10 Things To Make With Leftover Ground Beef

Ground beef is a dinner mainstay for many of us.  So many things to do with it, it cooks up very quickly, and whatever you make with it is usually comforting and homey and satisfying and family friendly. 

But as with any dinner staple, we can get rut-like about how we make it.  So what else can you make with ground beef?  Here are 10 ways for putting that protein to work in delicious ways.

Many of these recipes call for browning the beef within the recipe itself, but if you have leftover already cooked ground beef you can skip the browning step and just add the cooked ground beef right in there. Obviously make sure the ground beef has been cooked simply, or with seasonings complimentary to the recipes you choose. You may need to adjust the amount of seasonings you add in the recipe if the beef has been fully seasoned. 

(P.S. as long as they are simply cooked, crumbled leftover hamburgers may work in these recipes as well!)

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What to Do with Ground Beef: 10 Simple Ground Beef Recipes

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1. Beef, Black Bean and Jalapeno Chili

Can you ever have too many chili recipes? Trick question.

 

2. One-Skillet Cheesy Beef and Macaroni

Full on crowd-pleasing comfort food.

 

3. Instant Pot Ziti “Lasagna” with Bolognese Sauce

The Instant Pot quickly makes cooked pasta, sauce, and cheese come together in a layered pasta dinner.  

 

4. Game Day Ground Beef Chili

A nice straightforward and simple chili recipe.  You can tailor the recipe to what you have on hands, different kinds of beans, different vegetables, and dial up the heat, or dial it down as your family prefers.

 

5. Nacho Bar

Ground beef makes a terrific nacho topping.  This is a great use for leftover browned ground beef, whether seasoned simply, or with Mexican, Southwestern, or Tex Mex seasonings.

 

6. Bolognese Sauce

This makes the cold weather a lot more tolerable.  Make a big pot, and you can also turn it into lasagna later in the week.

 

7. Cheesy Mashed Potato Topped Shepherd’s Pie

Leftover ground or chopped cooked lamb also works perfectly for this.  Also something to think about when you have leftover mashed potatoes on hand (I’ve also used packaged mashed potatoes for this, and no one knew or would have cared).

 

8. Cheesy Ground Beef Quesadillas

My family has never met a combo of ground beef and cheese that they didn’t like.  This simple ground beef recipe is a forever favorite, and one of my go-to ways to use leftover ground beef.

 

9. Classic Lasagna

Gouda and havarti give this hearty lasagna serious cheese flavor. Sub in the ground beef for the turkey sausage.

 

10. Cheesy Beef and Hash Brown Casserole

 

Crispy but tender shredded potatoes top a casserole of juicy ground beef bound together with a creamy cheesy sauce.

You may also be interested in 10 Things To Make With Leftover Shredded Chicken!