THM Ground Beef Ideas

Ground beef is one of those ingredients I almost always have in the freezer, but for some reason, when it’s time to actually make dinner, my brain immediately goes to one thing: tacos.

And listen, I love tacos. There are absolutely taco-style ideas on this list, because tacos deserve their place at the table. But I also wanted a list of THM ground beef ideas I could come back to when I needed to use ground beef and wanted something different — casseroles, meatballs, skillet meals, comfort food, THM cookbook favorites, and easy family dinners that don’t feel like the same meal over and over again.

So I pulled together this BIG list of 70+ THM ground beef ideas to make dinner planning easier. Most of these work beautifully as THM S meals, and several can be lightened up depending on the recipe and the ingredients you choose.

You’ll also see several recipes from the official THM books. If you don’t have them yet, these are the ones referenced in this post:

Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
Trim Healthy Table
Trim Healthy Future

One quick note before you start planning: if a recipe calls for breadcrumbs, my favorite THM-friendly replacement for S meals is ground pork rinds. They work really well in meatballs, meatloaf, and burger-style recipes because they help bind everything together without adding extra carbs. No one has EVER guessed at this substitution and I've been using them for years! You can buy pork rind crumbs already crushed – I use these.

If you want to lighten up a ground beef meal, a few simple swaps can make a big difference. Drain your ground beef well, rinse it with hot water when you need a leaner option, and reduce the amount of heavy dairy if the recipe feels too rich. You can also stretch the meal with non-starchy vegetables like cabbage, zucchini, cauliflower rice, mushrooms, peppers, or spaghetti squash.

Ground Beef Tacos & Mexican

1. Taco Stack-Ups
2. Easy Mexican Casserole
3. Easy Low-Carb Mexican Skillet
4. One Pot Cheesy Taco Skillet
5. Tacos with low-carb tortillas, lettuce wraps, or no shell
6. Quesadilla – taco meat in a low-carb tortilla
7. Taco salad with ground beef, cheese, sour cream, avocado, and salsa
8. Mexican Stuffed Peppers (skip the arrowroot) with cauliflower rice
9. Taco Zucchini Boats
10. Cheesy Taco Cabbage Skillet
11. Beef Enchiladas
12. Taco-Stuffed Mushrooms
13. 7 Layer Dip
14. Taco Casserole
15. Jalapeño Popper Casserole
16. Taco Soup
17. Easy Taco Pie
18. Beefy Chile Rellenos Casserole
19. Mexican Baked Spaghetti Squash
20. Burrito Bowls
21. Nacho Stuffed Peppers p.142, THM Cookbook

Ground Beef Comfort Foods

1. Salisbury Steak
2. Coney Island Casserole / Party Dip
3. Crockpot Pizza Casserole
4. Cheesy Cauliflower Shepherd’s Pie
5. THM Cheeseburger Pie p. 149, THM Cookbook
6. Pearl’s Chili p. 101, THM Cookbook
7. Kai Si Ming from the THM book, p. 98 THM Cookbook
8. Bacon Cheeseburger Bake
9. Beef Stovetop Casserole
10. Beef and Broccoli Casserole
11. Beef and Mushroom Skillet
12. Low-Carb Beef Stroganoff
13. Unstuffed Cabbage Casserole
14. Philly Cheesesteak Casserole
15. Beefy Zucchini Casserole
16. Low-Carb Lasagna
17. Easy Beef and Green Bean Casserole
18. Italian Beef Skillet
19. Creamy Ranch Beef Casserole
20. Keto Chili Mac
21. Spaghetti Squash with Beef and Veggies
22. Italian Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
23. Meatloaf p. 158, THM Cookbook
24. Cheeseburgers with no bun
25. Mozzarella Filled Mini Meatloaves
26. Big Mac Salad from Now I Can Have My Cake and Eat It Too
27. Burger Bombs p. 212, Trim Healthy Table
28. Cheeseburger Bowls (just pile ground beef & on-plan toppings in a bowl with shredded cheese)
29. Taste of Home Casserole p. 144, Trim Healthy Table
30. Best Ever Meatloaf
31. Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers
32. Meat Roma Pie from A Home with Purpose

Ground Beef Meatballs

1. Meatball Soup p. 115, Trim Healthy Table
2. Sweet and Sour Meatballs p. 107, Trim Healthy Table
3. One-Batch Meatballs p. 129, Trim Healthy Table
4. Marvelous Make-Ahead Meatballs p. 208, Trim Healthy Table
5. Meatballs, Rice, and Gravy p. 211, Trim Healthy Table
6. Swedish Meatballs in Cream Sauce p. 61, THM Cookbook
7. Italian Low-Carb Meatballs
8. Chipotle Enchilada Meatballs
9. Beef and Mushroom Meatballs with Stroganoff Sauce from All Day I Dream About Food
10. General Tso’s Meatballs from I Breathe I’m Hungry
11. Classic Italian meatballs
12. Swedish Meatballs
13. BBQ Meatballs
14. Greek Meatballs with Tzatziki
15. Stuffed Bell Peppers in a Pot from Mrs. Criddle’s Kitchen
16. Ground Beef Stuffed Zucchini from Katrina Runs
17. General Tso’s Meatballs from I Breathe I’m Hungry
18. Big n’ Beefy Noodle Bowl p. 319, Trim Healthy Table
19. Deconstructed Stuffed Peppers p. 54,Trim Healthy Table
20. Power Skillet, p. 66, Trim Healthy Table
21. Award Winning Chili Pie p. 142, Trim Healthy Table
22. Baked Zaghetti p. 156, Trim Healthy Future

I hope this list helps you get out of the “ground beef equals tacos again” rut — or at least gives you a lot more taco-adjacent and definitely-not-taco options for busy nights. Ground beef is quick, flexible, budget-friendly, and easy to keep on hand, which makes it one of my favorite proteins for building simple THM meals without overthinking dinner. If you have a favorite THM-friendly ground beef recipe your family loves, I’d love to hear about it!