30-minute Italian Ground Beef Skillet
30-minute Italian Ground Beef Skillet
What I love about 30-minute Italian Ground Beef Skillet
What do I love about this 30-minute Italian Ground Beef Skillet? Well, the first thing is that it only takes 30 minutes to make from start to finish! It’s a quick and easy recipe for those busy week days when it seems like you have no time or energy at all. I also love that it checks the boxes for healthy protein and vegetables.
Diced butternut squash, fresh kale and fire roasted tomatoes give this skillet all the pretty colours and also give YOU the many vitamins and minerals that you need. Topped with mozzarella cheese and broiled to perfection, it is absolutely delicious. It’s definitely one of our go-to dinners to make on any given day during fall or winter.
What you will need to make 30-minute Italian Ground Beef Skillet
Here’s a list of ingredients that you will need:
Onion - I recommend using white or yellow onion for this recipe. Red onion or shallots could work too if that’s what you have.
Squash - I love using butternut squash for this recipe, but acorn or delicata squash could work as well!
Garlic - As always, I recommend using fresh garlic when you can. It just packs so much more of a punch and has more vibrant flavour than the marinated stuff.
Beef - If you can find organic ground beef, I would say definitely go for that. Not only does it have a more bold flavour profile, but conventional beef are typically fed a GMO grain diet and given antibiotics which comes with its drawbacks.
Spices - You only need a couple spices for this recipe: dried oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and fresh cracked pepper.
Canned tomatoes - You want to look for “fire roasted, diced tomatoes” at the store. It should be with the other canned tomatoes. They just have a bit more flavour and intensity than raw, canned tomatoes.
Kale - Organic is best when it comes to leafy greens too! They’re highly sprayed with pesticides. I used a curly green kale for this recipe, but black kale would work as well.
Mozzarella cheese - With it being an Italian-style skillet, I went for mozzarella on top and I think it works perfect. Since mozzarella is mild in flavour, it lets the other ingredients shine a little more.
30-minute Italian Ground Beef Skillet
30-minute Italian Ground Beef Skillet
Ingredients
- ghee, for cooking
- 1 white or yellow onion, diced
- 2 cups, peeled and diced butternut squash
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 600g organic ground beef
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 398ml can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 cups packed kale, roughly chopped
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Add ghee to a large oven-safe skillet or cast iron pan and sauté the onion and butternut squash over low-medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Push the onions and squash to one side of the pan and add the ground beef. Cook, breaking it up to crumble the meat until it's nearly fully cooked. Add the oregano, salt, red pepper flakes and pepper and stir everything to combine.
- Add the tomatoes and bring them to a simmer. Then, add the chopped kale. Cook, stirring occasionally until kale has wilted slightly.
- Top the skillet with shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Turn the oven to HIGH broil and broil the skillet for 5 minutes or until cheese is slightly browned. (Do set a timer. Broil can be intense)!
- Enjoy hot!