Buying Ground Beef in Bulk

If you are going to buy ground beef for this recipe then I encourage you to look for bulk buying opportunities for ground beef, if you have space for freezing it. The reason – it saves you money, it saves you sanity, and it will keep you from going back to the store.

This will save you money when you find price markdowns on “need to sell today meat” – with this meat, you need to brown and freeze it immediately. Or when you see the loss leader prices on grocery store sales. Stock up, brown it up and get it into your freezer!

You save big money by buying in bulk or on sale. You save big sanity by stashing meals in your freezer.

Browning Ground Beef in Bulk

Because I find myself buying ground beef in bulk – when it’s on sale, I also find myself with a large amount that I need to “process” quickly. Sometimes I make a few batches of meatballs and brown the rest. Sometimes I make a few meatloaves and don’t brown any. Sometimes I brown it all.

If you had browned ground beef ready for you in the freezer, then this recipe will be extra easy.

When I brown larger quantities of ground beef at the same time, I get out my 2 giant pots/saucepans and do about 4-5 lbs. in each pan. Because this will take a little longer to brown, you run the risk of some of the meat really sticking and almost burning to the bottom of the pan (even if you turn it really often.)

I highly recommend adding 1/4 to 1/3 cup of water per pound you are browning to the pan.

This will help keep the ground beef from sticking to the bottom of the pan, and it will steam/burn off as the beef browns. Browning 4-5 lbs. in one pot can take up to 20 or 25 minutes, so be patient. And stick nearby, so you can turn it and stir it as it browns through.

Perfectly Seasoned Browned Ground Beef

I use this ratio in 99.5% of ground beef recipes…

If you’ve ever watched one of my freezer meal assembly videos, you’ve heard me share this before. But in case you haven’t, here is my recipe, and some other tips too!

When browning ground beef, I always (well, 99.9% of the time) add this seasoning to the beef as it is browning. It’s a ‘ratio recipe’ – meaning it’s a certain amount of seasoning per pound of ground beef.

I keep it simple with just minced/dried onion and garlic powder, plus a little salt and pepper. With this simple and “generic” seasoning, then you can use the browned ground beef in a variety of meals – tacos, enchiladas, chilis, soups, and more!

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 Tbsp minced dried onion
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Pinch salt and pepper

Freezer Meal Instructions for Hashbrown Beef Bake

How to Prep this Meal for Freezer

To get this meal ready for the freezer, you prep it as directed up until the baking point. 

Instead of baking it, place a piece of foil tightly around it and put it into the fridge to cool down.

Then transfer the cooled down tray to the freezer and freeze. It should be cool before adding to the freezer to reduce the risk of freezer burn. 

How to Thaw Tray Freezer Meals

The best method for thawing frozen meals is putting in the refrigerator overnight, or sometimes up to 2 days.

I prefer to thaw them this way, but I’m also a busy mom with 4 boys and I often forget to pull them out on time…even when it’s written on my calendar or to-do list.

If you do forget, you can take them out that same day and thaw in a bowl of lukewarm water. It will quickly thaw this way, the time dependent on the thickness of the baggie or container.

When I ‘quick-thaw’ things, it can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to be ready to cook. 

How to Cook from Frozen

Cover the dish with foil and add 30-40 minutes to the bake time, then bake as directed.

The “extra” covered baking time kinda depends on the thickness of the frozen meal, so be sure to budget enough time for it to reheat all the way through! 

It could take 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes to bake through from frozen. 

Hashbrown Beef Bake – Ingredient Substitutions

• Ground beef: ground turkey – ground mild Italian sausage – ground pork breakfast sausage
• Cream of mushroom soup: cream of onion soup – cream of chicken soup – cream of celery – cream of broccoli
• Shredded cheddar: shredded sharp cheddar – shredded mozzarella – shredded Colby Jack – sharp white cheddar

Hope you enjoy this hashbrown beef bake – for dinner, for breakfast, or even as chilled leftovers 😉