8 Ways the Slow Cooker Can Turn Ground Beef into Dinner
A slow cooker can work wonders for so many ingredients, but where it really shines is with inexpensive cuts of meat. It can turn a plain pound of ground beef into something that’s moist, juicy, and extra flavorful, thanks to its slow and steady cook time.
These eight recipes prove you can churn out a whole lot of crowd-pleasing dinners with the help of the trusty appliance.
With a no-cook beef-and-rice filling and no-cook tomato sauce, these cabbage rolls are easy enough to throw together in the morning before you head to work.
These meatballs can serve two purposes: Either put them out as part of an appetizer spread or serve them over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice for a satisfying main course.
If you have a large-enough slow cooker, it’s worth making a double batch of this sauce, as it freezes very well. Divide it among airtight containers and you’ll have a handful of easy dinners on hand.
For those who can’t choose between chili and macaroni and cheese, there’s this wonderful hybrid that’s comfort food at its very best. To get a head-start, you can cook the macaroni and brown the beef a day ahead of time and store it in the fridge until you need it.
While ground beef with a higher fat content is ideal for burgers, here it can make for greasy sloppy Joes. Instead, opt for a 85 percent lean/15 percent fat blend, which will still stay nice and moist since it’s cooked right in the sauce.
This classic chili is just the kind of recipe to have in your back pocket. Just be sure to serve it with plenty of shredded cheese, sour cream, scallions, and crushed tortilla chips.
The best meatballs are the ones that have been slowly simmering in a big pot of tomato sauce all day. Instead of carving out a Sunday, lean on the slow cooker to achieve equal results with less hands-on time.
Once you make this restaurant-favorite at home, you’ll want to put it on weekly rotation. Cooking the ground beef in the slow cooker makes it entirely hands-off, and frees up stovetop space. Use leftover beef to stuff into tortillas for tacos the next day.