18 Ground Beef Dinners That Can Help You Lose Weight
Transform that package of ground beef in your fridge into a delicious meal. These dinners are low-calorie and high-fiber, so you can hit your nutritional goals and enjoy something light but satisfying at the end of the day. Whether you're in the mood for a simple baked potato or a spicy bowl of chili, these meals are here for you. Try recipes like our Stuffed Pepper Soup or Chili-Topped Sweet Potatoes for your next healthy dinner.
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Stuffed Pepper Soup
Inspired by stuffed peppers, this soup is ready faster and with fewer dishes too! Have fun with the toppings—we top it with onion, Cheddar cheese and tortilla chips here, but salsa, sour cream and corn would also make stellar additions.
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Cheesy Beef Enchilada Casserole
This veggie-packed beef enchilada casserole is mild, so put out hot sauce and chopped jalapeños if you're feeding heat-seekers. The quick and easy dinner recipe makes extra cheese sauce--save it to make One-Pot Mac & Cheese with Cauliflower & Brussels Sprouts later in the week (see Associated Recipes) or serve it with steamed vegetables, such as broccoli, for an easy side dish.
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Skillet Chili Mac
Poblanos add a kick of heat to this chili mac recipe. If that's not your thing, swap in green bell peppers to tone down the heat in this easy pasta dish, which mashes up mac and cheese and chili into a seriously satisfying skillet dinner.
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Chili-Topped Sweet Potatoes
Transform ordinary baked potatoes into a full dinner with these chili-topped spuds. In this healthy recipe, we use sweet potatoes for an added nutrient kick. Sprinkle on extra toppings as you see fit--sliced scallions, chopped fresh cilantro, diced avocado and sliced jalapeños are all tasty choices.
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Chili con Carne
This chili con carne with ground beef is a serious crowd-pleaser, whether you're hosting a football-watching party or just feeding a hungry family. It has a nice, beefy, beany flavor and just enough spice. You'll be surprised that a chili that comes together in less than an hour has so much flavor. Three types of chile peppers (fresh poblanos, chili powder and chipotles in adobo) add depth and complexity. Poblanos also add some color to the chili--if you can't find them, you can sub bell peppers of any color, though they won't add heat. Using lean ground beef makes this chili healthier and also keeps it from being greasy. Be sure to brown the beef well for the best flavor: you want to stir to break up the chunks, but don't stir too much or the beef won't sear at all. Serve with cornbread and bowls of sour cream, chopped avocado, tomatoes, scallions, cilantro and hot sauce and let everyone customize their own bowl.
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Meatballs with Lemon-Garlic Orzo
Here, a little of the lemon-garlic vinaigrette used to season the orzo also gets stirred into yogurt for a flavorful and creamy topping.
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Mom's Chili
This healthy basic beef chili recipe is well worth doubling so you can throw a batch in the freezer. Serve topped with diced red onion, sliced scallions, shredded cheese and your favorite hot sauce.
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Tomato Dolma with Roasted Eggplant (Köz Patlicanli Domates Dolmasi)
Dolma are stuffed vegetables common from the Mediterranean all the way to Central Asia. This easy recipe pairs ripe tomatoes with a ground beef filling that's lightened with eggplant and onions. Serve the stuffed tomatoes as a starter or double up for a main dish.
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Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Chili
Sweet potatoes pair wonderfully with this simple chili recipe. Add one more chipotle pepper if you want to spice up this healthy sweet potato recipe.
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Beef & Bean Sloppy Joes
This healthy copycat recipe of the comfort food classic trades beans for some of the meat to bump up fiber by 7 grams. We also cut back on the sugar and ketchup in this Sloppy Joe recipe makeover to save you 12 grams of added sugar.
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Beef Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce
A gyro is a Greek sandwich made of thin slices of roasted meat, served on pita bread with a cucumber-yogurt sauce. In this recipe, lean ground beef is seasoned with oregano and marjoram, pressed into a loaf pan, baked and thinly sliced to fill the pita.
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Spaghetti with Quick Meat Sauce
Instead of opening a jar of sauce, try this easy spaghetti with meat sauce on a weeknight. Serve with steamed broccoli and garlic bread. The recipe makes enough for 8 servings. If you're serving only four for dinner, cook 8 ounces of spaghetti and freeze the leftover sauce.
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Classic Beef Chili
This classic chili recipe features beef, beans and shredded sweet potatoes for a nutritional boost. The sweet potato blends into the chili so well that even picky eaters will gobble it up.
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Cincinnati Chili
Cincinnati has a unique spin on chili--they serve it over spaghetti. Typically the chili is just made with meat, no beans, but we couldn't resist adding beans to add fiber and nutrients. Serve with sliced cucumber and red onion with lemon juice and olive oil.
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Nonna's Spaghetti & Meatballs
The meatballs and sauce are cooked in the slow cooker for this traditional Italian spaghetti and meatballs recipe. You could also serve the meatballs over creamy polenta or on a sandwich with melted provolone.
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Beef & Bean Enchiladas
These beef enchiladas, topped with a zesty green and red homemade sauce, are perfect for a party or a potluck. To cut calories and saturated fat we fill them with 90%-lean beef bulked up with chopped portobello mushrooms and beans. Although white-flour tortillas are traditional in San Antonio, we go for whole-wheat or corn tortillas to add a little fiber.
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Veggie-Filled Meat Sauce with Zucchini Noodles
Zucchini noodles (or "zoodles") are all the rage as they're a healthy, gluten-free alternative to pasta. In this recipe, crisp-tender zoodles and sautéed mushrooms are served with a meaty tomato sauce. You'll be serving up more vegetables and we promise--nobody will miss the pasta!
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Chipotle Chili
Using no-salt-added tomatoes and rinsing the beans and hominy helps cut sodium levels in this high fiber, smoky-tasting chili recipe.