This easy one pot ground beef butternut squash is high in protein and great for meal prep! A simple recipe with less than 10 ingredients!
This ground beef butternut squash recipe is a simple, delicious, one pot recipe that your whole family will love!
A cozy meal that’s high in protein, filled with vegetables, and has fantastic flavor.
This high protein ground beef skillet comes together in 45 minutes and has just a handful of ingredients. Sweet butternut squash, mushrooms, cheddar cheese, and browned ground beef come together for the perfect bite.
If you are looking for an easy and healthy weeknight meal for the family this fall, then this is the recipe for you!
Looking for other easy one pot meals? Be sure to check out some of our other favorites: One Pot Chicken Orzo, One Pot Taco Skillet, and One Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta!
why you’ll love this recipe
- Easy to make – This one pot ground beef recipe is super easy to make and comes together in 45 minutes with less than 10 ingredients! Packed with flavor and high in protein and healthy fats.
- Simple Ingredients – Just a few simple ingredients come together in one pot for a delicious weeknight meal for your family. Packed with fall flavor and very filling!
- Great for meal prep – If you are looking for leftovers all week long, double the batch on Sunday while meal prepping and you have a healthy balanced meal. This heats up well in the microwave, toaster oven, and in a pan on the stovetop.
Ingredients:
- ground beef
- extra virgin olive oil
- garlic
- onion
- mushrooms – baby bella mushrooms or white button mushrooms
- sea salt
- black pepper
- dried sage – fresh sage is another option (sub 1 tablespoon of fresh sage)
- butternut squash – find pre-cut and cubed butternut squash at the grocery store
- prunes – prunes are dried plums and delicious!
- cheddar cheese – we shred our own cheddar cheese from large blocks of cheddar
Substitutions
Ground Beef: Ground turkey, ground chicken, or even sausage will be great substitutions for this recipe. We like 85/15 ground beef. Feel free to use leaner ground beef depending on what you like.
Olive Oil: Substitute the olive oil for avocado oil, ghee, coconut oil, or beef tallow.
Mushrooms: Baby bella mushrooms and white button mushrooms are our favorite, feel free to try this recipe with portobello mushrooms or even shitake mushrooms!
Butternut Squash: You could try acorn squash or delicata squash in this recipe as well but the texture of the butternut squash is the best for this recipe.
Prunes: Swap the prunes for dried figs, raisins, or dried cranberries. Omit the prunes altogether if you’d like and it should not impact the flavor too much.
To Make it Dairy Free: Eliminate the cheddar cheese or substitute with dairy-free cheese. I have not tried this with dairy-free cheese.
How to Make Ground Beef Butternut Squash Skillet
- Preheat olive oil over medium high heat. Brown and break apart the ground beef for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from pan.
- Add in onions, garlic, mushrooms, and spices. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add butternut squash and stir. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
- Stir in ground beef and dried prunes, cover, and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Top with cheese and cover to melt, about 2 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Pro Tip:
Before cooking, remove your meat from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes. (This ensures that you aren’t putting ice cold meat into a hot pan, this will cool your pan down too quickly.) This will help you get a nice brown on the outside of the meat, adding flavor to the dish.
Add some extra vegetables like frozen spinach or cauliflower rice for some extra veggies!
Butternut squash has a very mild flavor, so most meat pairs well with it. It’s delicious with ground beef, pork or chicken!
What to Serve with this Recipe:
This recipe is a whole balanced meal with healthy carbohydrates, protein, and fats. If you want a side salad to go with this meal take a look at some of our favorites: Peach Arugula Salad, Strawberry Arugula Salad, and Spinach Salad.
Storage
Storing: This ground beef butternut squash skillet will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Freezing: You should be able to freeze this recipe but the butternut squash may get a little mushy when reheating.
If you need more freezer friendly recipes check out our Fill Your Freezer Ebook with 22 easy freezer meals!
Reheating: You can reheat this high protein fall dinner in the microwave, toaster oven, oven or on the stove. We recommend reheating in a skillet on the stove with a little bit of olive oil in the pan.
Ground Beef Butternut Squash
This easy one pot ground beef butternut squash is high in protein and great for meal prep! A simple recipe with less than 10 ingredients!
Instructions
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Remove ground beef from the packaging, let it sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes. (This ensures that you aren’t putting ice cold meat into a hot pan, this will cool your pan down too quickly.)
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Preheat a large saute pan over medium high heat with a teaspoon of olive oil until the oil begins to shimmer. Brown the ground beef and break apart with a spatula, cooking for about 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
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Remove cooked ground beef from the pan and add in onions, garlic, mushrooms, and spices. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
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Add cubed butternut squash and stir. Cover with a lid and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
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Add your cooked meat and dried prunes to the pan. Stir together, cover with a lid and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until the butternut squash is fork tender.
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Top with shredded cheddar cheese and cover with a lid to melt, about 2 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
-Add a dash of red pepper flakes and maple syrup for a delicious balance of sweet heat when enjoying this.
-Letting your meat come to room temperature prior to cooking makes it easier to brown and helps maintain even cooking temperature.
-Swap the cheddar cheese for parmesan or gouda cheese for some different flavor profiles!
-If it seems a little dry, add a ¼ cup of chicken stock or water and stir in with your cheese.
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 472kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 105mg | Sodium: 414mg | Potassium: 1028mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 11531IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 290mg | Iron: 4mg
