Common Ingredients in ground beef Recipes

We researched the most common ingredients in over a dozen popular ground beef recipes and found the top 15 ingredients.

The most common ingredients in ground beef dishes are beef, tomatoes and onion.

Garlic, tomato sauce and cheddar cheese are also common ingredients in ground beef recipes. For herbs and spices, garlic powder, paprika, oregano and cumin are popular. Salt is in 90% of ground beef recipes and pepper, 75%.

The average ground beef recipe has about 11.1 ingredients, with a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 17.

In terms of directions, ground beef recipes have about 6 steps on average, ranging from 2 to 10 instructions.

Ratios of Common Ingredients in Ground Beef

For 1 pound beef (454 g), the median and average amounts of other significant ingredients are below. Some ingredients are potential substitutes for others, meaning they almost never exist together in a single ground beef recipe, and are marked below.

Ingredient	Median	Average	% of recipes with beef	Potential subsitutions
onion	1 small (70 g)	1.1 small (74 g)	75%
salt	1 teaspoon (6 g)	0.58 teaspoon (3 g)	75%
garlic	2 clove (6 g)	2.1 clove (6 g)	63%
tomatoes	16 ounce (454 g)	16.4 ounce (464 g)	50%
green bell pepper	1 small (74 g)	0.83 small (62 g)	25%
oregano	1.8 teaspoon (2 g)	1.6 teaspoon (2 g)	25%	paprika cumin chili powder
cheddar cheese	1.3 cup (176 g)	1.2 cup (154 g)	25%
worcestershire sauce	5.9 teaspoon (34 g)	3.5 teaspoon (20 g)	25%
garlic powder	1 teaspoon (3 g)	0.88 teaspoon (3 g)	25%

Ingredients by Average Weight in Ground Beef

We also found the average content of the significant ingredients by weight in ground beef recipes. This would be: 50% beef, 20% tomatoes, 15% tomato sauce, 7% onion and 5% cheddar cheese.

Here are the top ingredients, listed in order of popularity.

salt

Salt is the most popular ingredient in ground beef dishes. In fact, over 90% of ground beef recipes contain salt.

Variations of salt include:

• seasoning salt: 8% of recipes

For ground beef recipes, salt is frequently used with onion, beef, tomatoes, garlic and black pepper.

pepper

Another popular ingredient in ground beef is pepper. From the recipes we've sampled for ground beef, over 75% have pepper.

Variations of pepper include:

• black pepper: 42% of recipes

In recipes for ground beef, pepper is often used with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and onion.

Potential substitutions for pepper in ground beef:

• black pepper
• green bell pepper

Also, pepper is not often used with cheddar cheese and worcestershire sauce.

black pepper

Black pepper is another common ingredient in ground beef dishes. In fact, over 40% of ground beef recipes contain black pepper.

In ground beef recipes that contain black pepper, it is on average, 0% by weight.

For ground beef recipes, black pepper is frequently used with onion, garlic, salt, beef and tomatoes. However, onion powder is almost never used together with black pepper in ground beef dishes.

beef

Beef is another common ingredient in ground beef dishes. In fact, over 65% of ground beef recipes contain beef.

Ground is a frequent preparation for beef in ground beef dishes.

Common quantities for beef in ground beef dishes include 1 pound.

In ground beef recipes that contain beef, it is on average, 30% by weight.

Salt, onion, garlic, tomatoes and black pepper are commonly used together with beef in ground beef dishes. Conversely, beef is not often used with paprika and chili powder.

tomatoes

Another popular ingredient in ground beef is tomatoes. From the recipes we've sampled for ground beef, over 65% have tomatoes.

Variations of tomatoes include:

• tomato sauce: 33% of recipes

For ground beef recipes, tomatoes is frequently used with onion, salt, beef, garlic and black pepper. However, sour cream is almost never used together with tomatoes in ground beef dishes.

tomato sauce

Another popular ingredient in ground beef is tomato sauce. From the recipes we've sampled for ground beef, over 30% have tomato sauce.

Tomato sauce is often included in ground beef dishes in amounts of 16 ounces.

In ground beef recipes that contain tomato sauce, it is on average, 20% by weight.

In recipes for ground beef, tomato sauce is often used with salt, beef, garlic, tomatoes and angel hair pasta. On the other hand, tomato sauce is almost never used with garlic powder, paprika, cumin, cheddar cheese, onion powder and chili powder.

onion

Onion is another common ingredient in ground beef dishes. In fact, over 65% of ground beef recipes contain onion.

Ground beef dishes often call for onion to be chopped.

Onion is often included in ground beef dishes in amounts of 1 small.

In ground beef recipes that contain onion, it is on average, 4% by weight.

In recipes for ground beef, onion is often used with salt, beef, tomatoes, black pepper and garlic.

garlic

Another popular ingredient in ground beef is garlic. From the recipes we've sampled for ground beef, over 55% have garlic.

Minced and chopped are frequent preparations for garlic in ground beef dishes.

Common quantities for garlic in ground beef dishes include 4 cloves, 1 clove or 2 cloves.

In ground beef recipes that contain garlic, it is on average, 0.3% by weight.

Beef, onion, salt, black pepper and oregano are commonly used together with garlic in ground beef dishes. Conversely, garlic is not often used with worcestershire sauce.

garlic powder

Garlic powder is another common ingredient in ground beef dishes. In fact, over 30% of ground beef recipes contain garlic powder.

Common quantities for garlic powder in ground beef dishes include 1 teaspoon.

In ground beef recipes that contain garlic powder, it is on average, 0.9% by weight.

Salt, pepper, onion, beef and paprika are commonly used together with garlic powder in ground beef dishes. Conversely, garlic powder is not often used with tomato sauce, worcestershire sauce and angel hair pasta.

paprika

Another popular ingredient in ground beef is paprika. From the recipes we've sampled for ground beef, over 25% have paprika.

Smoked is a frequent preparation for paprika in ground beef dishes.

In ground beef recipes that contain paprika, it is on average, 0.7% by weight.

For ground beef recipes, paprika is frequently used with salt, onion, chili powder, cumin and pepper.

Potential substitutions for paprika in ground beef:

• oregano

Also, paprika is not often used with beef, tomato sauce, green bell pepper, worcestershire sauce, angel hair pasta and sour cream.

oregano

Oregano is another common ingredient in ground beef dishes. In fact, over 25% of ground beef recipes contain oregano.

Ground beef dishes often call for oregano to be dried.

In ground beef recipes that contain oregano, it is on average, 0.1% by weight.

In recipes for ground beef, oregano is often used with garlic, salt, tomatoes, tomato sauce and onion.

Potential substitutions for oregano in ground beef:

• paprika
• cumin
• chili powder

Also, oregano is not often used with cheddar cheese and worcestershire sauce.

cumin

Another popular ingredient in ground beef is cumin. From the recipes we've sampled for ground beef, over 25% have cumin.

Ground is a frequent preparation for cumin in ground beef dishes.

Common quantities for cumin in ground beef dishes include 1 teaspoon.

In ground beef recipes that contain cumin, it is on average, 1.3% by weight.

Salt, black pepper, onion, garlic and chili powder are commonly used together with cumin in ground beef dishes.

Potential substitutions for cumin in ground beef:

• oregano

Also, cumin is not often used with tomato sauce, green bell pepper, worcestershire sauce, angel hair pasta and sour cream.

cheddar cheese

Cheddar cheese is another common ingredient in ground beef dishes. In fact, over 25% of ground beef recipes contain cheddar cheese.

Cheddar cheese is often included in ground beef dishes in amounts of 1 cup.

In ground beef recipes that contain cheddar cheese, it is on average, 7% by weight.

For ground beef recipes, cheddar cheese is frequently used with onion, tomatoes, salt, black pepper and beef. However, tomato sauce, oregano, angel hair pasta and onion powder are almost never used together with cheddar cheese in ground beef dishes.

chili powder

Another popular ingredient in ground beef is chili powder. From the recipes we've sampled for ground beef, over 15% have chili powder.

In ground beef recipes that contain chili powder, it is on average, 0.2% by weight.

In recipes for ground beef, chili powder is often used with salt, paprika, cumin, onion powder and garlic powder.

Potential substitutions for chili powder in ground beef:

• oregano

Also, chili powder is not often used with beef, tomato sauce, green bell pepper, worcestershire sauce, angel hair pasta and sour cream.

cream

Cream is another common ingredient in ground beef dishes. In fact, over 15% of ground beef recipes contain cream.

Variations of cream include:

• sour cream: 17% of recipes

Russet potatoes, beef, condensed cream chicken soup, cheddar cheese, sour cream, green bell pepper, onion, parmesan cheese and garlic are commonly used together with cream in ground beef dishes.

Other ground beef Ingredients

Other significant ingredients used in ground beef recipes include:

• worcestershire sauce - 15%
• onion powder - 15%
• angel hair pasta - 15%
• green bell pepper - 15%

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