3 Ways to Use Sautéed Ground Beef

Ground beef is an affordable protein staple to have on hand for quick & flavorful weeknight meals!

It’s really versatile and once it’s cooked you can use it in so many different dishes & cuisines! 

We’ll break down ground beef basics, how to add BIG flavor, and then look at the cooking method behind the recipe so that you can use sautéed ground beef in 3 new ways!

Ground Beef Basics: 

Lean to Fat Percentages

70% Lean / 30% Fat — This is usually the most affordable, but that also means it will cook down the most…leaving you with less meat at the end of cooking. It will also have a ton of flavor because of the fat, but this is not my favorite distribution. 

80% Lean / 20% Fat — For burgers, meatballs, and meatloaf this is a go to mix…tons of flavor from the fat & you won’t see as much shrinkage because the percentage of lean meat is higher. 

90% Lean / 10% Fat — This is the most expensive of the options, and technically the “healthiest”…because of the lower fat percentage. It’s not ideal for burgers, because of the low fat content…but you can get away with using it in sauces like bolognese or in stuffed veggies (like we’ll chat about in a bit). 

Grades 

The USDA assigns grades to beef: prime, choice, and select.

• Prime grade – comes from well-fed, young cows. It’s the highest grade & likely had lots of marbling.

• Choice grade – most abundant in the grocery store, still high quality, juicy, and flavorful.

• Select grade – will be leaner and less juicy. Anything below the select grade is considered ungraded, and these are often generic store-brand meats that may come ground in tubes.

Ground Beef Recipe Inspo: 

Cooking Method 

I’m all about teaching the cooking method behind the recipe…so that with one skill, you can cook anything & everything!

So, with that in mind let’s talk about sautéing ground beef. 

Sautéing is a cooking method that uses a small amount of oil or fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat.  

Fun fact! The word sauté comes from the French verb sauter, which means "to jump," and describes not only how food reacts when placed in a hot pan but also the method of tossing the food in the pan.

With ground beef, especially if you’re using 80/20, you won’t need to add oil to the pan because the fat will render or melt away from the meat, when cooked. 

Sautéing Ground Beef | Cooking Method

• Heat your pan over medium high heat. (choose a pan that is big enough to hold the meat, and still have more space…give it some air!)

• Add ground beef to a hot pan. 

• Stir ground beef with a wooden spoon or spatula, breaking it up and ensuring it browns. 

• Cook until no red pieces remain or until it temps at 155°F.

So that’s the basics to sautéing ground beef…you can do so much more to it…but if you just want to get some beef cooked…that’s all you need to do.

Building Flavor 

Herbs & Spices — check out these tips on when and how to add herbs & spices to a dish. 

Flavorful Liquids — add these in during the cooking process 

• soy sauce 

• Worcestershire sauce 

• Tomato paste 

• curry packet and/or coconut milk 

• wine, beer, vinegar 

Spin a globe — (metaphorical or literal) & choose a country flavor profile to add to the beef

• Mexico — cumin, coriander, oregano 

• Italian — basil, rosemary, oregano 

• Asian — garlic, ginger, lemongrass

The Cooking Method Itself —

Sautéing, itself, actually builds flavor in a dish. Brown bits called fond, develop in the pan…add liquid & use a wooden spoon to release those bits back into the ground beef for added flavor. 

Ground Beef Recipes:

So you bought a ton of ground beef & now you want to use it in a few different ways! Okay, let’s do it! 

Tacos or Burritos

This is a pretty common use for ground beef, especially on taco Tuesday or DIY taco night…or perhaps those nights are one and the same! 

Level up your ground beef into “taco meat” without those salt-heavy seasoning packets. 

Add the following per pound of cooked ground beef.*

2t chili powder 

1/4t garlic powder 

1/4t onion powder 

1/4t red pepper flakes 

1/4t dried oregano

1/4t paprika 

1t ground cumin 

1/2t salt

Layer you ground beef in your fave taco shell, tortilla, burrito, over rice, or greens. Load it up with your fave veggies, cheese, sour cream…whatever you like & enjoy! This is a great opportunity to eat the rainbow…aim for at least three colors (ex: tomato, guac, red cabbage)! 

*Pro-tip…add these spices in 2-3 minutes into the cooking process when the fat starts to release from the beef. These flavors will infuse in the fat & make it super flavorful! 

Stuffed Zucchini, Tomatoes, Peppers 

Love seeing perfectly stuffed veggies on Pinterest…but feel like that’s too challenging to achieve on a weeknight? Think again! 

With any of these recipes…you can sauté your beef in a large batch ahead of time & then use you’re already cooked beef to make a delicious meal with half the cook time! 

So, with that in mind…let’s go for Italian-inspired stuffed veggies

1lb cooked ground beef (already cooked & chilled or still hot) 

1- 15oz can diced tomatoes or tomato purée

1 packet of microwave rice or 1 1/2 cups cooked rice*

2t dried basil

2t dried thyme

1t dried oregano 

2t salt or to taste

4 bell peppers or large tomatoes, or zucchini 

• Combine your cooked ground beef, tomato product, rice, herbs and salt in a bowl — mix well.**

• Prep your veggie of choice: 

  • cut the tops from the bell peppers & remove the seeds and membranes 

  • slice the top of the tomato & scoop out the seeds and membrane

  • remove the ends from the zucchini and slice it lengthwise, remove the inner seeded area with a spoon

• Stuff the veggie of your choice with the beef & rice mix. 

• Roast in 425°F oven for 25-35 minutes (until internal temp is 155°F). Optionally, added grated cheese to the top of the veggies for the last 5 minutes of cooking. 

*Quinoa or any grain you already have cooked would also work! 

**Have other veggies sautéed? Add them! I love using a food processor to mince carrots & mushrooms, then sauté them, and add them to this mix! 

Easy Thai Basil Beef Bowl 

You can make so many different kinds of “bowls” with ground beef…but I love Thai flavors so I’m sharing this one…but remember that it’s all about the method so you can do this with an Indian-inspired bowl with a curry base & coconut or a Mexican bowl…with cumin, coriander, tomatillos, and fresh cilantro.
Thai food always has a ton of flavor — it’s because Thai food is really well balanced in the flavor department…acidic, sweet, savory/umami, maybe even spicy! This is no different! 

Beef Bowl

2T olive oil 

1lb ground beef 

1 onion, thinly sliced*

1 bell pepper, thinly sliced*

4 cloves garlic, grated on a microplane or minced 

1c Thai basil leaves, divided 

1/4c Cilantro (optional) 

Sauce

1T Chili paste (sambal) 

2T soy sauce 

1T fish sauce 

1T brown sugar

2T lime juice 

• Combine all of the sauce ingredients and set aside. 

• Heat oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the ground beef & cook until browned, breaking it up with a spoon and stirring often, about 6 minutes.

• Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the beef and cook until vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes.

• Pour in the sauce mixture and cook for 30-45 seconds. 

• Turn off the heat and add 3/4 cup of the basil (saving fresh leaves to finish the dish).

• Serve over rice topped with fresh basil and fresh cilantro.

*Pro-tip: You can use frozen stir-fry veggies instead of prepping!!!

Other meals you can make with ground beef:

Fried Rice | Quick Chili | Burgers | Stir Fry