30-Minute Ground Beef and Mushroom Skillet with 7 basic ingredients is easy to throw together any night of the week and goes big on nutrients! Change up the flavors to your heart’s delight for a healthy dinner that will always satisfy.
Anytime I ask what types of recipes you all are looking for, a response I get in bulk every single time is easy one-skillet or one-pot meals.
Just my style! This is how I cook for myself and my partner when I’m not developing recipes for the blog, so one-pot meals are always welcome by me!
We all lead busy lives and many of us intend to support our bodies with nourishing food but whether or not we have time or energy to do so is another story.
Enter: recipes like this.
Few ingredients, easy to make, plenty of flavor, easy to pair with a large variety of side dishes.
My Ground Beef Sweet Potato Skillet with Brussel Sprouts, 30-Minute Mexican Chicken and Zucchini Skillet, and 30-Minute Ground Turkey Skillet with Vegetables have all been well-received meals, and I’m betting this one will nestle its way into your heart and home as well.
The combination of mushrooms and beef just jives!
My Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Beef Stroganoff is a lovely example of just how peacefully beef and mushrooms marry in a dish.
And my Ground Beef & Feta Stuffed Mushrooms? A two-bite delight!
So what we have here is the easiest weeknight meal to toss together to keep your life goals steering full speed ahead.
Let’s discuss the ingredients for this simple meal!
Ingredients for Ground Beef and Mushroom Skillet:
Avocado Oil: Used for sautéing the onion and garlic and cooking everything together, avocado oil is a high-temperature cooking oil with neutral flavor, ideal for cooking at high heat in a skillet.
Onion & Garlic: Adding immense depth of flavor to the meal, onion and garlic are strong team players in what they bring to every dish.
Mushrooms: Bringing rustic, earthy, nutty flavor, mushrooms pair very well with beef! I choose baby bella mushrooms, but you can go with white mushrooms if you’d like.
Ground Beef: The star of the show! Grass-fed ground beef shines in this recipe as it has that slight gamey flavor, which really meshes with this rustic dish. I use 80/20 ground beef (beef with 20% fat content) because I love the flavor it produces, but you can go with a leaner beef if you’d like.
Note that if you choose a leaner ground meat like turkey, chicken, or elk, you will want to boost the flavor of the dish in some way, as the lack of fat also equates to a deficit of flavor. You can either add more avocado oil or stir in 2 tablespoons of liquid aminos, soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, etc. Just something to give it a boost.
Spinach: Bringing fiber, vitamins and antioxidants to the dish, spinach is a high-impact food that is easy to incorporate into any skillet meal like this! Feel free to replace it with chopped kale or rainbow chard or omit it altogether.
Dried Oregano & Sea Salt: Dried oregano brings herby earthiness to round out the flavor profile, and sea salt enhances all of the flavors in the dish. You can replace the dried oregano with any dried herb you like – Italian seasoning, dried parsley or thyme are all great.
Optional Addition: Fresh ginger! Peel and grate a 1-inch nob of fresh ginger and stir it on in. Ginger not only adds a natural anti-inflammatory property to the meal, but it boosts the flavor immensely! If you love ginger, go deep!
Let’s make it!
How to Make Ground Beef and Mushroom Skillet:
Add the avocado oil to a large skillet and heat to medium-high. Add the chopped onion and sprinkle liberally with sea salt. Cover the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to turn brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. We’re trying to get the onion to a near-caramelized state quickly in order to maximize its flavor potential.
Stir in the chopped mushrooms and garlic and continue cooking until the mushrooms have softened and turn brown, about another 5 minutes.
Move the veggies off to the side and add the ground beef. Allow it to brown for 2 to 3 minutes per side, then use a spatula to break it into smaller chunks and mix well. Continue cooking and stirring until the ground beef has cooked through and no pink is left.
Add the oregano, spinach, and sea salt and stir well. Cover the skillet and cook until the spinach has wilted, about 3 minutes. Taste the mixture for flavor and add more sea salt or a splash of liquid aminos or soy sauce to taste.
Serve with your choice of side dishes, and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions:
You can absolutely eat this Ground Beef and Mushroom Skillet as a standalone meal, or you can serve it up with sides.
If you’re looking to keep it low-carb, cauliflower rice, Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower, Roasted Vegetables or Sautéed Vegetables are great options.
For those who aim for balanced meals, steamed brown rice is a great accompaniment and it’s what I go with. My Caramelized Onion & Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes would bring the fancy level up 100-fold 😉
Enjoy this one-skillet wonder!
30-Minute Ground Beef and Mushroom Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion diced
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 5 ounces 2 big handfuls baby spinach
- 1/2 tsp sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Add the avocado oil to a large skillet and heat to medium-high. Add the chopped onion and sprinkle liberally with sea salt. Cover the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to turn brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. We’re trying to get the onion to a near-caramelized state quickly in order to maximize its flavor potential.
- Stir in the chopped mushrooms and garlic and continue cooking until the mushrooms have softened and turn brown, about another 5 minutes. Move the veggies off to the side and add the ground beef. Allow it to brown for 2 to 3 minutes per side, then use a spatula to break it into smaller chunks and mix well. Continue cooking and stirring until the ground beef has cooked through and no pink is left.
- Add the oregano, spinach, and sea salt and stir well. Cover the skillet and cook until the spinach has wilted, about 3 minutes. Taste the mixture for flavor and add more sea salt or a splash of liquid aminos or soy sauce to taste.
- Serve with your choice of side dishes, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
I followed the recipe exactly except I used multiple types of fresh greens. It was delicious!
I’m not a huge fan of oregano, yet a friend had brought us some from Italy, it smelled so wonderful I used exactly what the recipe called for. I was pleasantly surprised.
An Excellent whole food kind of meal. I served it with baked sweet potato. Next time with sweet potato fries from the air fryer. Delish!
All of that sounds lovely, Vicki! I love adding greens to recipes for more nutrition, so I’m thrilled you did so in this recipe! Also love the idea of eating it with sweet potato fries…YUM!
No where in the article/recipe does it say to chop the mushrooms, so when should this be done?
Hi Donald! Thanks so much for catching this, and my apologies for the confusion. I edited the recipe to indicate that the mushrooms should be chopped in advance. I chop the mushrooms first thing along with the onion 🙂 Thanks again for bringing this to my attention!
Do I drained meat?
Hi there! I don’t drain the meat, but I’m a fan of beef fat. If you’re using a fattier ground beef and you don’t enjoy the flavor of the added fat, feel free to drain it. Otherwise, leave it in 🙂
This was really yummy! I added a bag of the Trader Joe’s Multigrain Blend with Vegetables so added a little extra Oregano and soy sauce
Ooh, sounds amazing, Karyn! Thank you for sharing! xo
This has become part of our regular rotation! My picky toddler loves ground beef so this is one of his favorites:) We love it served over garlic bread with roasted carrots on the side!
Aww I love hearing that! Thanks for sharing, Chelsea! Garlic bread and roasted carrots sound like amazing sides for the meal.
Have to say We found it pretty bland.
Found this recipe by chance and let me tell you, I’m so glad I did. This is so delicious. It’s definitely going to be made more as both my husband and I really liked it.
I’m so thrilled to hear it, Nicole! Thanks so much for sharing your experience! xo
Found this recipe but Googling
Hey I am about to cook this receipt. I am a single women and i know i will have to much left over can i froze it ? Also i have everything to make double the receipt so it will be perfect for prep meal. i know i can froze ground beff not to sure about the mushroom.
I was thinking to prep it with rice!
Thanks you in advance for your response ❤️
Hi Laurence! I haven’t frozen this recipe myself but in my experience, the recipes that freeze the best are those that have a lot of sauce or liquid. Because this recipe isn’t very saucy, I’m honestly not sure how it will turn out when thawed after being frozen. I wish I had a more definitive response for you! You could try making the recipe as written and freeze a small amount of it for 1-2 days and see how that small portion holds up when reheated – this will be the best way of determining whether or not you’ll enjoy the texture of the mushrooms after freezing. Hope this helps! xo
This was delicious! I was looking for something tasty to use up some ground elk. So good and easy to make. Served it over mashed potatoes.
Ooh, I love the idea of eating it over mashed potatoes and using ground elk! Sounds amazing! xo
Also, wanted to say, this is delicious over quinoa or buckwheat groats, too! (Sorry, for the 2nd comment, but, tbh, I couldn’t figure out how to edit/update my 1st one! 😬)
Yaay! Love hearing that!
What is a serving size, approximately? Am really meticulous about proportions and counting calories…
Hi Jessica! I calculated the macros based on 4 servings. You can portion the meal out in 4 roughly equal sized portions and your macros should be pretty spot on 🙂
Firstly, I want to say this was mighty tasty. I would, however like to mention something about prep time. 5 minutes? It took that long or more just to wash the spinach and mushrooms, and to dice everything. That being said… I spend most of my time in the kitchen, so I knew that number was way off the mark. Once the prep was done though, cook time was pretty much on the money. I followed the recipe, but added more garlic, onions and spinach… and I also added some ginger. It is a keeper.. We loved every bite.
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe, Dee! Great call on the prep time – I should re-time what it takes me to make the recipe, as I assume it’s a little longer than 5 minutes. 🙂 Appreciate your feedback! xoxoxo
I have made this several times. We love it. I use Shredded Swiss & Gruyere from Aldi and/or Shredded Gouda from Aldi and Garlic and Herb Goat cheese from Aldi. It is melt in your mouth goodness. Tonight I used ground turkey and added Italian seasoning.
That sounds amazing! I’ll have to add those cheeses the next time I make this! xoxox
This was really tasty! I only had about 1/4 of an onion so I supplemented with scallions (great!), and I don’t like oregano so i skipped it and did add Worchester (probably spelling it wrong) sauce. the combo of mushrooms, spinach and beef is great. I served it with potatoes. I have too much ground beef in my freezer and have been looking for something more interesting than burgers and meatballs, and this was it! will make again. Thank you!
I’m so thrilled to hear that, Allison! Thanks so much for providing your feedback! I love the idea of using scallions and Worchester! What a delicious creation! 🙂 xo
Bad news: They did a study on avocado oil (published last week) and most of the brands they tested HAD NO AVOCADO OIL IN THEM…..A few of them had a small amount….
I’ll have to look up the study. I knew there was an issue with olive oil being infused with other vegetable oils but didn’t realize there was an issue with avocado oil. Thanks for bringing it to my attention! xo