Easy Ground Beef Stew with Packet Seasoning Mix
⏱ 5 min prep · 🍳 20 min · 🍽 4
Ground beef is the ingredient that rescues the most weeknights. It keeps an extra day in the fridge, takes on whatever flavor it's cooked with, and browns in five minutes flat. Here it does the work alongside a regular packet stew seasoning mix, which handles the spice blend and the thickening so you're not reaching for six different jars on a Tuesday.
Canned tomatoes give the sauce more body than the packet alone would manage, and the onion cooks down long enough to almost disappear. That makes this an easy sell for kids who'd rather not spot vegetable pieces on the plate.
Cold kitchen to dinner on the table in 25 minutes. Short enough that this recipe can hold a fixed slot on the weekly meal plan for the nights you don't have it in you to think about dinner — just follow the steps and serve.
Ingredients
- 400.000 g kjøttdeig
- toro gryterettsblanding
- vann
- løk
- hermetiske tomater
Instructions
Brun kjøttdeigen i en gryte med litt olje, og tilsett hakket løk mot slutten.
Tilsett vann og Toro-blandingen i gryta og rør godt sammen.
La retten småkoke i den tiden som er angitt på posen, til sausen har tyknet.
This is the recipe you drop onto the meal plan without thinking twice, because a packet stew mix is always in the pantry and ground beef is always on the grocery list. It scales up without any fuss — brown double the beef on a Sunday and you've got a ready meal in the freezer for the week you don't make it to the store. Kids who go quiet at the word "stew" eat this one without a fight, because it reads more like a meat sauce than a stew — it's the ground beef and the gravy they recognize, not chunks of vegetable. This is a rotation-night recipe, built for the weeks dinner just needs to be handled, not one you'd put in front of guests.
FAQ
Can I freeze this stew?
Yes. Portioned into airtight containers, it keeps well in the freezer for up to three months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight and reheat gently on the stovetop rather than blasting it in the microwave, since the sauce can split at full power. Label each container with the date and contents so you're not guessing what's at the back of the freezer next time you need something fast.
Can I swap the ground beef for something else?
Ground chicken or ground pork both work without changing the cook time. For a meat-free version, use a plant-based ground substitute or finely chopped mushrooms, and cut back slightly on the water since they release less liquid than ground beef. The packet seasoning mix carries most of the flavor regardless of the protein, so the swap makes less difference than you'd expect.
How do I adapt this for toddlers who don't like chunks?
Blend the sauce with an immersion blender right after it finishes cooking and the onion pieces disappear completely. Serve it over rice or mashed potatoes instead of pasta for the first few tries — it's easier for small hands to manage with a spoon. The mild, slightly sweet flavor from the packet mix is familiar to most kids from other packet-based meals, so this rarely meets resistance at the table.
Can I prep this ahead for a busy weeknight?
Brown the beef and onion the night before and keep it in the fridge, then all you're adding the next evening is water, the seasoning packet, and the tomatoes. That gets you under 15 minutes of active time on an afternoon when school pickup and everything else has already eaten the clock. Put it on a fixed weeknight in the meal plan — it holds up fine if plans shift it a day or two.
How long do leftovers keep in the fridge?
Three to four days in a sealed container. Reheat it thoroughly before serving, and stir in a splash of water or stock if the sauce has thickened more than you'd like. Leftovers work well spooned over rice for next-day lunch, not just recycled as another dinner.
Can I dress this up for a dinner with guests?
Add a clove of minced garlic, a dash of soy sauce or Worcestershire, and let it simmer a few extra minutes for a rounder flavor. Fresh herbs on top and a simple green salad on the side lift it well past weeknight territory. The base method stays the same either way: brown the beef, stir in the packet mix and tomatoes, and simmer until the sauce comes together.