10 Irresistible Ground Beef Meal Prep Recipes for Healthy and Delicious Eating

Ground beef is a versatile, affordable, and protein-packed ingredient that's perfect for meal prepping. These recipes will help you stay on track with your dietary goals while enjoying flavorful and satisfying meals. Ground beef is a great source of protein, which is essential for building and repairing muscles. Ground beef is versatile, making it easy to incorporate into a variety of dishes. Ground beef is affordable and widely available, making it an accessible ingredient for meal prep on a budget.

Nutritional Benefits of Ground Beef

Ground beef is packed with essential vitamins and minerals, including iron, zinc, and B vitamins. Iron helps prevent anemia, while zinc supports immunity. However, it’s important to note that different types of ground beef can have varying levels of fat content.

Choosing the Right Ground Beef

If you're watching your calorie and fat intake, opt for leaner ground beef. For example, 80% lean ground beef will have more fat content than 93% lean ground beef. The fat also adds flavor and keeps it very moist and tender. Choose grass-fed beef if you can afford it, it’s more nutritious and tastes better. Typically, “healthy” beef refers to leaner cuts with no more than 5-10% fat content. Grass-fed beef tends to be lower in sodium and fat but higher in a few key vitamins than grain-fed varieties. Depending on your preferences, you may want to buy ground beef that’s certified organic or labeled hormone- and antibiotic-free. A local meat locker could be a good option to supply high-quality beef from your area. As another option, you could source high-quality beef from a delivery service.

Tips for Cooking and Storing Ground Beef

Cook a large batch of ground beef at once and freeze it in portions for later use.
Adding vegetables to ground beef not only increases the nutritional value of your meal, but it also helps to stretch the beef and make it more filling.
After cooking the ground beef, be sure to drain any excess fat to reduce calorie and fat intake if that matters to you.

Raw, uncooked ground beef can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before cooking. The same goes for pre-cooked and crumbled ground beef that is cooled and then stored in the fridge - you can safely store it there for up to 3 days. If frozen (whether raw or pre-cooked), ground beef will keep at good quality in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Defrosting Ground Beef Safely

I prefer to thaw ground beef overnight by placing it in the refrigerator 12-24 hours before using it in a recipe. This thawing method provides the most ideal results when it comes to flavor.

However, if you’re in more of a hurry or simply want to know your options, any of these methods will work:

Thaw overnight: Place the frozen ground beef package on a plate (to catch any thawing liquid) and place it in the refrigerator to thaw for 12 to 24 hours.
Defrost in 1 hour: Fill a bowl with cold water and submerge the frozen package of ground beef. Refill the bowl with cold water every 20-30 minutes. The beef should be thawed in about 1 hour and cooked right away.
Thaw in 5 minutes: Remove the frozen ground beef from the packaging and place it on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave it at 50% power for 2-3 minutes, rotating and flipping the ground beef every 30 seconds. You can then use the ground beef right away.

Ground Beef Meal Prep Recipe Ideas

Here are some delicious and healthy ground beef meal prep ideas to get you started:

Classic Dishes with a Healthy Twist

Meatloaf Muffins: A twist on your average meatloaf recipe. Prep ahead for healthy lunches, whip up for a quick dinner, and even make a double batch so you can freeze one for later. All ages love this meal!
Shepherd’s Pie: An updated twist on traditional shepherd’s pie is hearty, healthy, comfort food at its finest. It’s complete with ground beef, sneaky veggies, dried herbs, and a touch of chili powder, topped with a smooth layer of creamy, mashed sweet potatoes.
Pasta Casserole: Cheesy noodles and ground beef wrapped in a creamy sauce and topped off with crispy breadcrumbs, this old-fashioned pasta casserole is the very definition of family-friendly.
Tater Tot Casserole: Upgrade classic tater tot casserole with simple, real foods plus the addition of lots of veggies.

Bowls

Korean-Inspired Ground Beef Bowls: I often make these Korean-inspired ground beef bowls for a weekly meal prep option for my family of five. Packed with the most delicious Korean-inspired ground beef, tons of fresh vegetables, and rice, all of which can be made ahead of time.
Ginger Ground Beef Bowls: These freezer friendly Meal Prep Ginger Ground Beef Bowls are a quick and easy addition to your lunch rotation. These Ginger Ground Beef Bowls are packed with carrots, bell peppers, ground beef, fresh ginger, and a simple savory sauce to pull it all together. Serve with your choice of cauli rice or white rice!
Beef Bulgogi Bowls: These beef bulgogi bowls are my kind of meal prep-quick, flavor-packed, and seriously satisfying. Juicy, marinated ground beef gets that sweet-savory Korean BBQ vibe, piled over rice with crisp veggies and a drizzle of spicy mayo.
Thai Beef Bowls: These colorful bowls are full of Thai flavors and are so simple to make. The beef is cooked in a sweet Thai basil chili sauce until caramelized around the edges, then added to bowls of lemongrass rice with crunchy vegetables and aromatic herbs. The rice and beef components freeze well.
Burger Bowls: These infinitely customizable burger bowls mean you don’t even have to own a grill or form hamburger patties to enjoy everything you love about a classic burger meal!
Ground Beef Butternut Squash Meal Prep Bowls: Flavorful, wholesome, and super easy to make, these Ground Beef Butternut Squash Meal Prep Bowls are perfect for your next work lunch.

Skillets

Beef and Broccoli Skillet: This affordable beef and broccoli skillet is perfect for a quick weeknight meal or meal prep recipe. It comes together in under 30 minutes, has a simple ingredient list that makes it budget-friendly, and reheats well! It’s paleo, low-carb, Whole30, and gluten-free. You can add quinoa or rice to it for extra carbs.
Beef and Potatoes Skillet: With a mixture of potatoes, lean ground beef, onion, bell pepper, and spices, this beef and potatoes skillet will appeal to picky eaters and discerning palates alike. It’s nutritious and great for making ahead.
Philly Cheesesteak Skillet: The ground beef version has the classic flavors of a traditional cheesesteak sandwich but is made in under 20 minutes and is more affordable. Make it low-carb by swapping out the rice for cauliflower rice or steamed veggies. You can freeze the beef component with unmelted cheese portioned into containers, then thaw it out and reheat it in the oven.
Beef Skillet Enchiladas: This beef skillet enchiladas recipe is one of her favorite meals to feed her four hungry boys. It has all the savory, cheesy flavor of classic enchiladas but takes half the time to make. Made with corn tortillas, she loves that they’re naturally gluten-free, low-carb, and only takes 15 minutes to prep.
Mexican Zucchini Skillet: This is my new favorite way to use up end-of-summer zucchini. Combined in a single skillet and ready to eat in 30 minutes, this Mexican-inspired meal is quick to prepare but tastes like it took all day. My kids love to add their favorite toppings, and I love that they’re eating their veggies.

Wraps and Handhelds

Big Mac Wraps: If you love a Big Mac but want something a little lighter (and way easier to make at home), these Big Mac wraps are the move. Juicy seasoned beef, melty cheese, shredded lettuce, pickles, and that iconic sauce-all wrapped up for a meal prep-friendly, high-protein lunch.
Meal Prep Burritos: These meal prep burritos make busy weeknights a breeze. Juicy, spiced ground beef, hearty rice, and melty cheese, all wrapped up in a tortilla-what’s not to love? They freeze beautifully, reheat like a dream, and are naturally high in protein.
Quesadillas: Quesadillas are great for making ahead and it was one of the meals I made while pregnant and planning for post-partum days. Fill tortillas with perfectly-seasoned ground beef dotted with crisp corn and sweet bell peppers, top with cheese and fold. Wrap in foil and freeze or refrigerate! If frozen, thaw out in the fridge or out on the counter, or pop in a microwave for a minute. Otherwise, pan-fry in a tiny bit of oil, covered with a lid, until browned on each side and the cheese gets gooey and melted inside.
Baked Tacos: We love tacos around here, and you can never go wrong with classic ground beef baked tacos. I like to prepare a large batch of these sheet pan baked tacos and serve them alongside a topping bar for football game days.
Sloppy Joes: Made with lean ground beef, bell pepper, onion, and just the right spices, they’re a fun twist on a childhood favorite.

Soups and Chili

Ground Beef Vegetable Soup: This soup is a deeply savory, rich, and thick soup, complete with tender ground beef, loads of colorful veggies, and the most delicious broth! It’s a great candidate for making ahead of time- it only gets more flavorful as it sits! It reheats well and freezes great.
Sweet Potato Chili Casserole: This scrumptious sweet potato chili casserole is a unique take on a family favorite and delivers much flavor and just the perfect amount of sweetness. Great for storing and freezing!
Lasagna Soup: Lasagna lovers, meet soup lovers. Our social community manager, Ana, converged two comfort foods to create a warm and cozy soup that’s easy to make and has big lasagna flavors. I can’t get enough!
Cheeseburger Soup: Jess thinks this is the perfect soup recipe to enjoy on a chilly day, and I have to agree. It has the rich flavor of a perfect cheeseburger with the comfort and creaminess of a perfect soup.
Taco Soup: This taco soup is my favorite way to level up Taco Tuesday. Veggie-loaded, wholesome, hearty, and full-flavor, this Mexican-inspired soup is a quick, tasty, and healthy ground beef recipe with endless topping possibilities. Even better, it’s meal prep and freezer-friendly, making this a delicious reheat-and-eat meal that you can enjoy in the days and weeks to come.
Sweet Potato Chili: This comforting, cozy chili recipe is exactly what Jess craves when the weather starts to get chilly. High-quality protein and vitamin-loaded sweet potatoes make the base of this flavorful, easy chili, meaning it fits into many special diets.
Pumpkin Chili: Stacie put a twist on classic chili recipes with this crowd-pleasing chili that incorporates canned pumpkin for a touch of sweetness, fiber, and vitamin A. This is one of my favorite chili recipes of all time and I look forward to making it every fall. It’s thick, chunky, spicy, packed with fiber, and all the right chili flavorings like diced green chiles, smoked paprika, cumin, and chili powder.

Meatballs and Meatloaf

Greek Meatballs (Keftedes/Keftethes): These Greek Meatballs (Keftedes/Keftethes) are tender, juicy, bright, satisfying and dripping with lemon, garlic, dill and oregano flavors. They are easy to whip up and can be cooked on the stove or in the oven.
Sheet Pan Meatballs with Green Sauce: Juicy little sheet pan meatballs that are salty, zesty, briney, and so so delicious. Make them and the punchy green sauce ahead of time. Then pile into bowls with extra tzatziki and a simple salad. Feel free to add rice, quinoa, or a handful of chickpeas.
Asian Style BBQ Meatballs: These Asian Style BBQ meatballs with zippy orange hoisin sauce are quick to prep and cook in just 30 minutes. Natural ingredients, no refined sugar options, and packed with lean protein, they are great for meal prep planning and freezer-friendly.
Barbecue Meatloaf Muffins: Shaping the barbecue sauce-infused ground beef into mini meatloaves shortens the cooking time so she can get this dinner on the table faster. These adorable meatloaf muffins are almost too cute to eat! But once you taste one, you’ll scarf them down without remorse.
Italian Meatballs: Molly is a huge fan of Italian food, and these savory, cheesy meatballs are one of her favorite ways to enjoy bold, herbaceous flavors in a high-protein recipe that both her husband and kids look forward to eating.
Easy Tomato Sauce Meatballs: Stacie loves to serve this super-easy meatball recipe as a party appetizer or a quick, one-pan weeknight meal. Perfect for a protein and fiber punch, these tender, savory meatballs combine with a dairy-free tomato sauce for a quick, comfort food meal that even her little ones can’t resist.
Teriyaki Meatballs: Jess managed to develop this recipe for super flavorful homemade teriyaki meatballs with fewer than ten ingredients. That even includes a delicious and cleaned-up homemade teriyaki sauce recipe with the iconic sweet-salty and gooey-delicious glaze that Asian-inspired teriyaki dishes are known for.

Other Dishes

Picadillo: Picadillo is a warm, satisfying, intensely flavorful Latin American dish made with ground beef, potatoes, onions, bell peppers, carrots, and raisins all simmered together in a seasoned tomato sauce. Serve with rice or in a taco, stuffed peppers, tostadas, burritos, enchiladas or empanadas. You can see how it’s the perfect meal prep dish!
Stuffed Peppers: This is Ana’s take on traditional stuffed peppers, and the southwest-style filling makes for a yummy, gluten-free, and veg-filled meal that keeps her family coming back for more.
Stuffed Zucchini: When she has a bumper crop of zucchini from her garden, Molly makes this stuffed zucchini recipe nearly every week in the summer. It’s the perfect way to use up a favorite veggie and sneak more nutrients into her family meals.
Pizza Burger: This is Molly’s favorite meal when she can’t decide between two all-American favorites: a pizza or a burger. This recipe does it all! Our kid-friendly grilled pizza burger will leave your memories of a boring old cheeseburger in the dust.
Southwestern Baked Beans: Here’s a Southwestern twist on traditional baked beans, plus it’s so easy to make in the slow cooker. This recipe is Ana’s go-to for a great barbecue side dish or an entire meal.
Taco Pasta Skillet: This is Stacie’s favorite way to make good use of leftover taco meat in an easy, one-skillet recipe.
Italian Wedding Soup Pasta: Jess is all about making comfort foods a little more nutritious, and this Italian-inspired meal is one of her favorite ways to do just that.
Mongolian Beef Meal Prep Bowls: These Mongolian beef meal prep bowls are perfect if you are craving take out, but want to keep things healthier. Mongolian beef involves pan frying thin slices of flank steak, and serving it up in a brown sauce that includes soy sauce and/or hoisin. Serve over cauliflower rice and you have yourself some low carb Mongolian beef!

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