With beef, the cut decides everything. A tenderloin wants high heat and almost no time. A chuck roast wants two hours minimum and will not be rushed. Ground beef is its own category entirely. Pick the recipe to match the cut you bought, not the other way round, and nothing goes wrong.

So these twenty-five are grouped by cut and method: tender cuts first, then stir fries, burgers and sandwiches, meatballs and meatloaf, stews and pot roasts, ground beef skillets, and three dishes from elsewhere in the world. Every entry names the cut and lists the real total time, servings and ingredient count.

Tenderloin, Steak and Roasts

The tender cuts, where the job is not to overcook them. One is an hour, one is overnight.

Air Fryer Beef Tenderloin

Seven ingredients: two pounds of center cut tenderloin with salt, pepper, butter, fresh rosemary, thyme and a clove of garlic. The air fryer gives it a crust in an hour with no pan to clean. View the full recipe — 1 hour · 4 servings · 7 ingredients

Stuffed Beef Tenderloin with Apple Bourbon

A pound and a half of tenderloin butterflied and stuffed with bacon, two gala apples, onion, sage, rosemary and thyme, served with a pan gravy from three cups of broth. Twenty ingredients and a holiday centerpiece. View the full recipe — 1 hour 35 minutes · 6 servings · 20 ingredients

Grilled Beef Kebabs with Lemon Garlic Marinade

Twenty-four ounces of sirloin or ribeye in a marinade of olive oil, lemon juice, yogurt, honey, paprika, cumin and oregano, skewered with peppers and red onion. The yogurt tenderizes; the honey helps the char. View the full recipe — 2 hours 30 minutes · 4 servings · 13 ingredients

Marinated Roast Beef

Three pounds of top blade or chuck in a soy, balsamic, Dijon and Worcestershire marinade overnight, then roasted with potatoes and carrots and finished with a flour gravy. Twenty-seven hours total, almost all of it marinating. View the full recipe — 27 hours · 8 servings · 19 ingredients

Stir Fries

Four fast pans. Two use flank or steak sliced thin, one uses ground beef, one is a Korean noodle dish.

Chinese Beef Cabbage Mushroom Stir Fry

A pound of lean ground beef with four cups of shredded cabbage, eight ounces of shiitake, soy sauce, sesame oil and ginger, served over cauliflower rice. Twenty-five minutes and low carb as written. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · 4 servings · 10 ingredients

Tender Beef Broccoli Skillet

A pound of flank steak with three cups of broccoli in a sauce of soy, oyster sauce, brown sugar and a cornstarch slurry. Twelve ingredients, twenty-seven minutes. View the full recipe — 27 minutes · 4 servings · 12 ingredients

Chinese Beef and Onion Stir Fry

Fourteen ounces of steak velveted with cornstarch and half a teaspoon of baking soda before it hits the pan, which is the restaurant technique for tender beef. With onion, green onions and oyster sauce. View the full recipe — 40 minutes · 4 servings · 15 ingredients

Japchae Korean Noodles with Beef and Vegetables

Ten ounces of short rib or ribeye with eight ounces of sweet potato starch noodles, shiitake, carrots, bell pepper and four and a half cups of baby spinach, each component cooked separately. Eighteen ingredients. View the full recipe — 1 hour 20 minutes · 4 servings · 18 ingredients

Burgers and Sandwiches

Four. The burger is twenty minutes; the Chicago Italian beef is eight and a half hours.

Juicy Grilled Beef Burger Patties

Easy beef burger patties recipe for ideal first-time grilling

A pound of 80/20 ground beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and a teaspoon of Worcestershire. Nine ingredients including the buns and toppings, twenty minutes. The 80/20 fat ratio is the whole recipe. View the full recipe — 20 minutes · 4 servings · 9 ingredients

Roast Beef Au Jus Sliders

Twelve slider rolls with a pound of thinly shaved deli roast beef, provolone and caramelized sweet onion, baked and served with a cup of au jus for dipping. Thirty minutes and it serves twelve. View the full recipe — 30 minutes · 12 servings · 9 ingredients

Caramelized Onion Beef Sloppy Joes

Three large yellow onions cooked down slowly with sixteen ounces of ground beef, thickened with flour and beef broth, on buns with provolone. The onions are the difference between this and the canned kind. View the full recipe — 50 minutes · 4 servings · 12 ingredients

Chicago Style Italian Beef Sandwiches with Pepperoncini

Four pounds of chuck roast slow cooked in four cups of broth with a full cup of pepperoncini juice, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes, sliced thin onto hoagie rolls with the peppers. Eight hours twenty. View the full recipe — 8 hours 20 minutes · 6 servings · 14 ingredients

Meatballs and Meatloaf

Three. All three use a pound or two of ground beef and a panade of breadcrumbs soaked in milk, which is what keeps them tender.

Air Fryer Meatballs (Juicy Lean Beef)

Crispy air fryer meatballs served with marinara sauce and herbs

Nine ingredients: a pound of ground beef with a third of a cup of panko soaked in three tablespoons of milk, an egg, onion, garlic and Italian seasoning. Twenty-seven minutes and no pan frying. View the full recipe — 27 minutes · 4 servings · 9 ingredients

Parmesan Beef Meatballs

A pound of ground beef with a full cup of breadcrumbs and half a cup of parmesan, simmered in two cups of tomato sauce. Eleven ingredients, seventy minutes. View the full recipe — 1 hour 10 minutes · 4 servings · 11 ingredients

Classic Beef Meatloaf with Ketchup Glaze

Two pounds of ground beef with a cup of panko, two eggs, a teaspoon of beef bouillon powder and fresh parsley, under a glaze of ketchup, cider vinegar and brown sugar. Fourteen ingredients, serves eight. View the full recipe — 1 hour 40 minutes · 8 servings · 14 ingredients

Stews and Pot Roasts

Four chuck roast recipes in four different vessels. Chuck is the right cut for all of them because the collagen needs time to break down.

Instant Pot Beef Stew

Two pounds of chuck with three cups of broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire, carrots and a pound and a half of Yukon Golds, thickened with cornstarch. Ninety-five minutes rather than three hours, and it serves eight. View the full recipe — 1 hour 35 minutes · 8 servings · 16 ingredients

Chuck Roast Beef Stew

The stovetop version: two pounds of chuck browned first, then half a cup of dry red wine and three cups of broth with carrots, celery, potatoes and peas. Two hours ten, fifteen ingredients. View the full recipe — 2 hours 10 minutes · 6 servings · 15 ingredients

Slow Cooker Balsamic Beef Roast

Ten ingredients: two pounds of chuck with a third of a cup of balsamic vinegar, half a cup of tomato sauce, Worcestershire and garlic. The shortest ingredient list of any roast here. View the full recipe — 8 hours 15 minutes · 6 servings · 10 ingredients

Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa

Four pounds of beef cheeks or chuck with four chipotles in adobo, half a cup of cider vinegar, lime juice, four teaspoons of cumin and half a teaspoon of cloves in dark ale. Eight and a half hours, serves eight. View the full recipe — 8 hours 30 minutes · 8 servings · 13 ingredients

Ground Beef Skillets and Bakes

Three of the cheapest dinners on this page, all built on a single pound of ground beef.

Easy Ground Beef Stroganoff with Paprika

Flavorful easy ground beef stroganoff served with noodles

A pound of ground beef with eight ounces of mushrooms, twelve ounces of egg noodles, two cups of beef broth and half a cup of sour cream, thickened with flour. Forty minutes, serves six. View the full recipe — 40 minutes · 6 servings · 13 ingredients

Easy Ground Beef Shepherds Pie with Mixed Vegetables

Nine ingredients: a pound of lean ground beef with frozen mixed vegetables under four cups of mashed potatoes. Fifty-five minutes, and faster still if the mash is left over. View the full recipe — 55 minutes · 4 servings · 9 ingredients

Hobo Casserole with Ground Beef

A pound of ground beef layered with five sliced potatoes, a cup and a half of cheddar and half a cup of parmesan, baked in beef broth and milk. Eighty minutes, serves six. View the full recipe — 1 hour 20 minutes · 6 servings · 14 ingredients

Beef From Around the World

Three dishes worth the spice shopping. The vindaloo grinds its own masala.

Greek Beef Stuffed Peppers

Six bell peppers filled with only eight ounces of ground beef stretched with a cup of chickpeas and a cup of rice, seasoned with a teaspoon of ground allspice and fresh parsley. The allspice is what makes it Greek rather than generic. View the full recipe — 1 hour 55 minutes · 6 servings · 15 ingredients

Oven Braised Beef Vindaloo

A pound and three quarters of chuck in a marinade of six tablespoons of Kashmiri chili powder, whole coriander, cumin, cloves, cardamom, fenugreek and seven tablespoons of white vinegar, then braised with curry leaves. Twenty-five ingredients and four and a half hours. View the full recipe — 4 hours 30 minutes · 6 servings · 25 ingredients

Beef Satay with Thai Peanut Sauce

A pound and a quarter of rump steak marinated in coconut milk, curry powder and red curry paste with half a teaspoon of baking soda, skewered and grilled, with a peanut sauce built from a third of a cup of peanut butter and coconut milk. View the full recipe — 5 hours · 4 servings · 20 ingredients

Beef Questions, Answered

Which cut do I need for stew?

Chuck, every time. All four stew and roast recipes here call for chuck or beef cheeks because those cuts are full of collagen that melts into gelatin over a long cook, which is what makes the meat shred and the liquid rich. A lean cut like sirloin in the same recipe comes out dry and stringy.

Why does the Chinese stir fry use baking soda?

It is called velveting. Half a teaspoon of baking soda on sliced beef raises the surface pH, which keeps the proteins from tightening up in a hot pan. It is why restaurant beef is softer than home stir fry beef, and the satay recipe uses the same trick.

What fat percentage should I buy for burgers?

80/20, which is what the burger recipe here specifies. Leaner ground beef makes a dry burger because the fat is what carries flavor and keeps it juicy as it cooks. For dishes where you drain the fat anyway, like the shepherds pie or the stroganoff, 90/10 is fine.

What is the fastest beef dinner here?

Beef Burger Patties at twenty minutes, then the cabbage and mushroom stir fry at twenty-five and beef and broccoli at twenty-seven. All three start from either ground beef or thin-sliced steak.

How do I keep ground beef from going grey in the pan?

Do not crowd it and do not stir it straight away. Spread it in a hot pan, let one side brown for two or three minutes, then break it up. A crowded cold pan steams the meat and you lose the browning that most of the flavor comes from.

Which recipes feed the most people?

Roast Beef Au Jus Sliders at twelve. Then eight servings each for the marinated roast beef, the classic meatloaf, the Instant Pot stew and the barbacoa.

Can I make the stews ahead?

They are better for it. Every braise on this page improves after a night in the fridge, because the fat solidifies and can be skimmed, and the flavors settle. Reheat gently on the stove rather than in the microwave.