Dinner ideas / Mince

Dinner ideas

Mince recipes for the whole family: six dinners from one pack

A pack of mince goes furthest when one pan feeds everyone and each person finishes their own plate. Here are six mince dinners set up that way, with the allergens flagged and the method for each.

Written for Australia and New Zealand, where it's called mince. In the US and Canada it's ground beef, and everything here works the same.

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Last checked: 12 October 2026

Six mince dinners that work for the whole table

Each one comes from the dinners in our quiz. Tap Method for the steps.

About 20 minutes

• Taco night, everyone builds their own About 20 minutes. Allergens: gluten, milk.
  Keep a little mince aside before the spice goes in. A plain mince and cheese taco is still taco night.
  Method

  1. Brown 500 g (1 lb) mince (ground beef) with a chopped onion. Add taco spice and a splash of water and simmer 5 minutes.
  2. Warm the tortillas or taco shells, wrapped in a tea towel in the microwave or foil in the oven.
  3. Put out bowls: grated cheese, shredded lettuce, diced tomato, tinned (canned) corn, sour cream and salsa.
  4. Everyone fills their own.
• San choy bow (lettuce cups) About 20 minutes. Allergens: soy, gluten, sesame, shellfish.
  Put out a bowl of plain mince and rice as well. The lettuce cups are optional, not the price of dinner.
  Method

  1. Brown 500 g (1 lb) pork or chicken mince with grated garlic and ginger.
  2. Add a tin (can) of water chestnuts, chopped, and a splash each of soy sauce, oyster sauce and hoisin sauce.
  3. Separate the leaves of an iceberg lettuce into cups and rinse them.
  4. Everyone spoons the mince into a lettuce cup. Rice on the side for anyone who wants it.
• Burger night About 20 minutes. Allergens: gluten, milk.
  A patty and cheese in a bun, cut in half, is a burger. The rest of the bar is for whoever wants it.
  Method

  1. Shape 500 g (1 lb) mince (ground beef) into 4 or 5 flat patties with salt and pepper. Press a dent in the middle so they stay flat.
  2. Cook in a hot pan, 3 to 4 minutes a side, until cooked through. Add a cheese slice for the last minute.
  3. Toast the buns.
  4. Put out lettuce, tomato, pickles, beetroot (beets), tomato sauce (ketchup) and mustard.

35 to 40 minutes

• Meatballs in tomato sauce with pasta About 35 minutes. Allergens: gluten, egg, milk.
  Pull a few meatballs out of the pan before the sauce goes in. Plain meatballs with buttered pasta work for anyone avoiding the sauce.
  Method

  1. Mix 500 g (1 lb) mince (ground beef) with an egg, half a cup of breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt. Roll into small balls.
  2. Brown them in a pan, then add a jar of tomato pasta sauce and simmer 15 minutes.
  3. Cook the pasta in the meantime.
  4. Serve the meatballs and sauce over the pasta, with grated parmesan on the table.
• Spaghetti bolognese, sauce on the side About 40 minutes. Allergens: gluten, milk.
  Toss one bowl of pasta in butter and parmesan before any sauce goes near it. Whoever's unsure can add a spoon of sauce from there.
  Method

  1. Brown 500 g (1 lb) mince (ground beef) in a big pan with a chopped onion. Grate in a carrot and a zucchini (courgette); they melt into the sauce.
  2. Add a tin (can) of crushed tomatoes, a big spoon of tomato paste and half a tin of water. Simmer 20 minutes while the pasta cooks.
  3. Drain the spaghetti and toss it with a little butter or oil so it doesn't clump.
  4. Put the pasta, the sauce and the grated parmesan out separately.
• Mild chilli con carne with rice About 40 minutes. Allergens: milk.
  Keep the pot mild and put the chilli sauce on the table. One pot, and everyone eats from it.
  Method

  1. Brown 500 g (1 lb) mince (ground beef) with a chopped onion and capsicum (bell pepper).
  2. Add a spoon each of cumin and paprika, a tin (can) of kidney beans, drained, and a tin of crushed tomatoes. Simmer 25 minutes.
  3. Cook rice while it simmers.
  4. Grated cheese, sour cream and chilli (chili) sauce go on the table. The heat goes on at the table, not in the pot.

Getting more from one pack of mince

• Brown it all, then split it. Take out a plain portion before the spice, sauce or chilli (chili) goes in. Plain mince with rice or in a wrap is still the same dinner.
• Grate vegetables into it. A grated carrot or zucchini (courgette) melts into a mince sauce. Tinned (canned) lentils or beans stretch it further.
• Cook once, eat twice. Make a double batch of bolognese or chilli, cool what you are keeping, and put it in the fridge or freezer. Follow your local food safety advice on how long to keep it.
• Keep the toppings separate. Cheese, sour cream, salsa and lettuce in their own bowls let each person build their plate, which also helps when someone avoids milk.

Mince or ground beef?

They are the same thing: minced beef. Australia and New Zealand call it mince, and the US and Canada call it ground beef. Pork, chicken and lamb mince work in most of these dinners too.

Check your labels

The allergens above are the ones in the usual version of each dish. Brands differ, and so do spice mixes, sauces, sausages, wraps and stock. The nine to look for are milk, egg, gluten, nuts, peanuts, fish, shellfish, soy and sesame. Read the label on every packet, every time.

How PULS3 helps

PULS3 is a team of coaches in an iPhone app that plans training, food and sleep together. Dinner is one part of it. Two things help on a weeknight:

• The week's dinners are planned for everyone at the table. Each dinner is checked against everyone's allergies. That is a second check, not a replacement for reading the label.
• Photograph your fridge or pantry. You confirm what PULS3 found, and your dinner plans use it.

PULS3 is coaching, not medical care. It does not diagnose or treat allergies, and it is not a replacement for advice from your doctor. For the rest of the team, see PULS3 for you. For more dinner ideas, see all dinner ideas or try the 30-second quiz.

Seven days to see if it fits your week. If it doesn't, cancel before the trial ends and you pay nothing. A$9.99 a month in Australia, US$9.99 in the US, C$9.99 in Canada or NZ$9.99 in New Zealand, or 89.99 a year in the same currency.

Questions

What can I make for dinner with mince?

Tacos, san choy bow (lettuce cups), burgers, meatballs, spaghetti bolognese and chilli con carne. All six are on this page, with methods and allergens, and each one can be set up so a picky eater keeps their plate plain.

What can I make with mince that isn't bolognese?

Build-your-own tacos, san choy bow, burger night, meatballs in tomato sauce, or a mild chilli con carne with rice. Tacos, san choy bow and burgers take about 20 minutes.

What can you put in mince to make it tasty?

An onion browned with it, garlic, a spoon of tomato paste, and a splash of stock or soy sauce. Taco or chilli spice works too. Take out a plain portion first if someone at the table wants it plain, and check the labels on spice mixes and sauces.

Can you freeze cooked mince?

Many families do. Cool it quickly, freeze it in portions, and follow the storage advice from your local food safety authority for how long to keep it and how to reheat it.

PULS3 provides coaching guidance, not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Allergen notes on this page are general and are not a guarantee. Always read the label.