The Quickest, Easiest Way To Cook Ground Beef Lies In One Simple Tip

Most of us learned how to perfectly brown the ground beef by preparing the meat, adding it to a skillet, and breaking it up with a wooden spoon or spatula while it cooks. It's a good way to get flavorful meat, but it's not exactly a hands-off method. If you're cooking for a crowd or mentally tapped out after a long day, the easiest way to cook ground beef is by using a sheet pan.

Before cooking, you'll want to purchase the best quality of ground beef and determine your desired lean-to-fat ratio. That could be 70-30 or 80-20 for juicy and flavorful burgers, or 90-10 for spaghetti sauce or chili. To prepare your baked ground beef, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup. Some individuals add their seasonings now (or this old-school ground beef ingredient) in a bowl to mix it well, while others wait until after the next step.

Spread your ground beef evenly on the sheet pan. The goal is to get it smooth and flat, so it extends all the way to the edges of the pan. Add the seasonings if you haven't already, and cook for at least 15 to 20 minutes. Break it up halfway through for crumbles, or leave it whole for burgers. When it's done, it should have an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Drain the excess fat by either tilting the pan and pouring it off or using a colander like you would after skillet cooking.

The sheet pan ground beef cooking method works for many types of recipes, whether they use patties or crumbles. To make burgers, spread an even layer of beef onto a sheet pan. Right before it comes out of the oven, add your cheese on top or place it under the broiler for a couple of minutes to give it a little color. Once you cut out burger-sized patties, you'll have just pulled off cooking burgers for a crowd within about 20 minutes.

You can also use this method for crumbled ground beef, whether it's for tacos, sauces, or other dishes. The difference is, you'll want to break up your meat on the sheet pan using a spatula about halfway through cooking. If you're using your favorite taco seasoning packets, you don't need to add any water, but if you really want to level it up, you can add a splash of wine to ground beef for amazing depth. 

You can even use this method for meal prep. Cooked ground beef can be frozen for three to four months in a freezer at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Use the beef crumble cooking method and then drain the fat off. Cool it within two hours, then freeze it within the next four hours, once it's no longer warm. Use a thermometer to check, and finally portion it out into your freezer-safe containers. Usually, ½- to 1-pound portions work best for future busy weeknight meals.