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This easy beef and noodles recipe is a homestyle favorite! It’s made in 30 minutes with pantry staples, and the rich gravy is a comforting treat you’ll crave again and again.
I think you’ll also enjoy my Easy Hamburger Gravy or Salisbury Steak next.
Why you’ll love it
Like my Chicken and Noodles, this beef and egg noodles recipe is just good old-fashioned comfort food that’s affordable and no fuss. You need very few ingredients for this one to hit the spot. It has seasoned tender ground beef and is ready in a jiffy for a quick family meal that’s made on the stovetop.
This definitely is not a fancy recipe, and mysteriously that seems to be the best kind of meal for picky eaters! If you’ve got kiddos in your home, they will devour this ground beef and noodles with gravy made from scratch. It’s one of my favorites for when motivation to cook is lacking but you’re craving a cozy dinner fast.
What you’ll need
- Egg noodles – they’re the traditional choice for this recipe since they’re a hearty pasta that’s perfect to coat with the gravy
- Ground beef – I prefer at least 90% lean. We love ground beef for this one since it’s cheaper than other cuts but every bit as tasty.
- Onion and garlic – sweet (Vidalia) onions are my usual pick, but yellow is fine
- Worcestershire sauce – it’s a staple in my pantry and my secret weapon to impart tons of savory flavor in many recipes. Don’t skip it!
- Italian seasoning – a fantastic blend of dried Italian herbs like rosemary and thyme that you’ll find all in a single jar for convenience
- Flour – to thicken the gravy
- Beef broth – for even more rich, deep flavor
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- For the garlic, this press makes it easy to mince the cloves since you don’t need to peel them first. I store the rest of the garlic in a cute garlic saver.
- Here’s the skillet I use.
- Store dry pasta in one of these handy airtight containers.
How to make beef and noodles
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Boil a salted pot of water, and cook the noodles until al dente. In a skillet, add the ground beef and onion, cooking until the meat is nicely browned. Don’t drain the fat. Add in the garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and Italian seasoning and cook for a minute. Stir in the flour and cook for another few minutes.
Gradually pour in the beef broth, scraping up any delicious brown bits from the bottom of the skillet, until the flour has dissolved. Cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally, until the gravy has thickened up. Drain the noodles, toss with the beef mixture, and season with salt & pepper to taste.
Helpful tips
- I like using lean ground beef for this recipe since you can skip draining the fat. There’s just enough to help make the gravy.
- While there’s no shame in opening up a can of “cream of” soup, it’s definitely not necessary here. Try my homemade gravy, and you won’t want to go back to recipes with canned soup.
Substitutions and variations
- This recipe is designed to be inexpensive, quick, and kid-friendly. There’s endless ways to jazz it up if you are looking for something more fancy than the base recipe was intended to be.
- Try adding in some frozen mixed veggies or canned corn for a bit of color. Add in during step 6.
- You could stir in a couple handfuls of fresh spinach during the last couple minutes of cooking time.
- Readers have customized this by adding in mushrooms and/or green peppers, added in a splash of wine, and stirred in sour cream or cream cheese at the end.
- If using ground turkey or a leaner ground meat, you may need to add a tablespoon or so of oil or butter prior to adding the flour to help make the gravy.
- Feel free to swap the egg noodles with a different kind of pasta or even use rice.
What to serve with beef and noodles
- I like to serve beef and noodles with a big slice of my Cheesy Garlic Bread or a dinner roll.
- It goes with pretty much any veggie side dish. Try my Honey Roasted Carrots or Simple Sautéed Leeks.
- A side salad is another great option. Try mixed greens with my Easy Homemade Ranch Dressing, a reader favorite.
Leftovers and storage
- Leftovers will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days, but keep in mind the noodles may soak up more of the sauce the longer they sit.
- Reheat on the stove or microwave over low heat until warmed through.
- If freezing, I recommend doing so without the cooked noodles and cooking some noodles just prior to serving.
More comfort food recipes
If you made this simple beef and noodles recipe or have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below! You can also find me on Instagram to show me your creations.
Easy Beef and Noodles
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked egg noodles
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups beef broth
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil a salted pot of water for the egg noodles and cook according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, add the ground beef and onion to a skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, breaking the meat up as you go along, until it's nicely browned (about 10 minutes). Don't drain the fat unless you're not using lean ground beef (then drain a bit but still leave at least a couple tablespoons of it in the pan).
- Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and Italian seasoning, and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the flour and cook for another 1-2 minutes, stirring often (this cooks the raw flour taste out).
- Gradually pour in the beef broth while stirring until the flour has dissolved and scraping any stuck-on bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes (stir occasionally) or until the gravy has thickened to your liking. If it gets too thick, add in a splash more beef broth.
- Drain the cooked egg noodles, add them to the skillet, and toss with the beef mixture. Season with salt & pepper if needed and serve immediately.
Notes
- This dish is designed to be a very simple, inexpensive, quick, and kid-friendly recipe that uses everyday (mostly pantry) ingredients, and so it’s very easy to jazz it up if you’re looking for something more than the base recipe. Readers have added veggies in (try mushrooms or green peppers), upped the herbs and seasonings, stirred in some sour cream or cream cheese at the end, and even added a splash of wine.
- It can also be found in the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials hardcover cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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No flavor – we had to really add to it.
This was such a delicious quick dinner! Added a splash of red wine and a little cream cheese, family devoured it. New week night meal. Thank you!!
I’m so glad you liked it!!!
This was tasty, quick and cheap – everything it was supposed to do. I didn’t expect fine cuisine, and it’s perfect for late night quick dinners. I’ll make it again, but will double the noodles 🙂
Fantastic!! 😀
I added mushrooms while cooking meat. Added 1/2 cup sour cream at the end of recipe with the pepper.
Made brown rice instead of noodles.
Was yummy.
Love this dish in the winter time to warm you up and have a full belly.
Wonderful!! 🙂 Thank you for your review!
Hi Natasha,
I tried this tonight. Loved it! As usual, I made my typical substitutions of ground turkey/chicken broth and I also added in a half bag of frozen peas to make it a one pot meal. As I usually do, I upped the spices with the garlic, Italian seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. Just personal preference. Everyone should adjust based on their preference. No recipe will please everyone.
This was very tasty! We ended up using 3/4 bag of the egg noodles, no idea how that measured up to the recipe. It’s so cheap and I just cooked the whole bag and added in until it looked right. Edited my recipe so will know for next time.
Will definitely add to our rotation – thanks so much!!! ❤️
I’m so happy you enjoyed it!! 🙂 Thanks for your review as always.
I rarely find a Salt and Lavender bland, but this one needed some serious tweakments. First of all I did not understand how 2 cups of raw noodles could feed 4 people? I was certain it was a typo and used just over 4 cups. After tasting while stiring the final mixture and adding salt and pepper, I had to triple the amount of italian seasoning, garlic and Worcestershire sauce to give my tastebuds a hint of more flavor.
I understand that you created this to be easy & quick for everyday meals, I personally would add wine to degaze the pan to flavour the beef as beef broth alone with flour did just not make the grade for me. Honestly even a Cream of Mushroom soup would have been better, as there was not much fat left in the pan to get a serious gravy happening. I did add spinach which gave it more color. I am sure I did not mess up as it was a really simple recipe.
Sorry for the bad review, I do love most of your recipes. But honestly I will never make this one again. The first reviewer had the right idea, the Onion soup mix, mushrooms and green pepper sparked it up!
Hi! Sorry you didn’t like it. I guess everyone has different tastes. So far I’ve received quite a few good comments on Instagram and here for this dish. The 2 cups uncooked noodles wasn’t a typo. Between the noodles and a pound of beef, it definitely makes 4 reasonable-sized (not supersized) servings.
This was a quick and yummy dinner. I mixed a bag of beef onion soup mix with the water as a broth substitute. I also added sliced fresh mushrooms and green peppers along with some frozen green peas. It came out great and was just perfect.
Love that onion soup mix idea as well as the veggies. I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Leslie! Appreciate your review… it’ll help other readers.
How much water to the lipton soup mix did you use
How would ground Turkey work here?
Hi Rebecca! Ground turkey tips are in the Substitutions and Variations section of the blog post that you may have missed. Enjoy the recipe!
This was SO good and SO easy! My husband and I loved it! I can’t wait to have leftovers for lunch!!!
I’m so happy to hear that!! 😀 Thanks for your review, Courtney!