Comfort Food, Lean Protein: Meatloaves, Soups & Casseroles You’ll Love
When the weather turns cooler and your family craves something warm, there's nothing quite like comfort food made with lean, clean ingredients. With Laura’s Lean Ground Beef, you get juicy flavor without compromise. In this post, we’re spotlighting classic-sounding recipes with a twist that let Laura’s Lean shine in familiar, crowd-pleasing forms.
Below are three stand-out recipes from Laura’s Lean’s recipe library - meatloaf, soup, and a casserole that show how versatile and comforting lean beef can be.
Classic Southern Ground Beef Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. Laura’s Lean Ground Beef
- Saltine crackers (approximately 2-30, crushed)
- 1/2 cup Onion (finely chopped)
- 1/4 cup Green bell pepper (finely chopped)
- 1 Large egg
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1/2 tsp Garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp Dried thyme
- 1/4 cup Ketchup
- 2 tbsps Milk
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3/4 cup Ketchup or barbecue sauce (for the topping)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Get an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan ready by greasing it or lining it with foil and lightly greasing it. If you prefer a free-form loaf, you can line a rimmed baking pan with foil instead.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, crushed saltines, onion, green pepper, egg, paprika, garlic powder, salt, thyme, black pepper, 1/3 cup of ketchup, milk, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Put the meat mixture into the prepared loaf pan or shape it and place it on the lined baking pan. Bake the meatloaf for 1 hour. Once it's done baking, carefully pour any excess grease into a can or jar to dispose of once it cools.
- Spread 1/2 to 3/4 cup of ketchup or barbecue sauce over the meatloaf and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches at least 160°F on an instant-read food thermometer inserted into the center. If you're using ground turkey or chicken, make sure the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- Let the meatloaf rest for ten minutes before slicing to help it hold together nicely. Then, serve and enjoy!
Skinny Slow Cooker Ground Beef Lasagna Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Laura’s Lean Ground Beef (96% lean)
- 1 onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes (salt-free)
- 1 can marinara sauce (16 ounce – no sugar added)
- 3 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
- 2 tsps Italian seasoning
- 10 whole wheat lasagna noodles
- 1 zucchini (chopped)
- 6 ounces fresh spinach
- ½ cup low-sodium parmesan cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the ground beef, onion, and garlic to a skillet. Brown for 5-7 minutes, breaking up the meat as it cooks. You can also do this directly in the slow cooker if you have a sauté feature. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add this to the slow cooker along with the crushed tomatoes, marinara sauce, chicken broth, and Italian seasoning. Cook on low for 4 hours (you can cook it up to 8 hours as well).
- Open the slow cooker and add the noodles, zucchini, and spinach. Cook for 25-30 minutes until the lasagna noodles are tender.
- Stir in the Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Laura’s Lean Ground Beef
- 12 oz egg noodles
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 bell pepper, finely diced
- 2 tsps garlic (minced)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- ½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tbsp soy sauce
- 1 can Roasted garlic and onion tomatoes (14.5 ounce can, undtrained)
- 1 can mushroom soup
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)
- 1 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)
- ¼ cup parsley (chopped)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook egg noodles according to package directions for al dente, about 5 minutes.
3. While noodles are cooking, in a large skillet over medium high heat add the olive oil and butter and cook ground beef for 4-5 minutes until it is no longer pink, breaking up meat with a potato masher.
4. Drain any excess grease.
5. Add the onion, garlic and diced pepper to the meat in the skillet and cook an additional 5 minutes until green peppers are tender and onions are translucent. Remove from heat.
6. Stir in the salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, garlic and onion tomatoes and cream of mushroom soup.
7. Drain the egg noodles and stir into the meat mixture.
8. Stir in 1 cup of shredded mozzarella.
9. Spray a 9x13 pan. Place the beef noodle mixture into the dish.
10. Top with the cheddar cheese.
11. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
12. Top with chopped parsley and serve.
Comfort food doesn’t have to be heavy or overly indulgent. With these recipes, Laura’s Lean Ground Beef proves it can bring classic flavors and nourishing protein to your table. Try one (or all three) this week, and you’ll see how lean doesn’t mean less satisfying.
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