Calling all families with picky eaters! If weeknight meals are a struggle in your house, keep ground beef stocked in your freezer for these delicious and kid friendly dishes.
Ground beef is a staple in my home because it’s so simple to prepare in a variety of ways. Plus, you can buy it vacuumed sealed now so it lasts for weeks in the fridge or years in the freezer. Toss it into pasta or rice, stuff it into a burrito, serve it over a salad, mix it with potatoes, or bake it into a casserole. The possibilities are endless.
My family also enjoys leftovers because it gives us a night free from cooking and washing dishes. Unlike chicken or steak, ground beef is just as good the next day simply reheated in the microwave. That’s my kind of dinner! Quick, easy, budget friendly, and tasty.
Quick and delicious meals for a family with kids!
1. Cheesy Ground Beef Potato Casserole
Nothing says comfort food more than beef and potatoes! Thanks to a bag of frozen potatoes, this yummy dinner is effortless to toss together for a casual dinner at home with the family. Toss in some green beans or broccoli for added nutrition.
2. Cheesy Baked Tortellini & Meat Sauce
If crazy delicious is what you’re after, impress your family with cute pasta tossed with meat sauce and lots of gooey cheese. Serve this heavenly dish with a side of salad and watch as your picky kids lick their plates clean.
3. Tater Tot Casserole
Crispy fried potatoes layered on top of cheesy beef and veggies. If that doesn’t get you excited, then you must not be hungry yet! I get a little happy every time I make this.
4. Smashed Cheeseburger Tacos
Everyone loves a classic cheeseburger, but if you want to take it up a notch, try this classic American food in crispy tortillas instead. Less bread, more meat! It’s a really fun twist that can be made on your stove top or outdoors on a griddle.
5. Chopped Cheeseburger Biscuits
Speaking of hamburgers, what if we swap the boring buns for buttery biscuits? Yes, please. The convenient thing about this recipe is it can be made in your oven when you’re craving a cheesy burger.
6. Stuffing Meatloaf
Meatloaf made easy! And better. The addition of a box of stuffing in this recipe turns a classic meatloaf into something you’d actually want to eat again. That combined with the ketchup gives this recipe an explosion of sweet and savory flavors.
7. Taco Mac & Cheese
For an extra lazy weeknight meal, simply combine taco seasoned ground beef, a can of tomatoes, and a few boxes of macaroni and cheese! You’re gonna wonder why you haven’t made this easy dinner sooner.
8. Lazy Shepherd’s Pie
This delicious combination of ingredients has every food group included in one baking dish. A layer of flavorful ground beef and veggies topped with cheesy mashed potatoes. Make it as simple or as timely as you’d like with store-bought potatoes, homemade, or even boxed.
9. Cheeseburger Pasta Casserole
This vintage dinner recipe has passed the test of time. It’s savory with a touch of sweetness making for a scrumptious dinner your picky eaters will as you to make again and again.
10. Frito Taco Pie
Dinner in the form of a PIE! I’m not sure how you can go wrong with that. Your kids are sure to love the whimsical pie slices filled with the flavor of all your favorite taco ingredients. The Pillsbury crescent dough makes this recipe a breeze to slap together.
Helpful Tips
- Costco sells a 3 pack of organic ground beef that can be purchased for much cheaper than the grocery store. The portion sizes are slightly larger than your standard one pound, so it goes a little further if you have large family to feed.
- If you like to save money, I highly recommend a Food Saver. You can vacuum seal just about anything and save it for later including ground beef. It’s great for buying meat in bulk when it’s on sale, cooking in bulk to free up busy school nights, and freezing leftovers if you don’t get around to eating them before expiration.
- If you like to meal prep, I suggest these Disposable Foil Pans with Lids so that you can freeze all sorts of casseroles. Most ground beef casseroles can be frozen before cooking, thawed the day before, and then baked as instructed.
- Ground turkey can also be used in place of ground beef in any of these recipes.
- A few other super simple ways to serve ground beef include your obvious burritos, tacos, rice bowls, and quesadillas, as well as taco salad, spaghetti, chili, lasagna, Sloppy Joes, etc. You can never run out of creative ways to prepare it!