Ground Beef and Gravy
Ground Beef and Gravy only needs 20 minutes and a few pantry staple ingredients to make. It’s a comforting and filling weeknight meal!
A QUICK GROUND BEEF DINNER RECIPE
When I tell you this Ground Beef and Gravy is one comforting meal I truly mean it. It is so simple yet so delicious, you will want to make it at least once a week. It is one of those comfort meals I make pretty often and it’s one I know everyone will enjoy. This meal easily feeds four people and can be stretched a bit further if you serve with something filling like mashed potatoes. It’s meals like this that fill bellies without breaking the bank!
Absolutely fabulous. Made exactly as written and could NOT find a single step that didn’t come out as described. Grew up with my Mom being the “Lunch Lady” in my elementary school and her “hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes” was my all time favorite. Since her passing I have searched high and low for a recipe that even comes close to hers. AND THIS IS IT!
– Ellen
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
We love this Ground Beef and Gravy best with some of my Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes or simple stove top Creamy Mashed Potatoes. But this is also delicious with egg noodles, on a bed of rice or even your favorite pasta.
Add some diced onion and bell pepper to the meat to make it a little more bulked up. You could also stir in some frozen veggies while it is simmering for a heartier meal.
Turkey, chicken, or venison can all be used instead of ground beef if desired. You may want to switch up the beef broth for chicken or vegetable broth though.
Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days or keep them longer by freezing for up to 3 months.
Reheat in the microwave or back in the skillet. You may need to add another splash of beef broth to help loosen it up.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- lean ground beef – I used 80/20 lean ground beef.
- salted butter – you can use unsalted butter if you need to cut back on sodium.
- cloves garlic – I always prefer fresh garlic as it gives the best flavor but you can use the jarred stuff if that is what you have.
- dried minced onion – you can use a bit of freshly diced onion if you prefer.
- black pepper
- all-purpose flour – this is used to thicken the gravy, you can also use cornstarch.
- beef broth – can use low or no sodium if necessary.
- Worcestershire sauce
HOW TO MAKE GROUND BEEF AND GRAVY:
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef, breaking it up into crumbles until there is no pink left, 8-10 minutes. I like to get a little char on the beef if possible. Drain any excess grease.
Lower the temperature to medium heat and add the butter. Allow the butter to melt.
Stir in the garlic, minced onion, and black pepper until fragrant, 30 seconds.
Add the flour and stir it in, cook for 1 minute.
Slowly stream in the beef broth while stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add the Worcestershire sauce and stir it in.
Simmer for 5 minutes until thickened, serve immediately over mashed potatoes.
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Ground Beef and Gravy (+Video)
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef (I used 80/20)
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoon dried minced onion
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef broth (can use low or no sodium)
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook 1 pound ground beef, breaking it up into crumbles until there is no pink left, 8-10 minutes. I like to get a little char on the beef if possible.
- Drain any excess grease and place meat back into skillet.
- Lower the temperature to medium heat and add 2 Tablespoons salted butter. Allow the butter to melt.
- Stir in 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1 Tablespoon dried minced onion and ½ teaspoon black pepper until fragrant, 30 seconds.
- Add 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour and stir it in, cook for 1 minute.
- Slowly stream in 2 cups beef broth while stirring constantly to avoid lumps.
- Add 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce and stir it in.
- Simmer for 5 minutes until thickened, serve immediately over mashed potatoes.
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
This was called hamburger gravy on mashed potatoes in the school cafeteria menu sent home with every child in elementary school in the sixties. Everyone bought lunch on that day! sloppy joes was another buy lunch day for all. Those cafeteria cooks were the absolute best.
I will be making this again and again. Hubby raved at how good it was and it is so simple!
Very tasty and quick to make. Making even quicker with rice instead of potatoes
It’s a quick and simple weeknight dinner. Very tasty too. Definitely will be making again
Soooo good! I was looking for something to make other than the normal hamburgers or hot dogs with the ground beef I took out for dinner. I saw this and decided to try it out. What a hit! Thank you for sharing this. I’ll be adding it to my dinner rotation for sure.
Where can I get your cook book.
Hi Diane! It’s only a small one but here you go 🙂
https://www.thecountrycook.net/cookbook/
This was so simple and so tasty ! I did add a chopped onion when my beef was cooking.
I also added a little bit of Better than Bouillion along with the beef broth to deepen the flavor. Delicious served with mashed potatoes and petite peas on the side. Thank you !
Thanks so very much Debra!
This was delicious! I needed fast meal, had most all the ingredients and it went together quickly. I added some dried thyme, onion powder (no minced onions) and fresh basil. Adding it to my recipe file! Thank you!
omg. I am not a cook but I just made this! Went step.by step and it turned out so good!
Good recipe just before serving add 1/4-1/2 tsp curry powder and serve it over rice.
I just made this recipe for the first time. couldn’t be any easier. haven’t served it yet, made ahead, but can’t imagine it won’t be just as good with a little heat up. love quick and easy and always have ground beef on hand.
My wife and I love this recipe. It is one of her favorites and it’s very simple to make. Thanks so much – we love your recipes. I do very much appreciate all your step by step photos, videos and ingredient photos and your detailed explanation. You are a fantastic teacher.
As a kid we called this mince and tatties. I’ve used your recipe a few times now and it turns out very well. The only change I’ve made is to add a can of peas and carrots, works out great and your veggies are right in the same pan.
I make this when I don’t have eggs or breadcrumbs and my meatballs break apart. Delicious!
I have never left a comment on a recipe, but I made this for dinner and had to come back and let you know that even my super picky 10 year old rated this recipe an 8/10! It was delicious and easy! Thank you for sharing! This is definitely getting added to our regular rotation and now I’m exploring your site for more yummy recipes! 🙂
I love this recipe, thank you for sharing.
we should have taken a picture but we were hungry. lol very tasty and I did tweak it to use some veggies and peppers on hand.
Down to earth simple and delicious, thanks!
I had frozen beef and no expectations! Added a side of frozen peas/carrots and suddenly had a GREAT deconstructed shepherd’s pie. I’ve never prepared the beef as instructed and will be repeating this recipe. Thank you!
This was so easy, fast, and tasted delicious!!!!
5 stars! I pulled out some ground beef to thaw dinner. When it came down to it, the kids didn’t want burgers again, and we didn’t have shells for tacos. So, I searched for quick and easy ground beef recipes. It was the picture that sold me. This recipe was both quick and easy, and while we added plenty of our own favorite seasonings in addition to what was in the recipe, it was all a great success. Note: I used 2 lb ground beef, 4 cups vegetable broth. This is enough for 2 adults and 2 kids, with one large potato for each. Every mouth in the house is happy right now. Thank you!
Thanks so much Cheryl!! I really appreciate it!
Ty for this delish-looking recipe.
How do you make your mashed potatoes, pls? I’ve never made them. I need to avoid butter, and would like to add either chicken or beef broth instead of milk. Would chicken broth taste weird when eaten with the ground beef, do you think? . And do you start boiling the potatoes before the beef? I didn’t see your FAQ on the page.
Thanks!
I actually have two recipes linked above in the FAQ section under what I serve with ground beef & gravy (stove top or slow cooker – whichever is easier for you) 🙂
Perfect! Great ideas in the comments for variation. Goes well, I think, over any favorite comfort starch you’d like, mashed potatoes, rice, noodles or just bread.
I made this recipe and it is delicious and so simple. Thank you!! I used sautéed onions and mushrooms and added after adding broth. Will be making again soon.
I used lipton beefy onion mix instead of minced onion and it added great flavor. The whole family approved.
I made this last night for dinner, we’re trying to avoid starches so served on a bed of wilted spinach instead. It was wonderful – quick, easy, and I had most of the ingredients on hand already ! Thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe !
I’m making a half recipe today since I only have half pound ground beef, and I am doing rice instead of potatoes, my son doesn’t like mashed potatoes, but I am sure it will be good.We just have three in my family so it should be enough.My husband eats like a bird and I boiled two large artichokes so it should be enough.I will let you know how it went over.
This turned out to be a great pantry meal. I threw in a can of mushrooms (diced). It was a full meal in a skillet and the flavor was so good.
I made this as written over mashed potatoes and it was very good. Both my husband and I went back for seconds (always a good sign). I’m excited to give it a try with other sides and adding some spices.
Thanks so very much Lesley!!
Absolutely Fabulous made exactly as written and could NOT find a single step that didn’t come out as described Grew up with my Mom being the “Lunch Lady” in my elementary school and her “Hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes” Was my all time favorite. I would even beg her to bring home any “extra” Since her passing I have searched high and low for a recipe that even comes close to hers. AND THIS IS IT!!! Bless you for sharing this with me
This is a meal I grew up on! I’ve have searched high and low for a recipe for sometime now and finally your’s popped up! My mom always calls it Hamburger run around since the meat and gravy run around the potatoes. . She was diagnosed with ALS in 2023 and as she has lost mobility I have taken over all the cooking. We used to split the cooking. She never had a written recipe. She’s told me the ingredients but no measurements. So I have never been able to perfect her recipe. This is so very very close. I told her what I used and she said yeah that’s it but she felt like it was missing something, she said she does add a bay leaf. I didn’t do that as she told me as we were eating. I’m very pleased with this recipe and I thank you so much for posting your recipe to help me continue a lifetime recipe. My kids enjoyed it as well and were silent during dinner which is the first sign they like it! The only thing I added was just a small splash of cornstarch/water mix to very slightly thicken the gravy a bit more! Thank you again.
Well now I’m gonna cry Ashley! I am so sorry about your sweet Mom but what an amazing daughter you are! Big hugs and love to all of you and thank you for choosing to make this recipe!
So delicious! We all loved this meal! It was quick and easy which is so nice especially on busy evenings. I used an onion since I need to use them and I tripled the recipe since I have a big family and big eaters. My gravy did not thicken but it did not bother me…we just served it in a bowl over mashed potatoes. Thank you for the recipe!!
Thank you for coming back to comment Sandy – so happy ou enjoy this simple recipe!
Delicious! My husband bought 3 lbs of beef from Costco and I simply didn’t know what to do with all this beef since I had started cutting our beef intake back significantly.. This could not have been any easier and it is delicious. Thank you for the great recipe.! Meiling
That makes me so happy to hear – yay!! Thanks so very much for coming back to comment!
Really great. I added diced onions and mixed veggies (frozen). Yummy, quick and easy
This was real quick, easy, and delicious! ☺️
Thanks so much Tina!
Can you make the gravy without beef broth? If so…How
Very good and very simple. My kind of meal!
There are two others options for the gravy. You can make a roux from scratch or use package gravy mix, both with either beef stock or water.
This gets a five star for flavor and easiness. I made this for only my husband, daughter, and myself, but would be great as a large family dish (we raised 6 kids and I would have loved this recipe back then!). I raised the servings to 6 on the recipe card before printing it out so we would have leftovers. I made it as is except I added an extra tablespoon of flour and used 85/15 ground beef because that’s what I had. I chose not to drain because there wasn’t much fat, but I will drain next time. The gravy turned out wonderfully creamy and it was delicious over mashed potatoes. It was the end of my biweekly shopping and the only veg I had were frozen mixed veggies and they were great with this! I do agree with other comments that mushrooms would be a good addition. Thank you so much for having recipes available for searchers like me who need a quick, delicious dinner! I will definitely keep this recipe handy as my son will love it when he’s home from college in the spring!
Awww Michele – what a wonderful and thoughtful comment! This makes me so happy to read and I SO appreciate you taking the time to come back. I hope I can bring you LOTS more recipes that you and your family will love!
made this tonight for my hungry guys!
it wasn’t terrible. I almost did the recipe exactly the way you did. I didn’t drain the meat figuring it would add flavor, it did the opposite. instead of onions I did 1/2tsp onion powder. end result needed some other flavor. I added frozen peas for a little more flavor and a little salt. had it over egg noodles. maybe mushrooms would help.
Super delicious! I cannot believe I hadn’t thought about this before What an amazing, quick and simple dinner. I’m definitely adding mushrooms next time. But, either way it’s awesome. I was going to do instant mashed potatoes but I went ahead and used at the rest of my fresh potatoes and followed, basically, the recipe for your mashed potatoes and they were really good. I didn’t salt them I just wanted to have the natural flavor of the potatoes and it all worked wonderfully. Thank you
Such a simple and delicious weeknight meal! Family loved it!!
I used onion, garlic, and mushrooms. It turned out great!!!
Made this with a pan of yorkshire puddings and it was lovely. We added some rosemary and thyme.
Easy and inexpensive..quick to the table. Thank you for sharing. I’ve had plenty of fails with gravy so was a little nervous as I didn’t have a quick backup plan for dinner. This turned out just right tho. Have saved for future use. We use Idahoan premium flakes/instant (buy from the store website in a big box (can’t find in my stores)…not as good as real potatoes but quick and good enough with the gravy this recipe makes.
This is great! I try to find ground beef recipes for an older brother. He will like this one!!
great how did you know how much of each ingredient to add
It’s in the recipe card above. You scrolled right past it to get to the comment section.
This was excellent and I do not even like Worcestershire but oh so tasty. It was easy to make. I used a real onion which is what I had. Husband loved it too. Thank you for such a great recipe and detailed instructions.
This was an extremely delicious recipe. Thank you for sharing. My husband loved it Will be on our rotation for meals.
Love meat and potatoes. Thank you for this.
Delish!!! Very meat and potatoes type of meal. My super picky kids that aren’t big fans of mashed potatoes or meals with gravy enjoyed this dish. Pairs well with garlic cheddar biscuits.
i made your ground beef and gravy along with your stove top mash potatoes and some veggie
very very good
YUM~O!
Made this tonight and it’s yummy! Next time I’m going to put some mushrooms in it! Super easy meal and budget friendly!
Thanks for getting this out for us