Classic Ground Beef Meals We All Forgot — And Need To Bring Back

Ground beef feels like one of those all-American foods, probably due to the influence of the hamburger. The reason it's often referred to as "hamburger" is that long ago, Hamburg, Germany, had a particular harbor that was known for shipping out cured, high-quality beef. But even now, Germany regards the hamburger as an American special with those layers. Due to its surprising versatility, ground beef features in a wealth of different dishes and cultural cuisines. It's one of those core ingredients that you can transform into whatever you like, adding herbs, spices, broths, and other fixings to shape it into the centerpiece of a warm lunch or dinner that leaves you feeling full and content.

However you prepare it, ground beef is a classic that's not going anywhere anytime soon. But over the years, some ground beef dishes have lost the popularity contest, relegated to infrequently trafficked internet recipe pages. That's not surprising, given how much you can do with this stuff — a few recipes are bound to fall out of favor. And yet they have surely not fallen out of flavor, which is why we're here to remind you of these ground beef meals that are ready to see the light of your oven.

Strangely enough, the cabbage roll is known in some places as a "pig in a blanket." The name seems to have developed due to an association with pork in the cabbage, but this meaty treat works perfectly well with ground beef. There are a million ways to make delicious cabbage rolls, so feel free to experiment when you make your own. A lot of cabbage rolls make good use of tomato sauce for instance, but Worcestershire sauce is another fun choice. A German version of the cabbage roll even replaces the beef with sauerkraut, but frankly, no true cabbage roll lacks that proper meat foundation.

In fact, some recipes combine beef and pork to great effect, allowing the two meats to compliment one another. The key to any good cabbage roll, though, is to prep the cabbage leaves in simmering water. This softens the leaves, giving them a more flexible texture and allowing them to wrap around the filling. They typically take about two hours to make in the oven, and they should also sit for at least 30 min before serving so that they can absorb all the liquid. So there's a bit of a wait involved, but it's worth it.

This one also has a couple of funny names. You may be familiar with the lamb version, which is known as "shepherd's pie." Some say that the best kind of pie is a savory one, and when you have a mouthful of cottage pie, it's hard to debate that sentiment. This pie actually showed up sometime in 18th century Britain as a way for families to use leftovers. Any part of a roast that was not eaten, for example, would go into these pies, which turned out to be quite tasty.

Cottage pie is sometimes thought of as a "cozy food," thanks to its hearty core of ground beef, carrots, celery, and onions. Seeing as how powerfully the beef comes through, you can sneak quite a few vegetables into this one. Sometimes, the whole thing is even smothered in mashed potatoes and gravy. It's one of those warm suppers that makes people think of fall evenings by the hearth. One important tip when you make a cottage pie: As you apply any mashed potatoes, use a fork to create ridges in the texture. This will create a crispy topping that brings the perfect crunch to your pie.

A product of Latin America, picadillo developed its name from the Spanish word "picar," meaning "to chop." Picadillo is basically ground beef, tomatoes, onions, capers, and green olives served alongside rice. One of the most popular versions is the Cuban rendition, known as "picadillo Cubano." This version introduces some exciting Latin spices to the classic picadillo, mixing the beef with a classic Cuban dish called "sofrito," which is kind of like salsa.

The picadillo is a highly versatile meal, so it can be served alone as the main event for dinner or as filling for something like empanadas or burritos. Common garnishes for picadillo include fried plantains, sliced chili peppers, and lime wedges. If you go looking for picadillo recipes, you may find that one of the traditional ingredients is none other than the humble raisin. This is a controversial inclusion, but those who advocate for the raisin do so with a passion. Raisins bring a unique sweetness to the fore, and even if you're not a raisin person, you may surprise yourself if you give them a shot. If you really want to get creative, you can make picadillo tacos with additions like cheese and avocado.

The origin of the sloppy joe is somewhat mysterious, but few can dispute the joy of biting into this sweet, smoky icon from American culinary history. Wherever it comes from, this one is a ground beef staple. It's said that an Iowan cook from the 1930s (named Joe, if you can believe it) was experimenting with the idea of a "loose meat" sandwich. He added some tangy tomato sauce to the ground beef, and voilà: The sloppy joe was born. Eventually, the recipe took off and became the charmingly named summer snack we all know and love.

These days, all kinds of sloppy joe recipes abound (including vegan ones). But even though everyone knows about this awesome BBQ-style sandwich, it doesn't seem to be quite as popular as it ought to be. It's a great option for using up any leftover ground beef, and the sandwich pairs well with things like caramelized onions, chipotle sauce, and brown sugar. It's a real canvas for flavor, and this sandwich just begs for personalization. As an example, some people like to use Dr. Pepper to sweeten the ground beef mixture in their sloppy joes. It's an unusual combo, but if there is a case to be made for combining soda and beef, this is probably it.

Sometimes called a "tater tot hotdish," this ground beef recipe is a time-honored supper from Minnesota. Frankly, it sounds tastier when you call it a hotdish, which may be why it was originally published under that name by a group of Lutheran foodies back in the 1930s. Whatever you call it, this dish is like the ultimate comfort food. The original edition was defined by ingredients like tomato soup, elbow macaroni, and celery. It's actually fairly similar to cottage pie. Both rely on a meat and vegetable base with a heavy potato presence topped off by gravy.

But the tater tot is different enough from mashed potatoes that this dish deserves its own name. For that matter, cream of mushroom soup is a popular inclusion here, making for a rich, creamy experience. Sometimes this is substituted for cream of celery soup. This tot-toting dish is not light eating — it's so filling that only the bravest opt for a second helping. And if you want to maximize that comfort element, shredded cheddar on top of the whole thing will make for extra cheesy dining. If you're looking for an edible hug to enjoy before cozying up with a great blanket on a long winter night, this is your go-to.

This one is a Chinese take on the classic old British standby of minced beef on rice. Of course, stir fry has been around since the days of ancient China. Thankfully, it's still so quick to make that the vegetables often retain much of their nutritional value, making this dish delicious and healthy. It works with lean beef or something with a higher fat content — that fattier the beef, the richer it will be. But both options taste great, so it's up to you. A lot of Asian cuisine fixtures make an appearance in this stir fry: eggs, green onions, sesame oil, white pepper, and soy sauce. And it might be worth mentioning that it's best made using a wok. If you don't have one, you can still make awesome ground beef stir fry, but for those who seek true culinary excellence, grab yourself a wok and learn how to use it.

One trick to evoking a distinctly Asiatic flavor is to marinate the beef in oyster sauce beforehand. If you've never had oyster sauce before, think rich and savory but without the overtly fishy taste that you get with some seafood sauces. It's even got an almost caramel-like sweetness to it, which really helps to round out the umami flavor.

Kafta is a famous dish that hails from Lebanon. Lebanese culinary culture leans into kebab and skewer-type meals, but this exciting ground beef delight is something anyone can make at home. This one works great for outdoor grilling, but you can also make it fairly quickly indoors. It's actually kind of like a glorified beef meatball, and it really only needs four core ingredients — adding anything more is up to preference. Those four ingredients are ground beef, onions, parsley, and a few different spices. The sources typically include cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper.

It's not unusual for kafta to be made with chicken or lamb, but we're focusing on beef this time. When you form the beef patties, they won't be in the more familiar rounded shape. Instead, kafta has an unusual oblong shape that allows them to sit comfortably on a skewer. If you're grilling outside, it's helpful to shape them around the skewer. But if you'd prefer not to serve them on skewers, they can be shaped just using your hands and served on a bed of rice. Unsurprisingly, it pairs especially well with Lebanese rice. If you turn it into a kafta sandwich, hummus makes for a really tasty condiment.

You can't talk about Salisbury steak without at least a quick nod to one Dr. James Salisbury, the Civil War-era personality who invented the Salisbury steak. Today, this ground beef classic is one of those tasty recipes that doesn't appear on the table as often as it deserves. This is a hearty meal often served alongside mashed potatoes and cooked vegetables like carrots and broccoli. The meat and potatoes portion is usually topped off with a kind of gravy that is similar to French brown sauce. It's also not uncommon to garnish the meat with slivers of onion.

It's not a traditional steak — Salisbury is kind of like a combination of meatball and hamburger. For whatever reason, it has become a common frozen dinner that you can grab from the grocery store. But the best flavor experience is one that you earn by making your own. There are a lot of fun tricks you can use to bring out the flavor — one popular way to prepare it is to take some ground beef and drench it with mushroom gravy. Other recipes go heavy on the Worcestershire sauce, and others still like to use garlic and onion powder.

Tacos are not meant to be wet or soggy unless they come in the form of ground beef taco soup, in which case the moisture is both intentional and delightful. And therefore it must be asked, "Who needs tacos for taco night?" You will, however, need a lot of the standard taco ingredients like bell peppers, tomatoes, corn, taco seasoning, and black beans. For this soup, you'll also want cream cheese and chicken broth. And in case you're missing the powerful crunch of a classic taco, you can always top the soup with tortilla strips.

And if you want to have a real fiesta, you can use tortilla chips as edible spoons. You can also dip a hunk of bread into your soup, which will turn even the crustiest bread into a series of moist, savory mouthfuls. Taco soup can be spiced up by including plenty of your favorite chili peppers, and if the soup is the main course, chips with guacamole on the side are a classic combo. This soup can last you a few days too. It works really well as leftovers, so don't be afraid to make a lot of it all at once to enjoy throughout the week.

The stuffed pepper boasts a diverse portfolio of renditions across numerous countries. In Hungary, they go heavy on the paprika. In the Philippines, they stuff it with shrimp, pork, and water chestnuts. But in the good old USA, it's ground beef all the way. If one must eat their vegetables, this is the way to do it. These hollowed out peppers are stuffed to the brim with delicious goodies like tomatoes, rice, and cheese. The bell pepper is firm enough to retain its form even after going in the oven, and it retains that firm, just-crunchy-enough quality to contrast brilliantly with the soft, gooey insides.

And there's really no limit to what you can stuff a pepper with. Once you've added the ground beef, feel free to experiment as you see fit. A lot of different spices work here: paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, etc. As for herbs, you can garnish stuffed peppers with parsley, dill, cilantro, sage, rosemary, chives, or whatever suits your fancy.

The famous meatball is often associated with Italian cuisine, but it's actually thought by some to come from ancient Persia. Meatballs are standard fare for many modern homes, providing a savory, filling pièce de résistance to that other Italian dish, spaghetti. Traditional meatballs are dense spheres of ground meats, and beef is typically a major player. Your average meatball is made up of something like lean beef, fatty pork, breadcrumbs, herbs, and egg for binding. But while most folks pair them with marinara and noodles, there's no reason you can't chuck those meatballs into a soup in which they feature as the buoyant protagonists.

A lot of killer flavors go into the making of a good meatball soup. There's onion, garlic, hot sauce, Worcestershire, red pepper flakes, and plenty of other good stuff. You can combine beef and chicken stock to make the broth, and it tastes great if you throw a few blended tomatoes in there, too. One trick to making your meatballs extra juicy is to work a panade (heavy cream and breadcrumbs) into the meat. And if you caramelize your onions, their natural sugars will help balance out the tomatoes' acidity.

This dense, hearty fare hails from the American Midwest, and it's been a popular entry in the military cookbook, often appearing as a ready-to-eat meal for soldiers on the march. Everyone has heard of chili mac and cheese, but if you stop and think about it, this is a strange combo — delicious, but strange. Whoever thought it up deserves the gratitude of well-fed folks everywhere, many of whom might have been seen patting their bellies after this delightful dinner of unparalleled piquance.

It is, of course, a mash-up, meaning that chili mac and cheese is basically two different meals smooshed together into one pot of soul food. Some favored inclusions in chili mac and cheese are red bell peppers, cilantro, coriander, oregano, and onion. Cheese is a defining element among the ingredients, and whichever you choose will have a major impact on the dish as a whole. Cheese offers a vast range of flavors to employ, like pepper jack, mozzarella, or Swiss. This stuff is all made in a single pot, and it stores really well over the next few days. Brew up a potful and enjoy some comfort food over the week without stressing about dinner after work.