Make-Ahead Ground Beef for the Freezer

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Make-ahead ground beef takes the browning and vegetable chopping out of dinner prep. I cook a large batch, mix in onions, peppers and garlic, and divide it into freezer bags for spaghetti, chili, tacos and sloppy joes.

When Ricky and I first got married, I could cook, but my list of meals was pretty short. Getting dinner on the table felt like one more chore I didn’t have time for. Keeping cooked beef in the freezer gave me a head start. You can find more dinner ideas in my quick beef recipes.

The batch below starts with six pounds of raw beef. The important part is how you divide it afterward: six equal bags give you the cooked beef from one pound raw in each bag, along with its share of the vegetables.

What goes into my make-ahead ground beef

This is the combination I usually use:

• 6 pounds 90% lean ground beef
• 3 medium onions, usually one yellow, one white and one red or purple
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper

The onions, peppers and garlic give the beef a base flavor without committing the whole batch to taco seasoning or spaghetti sauce. Add the seasonings and sauce called for in the meal you’re making later.

How I prepare the batch

I have a very large skillet that holds all six pounds. If yours doesn’t have room to break up and stir the meat, cook it in smaller batches.

1. Wash the peppers and remove their stems and seeds. Peel the onions and garlic. Chop the onions and peppers and mince or press the garlic.
2. Brown the beef in a large skillet, breaking it into crumbles and stirring so it cooks throughout. Use a food thermometer to check that the beef reaches 160°F. Work in batches if needed.
3. Drain the beef. Mix the vegetables directly into the drained meat.
4. Divide the mixture into shallow containers and refrigerate promptly to cool. Don’t leave the full batch on the counter to reach room temperature. Refrigerate within two hours of cooking, or within one hour if the surrounding temperature is above 90°F.
5. Once chilled, divide the mixture evenly among six freezer bags, or make three larger packages. Press out excess air, seal, label and freeze flat.

I often stir the vegetables in raw just before portioning. They soften when I cook the final recipe. That means the beef has been cooked, but the vegetables may still need cooking when you use a bag.

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How much beef is in each bag?

Cooking and draining reduce the weight of the beef. You don’t need to replace that lost weight before dividing the batch.

These are recipe portions, not individual dinner servings or measured pounds of cooked meat. I divide the mixture rather than weighing each package. Stir it well first so the vegetables are distributed throughout.

Label a six-bag batch “cooked beef from 1 lb raw + vegetables” and add the date. When a recipe calls for one pound of raw ground beef that you would brown and drain, one of those bags supplies that beef step. Account for the onions, peppers and garlic already in the bag when adding more.

Cooling and storing the mixture

Use shallow containers to cool the mixture promptly in the refrigerator. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below. Use refrigerated cooked beef within three to four days, or freeze it sooner for later meals.

For freezer storage at 0°F, aim to use the bags within two to three months for best quality. That is a quality target, not a deadline after which continuously frozen food automatically becomes unsafe. Date each bag and use older batches first.

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Using the beef in another recipe

Use these crumbles in dishes that normally begin with browned ground beef, such as chili, spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes or taco filling. Cook the vegetables until softened and heat the mixture thoroughly to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer.

Thaw a bag in the refrigerator, or reheat the frozen mixture in a saucepan with a little liquid as needed, stirring and breaking it apart as it heats. If you use the microwave, cover and stir for even heating and check several spots with the thermometer.

For slow-cooker meals, reheat the mixture to 165°F on the stove or in the microwave before adding it hot to the recipe. USDA does not recommend reheating cooked leftovers in a slow cooker.

These bags are for crumbled-beef recipes. Use raw ground beef for burgers or meatloaf; this cooked mixture won’t replace it.

Make-Ahead Ground Beef

Kelli Miller

Brown a six-pound batch of beef, mix in onions, peppers and garlic, and freeze in recipe-sized portions for meals that use cooked crumbles.

5 from 1 vote

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Course Main Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 6 recipe portions

Equipment

• Large skillet
• Knife and cutting board
• Food thermometer
• Shallow containers
• Freezer bags

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 6 pounds 90% lean ground beef
• 3 onions medium; usually one yellow, one white and one red or purple
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper

Instructions

 

• Wash the peppers and remove their stems and seeds. Peel the onions and garlic. Chop the onions and peppers and mince or press the garlic.
• Brown the beef in a large skillet, breaking it into crumbles and stirring so it cooks throughout. Use a food thermometer to check that the beef reaches 160°F. Work in batches if needed.
• Drain the beef. Mix the vegetables directly into the drained meat.
• Divide the mixture into shallow containers and refrigerate promptly to cool. Don’t leave the full batch on the counter to reach room temperature. Refrigerate within two hours of cooking, or within one hour if the surrounding temperature is above 90°F.
• Once chilled, divide the mixture evenly among six freezer bags, or make three larger packages. Press out excess air, seal, label and freeze flat.

Notes

Each of six recipe portions contains the cooked beef from 1 pound raw, plus one-sixth of the vegetables. These are not individual dinner servings or measured pounds of cooked beef. Alternatively, make three larger packages.

The vegetables may be mixed in raw and need cooking in the final dish. Reheat thoroughly to 165°F and cook the vegetables until softened. For slow-cooker recipes, reheat on the stove or in the microwave to 165°F before adding hot. Refrigerate promptly in shallow containers; use within 3–4 days or freeze. At 0°F, use within 2–3 months for best quality.

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Questions about the freezer portions

A few details help when you’re matching a bag to a dinner recipe.

Dinners to make with the crumbles

Start with recipes that use browned ground beef, and adjust any duplicate vegetables:

• Saucy Beef Chili
• Rotel Dip with Hamburger Meat (soften any raw vegetables before serving)
• Spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes or taco filling from your usual recipe

Freezer Cooking Must Have Resources:

The following Amazon links are affiliate links.

• Freezer Bags
• Freezer Labels
• Sharpie
• Freezer Organizer

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Food storage and reheating references

USDA Ground Beef and Food Safety, Beef From Farm to Table and Slow Cookers and Food Safety.

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