How To Use Fillers To Stretch Your Ground Beef

Stretching out ground beef is a longtime tradition of modern American kitchens. For any child of the '80s or '90s, Hamburger Helper was a ubiquitous pantry presence, and going back further, you'll find many old-school dishes like casseroles and meatloaf that do everything they can to max out the affordable staple. That's because ground beef packs in plenty of flavor, is filling, and is easy to prepare, making it perfect for adding a little extra protein to one-pot meals. But you don't need to be bound by boxed shortcuts and massive casseroles when stretching ground beef. There are plenty of ways to get creative and plenty more classic dishes from around the world to inspire you.

The first choice when stretching ground beef is what grain or starch you're going to use, because that has the biggest impact on the final form of your meal. Spices and sauces can come later. The standard for a more beef-heavy dish like meatloaf and meatballs are breadcrumbs, yet there are lots of other options that can push your ground beef even further. Rice and pasta are two more common choices, where ground beef can be added to boost sauces and toppings with extra fat and meaty flavor. Beyond those, you still have a world of popular grains to choose from. You can go in a hash-like direction with chopped potatoes, or create hearty mixtures involving couscous, lentils, and barley. If you have a favorite grain, ground beef probably works with it.

Once you know what grain you are looking for, you can often find popular dishes to inspire your choice of other additions and flavors. One favorite with a lot of variations around the Latin American world is picadillo. Usually featuring ground beef and tomatoes, it is also frequently filled out with cubed potatoes, and vegetables like carrots and peas. You can also push picadillo even further by using it as a stuffing in peppers or empanadas. Want something more Middle Eastern? Kibbeh is a great option made all around the Mediterranean that fills out ground lamb or beef with spices, onion, and bulgur.

But don't feel bound by existing recipes either. Ground beef can easily fill in for more expensive steak in rice bowls, where it can be paired with soy sauce, sesame oil, and other flavors for a variation on Korean bulgogi bibimbap. The important thing is finding flavors that match your filler. Beef and barley is already a classic soup, so try a ground beef and barley skillet with carrots, celery, herbs, and a splash of beef stock to bring everything together. The only thing to watch out for is just how far you stretch your beef, with a quarter pound of meat per cup of filler being a good target. Aim for that, and you should have no shortage of options for saving money with your next pound of ground beef.