Broke Gourmet: This ground beef dinner deserves a comeback
Published 1:30 am Thursday, August 27, 2026
Ground beef steak with mushroom gravy is one of those old-school dinners that doesn’t get much attention anymore. It’s simple, inexpensive and maybe not the most exciting thing on paper, but sometimes those are the meals that surprise you the most.
For this week’s Broke Gourmet, I wanted to take that basic diner classic and do it right: a well-seasoned ground beef steak with homemade mushroom-and-onion gravy, served with garlic butter egg noodles and brown sugar-honey carrots. It’s a complete comfort-food dinner for about $5 per serving.
The key is getting a good sear on the beef and building the gravy in the same skillet. Leave a little of the rendered beef fat and those browned bits behind, then use them to cook the mushrooms and onions and build the gravy. It’s a small step that adds a lot of flavor without adding another ingredient or another dollar to the meal.
Ground Beef Steak with Mushroom Gravy
with Garlic Butter Egg Noodles & Brown Sugar-Honey Carrots
Serves 4 | About $5 per serving
Ground Beef Steaks
1½ lb 80/20 ground beef
⅓ cup breadcrumbs
1 large egg
½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 tbsp cooking oil
Mushroom Gravy
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 medium-large yellow onion, sliced
1 tbsp reserved beef fat
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
2 cups beef broth
1 tsp Better Than Bouillon Beef
½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp each garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme and black pepper
Garlic Butter Egg Noodles
8 oz wide egg noodles
3 tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Brown Sugar-Honey Carrots
1 lb carrot chips
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp honey
¼ tsp salt
⅛ tsp black pepper
Directions
Combine the ground beef steak ingredients, form into four oval patties and refrigerate 20–30 minutes. Brown in a skillet over medium-high heat for 3–4 minutes on the first side and 2–3 minutes on the second. Remove and leave about 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat in the skillet.
Cook the mushrooms and onions in the reserved fat for 7–9 minutes until browned; remove and set aside. Add butter and flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly stir in the broth, Better Than Bouillon, Worcestershire and seasonings. Simmer until thickened. Return the steaks, cover and cook over low heat for 8–10 minutes or until they reach 160°F. Remove the steaks, return the mushrooms and onions to the gravy, then place the steaks back on top and keep warm.
For the carrots, cook with a splash of water, covered, for 4–5 minutes. Uncover, add butter, brown sugar, honey, salt and pepper and cook another 4–6 minutes until tender and glazed.
Cook the noodles according to package directions. Melt the butter over medium-low heat, cook the garlic for 30–45 seconds, then toss with the noodles. Season with salt and pepper and finish with parsley.
Serve the ground beef steaks with the mushroom gravy, garlic butter noodles and brown sugar-honey carrots.
Roy Mosby is a Marysville resident and the creator of the YouTube channel Broke Gourmet.
