30 High Protein Ground Beef Meal Prep Recipes (2024)

What’s not to love about ground beef? It’s super easy to prepare, has very lean cuts like 96/4, reheats great for meal prep, and can be used for thousands of recipes. Some might even say it’s the beef’s knees. Or is it the bee’s knees? Either way, you’ll find 30 of my favorite macro friendly, high protein ground beef recipes below.

Similar to usinghealthy as a recipe descriptor,macro friendlycan be a bit ambiguous and mean different things from person to person. So before you jump in, I’ll clear the air and say that macro friendly in my eyes typically means a recipe that’s high in one or two macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat) and low in the other(s). I lean more towards the high protein, moderate carb, low fat side with my recipes, but you’ll see a few low carb ground beef meal prep recipes on this list.

Use each macro friendly recipe accordingly. If you’re short on carbs, go with a low carb recipe like the sticky sweet beef and broccoli or Korean ground beef. And if you’re short on protein and have a snack attack, go with a recipe like the healthy cheeseburger bites or cheeseburger quesadilla. Macro friendly can mean whatever you want it to.

Let’s get to the recipes.

High Protein Ground Beef and Veggie Combo Recipes

• Sweet Chili Ground Beef and Brussels Sprouts – Seasoned ground beef and brussels sprouts cooked in chili oil and tossed in sweet chili sauce. (270 calories, 27g of protein, 20g of carbs, 8g of fat, and 6 Smart Points)
• Korean Ground Beef with Cauliflower Rice –A simple spin on Korean beef that uses lower calorie sauces and a bed of cauliflower rice to reduce the carbs of a traditional beef and rice recipe. (201 calories, 25g of protein, 11g of carbs, 9g of fat, and 4 Smart Points)
• Keto Cheeseburger Skillet – If you’ve never tried “keto potatoes” or roasted radishes, this is a great place to start. They serve as a solid potato replacement that goes perfectly with lean ground beef and an awesome low fat burger sauce. (325 calories, 30g of protein, 6g of carbs, 16g of fat, 9 Smart Points)
• Beijing Ground Beef – A healthier spin on the Panda Express classic made with lean ground beef, bell pepper, and onion. (250 calories, 23g of protein, 19g of carbs, 8g of fat, 6 Smart Points)

• Teriyaki Ground Beef Stir Fry – Zucchini, mushrooms, and hamburger with teriyaki sauce served over a low carb rice blend with a healthy yum yum sauce. (330 calories, 23g protein, 35g carbs, 9g fat)
• Sticky Sweet Ground Beef and Broccoli– Simple barbecue beef with bacon and broccoli. What’s not to love? (190 calories, 20g of protein, 10g of carbs, 8g of fat, and 5 Smart Points)
• Loaded Ground Beef and Potatoes Skillet – Extra cheesy potatoes layered with bacon fried ground beef. (215 calories, 22g of protein, 13g of carbs, 8g of fat, and 6 Smart Points)
• Spicy Sesame Ground Beef and Quinoa Bowls – Hard to pronounce, easy to love. This is one of my favorite ground beef meal prep recipes. The beef is super flavorful and the quinoa provides just the right amount of texture. (375 calories, 29g of protein, 38g of carbs, 10g of fat, 8 Smart Points)

Tex-Mex Ground Beef Meal Prep Recipes

• Oven Baked Ground Beef Tacos – They’re called THE BEST beef tacos for a reason. Perfect for meal prep. (120 calories, 11g protein, 10g carbs, 4g fat, and 3 Smart Points)
• Taco Meal Prep Bowls – Highly customizable (huge) taco bowls with tons of veggies and spicy ground beef. (380 calories, 35g protein, 38g carbs, 9g fat, and 4 Smart Points)
• Cheesy Beef Baked Taquitos – Similar to the baked tacos above, you might find taquitos a bit easier to make and reheat. The rolled tacos stay sealed and get a bit crispier, in my experience. (115 calories, 8g of protein, 10g of carbs, 4g of fat, 3 Smart Points)

• Air Fryer Stuffed Peppers – Chipotle cerveza ground beef stuffed inside bell peppers, topped with cheese, and air fried to yummy perfection. You can also use this method to stuff peppers with any kind of filling you’d like. (350 calories, 31g of protein, 16g of carbs, 16g of fat, 9 Smart Points)
• Cheesy Gordita Crunch – A warm, soft outer shell with a crispy shell stuck to it with melted cheese and stuffed with taco ground beef and a spicy cream sauce. (325 calories, 36g of protein, 30g of carbs, 7g of fat, and 9 Smart Points)
• Pressure Cooker Picadillo – An absolute flavor bomb that’s so easy to make and is even better as leftovers. (200 calories, 21g of protein, 13g of carbs, 7g of fat, and 5 Smart Points)

Ground Beef Soup and Chili Recipes

• Creamy Taco Soup– One of my most popular recipes that’s as easy as dumping a bunch of ingredients into one big pot of deliciousness. (210 calories, 18g of protein, 23g of carbs, 5g of fat, and 3 Smart Points)
• Pressure Cooker Cheeseburger Soup – A low fat ground beef and veggie soup blended with a 2-ingredient cheese sauce. (190 calories, 19g protein, 17g carbs, 5g fat, and 4 Smart Points)
• Kid Friendly High Protein Chili – This chili recipe uses a great blend of dried spices to provide tons of flavor without pesky vegetables. The lean ground beef and beans provide lots of protein and fiber as well. (235 calories, 25g of protein, 25g of carbs, 8g of fiber, 4g of fat, 3 Smart Points)

• Slow Cooker Texas Chili – Have some leftover brisket or chuck roast? Throw it in with some lean ground beef and homemade chili powder for one of the best sweater weather recipes on my blog. Don’t have any leftover brisket? No worries. It works fine and the macros get better without it. (360 calories, 25g of protein, 16g of carbs, 21g of fat)
• Spicy Hamburger Soup – A spicy chipotle spin on vegetable beef soup. (185 calories, 14g protein, 23g carbs, 4g fat)

Ground Beef and Pasta Recipes

• Beef Cannelloni – Oven ready lasagna sheets stuffed with a ground beef and ricotta mixture baked in a dish of marinara, alfredo, and parmesan cheese. (280 calories, 24g protein, 30g carbs, 8g fat, and 8 Smart Points)
• Queso Ground Beef Mac and Cheese– Spicy chipotle ground beef in a simple queso cheese sauce with macaroni. (315 calories, 27g of protein, 28g of carbs, 12g of fat, and 9 Smart Points)
• Fettuccine Bolognese – A high protein pasta recipe made with a beef and bacon meat sauce and fresh fettuccine. (315 calories, 32g protein, 29g carbs, 7g fat, and 6 Smart Points)
• Bacon Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper– A childhood favorite modified to deliver all the cheesy goodness without the fat and calories. If you’re a mac and cheese lover, you have to try this recipe ASAP. (270 calories, 26g of protein, 22g of carbs, 9g of fat, and 7 Smart Points)
• Easy Low Carb Lasagna – Low carb palm heart lasagna noodles layered with mozzarella, parmesan, fresh parsley, and an amazing bolognese. (325 calories, 37g protein, 12g carbs, 14g fat, and 6 Smart Points)

Sandwiches, Burgers, and More

• Healthy In-N-Out Burgers – Bring the magic of Animal Style Double Doubles and Protein Style burgers home with this simple recipe. (415 calories, 33g of protein, 28g of carbs, 18g of fat)
• Cheeseburger Bites– The king of snack foods on my blog. These lil troublemakers have all the burger flavor without the carbs and calories of a full blown cheeseburger. (50 calories, 7g of protein, 2g of carbs, 1g of fat, and 1 Smart Point)
• Shake Shack Double SmokeShack Copycat – I think the SmokeShack is the best fast casual burger on the market, right up there with In-N-Out. This recipe pays homage with crispy bacon, chopped chiles, and lean smash burger patties. (460 calories, 42g of protein, 30g of carbs, 19g of fat)

• High Protein Sloppy Joes– A sweet and spicy spin on the classic recipe. (150 calories, 24g of protein, 5g of carbs, 4g of fat, 2 Smart Points)
• Cheeseburger Quesadillas– If you’re going to make the cheesy gordita crunch from above, you might as well add this to the list as well. (290 calories, 31g of protein, 13g of carbs, 15g of fat, and 6 Smart Points)
• Cheesesteak Skillet – Ground beef with peppers, onions, and mushrooms topped with melted provolone cheese. Great for sandwiches or as a low carb skillet. (280 calories, 24g protein, 12g carbs, 14g fat)

That’s it! You should be beefed up and ready to go. If you’re looking for more ideas, check out my exhaustive list with 40+ IIFYM recipes.

And if you like these ground beef recipes, you should check out all my healthy ground chicken recipes and ground turkey meal prep recipes as well. My white bean ground chicken soup and firecracker ground chicken will rock your world.