21 Ways to Cook with Ground Beef Beyond Burgers

Think outside the bun

By SAVEUR Editors
Updated: January 23, 2019

Ground beef just might be the ingredient heard around the world. Although it's essential for building burgers, packing patty is hardly the only thing to do with hamburger meat.

You can fold fatty ground beef into little dumplings (pro-tip: consult our guide to homemade dumplings), or crumble lean ground beef into an egg or potato hash to up your weekend breakfast game. When it comes to meals to make with ground beef, the recipe possibilities are endless. From Italian meat sauce to Chinese dumplings to homemade chili, here are some of our best ground beef recipes and ideas to try any time of year.

Grilled Beef Kebabs with Pickled Persimmons

Grilled Beef Kebabs with Pickles Persimmons
Minimally-spiced Romanian beef kebabs are grilled until lightly charred and served with intense, bright pickled persimmons in this take on Israeli street food. Get the recipe for Grilled Beef Kebabs with Pickled Persimmons »Matt Taylor-Gross

Meat-Filled Khinkali Dumplings

Spiced khinkali
Spiced khinkali, or pork and beef dumplings, from Tasting Georgia Get the recipe for Meat-Filled Khinkali Dumplings »Kat Craddock

Beef Dolmas with Apricots and Tamarind

Beef Dolmas
In the Syrian Jewish kitchen, this Middle Eastern basic gets a sweet-and-sour spin. Get the recipe for Beef Dolmas with Apricots and Tamarind »Matt Taylor-Gross

Cabbage Dolmas

cabbage dolmas
In Armenian and nearby Middle Eastern cuisines, dolma refers to a family of stuffed vegetable dishes, most often wrapped in grape or cabbage leaves. You can use this same meat-and-rice filling—and a similar steaming technique—to hollow out and stuff zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, or peppers. Dolmas taste best warm, and leftovers can be resteamed one or more times as desired. Get the recipe for Cabbage Dolmas »William Hereford

Tagliatelle Bolognese

Tagliatelle Bolognese
At La Trattoria di Oscar in Bevagna, Italy, chef Filippo Artioli uses a beef and chicken stock to cook the pasta for his robust ragù, made with fat-rich beef belly. Get the recipe for Tagliatelle Bolognese »Matt Taylor-Gross

Kill City Chili

Kill City Chili
This chili of beef and red kidney beans is flavored with dark chile powder and curry powder. Get the recipe for Kill City Chili »Ingalls Photography

Summer Bolognese

Simple Weeknight Meal, Summer bolognese
This simple pasta has the comfort of a classic bolognese, but without the heaviness of a red sauce, instead embracing the summer's bounty of gorgeous tomatoes and fresh basil. Get the recipe for Summer Bolognese »Farideh Sadeghin

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe
Lou Di Palo shared his grandmother's recipe for the meatballs that he sells at his family's store, Di Palo's Fine Foods, in New York City; they're composed of pork, beef, and veal and flavored with four kinds of cheese. Get the recipe for Spaghetti and Meatballs »Jasmine P. Ting

Spinach, Beef, and Egg Hash

Spinach, Beef, and Egg Hash
This easy one-pan breakfast is just the thing for a fulfilling breakfast that comes together in the blink of an eye. Get the recipe for Spinach, Beef, and Egg Hash »Matt Taylor-Gross

Crystal Palace's Hunan Dumplings with Peanut Sauce

Crystal Palace Hunan Pork and Peanut Dumplings
The now-shuttered Crystal Palace of Montreal used to serve these beef dumplings as an homage to the Quebecois favorite, peanut butter dumplings. Get the recipes for Crystal Palace's Hunan Dumplings with Peanut Sauce »Matt Taylor-Gross

Pan-Fried Spicy Beef Dumplings

pan-fried spicy beef dumplings
In these delightfully rich dumplings, homemade or store-bought chile oil is balanced by freshness from scallions and ginger and sweetness from oyster sauce. To maximize the crispy surface area, stretch and arc the shape of the raw dumpling slightly. Get the recipe for Pan-Fried Spicy Beef Dumplings »Heami Lee

Classic Meatballs

Classic Meatballs
The key to making these meatballs is to brown them first in a skillet and then braise them in a sauce of red wine and tomatoes. Serve them with crusty bread or spaghetti to sop up the sauce. Get the recipe for Classic Meatballs »Todd Coleman

Japanese Hamburger Steak

Japanese Hamburger Steak
At Ethel's Grill on Oahu, Hawaii, juicy pork-and-beef patties are served over salty-sweet ponzu sauce and crisp cabbage, and topped with grated daikon and spicy sprouts. Get the recipe for Japanese Hamburger Steak »James Oseland

American Chop Suey

American Chop Suey
This delicious dish known as "American chop" in diner-ese is similar to the all-American classic chili mac. Get the recipe for American Chop Suey »Ben Fink

Sichuan Tofu and Ground Beef in Red Chile Sauce (Mapo Tofu)

Sichuan Tofu and Ground Beef in Red Chile Sauce (Mapo Tofu)
This spicy braise, garnished with mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns, is one of the region's most well-known dishes. Get the recipe for Sichuan Tofu and Ground Beef in Red Chile Sauce »Ariana Lindquist

Beef and Lamb Koftas with Mustard

Beef and Lamb Koftas with Mustard
Ground lamb adds rich flavor to this traditional Turkish meatballs. Serve them simply with mustard for a first course, or with rice or pasta for something more substantial. Get the recipe for Beef and Lamb Koftas with Mustard »Cem Talu

Spiced Ground Beef Patties (Shami Kebabs)

Spiced Ground Beef Patties (Shami Kebabs)
The recipe for these kebabs, which can also be made with lamb, is adapted from Charmaine O'Brien's Recipes from an Urban Village (The Hope Project, 2003). Get the recipe for Shami Kebabs »Ingalls Photography

Meat Loaf

Meat Loaf
The secret to making a light meat loaf is to handle it as little as possible. Get the recipe for Meat Loaf »Laura Sant

Classic Easy Lasagna

Lasagna
Lasagna gets a bad rap for being a labor-intensive dish, but with a few shortcuts, like starting with store-bought lasagna sheets, you can make a great version any night of the week. Get the recipe for Classic Easy Lasagna »Farideh Sadeghin

Chiles Rellenos con Picadillo (Poblano Chiles Stuffed with Spiced Beef)

Chiles Rellenos con Picadillo
This stuffed, fried chile, a specialty of Julin Contreras of Restaurante Pueblo Mio in the town of Tehuantepec, in southeastern Oaxaca state, has a sumptuous ground beef filling dotted with olives and raisins. Get the recipe for Chiles Rellenos con Picadillo (Poblano Chiles Stuffed with Spiced Beef) »Todd Coleman

Sweet and Sour Potted Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Potted Meatballs
The recipe for these potted meatballs is adapted from Arthur Schwartz's Jewish Home Cooking: Yiddish Recipes Revisited (Ten Speed Press, 2008).Todd Coleman

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