What to Make With Ground Beef and Pantry Staples: 3 Fast Weeknight Dinners
The fridge is bare and the ground beef is the only thing that counts as dinner. You do not need a vegetable drawer for these three. They use rice, tortillas, beans, tomato, and cheese, the things that live in a cupboard. Salt the beef like you mean it. Pantry food tastes flat when the meat is shy. Got more in the fridge? Snap a photo and we'll pick dinner for you. Free.
Quick picks: 3 dinners with ground beef and pantry staples in 30 minutes or less
Fastest option: a 15-minute dinner
15 min
Beef and cheese quesadillas
Total time, start to plate · One skillet · serves 4 · Kid-friendly
A tortilla, leftover or just-browned ground beef, and cheese. Twelve minutes.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb ground beef
- 4 flour tortillas
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- 1/2 tsp salt
Steps
- Brown the ground beef with the salt, breaking it very small. Drain it.
- Sprinkle cheese and beef on half of each tortilla and fold.
- Toast in a dry skillet until both sides are spotted and the cheese is melted.
- Cut and eat. This is the dinner for the night the crisper is empty.
Keeps: Fillings keep 3 days. Toast the tortilla when you eat it.
One-pan or sheet-pan option
20 min
Beef and bean skillet
Total time, start to plate · One skillet · serves 4 · Kid-friendly
Half the beef, a can of beans, and chili powder. One skillet, no fresh onion required.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1 can beans
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup water
Steps
- Brown the ground beef with the chili powder and salt.
- Drain and rinse the beans, then add them with the water.
- Simmer until the liquid is almost gone and the beans have taken on the beef flavor.
- Mash a few beans to make it spoonable.
- Eat it from a bowl or a tortilla. No side is required tonight.
Keeps: Fridge for 3 days. It thickens. Good in a tortilla tomorrow.
The other dinner
25 min
Pantry tomato beef rice
Total time, start to plate · One pot · serves 4 · Kid-friendly
Ground beef, tomato paste, and raw rice cook in one pot. No fresh produce.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 cup rice
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 1 tsp salt
Steps
- Brown the ground beef with salt and cumin. Pour off the grease.
- Stir the tomato paste in until it smells sweet and a little dark.
- Add the rice and water. Stir once.
- Cover and cook 15 minutes. Rest 5. Don't turn it into porridge by stirring.
- Taste. Tomato paste needs the salt you think you already added.
Keeps: Fridge for 3 days. Add a splash of water to reheat.
Make it with leftovers
Cooked ground beef is enough for the quesadilla and the bean skillet. Warm it. The tomato rice wants the beef browned in the pot so the tomato has something to stick to. If the beef is already cooked, stir it in after the rice liquid goes in.
Pantry staples you'll need
- Salt
- Oil
- Cumin
- Tomato paste
- Rice
- Tortillas
- Canned beans
- Cheese
No rice and no tortillas: the bean skillet is the one that still works from cans. No beans: make the tomato rice. If you are truly out of starch, see the nothing-in-the-fridge page for pasta and tuna.
Picky-eater and healthy tweaks
Cheese and a tortilla is the peace treaty. The tomato rice can have the cumin scooped off a child's portion. Beans are the card most likely to get a no, so don't lead with that one.
Drain the fat. A can of beans stretches a half pound of beef into a full pan. You still get dinner without a second package of meat.
Have something else in the fridge?
Got more in the fridge? Snap a photo and we'll pick dinner for you. Free.
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Questions
What can I make with ground beef in 20 minutes?
Beef and cheese quesadillas takes 15 minutes, start to plate. A tortilla, leftover or just-browned ground beef, and cheese. Twelve minutes.
What's the easiest dinner with ground beef?
Beef and cheese quesadillas is the low-fuss one: one skillet, 15 minutes. A tortilla, leftover or just-browned ground beef, and cheese. Twelve minutes.
Can I make this with leftover or cooked ground beef?
Cooked ground beef is enough for the quesadilla and the bean skillet. Warm it. The tomato rice wants the beef browned in the pot so the tomato has something to stick to. If the beef is already cooked, stir it in after the rice liquid goes in.
What else can I add to ground beef for a full meal?
The cards already use ground beef, rice, tomato paste. A piece of fruit or a handful of frozen vegetables is enough if you want more on the plate. Don't make a second shopping trip.
Is ground beef a healthy dinner?
Drain the fat. A can of beans stretches a half pound of beef into a full pan. You still get dinner without a second package of meat.
How do I make ground beef kid-friendly?
Cheese and a tortilla is the peace treaty. The tomato rice can have the cumin scooped off a child's portion. Beans are the card most likely to get a no, so don't lead with that one.
Can I make ground beef in one pan or a sheet pan?
Beef and bean skillet uses one skillet and takes 20 minutes. Half the beef, a can of beans, and chili powder. One skillet, no fresh onion required.
What if I don't have the second ingredient?
No rice and no tortillas: the bean skillet is the one that still works from cans. No beans: make the tomato rice. If you are truly out of starch, see the nothing-in-the-fridge page for pasta and tuna.