How to make beef and noodles
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Boil a salted pot of water, and cook the noodles until al dente. In a skillet, add the ground beef and onion, cooking until the meat is nicely browned. Don’t drain the fat. Add in the garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and Italian seasoning and cook for a minute. Stir in the flour and cook for another few minutes.
Gradually pour in the beef broth, scraping up any delicious brown bits from the bottom of the skillet, until the flour has dissolved. Cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally, until the gravy has thickened up. Drain the noodles, toss with the beef mixture, and season with salt & pepper to taste.
Helpful tips
I like using lean ground beef for this recipe since you can skip draining the fat. There’s just enough to help make the gravy.
While there’s no shame in opening up a can of “cream of” soup, it’s definitely not necessary here. Try my homemade gravy, and you won’t want to go back to recipes with canned soup.
Substitutions and variations
This recipe is designed to be inexpensive, quick, and kid-friendly. There’s endless ways to jazz it up if you are looking for something more fancy than the base recipe was intended to be.
Try adding in some frozen mixed veggies or canned corn for a bit of color. Add in during step 6.
You could stir in a couple handfuls of fresh spinach during the last couple minutes of cooking time.
Readers have customized this by adding in mushrooms and/or green peppers, added in a splash of wine, and stirred in sour cream or cream cheese at the end.
If using ground turkey or a leaner ground meat, you may need to add a tablespoon or so of oil or butter prior to adding the flour to help make the gravy.
Feel free to swap the egg noodles with a different kind of pasta or even use rice.
What to serve with beef and noodles
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