14 Simple Beef Recipes to Make at Home

Use these beef recipes to prepare a main dish for a weeknight dinner for the whole family:

1. 1. Barbacoa: Barbacoa can be found all across Mexico. Authentic Mexican barbacoa features meat—typically lamb but sometimes beef or goat—wrapped in banana or agave leaves and slow-cooked over an open flame or in an underground oven lined with hot coals. The result is tender, shredded meat that melts in your mouth. Barbacoa in Mexico is typically served in taco form with a cup of consommé (a broth made from the meat drippings) on the side, but you can also incorporate it into quesadillas, burritos, and nachos.
2. 2. Beef chili: Chili is typically a thick mixture of meat and beans, although the specific ingredients vary depending on the region and personal preferences. Chili can be made in a slow cooker, Dutch oven, or instant pot. Since there is no singular definition of what constitutes chili, there is plenty of room for customization by adding different kinds of spices, veggies, or beans.
3. 3. Beef stew: Beef stew is a comfort food staple consisting of beef cooked with vegetables and aromatics in a flavorful broth. You can make beef stew with tougher cuts of beef, like beef chuck, which becomes tender with prolonged cooking. Beef stew can taste even better the next day once the flavors have had time to meld.
4. 4. Bolognese sauce: Bolognese is an Italian meat sauce. The sauce starts with a base of onion, carrot, and celery cooked in olive oil until soft. Ground or diced meat, usually beef and pancetta, make up the body of the sauce, with wine, chicken stock, and tomato sauce forming the braising liquid. You can add bolognese to lasagna or serve it on top of a bed of flat pasta, such as tagliatelle and pappardelle.
5. 5. Lasagna: Lasagna is a traditional Italian main dish consisting of alternating layers of long, flat pasta noodles, tomato or cream sauce, and cheese (typically, mozzarella, parmesan, or ricotta, or a combination of all three). Lasagna may also include layers of sautéed vegetables or ground meat, like beef or lamb. The pasta is boiled before assembly, and then the entire dish is cooked further in the oven.
6. 6. Meatloaf: Meatloaf is a ground beef recipe with ground meat base that’s often served in the shape of a bread loaf. While many classic meatloaf recipes use lean ground beef as their central ingredient, you can utilize ground pork or ground turkey. Making use of a meat mixture rather than just one kind of meat is also fairly common. This comfort food is often mixed with vegetables, eggs, and other ingredients to increase the flavor and texture, then topped with a meatloaf sauce made with Worcestershire sauce, BBQ sauce, chili sauce, Italian seasoning, or even ketchup.
7. 7. Pot roast: Pot roast is a cheap, lean cut of beef which is first browned in a skillet then stewed with vegetables and broth. Pot roast generally braises for hours, in a Dutch oven or slow cooker, until the tough meat becomes fall-apart tender, savory, and moist. Pot roasts usually use beef chuck, beef shank, brisket, or top and bottom round. Mashed potatoes are a classic pot roast side dish.
8. 8. Sirloin steak: Beef sirloin is readily available at grocery stores, affordable, and tender enough for quick, high-heat cooking like grilling or pan-searing. Sirloin steaks are juicy and flavorful, and they also soak up marinades well.
9. 9. Swedish meatballs: Köttbulle are Swedish meatballs made from ground beef combined with breadcrumbs, onions, and beef broth. The meat mix is formed into small balls and cooked in a large skillet. The meatballs are usually covered in gravy made from the pan drippings. Traditional accompaniments include lingonberry jam, mashed potatoes, and pickled veggies. You can serve these meatballs as a main dish or an appetizer.
   
10. 10. Beef Wellington: Beef Wellington is an English main dish that consists of a beef tenderloin wrapped in layers of pâté, duxelles (a finely chopped mushroom mixture), parma ham, and puff pastry, then baked.
11. 11. Beef shawarma: Shawarma is a Middle Eastern dish that features thin slices of marinated meat stacked on top of each other on a vertical rotisserie. The caramelized outer layer of meat is shaved off and served over rice or in a flatbread sandwich. The word “shawarma” comes from the Arabic “šāwirma,” which comes from Turkish “çevirme,” "to rotate." Although lamb is perhaps the most common traditional shawarma meat, you can make shawarma with beef, chicken, turkey, and even fish. You can make beef shawarma with ribeye or flank steak.
12. 12. Beef bourguignon: Beef bourguignon (also called beef burgundy) is a French beef stew featuring pieces of beef and veggies like carrots, pearl onions, and mushrooms braised in red wine (usually red Burgundy wine) and beef stock until deeply tender. You can serve this classic beef dish as a main dish—either as a standalone dish or ladled over mashed potatoes or noodles. Beef bourguignon is made with chuck, brisket, short rib, or any other beef that needs a long cook time in order to become tender.
13. 13. Gyudon: Gyudon (beef bowl) is a Japanese dish consisting of a rice bowl topped with thin slices of beef and onions. This hearty dish is typically topped with raw egg or onsen tamago (poached egg) and other condiments like beni shoga (pickled red ginger), sliced scallions, and sesame seeds. This recipe involves simmering the beef in dashi stock, a flavorful broth made from bonito flakes and kombu (kelp), soy sauce, sugar, and ginger.
14. 14. Steak fajitas: Fajitas are a popular Texas-Mexican fusion dish where strips of meat, onions, and bell peppers are served with tortillas, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole. You can make fajitas with beef, chicken, pork, or shrimp, and flavor the meat with cumin, salt, pepper, paprika, and red pepper. Steak fajitas are usually made with flank steak or skirt steak. Fajitas is an easy recipe that’s relatively quick to prepare and can make for a great weeknight meal.

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