Meat & Seafood
Best Ground Beef (Raw) Substitutes
Out of Ground Beef (Raw)? Here are 1 real substitutes, ranked and ratio-backed.
1. Ground turkey
Ratio: 1:1
Noticeably leaner, so dishes are less rich and can dry out faster without added fat — season a bit more assertively since turkey is milder.
Best for: tacos, chili, burgers (leaner)
Ground turkey is the most common substitute reached for when a recipe calls for ground beef, mainly for its lower fat content, but the swap changes more than just calorie count — turkey's leaner meat browns and cooks differently, releasing less fat into the pan and drying out faster if overcooked, which is why many recipes adapted for ground turkey specifically call for added oil or a slightly shorter cook time.
Beef's fat content isn't just about richness — it's also what carries a lot of a dish's flavor and keeps ground beef moist through cooking, so a straight swap to a much leaner ground meat (like 99% lean turkey) benefits from either added fat or a sauce with more moisture built in to compensate for what beef's natural fat would otherwise provide.
Ground beef's fat percentage itself varies by label (80/20, 85/15, 90/10), and matching that fat level roughly to whatever substitute you're using — a fattier ground turkey or pork rather than the leanest option — gets closer to replicating ground beef's texture and mouthfeel than assuming all ground meats behave identically regardless of fat content.
Ground pork sits in a different spot on the substitute spectrum from turkey — it's genuinely fattier and closer to beef's richness, so it swaps in with less compensating oil needed, though its flavor leans sweeter and less beefy, which shows up most clearly in a dish like a classic beef taco where beef's savory depth is part of what's expected.
Plant-based ground substitutes have improved enough in recent years that they now brown, hold together, and even develop some fond in a hot pan in a way earlier versions didn't manage — a genuinely different substitute category from turkey or pork since it isn't meat at all, but one that's become a realistic 1:1 option in tacos, chili, and pasta sauce for cooks specifically avoiding meat rather than just cutting fat.
Need to convert Ground Beef (Raw) first? Use the Ingredient Converter.
Frequently asked questions
Does ground turkey need extra fat when substituted for ground beef?
Often yes, especially with very lean ground turkey (93% lean or higher) — a splash of oil in the pan helps prevent the meat from drying out and sticking, since it lacks the rendered fat ground beef naturally releases during cooking.
Will a dish taste noticeably different with ground turkey instead of beef?
Yes — turkey's flavor is milder and the fat content lower, so dishes relying heavily on beef's richness (a classic beef chili, for instance) will taste lighter and less robust, which is why seasoning a bit more assertively helps close that gap.
Is ground chicken a similar substitute to ground turkey for beef?
Yes, similarly lean and mild — the same considerations (add fat, season more assertively, watch for drying out) generally apply, with ground chicken often being even milder in flavor than ground turkey.
Can plant-based ground meat substitutes replace ground beef 1:1?
In most recipes, yes by volume, and modern plant-based ground substitutes are formulated to brown and hold together similarly to ground beef, though the flavor and fat behavior still differ somewhat from real beef.
Does the substitution change cook time?
Slightly — leaner ground meats like turkey can cook through a bit faster and are more prone to drying out if left on heat as long as a fattier ground beef would tolerate, so checking doneness a little earlier is a reasonable habit when substituting.