Whole grains take too long to cook, you say? Well, say hello to bulgur, which can be ready in less than 15 minutes. Try this Middle Eastern-inspired healthy dinner recipe topped with plain yogurt or store-bought tzatziki for an extra hit of creamy flavor.

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Baked Beans with Ground Beef

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18 Healthy Recipes to Make with a Pound of Ground Beef (12)

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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Cowboy Beef & Bean Chili

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18 Healthy Recipes to Make with a Pound of Ground Beef (13)

Anything but dainty, this healthy cowboy beef and bean chili recipe is hearty with the addition of mushrooms and beer. To keep the saturated fat low, we use one pound of ground beef and add whole-grain bulgur to boost the volume and fiber in this chili recipe. After all the ingredients are added to the pot, we like to slowly simmer our chili for close to an hour to develop the best flavor, but if you're in a hurry, reduce the liquid by half and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.

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Bacon & Mango Tango Sliders

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18 Healthy Recipes to Make with a Pound of Ground Beef (14)

With a touch of sweet from the mango, savory from the bacon, plus a creamy avocado spread, this healthy slider recipe with takes burgers to a whole new level. Double the avocado mayo and use it for your next BLT.

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Southern Beefy Skillet

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Make this entire meal in one skillet! The beef soaks up the flavor from the vegetables and herbs, making it juicy and full of flavor.

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Mini Meatloaves with Green Beans & Potatoes

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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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Hamburger Buddy

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18 Healthy Recipes to Make with a Pound of Ground Beef (17)

Very finely chopping onion, mushrooms and carrots in the food processor is not only fast--it makes the vegetables hard to detect for picky eaters. They also form the base for the sauce of this ground beef skillet supper. Make it a meal: Serve with a green salad.