Meals with ground beef and pasta
Ground beef and pasta is the foundation of classic comfort food — meat sauce, skillet pasta, simple bolognese.
Most of these come together in under 30 minutes with minimal equipment.
Easy meal ideas
Meat sauce pasta
Brown beef with onion and garlic, add tomato sauce, simmer 15 minutes, toss with pasta.
Beef pasta skillet
Brown beef, add dry pasta and broth, cook in the same pan until pasta is tender.
Quick bolognese
Cook beef with onion, garlic, and tomato paste. Add a splash of milk. Toss with pasta.
Beef mac and cheese
Make simple mac and cheese, stir in seasoned cooked ground beef.
How to stretch these ingredients
- Brown the beef properly — don't move it too much, let it get color
- Tomato paste or even ketchup works when you don't have tomato sauce
- Pasta water makes the sauce stick to the noodles better
- A splash of milk in bolognese makes it richer and less acidic
- Any pasta shape works for meat sauce — use what you have