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3 recipes · 26 Oct 2026

What to make with ground beef

A pound of ground beef, or hamburger meat, is the most common start to a weeknight dinner. Three easy ways to use it, none of them a burger.

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Ground beef and hamburger meat are the same thing: minced beef, usually 15 to 20% fat. That fat is flavour, so brown it hard, pour off what you don't need, and let the rest carry the spices, the soy or the cheese.

Each recipe below started from a different fridge, and none of them needs potatoes (that has its own page). Cheffify picked the dish and kept the shopping list short.

Quick Beef and Bean Tacos
AI-generated photo. Your dish will look a little different.

Quick Beef and Bean Tacos

  • 25 min
  • Serves 4
  • 480 kcal a serving
  • Easy
  • Mexican-American

These simple, hearty tacos combine savory ground beef and seasoned kidney beans for a satisfying dinner that comes together in minutes.

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Made with Cheffify’s AI from these ingredients

In the fridge ground beef, tortillas, cheddar, onion, canned kidney beans, lettuce, salsa

Used from the fridge
ground beeftortillascheddaronioncanned kidney beanslettucesalsa
Worth buying (optional)
  • + sour cream adds a nice cooling creaminess
From the pantry
saltblack peppercooking oilgarlicchili powdercumin

Ingredients

  • 500g ground beef
  • 400g canned kidney beans
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 8 medium tortillas
  • 150g cheddar
  • 2 cups lettuce
  • ½ cup salsa
  • 1 tbsp cooking oil

Allergens: contains milk, gluten (wheat). Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes.

Calories
480 kcal
Protein
28 g
Carbs
35 g
Fat
22 g

Per serving, estimated by AI.

Method

  1. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Drain and rinse the kidney beans.
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned and no longer pink (ensure it reaches 71°C/160°F).
  3. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, and cumin. Add the rinsed kidney beans and cook for another 3-5 minutes until heated through and flavors have melded. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Warm the tortillas in a dry pan or microwave for a few seconds until pliable. Shred the cheddar cheese and shred the lettuce.
  5. Assemble the tacos by spooning the beef and bean mixture onto each tortilla, then topping with lettuce, cheddar, and salsa as desired.

Tip To make your tacos extra crunchy, you can lightly toast the tortillas in a pan with a tiny bit of oil until they crisp up slightly before filling them.

Ground Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
AI-generated photo. Your dish will look a little different.

Ground Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry

  • 25 min
  • Serves 2
  • 550 kcal a serving
  • Easy
  • Asian-inspired

A quick, savory stir-fry that pairs crispy ground beef with tender-crisp broccoli, perfect for a busy weeknight dinner.

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Made with Cheffify’s AI from these ingredients

In the fridge ground beef, rice, broccoli, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, spring onions

Used from the fridge
ground beefricebroccolisoy saucegarlicgingerspring onions
Worth buying (optional)
  • + sesame oil adds a nice nutty aroma
From the pantry
cooking oilsugarsaltblack pepper

Ingredients

  • 400g ground beef
  • 1 cup rice
  • 300g broccoli
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp ginger
  • 2 stalks spring onions
  • 1 tbsp cooking oil
  • 1 tsp sugar

Allergens: contains gluten (wheat), soy. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes.

Calories
550 kcal
Protein
35 g
Carbs
60 g
Fat
20 g

Per serving, estimated by AI.

Method

  1. Cook the rice according to package instructions. If using leftover rice, ensure it is steaming hot all the way through.
  2. Cut the broccoli into small, bite-sized florets. Finely chop the garlic, ginger, and the white parts of the spring onions (keep the green parts for garnish).
  3. Heat half the oil in a large pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli with a splash of water, cover, and steam for 3-4 minutes until bright green and tender-crisp. Remove from the pan.
  4. Add the remaining oil to the pan. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, ensuring it reaches 71°C/160°F. Drain any excess fat if necessary.
  5. Add the garlic, ginger, and white spring onion parts to the beef. Sauté for 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in the soy sauce and sugar.
  6. Return the broccoli to the pan and toss everything together for 1-2 minutes until well coated and hot. Serve immediately over the rice, garnished with the sliced green spring onion tops.

Tip For an extra layer of flavor, drizzle a tiny bit of toasted sesame oil over the finished dish before serving.

Classic Beef and Tomato Pasta Bake
AI-generated photo. Your dish will look a little different.

Classic Beef and Tomato Pasta Bake

  • 40 min
  • Serves 4
  • 550 kcal a serving
  • Easy
  • Italian-American

A comforting, hearty pasta bake that uses your ground beef and pantry staples to create a rich, cheesy dinner.

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Made with Cheffify’s AI from these ingredients

In the fridge ground beef, pasta, canned tomatoes, cheddar, onion, milk

Used from the fridge
ground beefpastacanned tomatoescheddaronion
Left for another day
  • milk Not needed for this pasta sauce
Worth buying (optional)
  • + fresh parsley Adds a nice pop of color
From the pantry
saltblack peppercooking oilgarlicdried Italian herbssugar

Ingredients

  • 500g ground beef
  • 400g pasta
  • 800g canned tomatoes
  • 1 onion
  • 150g cheddar
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp cooking oil
  • 1 tsp dried Italian herbs
  • ½ tsp sugar

Allergens: contains milk, gluten (wheat). Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes.

Calories
550 kcal
Protein
28 g
Carbs
65 g
Fat
20 g

Per serving, estimated by AI.

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F). Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the package instructions; drain and set aside.
  2. While the water boils, heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until it reaches 71°C/160°F and is no longer pink.
  3. Stir in minced garlic, dried herbs, canned tomatoes, and sugar. Simmer for 10 minutes to thicken the sauce slightly. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Combine the cooked pasta and meat sauce in a large baking dish. Top evenly with the grated cheddar cheese.
  5. Bake for 15–20 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown. Serve hot.

Tip If the sauce tastes too acidic from the canned tomatoes, add a tiny pinch more sugar; it balances the flavor perfectly.

Swaps

Missing something, or cooking for a different diet? These work in the recipes above.

Hamburger meat
It is ground beef by another name: use it one for one in all three.
Lean beef (5% fat)
Add a splash more oil when browning; there is little fat to pour off.
Ground turkey or chicken
Works in all three. Cook it until no pink is left (74°C, 165°F).
Gluten-free
Use corn tortillas, tamari instead of soy sauce and gluten-free pasta.

What to buy to finish it

Every recipe works with what it lists. These optional extras are what Cheffify suggested to lift each one.

Pantry basics these recipes assume

saltblack peppercooking oilgarlicchili powdercuminsugardried italian herbs

Good to know

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Tell Cheffify what’s in your fridge. It picks what goes together, writes the recipe and tells you what it left out. Your first recipe is free, with no account needed.

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How these recipes were made

Each recipe started as the fridge list shown with it. Cheffify’s AI (the same Chef’s Pick you get in the app) chose what goes together and wrote the recipe on 26 Oct 2026, and an image model made the photo. We read every recipe before publishing, but they haven’t been tested in a test kitchen. Times and nutrition are estimates, and the allergen notes only cover the listed ingredients.

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