Here is your Daily Dose of Thrifty – a new feature here on The Thrifty Couple. We have tons of these ideas (and want to hear yours yours too!) and thought it would be fun to start sharing some of our tips on thrifty, frugal living.
Today’s Tip: Substitute Rice for half of your ground beef.
How? Well in many recipes, you can replace about 1/2 the ground beef a recipe calls for with rice! It is much cheaper than beef and keep many recipes tasting just as, well… tasty.
Meat can be one of the most expensive portions of your grocery budget, so finding little tricks that can help reduce the cost can have a great impact on your budget.
Our kids are getting bigger – the 6,5,4 and even 1 year old are really gaining some big appetites. So instead of increasing our taco meat or other beef recipes to 1.5-2 lbs. of beef, we just add rice and still use the same amount. Rice is significantly cheaper than ground beef, especially when purchased in bulk.
Here are some examples:
- Taco Meat
- Meatloaf
- Meatballs
- Ground Beef Fried Rice
- Recipes calling for ground beef
Use around 1/2 cup to 1 cup of rice uncooked in your recipes. This will give you more servings in your typical recipes or you can reduce the ground beef in your recipes. Either way, you can save money and not compromise on taste.
Finally, we all know that our meat portions should be cut down. We all look over our shoulder to make sure our doctor isn’t in the restaurant when eating our half-pound burgers. 
Not only is this our daily dose of thrifty, but its our small attempt at our daily dose of health (especially when you are using the long-grained, brown rice).
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What a great tip! Do you cook the rice before you add it? Thanks!
Great idea! I noticed that my 5 layer burrito from taco bell is mainly rice instead of beef… lol. I bet they know about this trick!
@Kristalyn..It said to add uncooked rice??? I have never done that before, how long and do you have to add water when you cook the beef? Do you still drain the fat? This is a cool idea, but I have never done that before and I am not the best cook ;(
Oh – sorry for not clarifying. You would measure out 1/2 to 1 cup uncooked rice (1/2 cup is recommend most often, especially if you are using just 1 lb. or less of beef). We drain and rinse the beef that we are using if it is ground beef in a casserole, tacos, etc. and then add the al dente, cooked rice for the last minutes of cooking. This works especially well for taco meat (you are probably right Danielle!). Brown the beef, drain and rinse, then add the rice and taco seasoning.
For meatloaves, meatballs, etc. add the al dente rice to the raw meat mixture and then it will finish cooking with the dish. Casseroles, same thing.
A lot this will depend on what type of rice you are using. Instant white rice may be okay to add to the casserole/dish without precooking in some recipes. Brown rice, long grain etc. will need to be mostly cooked before!
Summary: most every dish will require cooked rice to an al dente state.
Hope that helps!
Thrifty Al
That is an awesome idea. I have my husband and I, a 2 year old and an infant. I have been trying to make fast and easy meals due to needy children at that time of day. I buy my ground beef in bulk and brown the WHOLE thing when the kids are napping. I let it cool a little and put 1/2 cup portions in a ziplock bag and freeze it cooked. Cuts my cooking time in half at night! Mmm. I need to go buy rice now! Thanks!!
I also substitute healthier black beans for beef. A half can of black beans substituted for a half pound of beef.
For any Mexican or Casserole type recipes, I just cook the beef and drain. Then I put the meat back in the pan and add the slightly drained (but not fully) black beans and cook til the bean juice and beans have integrated with the meat.
For burgers, I mash the beans first and then mix with the uncooked beef. Make into patties and cook burgers as normal (they grill a bit faster).
That is a great idea! Kinda mix up the beef substitutes. We have a whole bunch of those on our shelves!
I whip up a great vegetarian pasta dish in no time with lentils, pasta sauce and whole wheat pasta. Delish! Also, I make chicken soup with leftover rotisserie chicken, but instead of adding noodles or rice, I add about a half a cup of instant oatmeal close to the end of cooking time. Great texture and creaminess! If I have no leftover chicken, then I make vegetable soup (using fresh or frozen veggies), add chicken, beef or veg stock, a potato, and then add the half a cup of oatmeal close to the end of cooking time. So good! Don’t forget to add a dash of cumin for a deep rich flavor. I sometimes add a sprinkling of finely chopped cilantro to garnish the soup.
We use 1/2 TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein – soy) with 1/2 beef. My kids need the protein, I need the iron and my husband just needs to reduce red meat – TVP works for all of our dietary needs. My husband has always considered himself a meat and potatoes kind of guy and was surprised that TVP tasted good.
I use beans as a filler. Dried beans are cheap!
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