This mushroom and ground beef skillet is an easy weeknight dinner that is delicious as-is, or served on top of baked potatoes, brown rice, or quinoa.
When it comes to making my weekly menu, I almost always have two things on the list: some kind of slower cooker meal involving shredded chicken, and some type of skillet dinner involving ground beef. I haven’t quite figured out how to cook ground beef in the slow cooker, but really there’s no reason for me to deviate from the skillet method of cooking it. It’s essentially cooked in 8 minutes, I can throw in whatever veggies or spices I have on hand, and voila! DINNER!
That’s essentially how I came up with this super easy mushroom and ground beef skillet dinner. I woke up one morning thinking about what we were going to have for dinner [cue the “oops I didn’t meal plan this week!”]. The boys were begging me to get outside and go to the park— where we like to spend our fall days. Before hitting the pavement, I took ground beef out of the freezer to thaw, and scanned the fridge— we had leftover mushrooms and fresh basil from our weekly pizza night, I knew we had frozen brown rice I could quickly microwave, and I found the boys’ favorite crinkle cut carrots we could use as a “safe-side.” Which means I know they’ll eat that on their plate if they don’t eat the beef! Are you following me here? Sorry, case of the word vomit due to LOTS of coffee this morning!
Ted called this meal “earthy,” which probably is because of the mushroom and fresh herbs mixture. I haven’t quite figured out if that description is a good or bad thing. And yep, the boys ate the carrots, the rice, and Anthony had some of the beef. Joey? He always touches the ground beef and puts it to his mouth, but I didn’t see any sneak into his stomach. Regardless, it’s all about exposure at this age. And I consider it a win when they don’t ask for other foods [like those dinosaur chicken nuggets].
- 1 lb. lean Ground Beef [93% lean or leaner]
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 2 cups mushrooms [any variety], sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil [or 1 teaspoon dried]
- ¼ cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
- Heat large non-stick skillet to medium-high heat. Add ground beef to skillet and cook for 8-10 minutes, breaking into crumbles. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add oil to skillet. Add garlic and onion, and cook until garlic becomes fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and continue cooking for 5 more minutes.
- Return beef to the skillet. Add basil, broth, vinegar and worcestershire sauce. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the liquid has reduced, about 3 minutes.
- Serve immediately with your favorite whole grain side, such as brown rice or quinoa.
If you’re looking for other quick, easy ground beef skillet meals, here are a few of my other favorites on the blog: Italian Beef Skillet Dinner, Lean Beef Cheesesteak Skillet, and Beef Burrito Skillet.
YUM! You amaze me Katie— cooking and kiddos— you do it all!
And wine… don’t forget the wine!! My CEO helps a lot too!
I just made this for dinner, it was easy, plus my husband thought it was excellent?
I teach cooking classes for adults with disabilities and this recipe will be on our menu soon.
Thanks so much!
Thank you Jean! I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed it. And that you’ll be using it in your class!
Bland , vinegar sauce to predominate for my taste . I added salt pepper shallots to help pick up flavor.
I’m sorry you found it bland Vanessa. Hope you can make some adjustments based on your taste!
This was great, had it with baked potatoes. Definitely a keeper.
YUM! Awesome idea!!! I have a sweet potato and now I’m thinking I’ll add it in like a hash!
Woohooo! So glad you liked it Rachelle!
This recipe was excellent! Thank you! We will definitely be making this again 🙂 The recipe was easy, we added garlic powder, black pepper and chicken bouillon ?
I’ll have to try your additions! Thanks for letting me know ? yum!
This looks delicious and i have everything except for that vinegar. I only have red wine on hand.
Give it a try with red wine vinegar!
And let me know how you like it 😊