Healthy Budget Ground Beef Recipes

This healthier beef taquitos recipe calls for baking instead of deep-frying. One order of these little deep-fried, rolled-up tacos at a restaurant can set you back almost 1,000 calories and 60 grams of fat! Don't worry if some of the taquitos crack open while baking—they're still crispy and delicious. Serve with your favorite salsa, guacamole and reduced-fat sour cream.

In this Tex-Mex-seasoned stuffed delicata squash recipe we swap out half of the ground beef you'd normally use for bulgur to reduce saturated fat without skimping on the amount of stuffing. Serve with a mixed green salad with cilantro vinaigrette.

Why put the cheese on top of the burger when half of it just melts off? Instead, form the burger around the cheese so you can char the meat and safeguard the more delicate flavors. Use any mixture of hard or semihard cheeses--Emmentaler and Gouda or Asiago and Parmigiano-Reggiano also pair well.

Anything but dainty, this healthy cowboy beef and bean chili recipe is hearty with the addition of mushrooms and beer. To keep the saturated fat low, we use one pound of ground beef and add whole-grain bulgur to boost the volume and fiber in this chili recipe. After all the ingredients are added to the pot, we like to slowly simmer our chili for close to an hour to develop the best flavor, but if you're in a hurry, reduce the liquid by half and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.

A touch of cinnamon distinguishes these delicious tomato-sauced meatballs. Adding whole-grain bulgur allows you to use less meat, resulting in meatballs with less than half the total fat and saturated fat of the original. Plus a vibrant-tasting combination of fresh and canned tomatoes in the sauce helps reduce the sodium by two-thirds. Serve with pasta, polenta or even on a whole-grain roll with a bit of melted part-skim mozzarella for a meatball sub.

Slow-cooked onions add moisture and flavor to these lean beef burgers for two. A quick blend of mayonnaise, ketchup, relish and vinegar makes a perfect tangy, sweet and creamy “special sauce” for this burger. We love the dill relish here, but use sweet relish if you prefer it. Serve with sweet potato fries.

Traditionally meat pie recipes are made with mostly ground pork. This recipe for French-Canadian meat pie, or tourtiere, is lightened up by using lean ground beef with a little ground pork for flavor and bulked up with plenty of shredded vegetables. You can make it even easier by using a store-bought crust.

Inspired by the classic Reuben sandwich, this nontraditional, healthy Reuben meatloaf recipe includes sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, dill pickles and rye breadcrumbs.

Whole grains take too long to cook, you say? Well, say hello to bulgur, which can be ready in less than 15 minutes. Try this Middle Eastern-inspired healthy dinner recipe topped with plain yogurt or store-bought tzatziki for an extra hit of creamy flavor.

With a touch of sweet from the mango, savory from the bacon, plus a creamy avocado spread, this healthy slider recipe with takes burgers to a whole new level. Double the avocado mayo and use it for your next BLT.

Slow-cooked onions add moisture and flavor to these lean beef burgers. A quick blend of mayonnaise, ketchup, relish and vinegar makes a perfect tangy, sweet and creamy “special sauce” for this burger. We love the dill relish here, but use sweet relish if you prefer it. Serve with sweet potato fries.