Easily Stretch Ground Beef With One Hearty Filler

I love a good burger just as much as the next person, but the rising price of beef is starting to enter the realm of big life decisions. A lot of us are in the business of saving money, and at the current rate of food inflation, there's often a great deal of deliberation that goes into the grocery shop from one paycheck to the next. So, how do you enjoy all of the versatile meals you can make with ground beef without forking out an arm or a leg in the process?

This is where the internet always wins, and food hacks come in clutch. There's a great way for you to make that packet of ground beef go a little further without sacrificing flavor or texture. Mushrooms to rescue. 

Adding finely chopped mushrooms to ground beef is an easy and delicious way to bulk up your meals while keeping them just as filling and satisfying. This trick stretches your grocery budget a bit, but it also adds extra depth to your dishes, making your beef taste even better.

There are lots of mushroom recipes out there if you're looking for dishes with deep umami flavor. Mushrooms have a slightly meaty texture and taste that enhances the flavor of ground beef. When you finely chop mushrooms they blend seamlessly into the meat, absorbing seasonings and juices, so you don't even notice they're there. This works especially well in recipes like tacos or burritos, spaghetti meatballs, meatloaf, or burgers, where the beef and mushrooms cook together into one cohesive filling. I'd say go for shiitakes or portobello mushrooms for the best, most flavor-rich results.

To ensure that the mushrooms are small enough to integrate fully into your beef mix, you can use a food processor, but if you're using a knife, just aim for a fine dice. Cook the mushrooms first to release their moisture, then mix them into the ground beef as it browns. To make sure that it blends well, you'll also need to break up the ground beef so that its texture is as crumbly as possible. In the end, you'll have effectively doubled your beef without losing richness.

Aside from saving money, adding mushrooms to ground beef comes with a few extra perks. Mushrooms are packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, so adding them is an excellent way to sneak some extra nutrition into your meals. (You can make mushrooms even healthier by placing them outside, as these amazing veggies will produce vitamin D when exposed to sunlight.) They're also lower in calories than beef, so if you're trying to lighten things up without risking flavor, this is an easy way to do it.

Another bonus is that the moisture from mushrooms helps prevent ground beef dishes from drying out. If you've ever struggled with dry meatloaf, use mushrooms to dodge this issue. Mushrooms lock in the juiciness of the beef while adding a subtle earthiness that takes the flavor up a notch. Try this mushroom trick next time you're working with ground beef — you might never go back.