What can I make with hamburger meat?
Hamburger Meat is the ingredient most weeknight dinners get built around, and it rewards a little technique more than a long ingredient list. Below are recipes from our library that use hamburger meat, followed by the browning, temperature, and storage notes that make the difference between a good result and a grey one.
12 recipes with hamburger meat
Smash Burger
Thin, ultra-crispy burger smashed on a hot griddle.
American10m4Smashed Cheeseburger
Thin, crispy-edged beef patties with American cheese on a toasted bun.
American20m4
Ground Beef Tacos
Classic American-style hard shell beef tacos.
Mexican20m4
Loaded Nachos
Tortilla chips baked with cheese, beans, and every topping.
Tex-Mex20m4Sloppy Joes
Sweet-tangy saucy ground beef piled on soft buns.
American25m6
Patty Melt
Griddled rye sandwich with beef patty, caramelized onions, and Swiss.
American35m4Bibimbap
Mixed rice bowl with sautéed veggies, beef, and a fried egg.
Korean40m4Bibimbap
Korean rice bowl with sautéed vegetables, beef, fried egg, and gochujang.
Korean45m4Stuffed Bell Peppers
Bell peppers baked with a beef, rice, and tomato filling.
American45m6Empanadas
Flaky pastries stuffed with spiced beef.
Argentine50m6
Classic Beef Chili
Hearty American chili with beans and warm spices.
American60m6Swedish Meatballs
Tender meatballs in a rich creamy sauce, served with lingonberry jam and pickled cucumbers.
Scandinavian60m4
How to cook hamburger meat so it stays tender
- 1Pat the hamburger meat dry and salt it 15-40 minutes ahead. Dry surface means browning instead of steaming.
- 2Preheat the pan until a drop of water skitters, then add a thin film of oil. Crowding the pan is the number one reason hamburger meat turns grey.
- 3Brown in a single layer without moving it for 2-3 minutes per side, then build the sauce in the same pan so the browned bits dissolve into it.
- 4Cook to temperature, not time: 160F for ground meat, 130-135F for a medium-rare cut, then rest 5 minutes before slicing.
What goes well with hamburger meat
Hamburger Meat is at its best with onion, garlic, tomato, potato, paprika and red wine. Any two or three of those, plus hamburger meat, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing hamburger meat
Keep raw hamburger meat on the bottom shelf of the fridge and use it within 1-2 days, or freeze it flat in a bag for up to three months. Cooked leftovers keep 3-4 days and reheat best with a splash of stock in a covered pan rather than in the microwave.
Substituting hamburger meat
If you are out of hamburger meat, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Hamburger Meat recipes: common questions
- What can I make with hamburger meat and not much else?
- Plenty. With hamburger meat plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest hamburger meat recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute hamburger meat?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover hamburger meat?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover hamburger meat without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.
- What temperature should hamburger meat be cooked to?
- Use an instant-read thermometer rather than timing: 165F for poultry, 160F for ground meat, 145F for whole cuts and fish, all measured at the thickest point away from bone. Rest larger cuts for five minutes before cutting.