A Step-by-Step Guide to Meal Prep with Minced Beef
If you’re looking for simple meal prep ideas using minced beef, these four recipes are easy to make, budget-friendly, and freeze brilliantly.
I’m a reluctant cook, and I don’t particularly enjoy spending hours in the kitchen. If I could afford my own chef, I’d happily let someone else do the cooking! But in the real world, I need meals that are quick, simple, inexpensive, and suitable for freezing.
That’s why I keep my cupboards and freezer stocked with tinned and frozen ingredients. Whenever I feel motivated to cook, I already have everything I need.
Over the years, I’ve adapted lots of recipes to make them easier and more affordable. I also like adding plenty of vegetables to meat dishes. Minced beef isn’t cheap, so bulking it out with vegetables makes it go further, saves money, and adds extra nutrition.
Here are four of my favourite minced beef meal prep recipes.
Lasagne
Ingredients
- 500g mince
- 100g onion (chopped)
- 400g chopped tomatoes
- 500g lasagne red tomato sauce
- 100g peas
- 100g carrots
- 100g sweetcorn
- Lasagne pasta sheets
- 75g mature cheddar, grated
Instructions
- Brown the minced beef and onion in a large pan over a medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped tomatoes, pasta sauce, peas, carrots and sweetcorn.
- Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Spoon a little sauce into the bottom of an ovenproof dish.
- Add a layer of lasagne sheets, followed by more meat sauce.
- Repeat the layers until you’ve used all the mixture.
- Finish with the grated Cheddar.
- Finish it off by sprinkling over the top grated mature cheddar.
(375°F) Cover the lasagne with foil and bake for 45 to 60 minutes.
This made 5 single portions.
Mince and Onion Pie
Ingredients
- 1000g mince
- 100g onion (chopped)
- 3 Oxo’s
- 1 tablespoon of corn flour
- Water
Filling
- Cook the minced beef and onion over medium-high heat in a pan until browned and tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle the cornflour and oxos, mixing everything well.
- Add water to the pan just enough to cover the mixture. Add the pan lid and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After 10 minutes, remove the lid and continue cooking for an additional 5 to 10 minutes to allow the gravy to thicken.
- Once it’s done, place the meat mixture into trays and let it cool.
Pastry
Ingredients
- 125g plain flour
- Pinch salt
- 55g butter
Rub the butter into the flour and salt until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add a little cold water until the dough comes together, then knead lightly and roll out.
Place the pastry over each cooled pie.
(375°F) and bake the pie for 35-40 minutes until it reaches a golden-brown colour.
This made 4 single portions.
Meat and vegetable pie
Ingredients
- 500g mince
- 100g onion (chopped)
- 100g peas
- 100g carrots
- 100g sweetcorn
- 3 Oxo’s
- 1 tablespoon of cornflour
- Water
Filling
- Heat the minced beef and onion over medium-high heat in a pan until browned and tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Then sprinkle the cornflour and oxos, mixing everything well.
- Add water to the pan just enough to cover the mixture and add peas, sweetcorn and carrots. Put the pan lid on and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After 10 minutes, remove the lid and continue cooking for an additional 5/10 minutes to allow the gravy to thicken.
- Place the meat mixture into trays and let it cool.
Pastry
Ingredients
- 125g plain flour
- Pinch salt
- 55g butter
Rub the butter into the flour and salt until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add a little cold water until the dough comes together, then knead lightly and roll out.
Place the pastry over each cooled pie.
(375°F) and bake the pie for 35-40 minutes until it reaches a golden-brown colour.
This made 3 single portions.
Mince and Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 500g mince
- 100g onion
- 820g beans (2 big tins)
- 3 Oxo’s
- 1 tablespoon of cornflour
Instructions
- Heat the minced beef and onion over medium-high heat in a pan until browned and tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle the cornflour and oxos into the pan and mix well.
- Add the baked beans and cook for 10 minutes.
Then serve this with chips or mashed potatoes.
This made 4 single portions.
Freezing Instructions
- Allow your meals to cool completely before freezing.
- When you’re ready to eat one, transfer it to the fridge the night before so it can defrost overnight. Reheat thoroughly until piping hot before serving.
Final Thoughts
I hope at least one of these recipes inspires you to give meal prepping with minced beef a try.
Don’t be afraid to adapt them to suit your own tastes. You can easily add extra vegetables, herbs or spices, or change the quantities depending on what you have in the cupboard.
The minced beef and baked beans recipe might sound unusual, but it’s surprisingly tasty and well worth trying!
If you’re looking for even more inspiration, the BBC has a great collection of minced beef recipes.
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