Stretching Ground Beef in a Recipe

One day last week I received a very interesting message from a reader named Kirstie. Kirstie is originally from New Zealand, but she and her husband and children have recently moved to the United States because of her husband’s job. She wrote that she especially noticed several of my posts mentioning that we are eating less and less meat because her family is also trying to cut down on meat, partly for health reasons and partly because of the expense. She sent me her description of a method she uses to stretch ground beef in a recipe and asked if I would share it with all of you.

Here’s what Kirstie does. For every pound of raw ground beef, Kirstie mixes in the bread crumbs made from one slice of fresh bread, one egg, and up to one cup of finely chopped or grated vegetables. Sometimes she uses a combination of several of the following: mushrooms, carrots, onions, celery, eggplant, and capsicums (green peppers) and courgettes (zucchinis)… or sometimes she just adds a full cup of one of the raw grated vegetables. She cooks the meat and vegetable mixture until the vegetables are tender and the meat has lost its pink color, breaking up the mixture the way you would if you were cooking plain ground beef. She packages this meat mixture in recipe-sized quantities and freezes it. She uses two cups of this mixture for every pound of ground beef called for in a recipe.

I tried her idea but substituted ground turkey for the ground beef. I used two-thirds of a cup of mushrooms and one-third of a cup of onions for the vegetables, plus the bread crumbs and egg, and added the meat mixture to spaghetti sauce. Everyone thought the “meat” in that spaghetti sauce was especially delicious!

Thanks for the hint, Kirstie! And now here’s a question for all of you. Kirstie is looking for other ideas for stretching meat in a recipe or for making meat-including recipes minus the meat.

Does anyone have a favorite method or idea they would share?

Written by Shirley | Filed Under Cooking & Baking from Scratch, Frugality & Nutrition series, My Soy-Free Recipes

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Comments

Comment by Ruth, PA:

I’ve been doing this for years, but I was cooking this way to seek in vegetables to meals. LOL

I often cut sugar back in recipes. No one even notices the difference.

Ruth, PA

Comment by Cheryce:

I stretch ground beef with lentils, about a 1-to-1 ratio. I cook the lentils first, according to the directions on the package, and make sure they’re well drained. Then I mix the meat and the lentils together with my hands. Divide it into packages in convenient amounts, put ‘em in the freezer, and you’re done. When you want to cook the meat, just cook it normally. Believe me, nobody will notice the difference.

Comment by Anthony:

This may not be the kind of method people are looking for, but I’ve found that the best way to reduce the amount of meat I eat is to cut it out of some of my meals altogether. Instead of trying to extend ground beef for a spaghetti sauce (for example) I make a meatless spaghetti sauce instead. Meatless dishes can be very delicious, especially after you get used to the idea that every meal doesn’t have to revolve around meat.

Comment by Niki:

I use shredded cabbage in my sloppy joes. Once cooked you can hardly tell the difference but it does add a nice tangy texture and taste. You also get your veggies in.

Comment by karen aka brazen:

i always make my spaghetti sauce with lentils and vegies (mostly onion, carrot and zucchini) added in – generally it’s 1/3-1/2 meat and the rest extra. however i have made a spaghetti sauce with roast vegies that my kids are convinced is ‘meat sauce’ lol

i also add carrot and zucchini to any mince dish -burgers, pies etc etc

Comment by sheila:

I often use oatmeal or other ground grain to my meatloaf, along with the egg and veggies (I’m another that sneaks veggies into everything). Also if you have a juicer, use the pulp in everything from soups to muffins and meat dishes.

Comment by Jon in France:

In France lentils (the Puy variety, if we are feeling flush) are used extensively to strech meat. In ragu sauces they blend in superbly. We had a glut of courgettes and peppers this year and fried these off with onions in practically every meat dish we cook, which had the added benefit of getting more vegetables into the children.

Comment by Linda:

The BEST meatballs are made with less than 50% meat :)

I got this recipe from my grandma, and it’s just the best ever….

one pound of minced beef
one onion
three eggs
half a pound of breadcrumbs

mix well.. make balls.. bake & eat :)

greetings from the netherlands

Comment by Brenna Kater, the Ocean Skater:

I second the lentils. You can also use TVP at a 1-to-1 ratio.

Comment by Shirley:

Lots of good suggestions here. Thanks for sharing your ideas!

Linda, thanks for sharing your grandma’s meatball recipe. It sounds like a good one to try.

Comment by Bryn:

I always use wheat bulgar instead of ground meat. It is great in chili and spagetti sauce and other similar dishes. Also we use cauliflower in spagetti sauce and spinach in lasagne…I don’t even miss the ground beef now…don’t like it anymore.

Comment by cricket:

OK heres what i do for ground meat in dishes, i use a half pound when it calls for a pound. I’ve been doing this for the past 10 yrs or so. It seems to be enough for myself and my husband when i do this. People still cant believe that i still do this after all these years and they try it out in thier households and thier family doesent have a clue lol.

Comment by Toby:

A combination of wheat bulgur and wheat berries has a very similar texture to ground meat in my opinion. Works great in a vegan chili. Both are cheap when you buy them bulk. The wheat berries take a while to cook but a pressure cooker cuts the time quite a bit.

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