Ground beef is a staple ingredient, but its benefits often get overlooked. In practice, ground beef is packed full of important vitamins and minerals. It’s also a good choice for keeping your macros balanced on a keto diet, especially if you rely on high-quality grass-fed beef. Equally important – it’s cheap, making it perfect for someone on the keto diet who cannot afford to eat ribeye steak three times a day.
The recipes on this list are all powerful keto options for ground beef. They cover a wide range of styles, including snacks, appetizers, full meals and more.
We’ve focused on many different flavors, texture and ingredients to ensure that there are some recipes that will suit everyone.
Table of Contents
Keto Ground Beef Recipes
Bun-less Bacon Cheeseburger Bites
These cheeseburger bites are an interesting way to get all of the flavors from a cheeseburger, without the carbs. The small size works well too. You could easily serve the bites at a party or make a small number as a snack. The recipe comes from stepawayfromthecarbs.com and you can find all of the details there.
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Keto Spaghetti Bolognese
Spaghetti bolognese is a classic recipe, especially if you have kids in the household. This recipe from brokefoodies.com is a powerful way to still have the dish, even while you’re on a keto diet.
Part of the trick, as you can probably guess, is relying on low carb pasta. Still, this isn’t the only interesting part of the recipe. The rest of the ingredients make the dish taste like something special. Check out the recipe for yourself if you need further convincing.
Chocolate Chili
Here’s a fascinating ground beef recipe to try out. It comes from ketosizeme.com and gives you the chance to include chocolate along with the conventional flavors of chili. I know the combination sounds odd, but don’t knock it until you give the recipe a try. Many flavors work exceptionally well together, even when you don’t expect them to.
Low-Carb Sloppy Joes
This recipe from theharvestskillet.com is another variation on a classic recipe. The finished dish is paleo-friendly as well, with an emphasis on whole food ingredients. As you can see from the image, one of the big changes is the use of lettuce instead of buns.
The idea mightn’t seem amazing at first glance, but the recipe does work extremely well. The combination of ingredients acts as a perfect complement to the lettuce.
Italian Meatballs
This Italian meatball recipe is an easy choice and it comes from myketokitchen.com. It’s the perfect recipe for anyone who finds meatballs dry or boring, as these meatballs don’t fall into either of those categories. Instead, they are moist and packed with flavor.
Gerri suggests serving the meatballs on a bed of zoodles, but that’s not the only option. There are plenty of other low carb sides that you could use instead.
Salisbury Steak With Mushroom Gravy
Salisbury steak can be amazing when it is made well and pretty unappealing when it isn’t. This recipe, from ibreatheimhungry.com, falls into the first camp. The ground beef and the gravy are both packed with flavorful ingredients, ones that are good for your health too. You’ll see this the moment that you check out the recipe on the site.
Keto Cheeseburger Stromboli
If you want something unusual and amazing, check out this recipe from ketodietapp.com. Seriously, doesn’t it just look fantastic? This would be a perfect meal to serve at a party, even if most of the guests didn’t follow the keto diet.
Cheeky Naked Hamburgers And Tomato Sauce
Making burgers without the bun is one of the simplest ways to create a low carb meal. This recipe from aussieketoqueen.com is one example of doing precisely that. As Rachel asks, why do we need the bun anyway? It’s not the part of the burger that tastes the best.
Her recipe provide you with plenty of healthy low carb ingredients, which are all packed with flavor. I love the inclusion of avocado and fried egg into the mix. Both ingredients increase the healthy fat content, while making the dish taste amazing.
Pepper Jack Stuffed Meatloaf
Meatloaf is a common option if you want to use ground beef, but it can get a little boring after a while. This stuffed version from alldayidreamaboutfood.com is the perfect variation. The pepper jack cheese helps to change up the combination of texture and flavor.
Also, this recipe would work well with many traditional meatloaf sides.
Stuffed Keto Meatloaf With Goat Cheese And Spinach
Here’s another variation on meatloaf for you to try. Like the previous recipe, this version uses cheese to make things more interesting. There are plenty of differences too. This recipe comes from wickedstuffed.com and it includes spinach and goat cheese.
Goat cheese is a pretty intense ingredient, but it can work very well in recipes like this one. There are plenty of herbs and spices included as well. These add to the flavor profile, making a meal that truly stands out.
Pizza Squash Noodle Lasagna Bake
I love the flavors in this lasagna bake from beautyandthefoodie.com. You’re getting something that tastes very similar to a regular pizza, but the dish is low in carbs. This is achieved through the use of spaghetti squash. Stacey also provides directions for how you can roast a spaghetti squash easily, in case you haven’t worked with one before.
Spaghetti Bolognese Bake
This recipe from ketosummit.com offers the same flavors as traditional spaghetti bolognese. The biggest difference is in the noodles. Rather than using carb-heavy pasta, this recipe relies on zucchini noodles. The noodles are more than just a pasta alternative. They’re also a source of nutrition.
Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
Even just the title of this recipe sounds amazing. The recipe comes from peaceloveandlowcarb.com, where Kyndra mentions that the dish really does have all the flavors of a bacon cheeseburger. Kyndra even provides instructions for making the soup in a slow cooker or on a stovetop. This allows you to select the cooking method that you prefer.
Beef And Chorizo Meatballs
Here is a simple recipe, one that you could use in many ways. It comes from heyketomama.com and the meatballs contain less than two net grams of carbs. That’s pretty fantastic. You could have these meatballs with a low carb side for a dinner, or just have one or two as a snack. They might even make a fantastic party food.
Cheeseburger Frittata
This frittata follows a fun style. The recipe is also high in protein, making it a filling start to the day. A final advantage is that the frittata uses just five common ingredients. This makes it easy to prepare. You can find the details at snackinginsneakers.com.
Bacon Wrapped Meatballs
Don’t these meatballs simply look amazing? Wrapping meatballs in bacon is such a simple idea, but it takes them to a whole new level. The meatballs could easily be used as snacks or appetizers at a party, especially if you stick some toothpicks in them. This time, the recipe comes from stepawayfromthecarbs.com.
Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers With Ground Beef
Here’s another recipe that could be used as party food. It comes from ketovale.com and is perfect for anyone who loves spicy food. The combination of flavors creates a snack that you won’t soon forget. You can also simply use the idea of stuffing jalapenos and choose your own filling.
Low Carb Taco Bites
The cheese shells are the most powerful part of this recipe – and the reason that the taco bites are so stunning. In fact, I’d recommend checking out the recipe at homemadeinterest.com for the cheese shells alone. These could be used in so many different ways.
That being said, the entire recipe is pretty good too. Kat manages to create a perfect taco flavor, with just the right balance of ingredients. The little cups also look so cool when they are filled and placed on a plate.
Taco Salad Recipe With Ground Beef
Speaking of taco flavoring, here’s a recipe from wholesomyum.com that uses the same theme. In this case, you’re making a taco salad. This is a particularly satisfying salad, one that would taste more like a full meal than most other examples. The combination of beef, avocados, cheese and tomatoes is also exceptional.
Low Carb Taco Bowls
These taco bowls come from lifemadeketo.com. They’re an especially versatile choice, as you can prep them ahead of time. Kelly, from lifemadeketo.com, provides instructions for doing just that. Pre-prepping the bowls would also allow you to take them as a packed lunch and make your workmates jealous.
Citrus Ground Beef Salad
Here’s a recipe that looks simple, but has some unexpected elements. The most significant of these is the inclusion of orange. You’ll find this both in the recipe for the beef and also in the orange vinaigrette. The recipe itself comes from Cristina at thecastawaykitchen. While there are plenty of ingredients in the recipe, it’s not that hard to make.
Ground Beef Jerky With Hamburger Or Venison
Did you know that you can make your own jerky? You don’t even need a jerky gun to do so. This particular homemade jerky recipe can be made using ground venison or ground beef. Either way, the jerky is going to taste so good. The recipe comes from lowcarbyum.com. It’s a surprisingly fast and easy choice, as you don’t need to marinate or slice anything.
Cheeseburger Muffins
I love the idea of these cheeseburger muffins so much. For one thing, they look tasty and unique. It’s easy to imagine how you would blow people away if you served these as a snack at a party. They also give you all of the flavors of a hamburger, while keeping the carb content low.
You can check out the recipe at ruled.me to find out more about the various steps. The recipe looks complex at first glance, with three different parts to make. Honestly though, you should find the muffins are fast, easy and delicious.
BBQ Meatballs
These little meatballs, from thatlowcarblife.com, are the perfect solution to dry meatballs. They’re made in a sticky barbecue sauce, so you know that they’ll always retain their moisture. Karly suggests that work well for parties. There are countless other places where you might use them too.
Sour Cream Beef Bake
It’s easy to see how this recipe creates a rich and hearty dish, one that will have you going back for seconds. The meal comes from Julie at thisgalcooks.com and it will taste just as good as it looks. Most of the ingredients used are what you might expect, but there is one interesting addition in the mix. I’m not going to tell you what that is, you’ll need to check the recipe out for yourself.
Scotch Eggs
Scotch eggs are often deep fried and coated in breadcrumbs. The finished version tastes amazing but it isn’t especially good for you. This scotch eggs recipe from healthyrecipesblogs.com aims to create a healthier keto version by skipping the breadcrumbs and relying on baking the eggs instead.
Cheese Meatballs
While there are plenty of meatball recipes out there, these cheese-stuffed meatballs from fatforweightloss.com.au are my absolute favorites. How could they not be? Cheese is a perfect complement to ground beef and these meatballs are just oozing with it.
Ground Beef And Cabbage Stir Fry
Here’s a fast and delicious recipe to try out. It comes from Julia at savorytooth.com and looks stunning in the pan. I especially like the way that the meal still ends up having vibrant colors. Julia estimates that the dish takes around 20 minutes from start to finish if you use a similar bag of veggies that she does. Even if you prep the veggies yourself, the meal should be a fast one.
Korean Ground Beef
While this recipe looks like something you might order at a restaurant, it is actually a keto dish that you can make at home. Sabra from thismomsmenu.com developed the recipe to be budget friendly and also easy to create. The recipe isn’t just keto friendly either, you can also have it on a paleo, dairy free or whole30 diet.
Cheesy Taco Omelette
This recipe from havebutterwilltravel.com might seem unusual, but that doesn’t stop it from being extremely tasty. The omelette could be the ideal choice if you need a breakfast that will keep you going for hours. It would make a nice lunch too or even a light dinner.
Ground Beef Empanadas
These empanadas are pretty amazing. They don’t even look like they’re keto friendly, but they are. The amount of carbs varies depending on the brands of ingredients that you use, along with the size of the finished empanada. Kayla estimates that if you’re making six of them, they will normally be somewhere between four and five carbs each. That’s pretty good, especially as these would be filling. All the details can be found in Kayla’s recipe at mincerepublic.com.
Mini Bun-less Cheeseburger Bites With Thousand Island Dip
While there are plenty of keto cheeseburger recipes, recipes like this one are much simpler. You end up with a small snack that can easily be picked up and eaten, especially at a party. The thousand island dressing is a nice addition and helps to make the mini cheeseburgers stand out that much more. The recipe comes from Brenda at sugarfreemom.com.
Hamburger Salad
Speaking of burgers, here’s another recipe using the same flavors. This time, you’re making a salad. The style should be faster than hamburger bites, while also offering you plenty of nutrients. The recipe itself can be found at paleoleap.com. It includes details about the salad as a whole, along with the hamburger dressing. That dressing is really what makes the salad stand out.
Beef Stroganoff Meatballs
I love the style of this recipe from ibreatheimhungry.com. It has all the flavors of a traditional beef stroganoff recipe, but relies on meatballs. Mellissa mentions that you could serve the dish with a low carb side, such as zucchini noodles. Regardless of how you serve it, this keto meal should taste fantastic.
Low Carb Party Meatballs
Here’s another meatball recipe, which comes from Martina at ketodietapp.com. As the name suggests, the meatballs would be a good party choice. One of the most interesting aspects is the filling in the meatballs. This addition helps them to stand out, while also ensuring that they stay moist.
Party Meatball Ricotta Bites
These meatball bites are from wickedstuffed.com. They’re surprisingly easy to make and look stunning when served as well. The style wouldn’t work as well for parties as some of the previous examples. Still, would be an excellent choice for a light lunch, especially when paired with a low carb side.
Bolognese Ground Beef Stuffed Mushrooms
Here’s another style to consider – stuffed mushrooms. Mushrooms make the perfect vehicle for keto fillings and there are so many different styles to choose from. This recipe, from cupcakesandkalechips.com, takes advantage of bolognese flavors to create a snack that will always be popular.
Instant Pot Indian Kheema
This recipe from twosleevers.com is a fun choice if you’re looking for an Indian meal. As Urvashi points out, the dish is quite different than many of the other recipes that rely on ground beef. The recipe takes advantage of an Instant Pot, making it a surprisingly easy meal to prepare.
Big Mac Bowl
Here’s a healthy alternative to a Big Mac. The recipe comes from Kat at homemadeinterest.com and incorporates the flavors of a Big Mac into a salad. Not only are you avoiding all the carbs, but the salad style means that you’re getting a healthy balance of ingredients. There aren’t any heavily processed ingredients in the mix either.
Mexican Beef Bowls
If you like the bowl style of meal, this recipe from deliciouslittlebites.com could be a great choice. This time the focus is on the meat, but you are still getting plenty of veggies, mostly in the form of cauliflower rice. The ‘rice’ acts as a base for the bowl, creating a delicious and hearty meal.
Ground Beef Stroganoff Noodles
This recipe is a great variation on a traditionally carb-heavy dish. It comes from grassfedgirl.com and uses zoodles to take the place of pasta. Zoodles don’t have the same taste and texture as pasta, but they still work extremely well in many recipes. They’re even better in some senses. For example, using them in this recipe provides a good balance of protein to fat.
15-Minute Asian Beef Bowl
Here’s another recipe that follows the beef bowl style. This time the dish comes from eatbeautiful.net and the flavors are distinctly Asian. The meal is also perfect for many different diets – including paleo, Whole30 and GAPS. This aspect is fantastic, as it makes the meal a good choice for many people and situations.
Easy Curry Beef Bowls
What about these curry beef bowls for a great flavor combination? As Erica from realsimplegood.com explains, the bowls are fast to make, making them an easy dinner (or lunch) choice. The color combination of the bowls works well too. You end up with something that looks very appealing and would taste just as good.
Cheeseburger Casserole Skillet
Why give up the flavors of a cheeseburger when you’re on a keto diet? This recipe, from castironketo.net, is a chance to enjoy cheeseburger flavors without disrupting your diet. Honestly, the idea is more appealing than a regular cheeseburger anyway. You get more of the best bits.
Easy One Pot Beef Stroganoff
This one pot meal is a fantastic choice if you don’t want much cleaning up. The recipe itself comes from Shay at livingchirpy.com and is packed full of flavor. However, it’s worth mentioning that the one pot aspect just refers to the stroganoff itself. You’ll need to prepare any noodles separately. The same is true if you want to use another type of low carb side.
Philly Cheese Steak Casserole
If you love the flavors of philly cheese steak, this is the recipe for you. It uses ground beef instead of steak and skips out the bun entirely. None of these changes are bad. You end up with a meal that tastes simply amazing. It looks pretty good in the dish too. You can find all the details that you need at thatlowcarblife.com.
Italian Ground Beef Casserole
This ground beef recipe comes from simplysohealthy.com. It’s a simple recipe, but that doesn’t stop it from being enjoyable. The choice of flavors would make this an ideal dinner if you’re feeding kids or picky eaters. There are even some veggies included in the form of cauliflower rice.
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