20 Best Ground Beef For Spaghetti (2023 Updated)

Somehow, all of my family likes this one. A picky husband, a finicky daughter, and a VERY finicky son – we all like this one. I’m kind of blown away there is any hiking food we all like – we can’t even get that to happen at home in our kitchen! It is not the most flavorful meal, perhaps that’s why my kids like it – but it also has no offensive textures or flavors as happens with some hiking meals.

I also did not feel like I was ingesting enough sodium to kill me before I got home, although, like pretty much every option on the trail, there is in fact a lot of sodium – but at least it doesn’t taste like it! Will definitely buy again and it will be a meal we bring always to ensure there is something for everyone.

This brand is absolute hot garbage. Literally. I poured in boiling water (hot) and after waiting 30 minutes without it rehydrating I dug a hole and buried it (garbage). Dinner that night was a tuna packet and a chocolate bar.

I also had the chicken pesto flavor and had the same result. I’ll absolutely never purchase anything from this brand again. ,.

If you’re backpacking, especially if you’re backpacking with a bear canister, you can’t beat this meal’s calories to volume ratio (it re-packed smaller than some 600 cal meals!), and it tastes great to boot.

It’s worth the price. Like other reviewers said, give it a few stirs prior to eating — with only a cup of water in there you need to move all the pasta around to give it time to rehydrate. Besides that, it rehydrated/reheated well, tasted great, and was so much easier to finish than many other high-cal meal options.

When repackaging this for my bear canister I added a shake of garlic powder for good measure–in hindsight the flavor was excellent so I probably didn’t need extra garlic, but it didn’t hurt!.

I just got done eating one of these. I am incredibly picky about my breakfast food, especially sausage and eggs, so I was very sceptical about trying one of these meals. After eating the whole pouch I was so impressed with it I had to write a review about it! Overall it was an excellent meal.

I read other reviews where people had mentioned they had hard pieces of eggs and whatnot, and I don’t know if they didn’t follow the directions right or what but I had no such problems. Everything in the meal had the same texture, consistency, and taste and was so tasty I was incredibly impressed!! No one flavor stood out as I was eating it since every ingredient was in nice small pieces, except for the large chunks of egg, so everything blended well together.

The peppers and onions were not overpowering, the sausage had a great flavor and even the shredded potatoes still had some body to them and were not soggy or mucky as I had expected them to be. I would highly recommend this product and will be buying many more in the future, and since I ate this at home to test it out I can only imagine how much better it will taste when I’m out camping in the middle of nowhere lol.

Besides for camping, these meals have come in very handy at home when the power is out, and have no other means of cooking a full meal, since I can easily boil water over a fire and pour it directly in the pouch!! I’m a back country backpacker so besides the high quality the best part of these meals is the light weight, easy packability, and long shelf life so I can buy them whenever I have some extra cash, throw ’em in the drawer and forget about ’em until I’m ready to head out on an excursion!!.

The flavor of this dish is pretty good. The potatoes taste like they were browned before the freeze drying process. The sausage is slightly above average as far as breakfast sausage goes. We always add black pepper.

Sometimes we add a little salt. A packet or two of Tapatio, Tabasco or Cholua always contributes to the dish. Preparation considerations: We add the salt and pepper before we add water. We cut the biggest chunks of egg, sausage and potato in half or thirds so they have more surface area exposed to water to facilitate re-hydrating.

After we add hot water and seal the bag, we fold over the top and wrap insulation around it to keep it hot longer. We stir it half way through soaking. We also let it sit 5-10 minutes longer than the instructions say.

Everything is re-hydrated thoroughly with this method.

5 years ago I purchased a variety of preserved foods with the intent of storing them for 5 years, then trialing to see which options preserved best for our hurricane kits. At this point I was new to living in the south’s hot humid environment.

We purchased a box of mountain house #10 cans that included this beef stroganoff, lasagna, chili Mac. and I don’t remember what else. We also purchased emergency essentials 4 person 72 hour kit and emergency essentials #10 cans.

Aside from a brief move across town and 5 days without power post hurricane Irma all items mentioned were kept in an AC controlled environment. After 5 years of storage we opened to evaluate. All items were edible, but the mountain house cans were the only items that had preserved good taste.

They really were quite good! Each flavor! Thank you mountain house for making an excellent product!.

This is a great option if you need to stock up on valuable protein for emergencies or to save time. It’s great to add to soups and stews, and is wonderful in Italian sauces and in meals like lasagna, stuffed shells, and Mexican dishes like tacos, fajitas, and even on pizzas.

You add the seasonings and herbs, etc. It’s simply the ground beef, fully cooked with a little bit of sea salt. NO water.

Excellent product and a good value at $6. 28 for a 28-oz can. This is cooked, unseasoned ground beef. There is liquid and fat in the can, so it’s not pretty when opened. Once cooked, however, the meat is wonderful in recipes.

I chill the can, so I can easily remove the fat once I have opened it. I pour off the liquid and heat the meat in a pan, breaking it up just as I would with raw ground beef. If you brown (carmelize) it, the odd canned smell lessens and the beef flavor is enhanced.

The meat is more finely ground than what I normally buy but it was very good in chili. On the suggestion of other reviewers, I also tried this in spaghetti sauce. For that recipe, I added garlic powder to the meat when frying it.

I had never used ground beef in sauce before (being from an Italian family) but was surprised by how good it was. The 28-oz can holds a lot of meat. Even if, as some reviewers have demonstrated, there is only about 16 ounces of meat in the can (I really don’t know because I haven’t weighed it but the can is not stuffed edge-to-edge.

), that is a pound (after cooking) of ground beef in a convenient, shelf-stable can. No preservatives. Good flavor. $6. 28. It really is a lot of meat. Definitely worth having in the pantry for a last-minute family-sized meal.

(My cans arrived in perfect shape and the expiration date is 2023. ).

All Keystone canned meats are flavorfull and beyond convenient. I also appreciate that they have nothing in their canned meat except the meat itself and a little bit of salt. My only complaint with the ground beef is that it breaks up into small fragments so that if you want it chunkier you just have to adapt your expectations.

This isn’t the fault of the company, but is inherent in the canning process for the meat. I have serious health issues that have sapped me of most of my strength and stamina. They also require me to not consume highly processed food.

This includes such common things as commercially prepated canned soups. With a can of Keystone meat and a few cans of no salt added vegetables, I am able to make a variety of enjoyable and safe for me to eat soups and casseroles.

This product is a cornerstone of my menus. Yes, it smells a bit odd when you open the can. This is true for any canned meat. I don’t know the chemistry behind it, but it happens with any meat that is canned.

Once the meat is heated for use, the odor goes away. Some folks complain that the meat is in a big clump with the juices around it and fat clinging to the meat. This happens because of how meat is canned.

(I grew up with home canned meat, so this is familiar territoy for me. ) When canning meat, the meat is cut up into pieces and packed tightly into the container. A bit of salt is added to season the meat as it cooks.

It is then sealed up and processed in a pressure cooker until the meat is fully cooked and the canning jar seals. Except that metal cans are used instead of glass canning jars, Keystone meats are processed the same way.

As the meat cooks, it clings to itself. Meanwhile, juices are exuded and fat rendered out. These are what surround the meat when you open the can. DO NOT DIASCARD THEM! They contribute much to the flavor of the meat.

For best results, gently empty the entire content of the can into a deep saucepan. Heat until the fat melts into the juices. Remove from the heat, and break up the meat into pieces. Remove the meat you need to use along with some of the natural juices and prepare you recipe.

I like to refrigerate extra in two containers. One for the meat which I remove to the storage container with a slotted spoon. Then I transfer the juices with the fat into a separate container. Once that is chilled, you can easily skim off any fat you wish to remove.

(I usually remove no more than half of the fat, it carries flavor throughout you dish. ).

Hormel Compleats Spaghetti is one of our family’s favorite shelf stable microwavable meals. The sauce has a slight tomato bite not sugary sweet. We prefer these over the can stuff for taste and convenience.

Sometimes we add shredded or grated cheese on top before microwaving but this is not required to enjoy. Note the size as some may find these are small portions (7. 5 oz) but most in my family find them to be satisfying alone.

Hormel Compleats have a decent shelf life that doesnt require refrigeration so that makes it even more convenient to keep them stocked in the pantry for a warm packed lunch or a quick fix when your swamped to get you through the hectic race.

They are fully cooked so you can open and eat if in a pinch.

This Hormel Completes Spaghetti is a quick and easy meal to prepare. It’s so handy and quick. The portion is perfect and the flavor is pretty good. The husband really likes spaghetti and he is very happy with this product.

We will be purchasing more.

I love these meals! They are delicious and filling, true to flavor and very convenient. Just pop one into the microwave for 1 min, and you’re good to go! I also love the variety of meal choices, and the they are below 300calories.

This is one of the few prepared FD meals I take into the backcountry instead of making my own as I’ve never found a powdered spaghetti sauce packet that makes decent spaghetti. I’ve tried most every FD brand and if you want spaghetti for the trail or emergencies, Mountain House makes the best.

That said, it’s not home cooking. The noodles are short and very thin and the meat is well-crumbled, both of course, necessary if it’s going to be ready after steeping in boiling water for only 9-10 minutes.

Was glad I could get a few of these while on sale. Sadly, the price has gone up. Like this one as it’s one of a handful that don’t have unhealthy seed oils.

I’ve been using the bulk Mountain House freeze-dried products for a number of years for my back country elk hunts. All have tasted great and are easy to portion out; all I do is measure out the proper amount per the instructions, place each portion in a zip-lock bag, and add a variety to cover me for the duration of my outing.

It’s cheaper doing it this way versus buying by the individual servings and it sure beats raman!.

I also use it for thin sliced chicken breasts with mozzarella and serve it with rice, broccoli and/or cauliflower. Absolutely great sauce. I put the mozzarella on the meat just about 5 minutes before serving.

Everybody loves my ‘home cooking’ and thinks that I have been working for hours to serve such a great meal.

I know this product for many years and buy it when I visit Austria or North Italy. I was glad to find it on the ebay. My only reservation is the price: it is too expensive. Because of that I hesitated when I pressed on the good value button.

Menahem Zeigerson.

It is very practical to prepare in the kitchen, it also has good flavor. When you do not have much time to cook you can use these products, they are tasty and they have a good price.

Not satisfied at all. I generally love Stouffer’s frozen dinners. So I was really disappointed when I tasted your spaghetti and meat sauce. First of all the noodles are mushy. There’s not enough sauce to cover the spaghetties.

And the sauce has no flavor. I don’t know how to fix it. You are the experts. You need to fix it. Or you will tarnish your good name. Honestly yours. Donna Vasquez 409-549-5302 310 N37th Street, apt1, orange texas 77630.

Like many others reviewing here something more than a new white tray has changed. I used to love this spaghetti but no matter what you may say it is NOT the same. The sauce is watery and not flavorful.

There are fewer noodles. Go back to your old way of doing things!! This is like the NEW COKE. it’s horrible.

When it comes to frozen spaghetti, there’s a lot of brands that I don’t like. They’re usually super watery or very plain or don’t have much meat. This one seems to have quite a bit of meat an sauce ratio but it’s very flavorful which is a positive thing for me.

It’s one of my go-to’s for my lunches. Out of a lot of them. I don’t prefer very many other brands of frozen spaghetti.

I’ve been buying this for years. Usually no problems with pasta hydration and consistent taste over the years. The lasagna is good too. Sometimes the ziplock separates from the innerbag so you’d be wise to carry some kind of clip.

The spagetti with meat sauce was average tasting and had a good amount of tomato sauce. You could taste the italian herbs and the hamburger throughout the meal. We really like the Mountain House brand for their flavors, ease of use, and variety.

We would recommend this and would buy again.

We love backpacking, hunting and being adventurous. We choice to be dairy and gluten free in life and in the past, had issues finding brands, who maintain “good” ingredient meals. Some brand are a mixed bag on some compliant meals and some that were not.

With Heather’s Choice we found all meals doable! We had several breakfasts, packaroos and the chowder on a backpacking trip in the wilderness. I was impressed with everything! The chowder was so good, it motivated me to make a similar seafood chowder at home (that’s dairy free).

I thought, why have I never made a coconut milk chowder before? I figured it this can be so good 15 miles in the mountains, I can make one as good in my kitchen! On a different trip we had the chili and it was decided that we need to try them all! I’m convinced all the various meals will be great was well.

These meals will and are now a staple in our Wyoming outdoor adventures! We are foodies and have never seen pack meals this delicious, while maintaining ingredients in alignment with our diets! Love them! Heather’s Choice is our choice! Thank you!.

The grass fed beef and spaghetti with marinara sauce was a very tasty meal. If fact it tasted much like a meal made in my own kitchen. So much flavor and I could really taste the spices. The noodles took a long time to become soft but I overall a great meal after a long day of hiking in the Cascades.

I’m looking forward to the Mole chicken and rice !!.

I’ve been getting my little one out for some day camping and of all the freeze dried food meals we have tried, this is our favorite. We always add a dash of sea salt to these for flavor and they are delicious.

The noodles are fine and tiny which is fine by us. It’s predominantly meat it and suits our gluten and dairy free lifestyle while remaining a yummy dish that completely satisfies us as flavor is concerned and hunger while playing hard in the outdoors.

And it does so with quality ingredients.

Lawry’s is the ONLY spaghetti sauce mix we have used over three generations, like many reviewers here. Its complex flavour profile makes it extra-delicious! We can no longer find it on the grocery shelves in ANY grocery store chain in our area!!! Why have all the stores stopped stocking it? McCormick spaghetti sauce mix tastes like DRECK! Stop making that fiasco and bring back Lawry’s, the very BEST mix ever!.

This would be my 2nd time using this seasoning mix. I honestly like it if you want to give your spaghetti a kick 😉 i added this to my sauce and just a bit you can add a lot more if you like. It does give the food a great taste 👅 I recommend this it’s super affordable.

My kids love spaghetti so much I have to cook it atleast once a month 😝.

I used this sauce for years and I love it. The reason for 3 stars is that the picture shown doesn’t match the product I received. The packages I received have a Spanish translation under the English script.

I haven’t opened the product yet and hopefully everything will be fine, but I’d feel better if the ad correctly represented the product.

just don’t taste nor look the same as when I was a young mother. My children and I grew up on hamburger helper, but now I just wasted my good ground beef!!! It’s terrible I just trashed the entire pan.

I don’t recommend it to nobody at all!!! What ever they did to the recipe STOP IT!!! Go back to what work. If it wasn’t broken why did you try to fix it.

Was very disappointed. Tasted water down and I didn’t even use all that it called for. Not even on the same planet as spaghetti. But after I added a quick bottle of Prego sauce, Ketchup, and seasons.

It finally reached a flavorful 5 stars. Don’t waste your money.

I love Hamburger Helper Spaghetti. It is a great value for me because I live alone and make it with only a quarter pound of ground beef. this makes enough for me for two meals. With the price of the ground beef and the spaghetti mix, my cost for each meal is only $1.

Very economical for a senior citizen on a fixed income. Also, I cannot find the spaghetti helper in my area so I was happy to find this 6 pack special online at Walmart.

We started out with this meal The Spaghetti Meat Sauce! Love, Love this meal. Michelina’s dinners are very affordable she packs a lot of flavor in her meals. Being a frozen meal you would never know.

Although they are a bit small if you are hungry it doesn’t matter we would make 2 dinners each! Well, my husband would eat 4 dinners. As long as he’s happy not complaining I’m satisfied!! Everybody should try Michelina’s Frozen Dinners feed your family give it a try bet they will love it too!.

That’s my favorite brand. Very trendy and affordable. Compared other alternatives the quality of the materiel is the best. The product is very useful and comfortable as well. Nice packaging. I would definitely buy it again.

recommended to others.

I always add sausage to this meal and carry it to work with me. An all time favorite with a low price tag is always number one in my book. You can’t really mess up spaghetti and this dish is no different.

I highly recommend trying it or giving it to your kids for lunch. I love, love, love it! I recommend this meal highly!!.

Love Organic Prairie, their products and services. Orders ship quickly and arrive in excellent condition. This beef is excellent. Hands down, beats those *other* guys.

My grassfed ground beef tasted great; however, I was disappointed that it was raised in another country. I would like to support USA Family farms.

Super

I have been a vegetarian since 1995. I am so excited that plant based meats are finally becoming so popular. I have so many more meal options these days and I LOVE it. I was super excited to try this sauce.

It’s really good! Very flavorful. I didn’t notice any one flavor standing out over another, like it didn’t particularly taste like garlic or onion. it just tastes like a very good tomato pasta sauce with a perfect balance of herbs and flavors.

I used it to make some cheese ravioli with “meatless meat” sauce. So yummy! I didn’t really notice the meatless meat soy protein bits. They are very small. This would be delicious in spaghetti, lasagna, or anything you would use spaghetti sauce on.

My favorite thing about this sauce it that it does not contain any large chunks of tomatoes. I love tomato products like this sauce and ketchup and all that but I cannot stand the texture of chunky tomatoes in my sauces.

I will pick them out of whatever I’m eating. I was extremely happy to find that there were no large chunks of tomatoes in this sauce. Please don’t ever change that! This is excellent. I have already added several jars to my virtual grocery store cart.

It will be a staple in my house.

Being a vegetarian for 15 years, I think there’s never been a better time to be one. There’s so many great options out there, including this pasta sauce. I meal prep, so my meal that week using this sauce was penne pasta with roasted mushrooms.

So delicious! Very well seasoned and not chunky with tomatoes (which is such a bonus!). I also used it as a dipping sauce for mozzarella sticks. I have so many recopies I will use this for. The only point I would take away is wanting the plant protein to be in bigger pieces.

Overall, it was amazing!.

Oh my! This sauce is so delicious. It is the perfect mix of tangy and meaty. There was a mix of tiny to medium size chunks of “meat” inside. The taste really surprised me because it is a meat sauce without actual meat.

I could not tell that it was not real meat. It tastes exactly like the real thing. In fact, this sauce is even better than the traditional prego meat sauce. I would buy this over regular meat sauce. Try it! Trust me, you will not be disappointed.

My staple choice for multi day hikes. Carried 5 of these to use as my evening meal when hiking and camping the west highland way earlier this year. Lightweight, tasty and good calorific value.

Very lightweight and hydrates to form a nice meal. I would be happy to eat irrespective of hiking, etc.

Used these before, great products, very handy, if your going away for a couple of days on the bike.