Beef Comfort Food Recipes: 6 Easy Dinner Ideas for Family Meals

Description
These beef comfort food recipes are perfect for cozy dinners and family meals. This collection includes cheesy beef quesadillas, cheeseburger soup, slow cooker beef tips, creamy beef and shells, Mongolian beef noodles, and hamburger rice casserole. Easy to make and packed with flavor, these ground beef and beef dinner ideas are ideal for busy weeknights, meal prep, or comfort food cravings. Save this pin for hearty beef recipes and easy dinner inspiration.

1.Beef Quesadilla Recipe

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces tomato sauce, with basil, garlic, and oregano
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
2 tablespoons butter, divided
8 (10-inch) flour tortillas
4½ cups Colby jack cheese, shredded

Instructions

In a large skillet over medium heat, add ground beef. Cook until no longer pink. Drain grease and return beef to the skillet.
Continue to cook the beef until browned. Add garlic paste, onion powder, salt, tomato sauce, and red pepper flakes. Stir well to combine.
In a separate large skillet over medium-low heat, add ½ tablespoon of butter and allow it to melt.
Place a tortilla in the skillet. Add cheese, beef mixture, then more cheese to the tortilla. Lay another tortilla on top and spread butter over the tortilla.
Flip the quesadilla over and continue cooking until all of the cheese is melted.
Repeat steps for each quesadilla.

Notes

This is a great recipe to buy pre-shredded cheese for as it makes prep time even quicker for your easy meal.
I recommend using lean beef or draining the excess grease off when you’re done cooking the meat so that your quesadillas don’t get soggy.
Watch it closely while it is cooking so that you don’t burn the quesadilla at the last second.

Nutrition

2.Potato Cheeseburger Soup

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided into 1 tablespoon and 3 tablespoons
1 medium white onion, diced
¾ cup carrots, shredded
¾ cup celery, diced
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces (about 3 cups)
3 cups chicken broth, low sodium
¼ cup all-purpose flour
4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1½ cups milk, 2%
¼ cup sour cream, full fat

Instructions

In a 12-inch frying pan, thoroughly cook the ground beef. Drain the fat and set aside for now.
In a large 5-quart pot with 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat, sauté the onion, carrots, and diced celery with the Italian seasoning, oregano, salt, and pepper until onions have softened, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the beef, potatoes, and chicken broth to the pot. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
In a separate small frying pan, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat and stir in the flour until it starts to bubble, 2 minutes. Then add this mixture to the soup, stirring well to mix.
Stir in the cheese until fully melted.
Add the milk and bring the soup back to a simmer. Then stir in sour cream until well mixed.
Remove from heat and serve hot.

Notes

You’ll definitely want to drain the excess grease off the ground beef after cooking. You can make this step easier by using lean ground beef.
You could also freeze individual portions in freezer-safe containers to make it easy to reheat and serve for a quick lunch.

Nutrition

3.Slow Cooker Beef Tips

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds top round London broil beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
1 cup yellow onion, diced
1 cup white mushrooms, sliced
3 cups beef broth
1 onion mushroom dry soup mix, from a 1.8 ounce box
1½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 large bay leaf (use two if they are small)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (plus additional for garnish)
¼ cup water, room temperature
4 tablespoons cornstarch

Instructions

In a large, heavy-duty skillet on high heat add the olive oil and half of the cubed top round beef. Sear the beef on all sides for 2 to 3 minutes or just until browned. Remove from the skillet and place on a plate. Add the other half of the cubed beef to the hot skillet and sear the pieces, all on sides, for another 2 to 3 minutes. At this point, you are just looking to get a good sear on the beef cubes and not cook them all the way through. You will still have some pink to the meat.
To the insert of your slow cooker, add the diced onions, sliced white mushrooms, and the browned top round beef cubes and their juices from the plate. There is a lot of great flavor in the juices from the seared beef.
In a large bowl, add the beef broth, packet of onion mushroom dry soup mix, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, salt, black pepper, and fresh chopped parsley. Stir to combine. Add the liquid mixture to the slow cooker on top of the beef and vegetables.
Set your slow cooker to HIGH heat for 3½ hours. Put the lid on your slow cooker and allow it to cook undisturbed.
After your slow cooker beef tips have cooked for 3½ hours, you will need to remove the bay leaf and make your cornstarch slurry to thicken the liquids and create a gravy.
To a small bowl, add the room temperature water and cornstarch. Stir until the cornstarch has dissolved and you have created a slurry. Remove the lid to the slow cooker and stir in the slurry to the beef broth. Allow your beef tips to continue to cook for an additional 15 to 30 minutes or until your liquids have thickened into a gravy.

Notes

You can save time with your prep work by getting beef stew meat from your butcher counter. This is a tougher cut of beef, like the top round London broil, so it goes great with slow cooker meals because the meat has time to get tender.
If you want to make your slow cooker beef tips and gravy in the morning before you start your day, you can set the slow cooker to LOW for 6 to 7 hours. When you are ready to add the cornstarch slurry to thicken up your broth and create a gravy, you will want to remove the lid and turn your slow cooker up to HIGH and allow the broth to thicken.
If your slow cooker has a ‘sear’ setting on it, you can brown your meat directly in your slow cooker and skip the extra skillet. This would make your slow cooker beef tips a true one-pot meal. You can skip the step of searing your beef cubes; however, I highly suggest that you do not. By searing/browning the beef cubes, you are locking in the juices and creating a great texture, and color, to your beef tips that do not happen if you just add the raw beef to the slow cooker.
Using slow cooker liners to line your insert make clean up a snap once dinner is finished.
You can turn your slow cooker to the warm setting for up to 2 hours if needed to keep it warm.

Nutrition

4.Creamy Beef and Shells

Ingredients

8 ounces medium pasta shells
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
½ medium onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon mustard powder
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups beef stock
15 ounce can tomato sauce
¾ cup heavy cream
6 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese shredded, about 1½ cups
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain well.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until brown, about 3 to 5 minutes, crumbling the ground beef. Drain excess fat and set aside.
Add onion to the skillet, cook stirring frequently until translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in garlic, Italian seasoning, paprika, and mustard powder then cook about 1 minute.
Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
Gradually whisk in beef stock and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, then simmer. Stir occasionally until reduced and slightly thickened, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Stir in pasta, beef, and heavy cream, then heat through.
Stir in cheese until melted. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve warm and enjoy!

Notes

Shred your cheese from the block rather than buying pre-shredded for this recipe. Pre-shredded cheese has a coating on it and doesn’t melt quite as well as freshly shredded cheese.
Ground beef can be batch-cooked ahead of time and kept in the freezer until you are ready to use it in a recipe. This is a great time saver.
To test your pasta for al dente, take a bite of the pasta a minute or two before the package instructions indicate it should be done. When you bite into it, and your teeth feel some resistance, but the pasta is still tender, your pasta is al dente.

Nutrition

5.Mongolian Beef Noodles

Ingredients

8 ounces wide rice noodles
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons garlic paste
1½ tablespoons ginger paste
1 teaspoon chili paste
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
½ cup soy sauce, light
¼ cup light brown sugar
¼ cup hoisin sauce
1 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 bunch green onions, sliced on the diagonal into 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, optional

Instructions

Cook noodles according to the instructions on the box. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
In a 12-inch skillet or wok, brown ground beef with 1 tablespoon of sesame oil until meat is no longer pink and is cooked through.
Add garlic paste and ginger paste to the skillet and brown for an additional minute.
Add chili paste, soy sauce, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, and ½ of the beef broth to the skillet.
Stir the cornstarch into the remaining ½ cup of broth until dissolved. Add the cornstarch/broth mixture to the skillet.
Saute over medium heat until sauce is bubbly and meat is evenly seasoned with the sauce.
Add ¼ to ½ cup of green onions sliced on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning to taste (add additional chili paste or red pepper for more spice, etc.).
Saute for 1 to 2 minutes longer.
Add the cooked noodles to the skillet and toss to coat with sauce.
Garnish with additional green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.

Notes

Soy sauce can make a dish salty very quickly. If you have a low sodium soy sauce, that is the best choice and why our recipe calls for lite soy sauce.
Don’t skip making the cornstarch slurry. A slurry is used to thicken sauces and soups, and it is perfect for thickening up this delicious recipe.

Nutrition

6.Hamburger Rice Casserole (Ground Beef Rice Casserole)

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef, I used a 90-10% blend
2.2 ounces Lipton Beefy Onion Soup Mix,
21 ounces cream of mushroom soup
4 ounces sliced mushrooms, drained
2 cups beef broth
¾ cup whole milk
¾ cup sour cream
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 cups Minute Rice white rice
8 ounces Colby jack cheese, shredded
1½ tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (optional garnish)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium skillet on medium-high heat, brown the lean ground beef for 5 to 7 minutes or until no pink remains. Drain off the excess fat that was rendered from cooking.
To a large mixing bowl, add the browned and drained lean ground beef, packet of beefy onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup, sliced mushrooms, beef broth, whole milk, sour cream, salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine.
Stir in the minute rice and spread the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
Top the hamburger rice casserole with the shredded Colby jack cheese.
Tightly cover the casserole dish with a large piece of aluminum foil.
Bake for 45 minutes. Uncover the hamburger rice casserole and place it under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes or just until the cheese is lightly browned and bubbly. Be sure to keep a close eye on the cheese so that it doesn’t burn while under the broiler.
Allow the hamburger rice casserole to cool for 5 minutes before garnishing with fresh chopped parsley and serving.

Notes

You can cook a large batch of ground beef ahead of time and store it in one-pound portions in the freezer for up to two months. Thaw the cooked ground beef in the refrigerator for 6 to 12 hours before using it in quick weeknight meal preparations like this hamburger casserole with rice.
To keep your cheese from sticking to the aluminum foil while your casserole bakes, lightly spray the aluminum foil (the side facing the cheese) with nonstick cooking spray before covering your baking dish.
Oven temperatures vary and may need to be recalibrated periodically to ensure they are accurate. Make sure to keep a close eye on your casserole as the suggested cook time approaches.

Nutrition

1.Beef Quesadilla Recipe

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition

2.Potato Cheeseburger Soup

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition

3.Slow Cooker Beef Tips

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition

4.Creamy Beef and Shells

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition

5.Mongolian Beef Noodles

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition

6.Hamburger Rice Casserole (Ground Beef Rice Casserole)

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Nutrition

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