My family’s best beef taco recipe calls for lean ground beef and a simple blend of pantry spices. One of my favorite 20-minute dinners, and the entire family loves it!

These easy beef tacos are a weeknight favorite at our house. We use our go-to taco meat recipe with lean ground beef and a handful of pantry spices. It’s quick, simple, and so much better than anything you’d get from a store-bought seasoning packet.

Adam and I both love tacos for dinner, but it wasn’t until our son really fell for this taco recipe that we started making it on repeat. I love the spiced beef mixture tucked into corn tortillas and top it with whatever I happen to have on hand. Sour cream, lettuce, cabbage, pico de gallo, guacamole, avocado, you name it. They all work!

Key Ingredients

• Taco Seasoning: I know you can buy packets at the store, but I much prefer our taco spice blend below. You’ll combine chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, oregano, and salt together. Another option is to use this homemade taco seasoning, which makes a larger batch and adds a few optionals ingredients for flavor.
• Ground Beef: I like to use lean ground beef (90/10 or 10% fat) for these tacos. If you go with a fattier beef, it can get a little greasy. You can substitute other ground meat in this taco recipe (we swap in chicken or turkey all the time, see our ground turkey tacos as an example). For shredded beef, see our shredded beef tacos or beef birria, which you can turn into birria tacos.
• Veggies: Totally optional, but if I have chopped onion or Anaheim pepper hanging out in the fridge, I toss them in the skillet. They add a little extra texture, and I love how sweet they get once they’re cooked.
• Tomato Paste and Stock: These make the beef mixture richer and more flavorful.  I like vegetable broth, tomato broth, beef stock, or chicken stock. You only need 1/2 cup, so use whatever you have (water will work in a pinch, too).
• Tortillas: Use whatever tortillas you love best. Homemade tortillas are always a treat, and if you want to try making them, we have recipes for both corn tortillas and flour tortillas.
• Taco Toppings: These are your tacos, so go wild with your favorites! In our house, we switch it up between lettuce, cabbage, tomato, avocado (sliced or mashed), sour cream with a squeeze of lime, and pickled onions. Cheese is always a hit, and you can’t go wrong with classic chopped onion.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make the Best Beef Tacos

Tip 1: Make our homemade spice mix. Skip the packets at the store. Our simple taco seasoning calls for spices you likely already have on hand. You’ll stir together chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, dried oregano, and salt.

Tip 2: Brown the beef. For the best flavor and texture, let your ground beef get a little color and crispy edges. I like to press it down in the skillet and let it sit for a minute before breaking it up. Add your spice mix, then use a wooden spoon to crumble the meat. A heavy skillet, like a cast-iron skillet, works great here. I do the same when making our ground pork tacos.

Tip 3: Add extra veggies if you have them. I don’t always do this, but when there’s onion or Anaheim pepper in the fridge, I toss them in with the meat. They get soft and sweet, and it’s so good with all the spices.

Tip 4: Finish with tomato paste and stock. This is what brings everything together and keeps the taco meat juicy. Stir in a spoonful of tomato paste, then add a splash of stock. Let it simmer, and you’re ready to build your tacos!

Tip 5: Warm your tortillas. I love using my gas burner to toast tortillas one at a time over the flame. They get soft with a few charred spots, which taste amazing. If you don’t have a gas burner, heat them in a hot pan until they’re warm but still soft. Stack them up and wrap in a clean dishcloth until you’re ready to eat.

Serving Suggestions

I’m sure you already have your own favorite way to build beef tacos, but here are a few more ideas from our kitchen. We love stuffing tortillas with all the toppings. The options are endless! Here are some of our go-tos:

• Mexican Rice or Cilantro Lime Rice
• Refried Beans, Refried Black Beans, or these saucy Black Beans
• Sliced or mashed avocado or Guacamole
• Shredded cheese, crumbled queso fresco, or cojita cheese
• Chopped fresh tomatoes, Pico de Gallo, or Roasted Tomato Salsa
• Salsa with Tortilla Chips
• Raw onions, Pickled Onions, or Cowboy Candy (Candied Jalapeños)
• Cilantro Lime Slaw, fresh sliced cabbage, or crunchy lettuce
• Sour cream thinned with fresh lime juice and seasoned with a pinch of salt.
• Homemade Ranch Dressing or Cilantro Lime Dressing (my favorite for taco salad)

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With our bulgogi recipe, you can easily make incredible Korean barbecue beef at home. Thanks to our bulgogi marinade, the beef turns out perfectly sweet, savory, and melt-in-your-mouth tender.

Our love for Korean food began years ago when Adam’s best friend married a Korean-American who proudly introduced us to his heritage. He cooked for us and took us to authentic restaurants. We fell in love. In the same way we consider pho to be a gateway to Vietnamese food, bulgogi is the perfect entry point for anyone looking to explore Korean cuisine.

If you’ve not had it before, bulgogi is thinly sliced beef that’s been marinated in a savory-sweet soy-based sauce. Then, it’s quickly seared or grilled (it’s truly delicious!). This easy recipe is our go-to when we want to bring the flavors of a Korean barbecue into our own kitchen, and luckily, it’s completely doable for you, too! For more, see our Korean short ribs (Galbi)

Key Ingredients

• Beef: You want thinly sliced beef, which, after marinating, cooks quickly and turns out really tender. Top sirloin, ribeye, or really any prime beef cut works well.
• Soy Sauce: This is the base of our bulgogi sauce. I like using a low-sodium soy sauce and sometimes substitute low-sodium tamari. Both work well.
• Rice Wine Vinegar: Look for unsweetened rice vinegar (usually with a green bottle cap or label).
• Sesame Oil: Toasted sesame oil adds a lovely, toasty, rich flavor to the beef.
• Brown Sugar and Honey: We really love both for this. You can use either one, but the combination makes our beef taste more interesting and complex. The honey also caramelizes beautifully.
• Gochugaru and Black Pepper: This brings a little heat – not much though! Bulgogi usually isn’t very spicy. If you are unfamiliar, gochugaru is Korean chili pepper and is sold as ground red pepper, not to be confused with gochujang, which is a paste. We use gochugaru when making homemade kimchi.
• Garlic and Ginger: I always use fresh garlic. For the ginger, you can buy ginger root, or some stores sell ginger puree (either refrigerated or frozen).
• Pear: This is the “secret” ingredient. It adds sweetness and contains natural enzymes that tenderize the beef. Look for Asian, Korean, or Nashi pears. If you can’t find them, a ripe Bosc pear or Anjou pear is a good substitute.
• Sesame Seeds and Green Onions: These provide texture, color, and a bit of freshness at the very end.
• Lettuce, Rice, and Sides: To make it a full meal, serve with steamed rice and lettuce leaves for wrapping. Don’t forget the banchan (sides) like kimchi or spicy cucumber salad, and ssamjang (a savory dipping sauce that ties everything together).

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Bulgogi at Home

Tip 1: Thinly slice the beef. The reason bulgogi is so hard to stop eating is that it turns out so wonderfully tender. That’s thanks to the marinade and to the fact that we start with thin slices of beef.

The best trick for getting perfectly thin slices is to place your beef in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes to firm up a bit. Then, remove it, set it onto your cutting board, and make thin slices across the grain. Slicing across the grain breaks up tough muscle fibers, helping the beef turn out more tender. You don’t need to be 100% perfect; the slices can be ragged and varying in size.

Tip 2: Use a food processor to make the marinade. If you don’t have a food processor, you can make this marinade by hand, but a food processor makes really quick work of it. I just toss everything in and hit pulse until mostly smooth. If you’re doing it by hand, you’ll finely grate the garlic and ginger with a microplane, then grate the pear with a box grater.

Tip 3: Marinate for at least 4 hours. Whenever I marinate beef, I usually do it overnight, which would be perfect for this recipe. That said, if you’re sitting there in the morning and want bulgogi for dinner, you can absolutely make that happen. Four hours gives the pear and other bulgogi sauce ingredients enough time to flavor and tenderize the beef.

Tip 4: Cook it quickly. At a Korean barbecue restaurant, there’s often a grill right in the middle of the table where you can quickly sear/grill the beef. At home, I use a heavy-bottomed pan (cast-iron is ideal) over medium-high heat, add a little oil, then cook the beef in batches so there’s one layer of beef in the pan at a time (stacking lots in all at once will steam the beef rather than caramelize and brown the beef).

Use tongs to pull the marinated beef out of the marinade, then cook. Some marinade will stick to the outside of the beef, but don’t pour any extra into the skillet. You want to sear and caramelize the beef in batches rather than boiling it in the sauce.

My Favorite Way to Serve Bulgogi

The simplest way to serve this is over rice, but I really love making lettuce wraps. Take a piece of lettuce (red leaf or butter lettuce works really well), add a small spoonful of cooked rice, and place a piece of the hot bulgogi on top. Finish with some kimchi and ssamjang (if you have them on hand), fold it up, and enjoy. It’s super flavorful, has a wonderful combination of textures, and really just makes you want to go in for more! This beef also makes incredible tacos (not traditional, but delicious nonetheless!).

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This impressive braised short ribs recipe has mouthwateringly tender beef slowly cooked in a caramelized onion and red wine broth.

Think of this dish as French onion soup meets red wine braised short ribs. It’s cozy, it’s rich, and it’s perfect for a cold evening. We’ll caramelize lots of onions for this dish, adding a sweet, rich onion flavor to the braising liquid. Then, to achieve that pull-apart texture, you’ll braise the beef for three hours, but all of that’s hands-off.

You’ll be left with unbelievably tender and flavorful beef and a thick, rich gravy swimming with caramelized onions. Your best bet is to serve this over something that soaks up all of it, like creamy polenta, grits, mashed potatoes, buttered noodles, or thick, crusty bread.

Key Ingredients

• Short Ribs: There are two popular kinds of beef short ribs sold in stores, chuck and plate. If you have the choice, use plate short ribs cut into smaller pieces (3 to 4 inches long), sometimes labeled English-style. They have the best balance of meat and fat and become especially tender when cooked low and slow. Chuck short ribs are smaller and a bit more irregular in shape, but will still work. We also use short ribs for these bbq beef ribs.
• Onions: Use yellow onions or sweet onions in this dish. Both will caramelize wonderfully.
• Tomato Paste and Garlic: The tomato paste adds richness. I love the double-concentrated tubes, since the tube and screw on lid make it easy to store what you haven’t used. Fresh garlic is best here.
• Flour: Use all-purpose flour to help thicken the gravy.
• Wine: A dry red wine is perfect. Use something you’d drink. We like Chianti, Bordeaux blends, or Merlot.
• Stock: The short ribs add a lot of beefiness to the gravy, so plain store-bought beef stock works nicely. However, to make this completely from scratch, here is our beef stock recipe.
• Herbs: We love fresh thyme in this and always add a bay leaf. Rosemary is nice, too, but can be overpowering. If you have it on hand, feel free to add ¼ to ½ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary to the beef before braising in the oven.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Braised Short Ribs

Tip 1: Brown your short ribs. Before braising the beef, you really want to take the time to brown the short ribs on all sides first. This adds flavor to the pot, which we will use to build the braising liquid, and it adds flavor and texture to the beef.

Heat a Dutch oven or braiser, add olive oil, then brown on all sides. Since we have a lot of short ribs, you’ll likely need to do this in two batches.

Tip 2: Caramelize the onions. If you’ve ever made French onion soup, then you know the beauty of caramelized onions. They take a little time, but I promise it’s worth it for this showy dish.

To do it, you’ll add a little butter to the rendered beef fat in the pot (yep!). Then add your onions, give them a good stir, and cover the pot. Leave them for 10 minutes. When you uncover them, they will have softened and released some moisture into the pan. From there, uncover and continue cooking, stirring often, until they are deeply browned and smell sweet (30-ish minutes more).

Tip 3: Simmer the wine. As you are building the braising liquid, add wine to the pot. It adds so much flavor, and red wine braised short ribs are an absolute classic! Before adding anything else to the pot, simmer the wine for a few minutes to burn off some of the alcohol.

Tip 4: Cover with a lid and slowly braise in the oven. To get that pull-apart, tender beef, you need to slowly cook the short ribs for around 3 hours. Think of it as similar to making beef stew, where you want the fat and collagen to melt and the connective tissues to soften and become really tender.

Add the browned beef to the braising liquid, and make sure it’s mostly covered so it does not dry out. Then cook slowly, covered, in the oven for about 3 hours. After 3 hours, the beef will be shockingly tender and so delicious.

Serving Suggestions

You’ll be left with a lot of braising liquid. It’s thick, laced with sweet onions, and absolutely delicious (with or without the beef!). I highly recommend skimming the fat at the top of the pot. There’s going to be quite a bit. Once you do, you can serve the beef on or off the bone. A few bones may already have slid off the meat (it’s that tender). We remove the bones, place chunks of tender beef on top of polenta, grits, or mashed potatoes, then spoon a generous amount of the braising liquid over the top. You’ll probably run out of beef before the gravy, but I still think you should save it for spooning over something else for dinner another night.

This dish is intentionally rich. If you’d like something a little lighter to start or on the side, we love this fennel salad, peppy lemon vinaigrette over greens, classic roasted carrots, or these roasted carrots and parsnips.

More Mouthwatering, Tender Beef Recipes

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Learn how to cook incredibly delicious BBQ beef ribs in the oven. Most of the cooking time is hands-off, letting the ribs slowly bake until fall-apart tender.

The key is baking them low and slow. It’s the same approach we use for our popular pork ribs, and it works beautifully with beef. Once I started making beef ribs this way, I never looked back.

For this beef ribs recipe, we rub short ribs with a simple dry rub, sear them to build flavor, and then bake until unbelievably tender. A final layer of BBQ sauce goes on at the end, and as it finishes in the oven, it becomes sticky and glossy over the meat. They are incredible!

Key Ingredients

• Beef Ribs: This recipe is written for beef short ribs, which are meaty and become very tender when cooked low and slow. If using beef back ribs, you can still follow this method, but they may cook a little faster. Note, do not use flanken ribs (Korean-style ribs), as these are too thin for this cooking method. More details below.
• Dry Rub: Beef needs a generous amount of seasoning. We mix salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder (or granulated garlic), and onion powder.
• BBQ Sauce: Use your favorite store-bought sauce, or make our tangy BBQ sauce recipe.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: We add a bit of extra tang to the BBQ sauce with apple cider vinegar. White wine vinegar or champagne vinegar are good substitutes.
• Beef Stock or Water: This thins our BBQ sauce a bit. You only need ¼ cup, so if you have beef stock in the fridge, great. Otherwise, water does the job.
• Worcestershire Sauce: A teaspoon adds a bit more savoriness to the sauce.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Cook Beef Ribs in the Oven

Tip 1: Do not trim all the fat. When working with short ribs, we rarely trim much fat before cooking. The butcher has already done most of the work. If you see any very large pieces of fat or gristle, you can remove them, but avoid over-trimming. Some fat is key to tender, juicy ribs. As Chef Richard likes to say, “don’t go chasing the fat.”

Tip 2: Use our dry rub and sear before baking. Beef needs a good amount of seasoning, so use our simple dry rub early on to build flavor. It’s a mixture of salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Rub the short ribs all over with the dry rub. They should be thoroughly coated. Then, sear them in a pan with some oil until golden on all sides. This step builds flavor and gives the fat on the outside a head start.

Tip 3: Bake them low and slow. High heat will toughen beef ribs before they have a chance to soften. A lower oven temperature gives us more time to slowly cook the connective tissues (collagen) and fat, which keeps the beef tender and juicy. In the photos below, the first one shows the seared ribs ready for the oven, and as you scroll down, you can see how tender they look after cooking them slowly in the oven.

For tender ribs, cook them at 275°F (135°C) for 2 to 3 hours, then add BBQ sauce and continue cooking for another hour. The size of your short ribs will affect baking time. We provide tips in our recipe below.

Tip 4: Cover the pan for most of the cooking time. Tightly cover your baking pan with foil so the ribs cook in their own steam. This prevents moisture from escaping and helps the ribs turn tender. Baking them uncovered for too long will dry them out.

Keep your ribs tightly covered with foil until the last 20 to 25 minutes. Then, uncover and bake until the glaze is shiny and sticky.

Tip 5: Check the ribs toward the end of cooking. Every oven runs a little differently. When the ribs are done, a fork should slide in easily with very little resistance. If they still feel firm, keep baking. Also, check the pan. There should be plenty of rendered fat and juices. If the pan seems dry, the foil was not sealed tightly enough.

Tip 6: Add BBQ sauce at the end. Spoon over your BBQ sauce during the last part of cooking. If added too early, you’ll lose some flavor, and the sugars in the sauce might even cause your ribs to dry out.

Brush on the BBQ sauce after the ribs have become tender, then return the pan to the oven. Finishing uncovered allows the sauce to thicken into a glossy glaze without burning or drying the ribs.

A Note on Types of Beef Ribs

There are four common types of beef ribs you’ll likely come across:

• Chuck short ribs: These are cut from the upper portion of the rib cage (closer to the shoulder). They are smaller, a bit more irregular in shape, and are the most common option in standard grocery stores.
• Plate short ribs: These come from the lower portion of the rib cage. They are larger, meatier, and have richer marbling. You are more likely to find them at a butcher shop or specialty grocery store.
• Beef back ribs: These have much less meat because they are usually removed after the rib roast or ribeye is cut away. Rib roasts or ribeyes are some of the most expensive cuts of beef, so most butchers leave very little meat on the bone. These work in the recipe below, but will cook faster. Start checking for tenderness earlier.
• Flanken ribs: These are cut very thin, sometimes called Korean-style or Galbi. These do better with quick, high-heat cooking, and are not ideal for this recipe. We use them in our Korean short ribs recipe.

Our recommendation: If you have the choice, use plate short ribs cut into smaller pieces (3 to 4 inches long), sometimes labeled English-style. They have the best balance of meat and fat and become especially tender when baked low and slow. I also use plate ribs for these red wine braised short ribs.

Serving Suggestions

These BBQ ribs are rich and satisfying. Depending on their size, plan for 1 to 2 ribs per person. Short ribs can be quite meaty, which is one of the reasons we love them.

For serving, something fresh on the side works beautifully. Coleslaw is a favorite. Try our creamy coleslaw or vinegar coleslaw. A simple green salad with a bright lemon vinaigrette or honey mustard dressing is also a great match, and this napa cabbage salad is excellent. As shown in our photos, we also love a side of pickles for something tangy.

For more sides, Cajun butter corn, corn salad, or homemade cornbread are all wonderful. If you want something heartier, serve the ribs with potatoes au gratin, mashed potatoes, a baked potato, or baked mac and cheese. Enjoy!

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This flavorful homemade beef stock recipe guarantees rich, beefy broth in just over 4 hours and is way better than store-bought.

Store-bought beef stock often disappoints us. It lacks flavor and is usually too salty. That’s why I love making my own in the Instant Pot! Traditional stovetop stock takes at least 6 hours, and for a rich beef broth, you’re looking at 8+ hours.

A pressure cooker dramatically speeds things up, and you get a delicious beef bone broth packed with collagen and minerals. If you’re short on time, try our stovetop chicken stock or this quick 1-hour chicken broth. Or, if you prefer the pressure cooker, check out our bone broth recipe made with chicken bones.

Key Ingredients

• Beef Bones: You need good-quality, meaty beef bones for the best homemade stock. I go to my local butcher shop and use whatever they have that day. Beef knuckles, oxtail, neck bones, shanks, and ribs are all great options, especially if they have a bit of meat left on them. Bones with bits of connective tissue help with gelatin production (or the texture of the broth), and bones with meat help with flavor.
• Tomato Paste: We are all about that rich, beefy flavor. Thanks to the umami in tomatoes, tomato paste helps us achieve it. We roast our beef bones, rubbed in tomato paste, for 30 minutes before making the stock.
• Onion, Garlic, and Olive Oil: Since we want our broth rich and beefy, we don’t use carrots or celery in this recipe. This keeps our ingredient list down. The olive oil roasts the onions and garlic, sweetening them before making our stock.
• Thyme, Bay Leaves, Peppercorns, and Salt: We keep our seasonings classic for this homemade stock.
• Pickapepper or Worcestershire sauce: We use Pickapepper in our homemade BBQ sauce and love it. The two sauces bump up the umami-rich flavor of our stock, so use what you have. Pickapepper is a little thinner and a bit sweeter than the more savory Worcestershire, but in this recipe, they are interchangeable.
• Water: Since we use a pressure cooker, you do not want to fill past the “Fill Line.” For a 6-quart pressure cooker, you need about 8 cups of water. Since there is less evaporation in a pressure cooker than when simmering on the stove, you will have about 8 cups of stock when it’s done.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make the Best Beef Stock

Tip 1: Roast your bones. Roasting makes our bone broth richer and more flavorful. Tumble the bones into a baking dish, then roast for 10 minutes. Remove the bones from the oven, and when they are cool enough to handle, rub them down with tomato paste, adding even more of a rich flavor. Toss in onions and garlic, and drizzle with olive oil. Roast everything for another 30 minutes.

Tip 2: Build flavors in pressure cooker. Now transfer everything from the roasting pan to your pressure cooker (ours is an Instant Pot). Pour a little of your measured water into the roasting pan and deglaze it by scraping all the stuck bits from the bottom and sides. Pour this liquid into the pressure cooker along with the remaining measured water. Finally, add thyme, peppercorns, bay leaves, salt, and Pickapepper sauce (or use Worcestershire).

Tip 3: Cook on high. Seal the lid and cook on high pressure (or the stock setting) for 4 hours. Allow the pressure cooker to naturally release the pressure, and then strain.

Ways to Use Your Beef Stock

Once you have homemade stock, you can use it or save it for another day (storing tips are in the recipe below). It’s delicious enough to sip on, or you can use it in your favorite recipes. Here are some of my favorite recipes:

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This unbelievably rich and hearty beef stew made with Guinness beer is the ultimate comfort food. It’s also easy and made in one pot. You’ll love the outrageously delicious melt-in-your-mouth tender beef and gravy!

I love cooking with Guinness beer, and this beef stew is one of my favorite ways to use it. Dark beer makes the stew rich and unbelievably flavorful. It’s perfect for slowly simmering the meat until it becomes fall-apart tender.

Believe it or not, beef stew is really simple to make. This version, made with Guinness beer, is no different. You will need just over 2 hours. That’s not 2 hours hovering over a stove, though. The good news is that your hands-on time is about 30 minutes. For more comforting recipes like this stew, try our classic beef stew with red wine, this pot roast made in an Instant Pot, or our favorite braised short ribs.

Key Ingredients

• Beef Chuck Roast and Flour: For the best beef stew, use a well-marbled chuck roast. The marbling (those white veins of fat) is key to getting melt-in-your-mouth tender beef. Cut the chuck roast into cubes and toss them with flour for a nice sear and crust. If you’d like to keep it gluten-free, skip the flour!
• Garlic and Tomato Paste: We build incredible flavor in this stew! It starts with sautéed garlic and tomato paste, which create a rich base for the gravy.
• Guinness Beer: While any beer will work, we love the deep, roasted notes that Guinness adds to the stew. It intensifies the meaty flavor and creates a truly flavorful gravy. Dry red wine or coffee are also excellent substitutes for the beer.
• Stock: I recommend using a good-quality chicken or beef stock. If you have the time, homemade beef stock is fantastic.
• Worcestershire Sauce and Thyme: These are classic for beef stew. If you only have dried thyme, check the tips in the recipe below for how much you will need.
• Veggies: We add onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes towards the end of cooking to keep them from getting mushy. Feel free to add other root vegetables like parsnips or turnips for even more flavor and heartiness.

How to Make Guinness Beef Stew

To make my Guinness beef stew, you are looking at a little hands-on time in the beginning, and then you get to sit back and relax.

For the best, most flavorful beef get a good sear on it before simmering in the gravy. To do this, I pat them dry, roll in some flour, and then sear until browned on all sides in some oil. This step goes quickly since we are only browning the meat, not cooking it all the way through.

Once your meat is ready, you can make the gravy, starting with tomato paste and garlic and then adding the Guinness, beef stock, and remaining stew ingredients.

When your gravy is ready, nestle the beef into it and cook at a low simmer for about an hour. Toss in your veggies and continue cooking until the veggies are tender and the beef falls apart when pierced with a fork.

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Lentil Soup with Ground Beef is a tasty soup that’s made with brown rice and it’s easy enough to make for a work-night dinner! If you prefer a lower-carb soup, make this soup with cauliflower rice or check out Instant Pot Hamburger Soup (with Cauliflower)  for a low-carb soup with similar flavors.

PIN Lentil Soup with Ground Beef to try it later!

I first made this Lentil Soup with Ground Beef years ago on a day I was too sick to go the store, and I don’t think there’s anything that tastes as good or as comforting as soup when you’re not feeling great and it’s cold outside. Then on a day that was soup weather again, I made this soup, took some better photos, and enjoyed it that night for dinner.

A lot of the good flavor in this lentil soup recipe comes from the homemade beef stock and homemade chicken stock I always try to have in the freezer, but even if you use canned beef broth and canned chicken broth this will still be delicious. Use the low salt version if you used canned broth, and don’t get in too much of a hurry and shorten the simmering time, because that’s another step that builds flavor.

I did add some balsamic vinegar to the finished soup this time, and I loved the way it perked up the flavor so I’m updating the recipe to include that. And this soup uses the kind of ingredients many people always have in the pantry, so it might become one of your favorites.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

What are lentils?

Lentils (also called pulses in some parts of the world) are the dried seeds of the lentil plant, and they are a legume. They’re never eaten fresh but always dried after ripening. Here is more information about lentils, including examples of different types.

What kind of lentils did I use in the Lentil Soup with Ground Beef?

I used ordinary brown lentils (affiliate link) for this recipe, which are probably the most common kind. However in some soups I love to use red lentils that will dissolve more into the soup, and I think various types of lentils are pretty interchangeable in recipes.

How to make a ground beef lentil soup that’s lower in carbs?

You might be surprised if you check the nutritional information because this soup only has 11 net carbs per serving. But if a soup with both lentils and brown rice seems too high in carbs for you, just replace the brown rice with about 1 1/2 cups frozen cauliflower rice.

More Lentil Soups To Try

How to make Lentil Soup with Ground Beef:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. If you buy lentils in bulk, they may need to be rinsed.
2. Heat a small amount of olive oil and cook the ground beef until it’s nicely browned.
3. Move ground beef to soup pot.
4. Heat more olive oil and cook the onions and celery until they’re starting to soften.
5. Then add the garlic, dried thyme, ground cumin, and dried parsley and saute a couple of minutes more.
6. Add the vegetables to the soup pot with the ground beef and rinse out the frying pan with 2 cups water and add to the soup.
7. Add beef stock or broth, chicken stock or broth, lentils, and chopped carrots and let the soup cook at a very low simmer for about 60 minutes, or until lentils are tender.
8. When the lentils are tender, add a bit more water if needed and then add the rice (or cauliflower rice) and cook 30-40 minutes more, or until the rice is done.
9. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper, stir in balsamic vinegar if desired, and serve hot.

Make it a Carb-Conscious Meal:

You could eat this soup with lentils and ground beef with any of these tasty breads or muffins:

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe for lentil soup that has ground beef, lentils, carrots, and rice (or cauliflower rice) has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep  to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This soup doesn’t have that much lentils or brown rice so it only has 11 net carbs per serving, but use cauliflower rice if you prefer. If you’re a South Beach Dieter, be sure to use low fat ground beef, and the use of carrots and brown rice would make this Lentil Soup with Ground Beef limited to phase 2 or 3 of the original South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Soup Recipes to find more tasty recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for This Recipe:
Lentil Soup with Ground Beef was originally posted in 2007! The recipe was updated in 2021 with the option to use cauliflower rice, and was last updated with more information in 2024.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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I’m updating this family favorite Black Bean and Beef Chili to make it a bit lower in carbs and higher in protein! And Avocado Salsa is the perfect finishing touch for this chili recipe that you can make in the slow cooker or on the stove.

PIN the Black Bean and Beef Chili to try it later!

This recipe for Black Bean and Beef Chili is favorite chili recipe that you can make in the slow cooker or on the stove. This is a recipe I’ve made many times for Super Bowl parties, and it’s always been a hit. Of course chili with black beans does have some carbs. But recently I made this recipe for friends and realized I could make two easy changes that would make this favorite chili  recipe slightly lower in carbs and higher in protein!

So I decided to update the recipe, and even took some new photos so people would realize the recipe had been slightly changed. The new version cuts the black beans down from three cans to two, and increases the ground beef from one pound to two. (Only the ingredients are changed; the cooking method is the same.) And if anyone was a fan of the original recipe, just check the NOTES section of the full recipe; I will copy the original ingredients there.

I hope you try this updated recipe if it’s not too much of a carb splurge for you! I admit, it’s partly the black beans that make me love this chili so much. And the fresh-squeezed lime juice and chopped cilantro stirred into the chili at the end gets a big thumbs up from me. But what really puts this Chili into over-the-top status for me is the creamy avocado-cilantro-onion salsa, which I think might be the perfect topping for chili!

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

What is Chili?

The American stew called Chili has endless variations, and it’s a perfect cold weather dish. For anyone not familiar with the cuisine of the Southwestern United States, here’s some info about the dish called Chili:

• Yes, it does usually contain ground chiles (small red or green hot peppers) as well as chili powder (a seasoning blend). But there are lots of other things that define chili.
• Sometimes Chili has meat, and it could be beef, pork, chicken, or turkey, but Chili can also be a vegetarian dish.
• There are Chili recipes with or without beans, (and some purists say that true Chili should never have beans!)
• For recipes that do use beans, many types will work, including red beans, black beans, white beans, pinto beans, and more.
• Besides chile peppers, meat and possibly beans, most Chili recipes also include include tomatoes and onions.

When do I serve this Black Bean and Beef Chili?

Chili is a great party food, as well as something that’s nice to have in the freezer, and it’s especially good when the weather is cold! But in my family this Black Bean and Beef Chili is famous for being the ultimate game-day food, and it’s made an appearance at quite a few Super Bowl parties through the years!

How low in carbs is the updated Black Bean and Beef Chili?

The new version of this favorite chili recipe with fewer beans and more ground beef has 17 net carbs and 34 grams of protein. (The original recipe had 23 net carbs and 29 grams of protein.)

What if you prefer chili without beans?

Check out my round-up of Amazing Low-Carb and Keto Chili Recipes if you prefer a chili without beans.

What if you’re not a fan of cilantro?

Normally I recommend replacing cilantro with thinly sliced green onion. But this recipe already has finely chopped red onion in the chili and in the avocado salsa. So I would just omit the cilantro if you’re not a fan.

How to make Black Bean and Beef Chili:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Start by rinsing one can of black beans and letting them drain.  (These original photos are from a double batch of Chili I made for my family Super Bowl party, you won’t have that many beans.)
2. Puree the second can of black beans with the tomatoes in a food processor (affiliate link) or blender.
3. Heat most of the oil in heavy soup pot, brown the ground beef, then remove beef to a bowl.
4. Add a bit more oil if needed and saute half the onion until it’s starting to soften. Then add the chile powders (and ground chipotle chile pepper if using) and ground cumin and cook a minute or two until the spices are fragrant.
5. Add beef stock to the soup pot, then add browned ground beef, pureed bean mixture, drained beans, and tomato paste. Stir, and let the chili start to simmer on medium heat.
6. While chili simmer, dice avocados and toss it with 1/4 cup lime juice.
7. Then stir in half of the chopped onion and half the chopped cilantro. (Keep the salsa in the fridge if you’re simmering the chili a while like I did.)
8. The Chili can cook in about 30 minutes, but I like to turn the heat to very low and simmer it for a couple of hours when I have time. It will thicken a bit and cook down slightly.
9. Stir in the rest of the lime juice and chopped cilantro when the chili is as thick as you’d like it and cook a few minutes more.
10. Taste chili and season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
11. Serve Black Bean and Beef Chili hot, with a generous scoop of avocado salsa on top.

More Chili Recipes You Might Like:

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe for Black Bean and Beef Chili has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
When it’s made with low-fat ground beef, this Black Bean and Beef Chili would be a great main dish for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. This updated recipe a lower-carb chili, but it would still be a slight splurge for low-carb eaters and to high for Keto. Check out Amazing Low-Carb Chili Recipes for no-bean chili recipes that are delicious and low in carbs.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Soup & Stew Recipes to find more recipes like this one! Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This chili recipe with beef and black beans was first posted in 2008, and I’ve probably made this at least 50 times since then! The recipe was updated to a version with fewer beans and more ground Beef in 2026.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Mediterranean Beef Stew will be a hit with everyone who loves rosemary, olives, and capers; make it in the slow cooker or on the stove. This stew is loaded with flavor and low in carbs; see tips for making it even lower in carbs if you prefer!

PIN Mediterranean Beef Stew to try it later!

Next time you’re feeling like a slow cooker dinner that can cook all day while you do something else, why not make this slow Mediterranean Beef Stew with lots of interesting Mediterranean flavors? You can start this mid morning and by dinner time it will be ready to go, and this is great for a low-carb meal.

If you’ll be gone all day, just do the advance prep the night before, refrigerate the ingredients in a plastic container, and put the cold ingredients in the slow cooker and let it cook all day while you’re out.

I’d love this with a dollop of sour cream on top, but no matter how you eat it, this stew is loaded with mediterranean flavors from rosemary, olives, and capers. And there are also stove-top instructions if you don’t have a slow cooker!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• olive oil
• mushrooms
• onion
• chuck steak or roast
• beef stock or canned beef broth (affiliate link)
• canned diced tomatoes with juice
• tomato sauce
• balsamic vinegar, I use Colavita Aged Balsamic Vinegar (affiliate link)
• black olives
• garlic cloves,
• fresh rosemary or use ground rosemary (affiliate link)
• fresh parsley
• Capers (affiliate link)
• fresh ground black pepper and salt to taste

Do you have to pre-brown brown the beef?

I realize, (and some people remind me occasionally!) that some of you don’t like having to brown the meat or pre-cook other ingredients before you put them in the slow cooker. I recommend doing that because I think browning the meat or onions adds so much flavor to slow cooker dishes, and cooking mushrooms removes the extra liquid that doesn’t get cooked off in the slow cooker. But I don’t take it personally if you ignore my instructions, and I think this will still be pretty good even if you just dump the ingredients in the slow cooker and turn it to low.

Want a version of Mediterranean Beef Stew that’s even lower in carbs?

This recipe is quite low in carbs, but if you want to make a version that’s even lower in carbs (or don’t have balsamic vinegar), use less tomato sauce and use 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar plus a little sweetener to replace the balsamic vinegar.

What size show cooker did I use?

I used a Crock-Pot 3.5 Quart Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for this recipe, but any similar size will work. If you’re a slow cooker fan you can find lots more Slow Cooker / Instant Pot Recipes on my other site!

More Beef in the Slow Cooker:

If you’re a slow cooker fan, check out 20 Keto Slow Cooker Recipes with Beef to find more tasty beef recipes like this one. Or you can use Low-Carb and Keto Stew Recipes to find more tasty stews.

How to make Slow Cooker Mediterranean Beef Stew:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Slice 8 oz. mushrooms and chop up one small onion.
2. Heat a small amount of olive oil and cook the mushrooms.  When they’re brown and the pan is dry, add them to the slow cooker.
3. While the mushrooms cook trim the chuck steak into bite-sized pieces. (I trim away the fatty parts, and save all those fatty pieces to make homemade beef stock.)
4. After you remove the mushrooms, add a little more oil and lightly brown the chopped onions; then add them to the slow cooker.
5. Then add a little more oil, add the pieces of beef and cook until they are well browned on all sides. Add the browned beef to the slow cooker.
6. De-glaze pan with one cup of homemade beef stock or beef broth, cook until slightly reduced, then add to the slow cooker.
7. While the beef browns slice the garlic pieces and olives, measure the capers, and chop the rosemary and parsley. Add the can of diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar, olives, garlic slices, chopped rosemary, chopped parsley, and capers.
8. Cook for 6-8 hours on low (or slightly longer if you prep the night before and started with ingredients that were cold.)  This can also be cooked on high for 3-4 hours, but I prefer longer cooking on low for beef.
9. The last photo shows how the stew looked when it had cooked all day and was ready to eat.  Season with fresh ground black pepper (and a little salt if desired), and eat!

More Slow Cooker Recipes with Beef:

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe has been added to a new category called Weekend Food Prep  to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Mediterranean Beef Stew with rosemary, olives, and capers would be suitable for low-carb diets, including Keto if you followed the ideas in this post for slightly reducing the carbs. If you use lean beef it would work for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. 

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Slow Cooker Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was posted in 2007, and I’ve made it quite a few times since then! The recipe was last updated with more information in 2023.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Source link

The combination of flavorful beef, zesty slaw, and spicy garlic sauce, makes these easy Korean beef bowls an amazing weeknight dinner!

Please meet one of our favorite dinners EVER. Modeled after these favorite Korean beef tacos, this “bowl” version is quicker, easier, and just as delicious! (Scroll down for a quick and simple salmon version!)

Slaw + Sauce + Beef

There are three main components to this recipe:

• Zesty, fresh slaw with crunchy cucumbers
• The sauce to end all sauces (creamy, spicy, garlicky)
• Flavorful Korean-style ground beef

While the ingredients list in the recipe may look a bit long, each component comes together incredibly fast. The slaw and sauce can be made ahead of time to speed up dinner night assembly!

And to simplify prep even further, you can use a bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix for the cabbage and carrots called for in the recipe.

Assembling Korean Beef Bowls

These Korean beef bowls are delicious served with the three main recipe components above. But they are even more delicious with a few additions.

This is how we like to serve them:

• Hot, cooked rice
• Korean beef
• Slaw
• Sauce (and more sauce)
• Lime wedges
• Chopped cilantro
• Avocados

Sometimes we’ll throw naan bread on the side, too. YUM!

Build-Your-Own Meal

The great thing about this recipe and the reason it makes such a fabulous, family-friendly dinner is that it is easily a build-your-own meal where everyone can create the beef and rice bowl of their dreams.

I, for one, always add extra beef, extra slaw, extra sauce, and a lot of fresh lime squeezes. Sometimes, a little drizzle of extra sriracha. Oh, and a good amount of chopped cilantro.

My family? Their bowls have just a tiny bit less personality (and less cabbage), but I don’t judge them for it. Especially because that means more leftovers for meeeeee.

These Korean beef bowls are tremendous.

They are easily one of my favorite things to eat for dinner, and there are never any complaints from the family (see the aforementioned build-your-own appeal).

The flavors are out of this world delicious! I love how quickly and easily this meal comes together. Really, I could eat this over and over and never get tired of it.

And if you’re looking to change it up just a little, try using the sauce for the beef as a salmon marinade. After marinading the salmon for a couple of hours, cook it on the grill, in the air fryer, or broil in the oven and serve with all the other recipe components. SO, SO GOOD.

One Year Ago: Easy Cinnamon Honey Butter {For Rolls and Toast}
Two Years Ago: Roasted Asparagus Lemon Orzo Salad with Fresh Mozzarella 
Three Years Ago: Heavenly Raspberry Cream Angel Food Cake Dessert 
Four Years Ago: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Scones
Five Years Ago: Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies {My Favorite Cookie}
Six Years Ago: Fudgy Brownie Cupcakes with The Best Peanut Butter Frosting
Seven Years Ago: Simple Homemade Lemonade
Eight Years Ago: Divine 1-Hour Homemade Breadsticks 
Nine Years Ago: Whole Grain Pumpkin Blueberry Muffins 
Ten Years Ago: Slow Cooker Chicken Philly Sandwiches 

Easy Korean Beef Bowls

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 45 minutes mins

Quick Slaw:

• 4 cups shredded cabbage (napa, green, purple or a combo) – see note
• 1 cup shredded or grated carrots
• 1 cup chopped cucumbers
• ¼ to ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Sriracha, to taste

Sauce to End All Sauces:

• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Korean Beef:

• 1 ½ to 2 pounds lean ground beef
• ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
• ¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger or ginger paste
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (4 to 5 cloves) or 1 teaspoon garlic powder

For serving (optional but tasty):

• Hot, cooked rice
• Naan bread
• Avocado slices
• Fresh lime wedges
• Chopped cilantro

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

• For the slaw, in a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, and cilantro. In a small bowl whisk together the lime juice, soy sauce, olive oil, salt and pepper (start with a pinch of each and add more to taste, if needed), and sriracha. Pour the dressing over the slaw and toss to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve (it can be made 4-6 hours in advance).

• For the sauce, stir together all the ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve (it can be made several days in advance).

• For the beef, in a 12-inch nonstick skillet set over medium heat, brown the ground beef, breaking the meat into small pieces, until no longer pink. Drain excess grease.

• To the skillet, add the soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, ginger and garlic or garlic powder. Stir to combine and bring the meat and sauce to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes until heated through.

• For serving, to each bowl, add a scoop of rice (if using), add a portion of beef and slaw. Drizzle with sauce. Serve with lime wedges, avocados, and naan bread, if desired.

Slaw: this makes quite a bit of slaw as we like to load up our bowls with a lot of slaw. If you think you might want less, you can halve the slaw ingredients.
To speed up prep time, you can use part of a 14-ounce bag of pre-shredded coleslaw mix (without the dressing) for the cabbage and carrots called for in the recipe. 

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Method: Stovetop

Serving: 1 Serving, Calories: 370kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 29g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 80mg, Sodium: 1389mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 8g

Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (adapted from this Korean tacos recipe)

Disclaimer: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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