These quick and easy low-carb keto ground beef meal prep recipes will save you precious TIME and MONEY!
Low-carb ground beef recipes are high-protein and affordable.
These family-friendly ground beef recipes are designed to be quick, cost-efficient meals that can be made in under 20 minutes. All are family-friendly dinner recipes.
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Is ground beef OK on the keto diet?
Ground beef is nutritious, cheap, quick to cook, and it freezes well. Ground beef is versatile and you can buy in bulk and cook in bulk to help with easy low-carb meal prep.
The amount of protein and fat in ground beef will vary depending on which type of ground beef you buy. The higher the fat content, the lower the protein.
| Per 100g (3.5oz) | Carbs | Protein | Fat | Calories |
| Ground beef 70% lean | 0 | 14.4g | 30g | 332 |
| Ground beef 80% lean | 0 | 17.2g | 20g | 254 |
| Ground beef 90% lean | 0 | 20.0g | 10g | 176 |
| Ground beef 95% lean | 0 | 21.4g | 5g | 137 |
Nutritional values from cronometer.com
What is the best way to meal prep?
When you want to stay on track with your low-carb or keto diet and fuel up on quality protein, moderate fat, and low carbs, then ground beef meals are perfect. And there are some easy ways to start your meal prep.
You can make all the 99+ beef recipes ahead of time. There are also a number of easy ways to start your meal prep for the week ahead.
- Boil a dozen eggs for high-protein snacks and quick meals.
- Cut vegetables, chop onions, and slice broccoli. Keep in ziplock bags or containers in the chiller drawer of your fridge.
- Rice cauliflower and keep in an airtight container.
- Portion control snacks ready to grab and go.
- Wash salad ingredients and place in ziplock bags or meal prep containers with damp kitchen paper to keep salad greens crisp and fresh.
Which are the best keto recipes to use ground beef
Fast food meals are convenient but they're also full of unnecessary carbs and sugars. It's especially difficult to stick with healthy meals if you are limited to the time you have to spend in the kitchen, and how much you can spend on ingredients.
To make your low-carb diet or keto diet a little easier, these are the 4 best ground beef comfort food recipes.
- Taco salad
- Sloppy joes
- Lasagna with keto pasta
- Cheeseburger pizza
The ingredients used are pantry staples and further down you'll get my best tips for substitute ingredients just in case you don't have or can't find an ingredient at the store.
How to fry/brown ground beef
To make all four ground beef recipes simple and easy to cook during the week you can brown your ground beef in bulk, and then store it in the refrigerator or freezer to be used in the 4 meal prep recipes.
You need a little less than 2 kg (about 4 lbs) of ground beef. This is enough ground beef to make all 4 meal prep recipes below.
To brown your beef, heat a skillet/pan on the stove.
- When the pan is hot, add some oil or melt some butter then add your ground beef.
- Add salt and pepper to season the cooked ground beef as it cooks.
- Begin to break the ground beef up before adding it to the pan, but you can also break the ground beef up whilst it's cooking.
- Let the ground beef crisp in the pan on high heat for 2-3 minutes without stirring it before turning the meat to brown the other side. Let it sit for a few more minutes and repeat until the meat cooked.
How to store cooked ground beef
Store in an airtight meal prep container once completely cooled.
Cooked ground beef can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for several weeks.
1: Low-Carb Ground Beef Taco Salad
Taco salad is one of my favorite salads. I love how crunchy it is. How tasty it is. And how nutritious and colourful it is.
Want to learn my secret keto taco salad trick? I make tasty low-carb tortilla strips out of shredded cheese.
To make the tortilla strips sprinkle shredded cheese over an unlined baking pan and bake until crisp. Easy peasy 1 ingredient recipe.
When the cheese has crisped let it cool and then cut it into strips to make low-carb tortilla strips. Don't worry the cheese won't stick to the pan, but if you line the pan the cheese will stick to the paper or foil.
While the keto tortilla cheese strips are baking, begin to make your ground beef taco meat with all the herbs and spices.
Chop your vegetables and your salad is ready to assemble as soon as your tortilla strips are done.
Salsa or sour cream is the perfect topping to use in place of dressing.
You may also want to try this taco salad wrapped up in one of my keto tortillas.
They are so versatile and have only 2g net carbs.
2: Low-Carb Ground Beef Sloppy Joes
Your family will love these low-carb sloppy joes and the numerous ways you can serve them low-carb style.
When in a rush I love to serve them open-faced over 1-Minute Keto Muffins.
If you have a bit more time serve them over a chaffle or between a sliced keto bagel.
To make the sloppy joe ground beef recipe, add the cooked ground beef to a skillet to reheat.
Next mix in your seasonings, mustard, vinegar, tomato paste, and water. If you like a sweeter sloppy joe you can also add a spoonful of your preferred brand of natural brown sweetener.
Let the sloppy joes simmer on low for a few minutes and then serve your sloppy joes with some shredded cheese sprinkled over the top.
3: Low-Carb Skillet Ground Beef Lasagna with Keto Pasta
Warning, you will become obsessed with this low-carb skillet lasagna.
To make the keto lasagna you will want to make the keto pasta first so that it is ready to go.
That probably sounds daunting, but this pasta takes less than five minutes to make and doesn't require boiling or cooking since there are no raw ingredients and it's based on mozzarella cheese.
Simply toss the keto pasta ingredients together in a microwave-safe bowl, cook for 1 minute, mix, cook for another 30 seconds, mix then roll the keto pasta in between 2 sheets of baking parchment.
Use a pizza cutter to cut the keto pasta into bite-sized squares.
Next, make your ground beef meat sauce in an oven-safe skillet (I used a small cast iron pan) and mix together your cheese sauce in a small bowl.
When the meat sauce is cooked, quickly stir the keto pasta into the meat sauce. Pour your cheese sauce over the top.
Be sure to move quickly once you add the pasta to the sauce to ensure your pasta does not overcook.
Place the whole pan in the oven under the broiler/grill for a few minutes to crisp the top before serving.
That's it, your skillet lasagna is done in less than 15 minutes.
4: Keto Cheeseburger Pizza
Keto cheeseburger pizza is a fun way to combine two of your favorite foods for dinner tonight.
The crust is made out of Fat Head dough and the sauce is similar to the sauce you'd find on a Big Mac. If you haven't tried Fat Head pizza yet you are missing out!
Once you have made your keto pizza crust you will want to cover it with your Big Mac sauce and then sprinkle on some cooked ground beef, onions, and shredded cheddar cheese.
Bake the pizza until the cheese is melted and top it with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and sliced pickles.
You can also drizzle the Big Mac sauce over the top. It is so delicious and a fun twist on your regular cheeseburger.
Substitutions For Tomato-Based Ingredients
If you are having a hard time finding anything don't be afraid to substitute one of the ingredients for something a little different.
This will change the nutritional facts for the recipes, but sometimes we have to be flexible.
Low-sugar tomato sauce, or sugar-free ketchup can be used instead of crushed tomatoes, or vice versa. Tomato paste can be watered down into tomato sauce, and whole stewed tomatoes can be blended to make crushed tomatoes.
If you open a can of tomato paste or sauce and don't use the whole can in one recipe, be sure to place the leftovers in an airtight container or bag in the refrigerator or freezer for future use.
Another trick is to store the closed glass jar upside down so as to exclude the air from the unused sauce - genius!
More ground beef recipes
I hope you found some new family favorite ground beef recipes that you will add to your weekly menu. Not only are these meals affordable they are filling and so simple to make.
And if you are confused with what to serve with ground beef, you can choose any of the 21+ best low-carb side dishes to serve with beef.
Don't be afraid to get your family involved. These are great starter meals to learn how to cook. Plus they are fun to make so your children will enjoy helping out in the kitchen. Enjoy!
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