Hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes
A diner-style bowl of creamy mashed potatoes under a peppery beef gravy, and it costs next to nothing.
- 40 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.64 a serving
- 490 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 lb 85/15 ground beef
- 2 beef bouillon cubes
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ cup milk
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¾ tsp black pepper
- 2 cups water
Each serving has about 490 calories, 27 g protein, 42 g carbs and 24 g fat, and costs about $2.64 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No russet potatoes? Yukon Gold potatoes work.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the potato chunks in a medium pot with 1 teaspoon of the salt and enough cold water to cover them by an inch.
Dolly’s tip: Starting in cold water cooks them evenly, so the outsides don’t turn to mush before the middles are done.Bring the pot over high, then turn it to medium and boil 15 minutes, until a fork slides into a chunk with no push.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heatTimer: 15 min
While the potatoes cook, heat a large over medium-high, add the beef and onion, and press the beef flat. Leave it 3 minutes, until underneath.
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.
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: 3 min
Break the beef into small and cook 5 minutes more, stirring, until no pink is left and the onion is soft.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min
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.
Turn the heat to medium, sprinkle the flour, garlic powder and pepper over the beef, and stir 1 minute, until no dry flour shows.
Medium heat
Dolly’s tip: Leave the fat in the pan. It cooks the flour, and that’s what makes the gravy smooth.in the bouillon cubes, then pour in the water a little at a time, stirring as you go. Add the Worcestershire.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Medium heat
Dolly’s tip: Pour slowly and keep stirring, and it can’t go lumpy.Let the gravy bubble gently 4 to 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until it’s thick enough to coat a spoon. Turn the heat to low.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
the potatoes, return them to the pot, and mash them with the butter, milk and remaining ½ teaspoon salt until fluffy.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Dolly’s tip: A few small lumps are homemade, not wrong.Taste the gravy and add salt if it needs it. Spoon the potatoes into bowls, ladle the gravy over, and scatter parsley on top.
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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