Ground beef and egg skillet
Browned beef with eggs scrambled right into it, a savory one-pan plate that tastes like a diner breakfast.
- 20 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 2
- About $3.83 a serving
- 630 calories
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 20 minutes.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 lb ground beef (85/15)
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup shredded cheddar (optional)
- 1 tbsp chives, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 630 calories, 55 g protein, 1 g carbs and 44 g fat, and costs about $3.83 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No ground beef? Lean ground beef works.
- No shredded cheddar? Cheddar cheese or mexican blend cheese or monterey jack cheese works.
- No chives? Green onions work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Crack the eggs into a bowl with of the salt and with a fork until no streaks of white are left.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Put the beef in a large over medium-high heat and break it into big chunks with a wooden spoon.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium-high heat
Cook without for 3 minutes, until underneath, then break it up and cook 4 minutes more, until no pink is left.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 7 min
Dolly’s tip: Leaving it alone is how you get brown, crispy bits instead of gray crumbles.Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
with the rest of the salt and the pepper. If there’s a pool of fat, spoon most of it out, leaving about a tablespoon.
Season. Seasoning means adding salt, pepper or spices to bring out a food’s flavor. A little at a few stages tastes better than a lot all at the end.
How you’ll know: When you taste it, it tastes bright and like itself, not flat and not salty.
Medium-high heat
Dolly’s tip: Spoon the fat into a mug or a can, never down the sink.to medium, push the beef to the sides, and pour the eggs into the middle.
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Medium heat
the eggs gently for about 2 minutes, until soft curds form and no runny egg is left, then them into the beef.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Dolly’s tip: They should still look a little glossy when you stop. They finish cooking on the way to the plate.Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Take the pan off the heat, scatter the cheddar and chives over the top if you like, and serve.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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30-minute dinners ›One-pan dinners ›What to make with eggs and cheddar ›What to make with ground beef and cheddar ›