Ground Beef and Noodles

This affordable main dish combines seasoned ground beef with tender egg noodles in a rich and creamy sauce without using canned soups. It’s a quick and satisfying meal perfect for busy weeknights.

Beef noodles are one of the staple dishes in international cuisines. Thai, Chinese ( famous ground beef Mongolian noodles), Korean, Chinese, and here I am with my simple homecooked American-ish, and absolutely delicious, take on the classic.

If you’re searching the internet for a simple recipe to cook dinner tonight, try this delicious meal.

Why I Love This Recipe

• 30-minute weeknight dinner packed with flavors. Cook time is even shorter as we have to do some prep work.
• Simple ingredients we all have in our pantry are very accessible and affordable.
• A great recipe that makes food for 6 or 8 people, which means a couple can have leftovers for half of the week.
• A tasty meal with just enough sauce, perfect seasoning, and lean ground beef.

Beef Noodles Main Ingredients

• Egg noodles. First, we cook the noodles and then add the drained noodles to the skillet with beef and sauce. So it is almost a one-pan meal.
• Ground beef. I usually use lean ground beef: 85/15 fat-to-lean ratio ground beef mixture.
• Finely chopped onion. Can be replaced with onion powder but I prefer fresh juicy onions for flavor.
• Fresh garlic. I use 4 minced cloves. Can substitute with garlic powder.
• All-purpose flour to thicken the sauce.
• Beef broth. Using noodles water is also a good idea.
• Heavy cream. Technically can be replaced with sour cream, they have a similar tang, but I have not tried that. It will taste more like beef stroganoff.
• Worcestershire sauce. Asian beef noodle dishes use a lot of traditional Asian sauces like sesame oil, soy sauce, or hoisin sauce. I substituted it with Worcestershire sauce and I love how the sauce turns out. If you like more saucy dishes, add more sauce ingredients.
• Dried thyme for added aroma and flavor.
• Seasoning: Salt and ground black pepper to taste.
• For garnish: fresh parsley, chopped. Sliced green onions, sliced fresh cucumbers, or sesame seeds can work too.

Kitchen Equipment

• Pot to cook noodles
• Large skillet to cook the beef noodles.

How To Make Ground Beef And Noodles

1 – Cook The Noodles

1. Cook the egg noodles according to package instructions.
2. Drain and set aside.

2 – Brown Ground Beef

1. Combine the ground beef and onion in the skillet. 
2. Cook over medium heat, breaking the beef up with a spatula or a wooden spoon, until browned and fully cooked, about 5-7 minutes. 
3. Drain any excess grease. 
4. Sometimes I first cook onions in oil for about 5 minutes before adding meat.

3 – Make The Sauce

1. Stir in the minced garlic, sautéing for 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Sprinkle the flour over the cooked beef and stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes to remove the raw flour taste.
3. Gradually add the beef broth, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
4. Stir in the heavy cream, Worcestershire sauce, and dried thyme. 
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes until it thickens slightly.

4 – Add The Cooked Noodles

1. Fold in the cooked noodles, tossing to coat them in the creamy sauce.
2. Serve hot, garnished with fresh parsley if desired.

Storage

Store leftovers of beef and noodles in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3 days max.

Because the noodles will keep soaking in the sauce, beyond day 3 they will be too soft and soggy.

Freezing doesn’t do well with dishes containing noodles.

You can freeze the meat and sauce for up to 3 months, boil fresh noodles before serving, and then add sauce and meat back to the noodles.

Reheat in a saucepan with a little bit of water.

Substitutions

• Ground beef is easy to substitute with any ground meat: ground pork or leaner meats like ground chicken or ground turkey. Another option is to cook a flank steak to go with these noodles.
• Soy sauce, hoisin sauce, chili oil, brown sugar, oyster sauce, and fresh ginger or ginger paste are amazing additions to the sauce ingredients if you want to bring in more Asian flavors. Low-sodium soy sauce is a better option for a healthier meal. Wine or Mirin (Japanese cooking wine) are good sauce bases.
• Many delicious recipes include beef and noodles. Korean style uses ramen or rice noodles, ginger, and sesame oil, Chow Mein (Chinese-American style) is a very saucy dish with thin yellow egg noodles, veggies, soy, and oyster sauce.
• Noodles option. Egg noodles are my go-to option for this recipe. Rice noodles, soba, ramen noodles, and udon can replace the egg noodles easily. Wheat pasta is gluten-free. If noodles are not your thing, you can actually just use rice. To make it more “American” use macaroni and make a cheesy beefy mac n cheese.
• Extra seasoning: optional are red pepper flakes, and chili powder that will make this recipe spicy.
• Add cheese (I suggest cheddar cheese) and bake the dish to have than crunchy cheesy crust.
• This tasty recipe can be transformed into a casserole. Swap the skillet for a casserole dish, and add green beans as a veggie component of the casserole. Beef and noodles casserole will come together in about 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.
• If using olive oil to brown the ground beef, cook it in hot oil over medium-high heat in a skillet.
• Add veggies. Green beans, fresh spinach, carrots, broccoli, and cabbage are some classics but you can use any frozen or fresh vegetables to make something new out of this recipe.
• If you want mushroom flavor without adding mushrooms, you can add cream of mushroom soup to the sauce.
• The vegan version is easy – just swap meat with tofu, lentils, or mushrooms with walnuts. Skip egg noodles and use rice or rice noodles.

Tips To Make The Best Beef Noodles

• Cook egg noodles just like pasta – in salted water. If you mix noodles, beef, and sauce in one pot to finish cooking, cook the noodles 1 minute less than the package instructions suggest.
• The sauce is easy to make ahead of and stores well. It can also go with other meat-based dishes.
• When you use leaner ground meat, there is minimal excess grease. If it is no more than 1 or 2 tbsp, keep it. It will add rich fatty beefy flavors to the sauce and overall dish (when you add noodles).
• It is a very old-fashioned dish but because of its simplicity (3 components: ground meat, noodles, and sauce), it offers immense potential for customization. It is very hard to ruin a beef and noodles dish, trust me, so this is a very beginner-friendly basic recipe.
• My recipe is not spicy at all which makes it kids-friendly. However, classic Asian dishes are usually spicy. You can make this recipe more Asian-style following sauce ideas in the Substitutions list, and skip the Chinese take-out this week.
• If you think the sauce is overpowering, rice wine vinegar or limes can help to balance it. It happens more often in spicier, richer sauces.
• Sauce not thick enough? Can use flour, cornstarch, or even peanut butter! Peanut-flavored sauces are very common in Asian dishes but I think they go better with ground chicken.
• To bulk up the dish in protein, you can stir in an egg while cooking sauce, beef, and noodles all together.

Popular Questions

Does Ground Beef Taste Good In Ramen?

Traditional Japanese ramen doesn’t come with ground beef usually, but you can use ramen noodles in beef and noodles recipes or make Korean-style ramen noodles – it calls for ground beef. With Asian sauce ingredients, it comes together well.

What Is Beef Noodle Dish Called?

There are dozens of beef noodle dishes. Most popular are Beef Stroganoff, Mongolian beef and noodles, Chow mein, Chinese Beef chow fun, Korean beef and ramen noodles, and more.

What Is The Difference Between Beef Stroganoff And Beef And Noodles?

Beef stroganoff white sauce has sour cream and mushrooms in it, while beef and noodles sauce is traditionally more Asian-flavored or has Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce. Stroganoff also uses chunks of beef, while beef noodles use ground beef more often.

My recipe is a cross between the two. 

If you love this dinner recipe, you’re going to love these other delicious dinners too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

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