On days when dinner feels like a chore, I often turn to two things — ground beef and pasta. There are about a million and one ways to combine them but on nights like that my main requirements are that it has to come together in under thirty minutes and in a single pot. In the case of this Easy Beef and Noodles, you need an extra pot to boil the pasta, but it’s delicious enough that I’ll let it slide. This dish checks all the other weeknight boxes — It’s tasty, it’s comforting, it’s uber quick. And the whole family will eat it. To me, it reminds a lot of the Hamburger Helper from my childhood, but you know, better. And from scratch.
In one pot, you’re going to boil your pasta. But in another you’re going to work on the beefy sauce by browning up some ground beef and onions.
Once the beef is cooked through (and you’ve added some garlic and Worcestershire), stir in some flour and let it cook just a minute or so…
… before you add some beef broth and let it simmer until thick.
You can add cream here if you’d like a creamier consistency. I pretty much always do.
And then all that’s left to do is stir those egg noodles in to coat them with sauce.
And that sauce is totally approachable. It’s velvety and savory but basic enough that you could bump things up with some other herbs or seasoning whenever you’d like. It’s all about what works best for you and your family. (But I think a 20 minute dinner works pretty well for everyone.)
Easy Beef and Noodles
Yield(s): Serves 4
5m prep time
20m cook time
you’re making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked egg noodles
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Preparation
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, add ground beef to a skillet over medium-high heat and cook, breaking up the meat as it browns, until meat is partially cooked. Add onion and cook until soft and beef is no longer pink.
- Reduce heat to medium and add garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and thyme. Cook 1 minute.
- Stir in flour and cook 1 minute more. Stir in beef broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Let simmer until gravy has thickened, 5-10 minutes. If mixture gets too thick, thin with water or more broth.
- If desired, stir in heavy cream for a creamy finish. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Add drained noodles and toss to combine. Enjoy!