Common Ingredients in beef Recipes

We researched the most common ingredients in over a hundred popular beef recipes and found the top 15 ingredients.

The most common ingredient in beef dishes is onion.

Garlic and beef are also common ingredients in beef recipes. Variations include:

• garlic powder in place of garlic

Salt is in 55% of beef recipes and pepper, 60%.

The average beef recipe has about 12.3 ingredients, with a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 32.

In terms of directions, beef recipes have about 6.3 steps on average, ranging from 1 to 61 instructions.

Ratios of Common Ingredients in Beef

For 1 onion (150 g), the median and average amounts of other significant ingredients are below. Some ingredients are potential substitutes for others, meaning they almost never exist together in a single beef recipe, and are marked below.

Ingredient	Median	Average	% of recipes with onion	Potential subsitutions
garlic	2.6 clove (8 g)	9.3 clove (28 g)	57%	garlic powder
beef	1.9 pound (851 g)	2.1 pound (960 g)	30%	beef stew meat
carrots	4 (288 g)	4.2 (304 g)	29%
tomatoes	18.7 ounce (531 g)	22.8 ounce (646 g)	29%
parsley	0.47 tablespoon (2 g)	1.8 tablespoon (7 g)	23%
celery	3 stalk (192 g)	2.6 stalk (165 g)	21%
flour	a quarter cup (31 g)	0.27 cup (33 g)	20%	cornstarch

Ingredients by Average Weight in Beef

We also found the average content of the significant ingredients by weight in beef recipes. This would be: 30% beef, 26% beef stew meat, 13% onion, 10% tomatoes, 6% soy sauce, 5% carrots, 2% vegetable oil, 2% parsley, 2% garlic, 2% olive oil and 1% flour.

Here are the top ingredients, listed in order of popularity.

pepper

Pepper is the most popular ingredient in beef dishes. In fact, over 60% of beef recipes contain pepper.

Variations of pepper include:

• black pepper: 46% of recipes

For beef recipes, pepper is frequently used with salt, onion, garlic, black pepper and flour. However, potatoes and bay are almost never used together with pepper in beef dishes.

black pepper

Black pepper is another common ingredient in beef dishes. In fact, over 45% of beef recipes contain black pepper.

Beef dishes often call for black pepper to be ground and cracked.

Black pepper is often included in beef dishes in amounts of a quarter teaspoon, 1 teaspoon or half a teaspoon.

In beef recipes that contain black pepper, it is on average, 0.1% by weight.

In recipes for beef, black pepper is often used with salt, garlic, onion, parsley and vegetable oil. On the other hand, black pepper is almost never used with cornstarch.

onion

Another popular ingredient in beef is onion. From the recipes we've sampled for beef, over 55% have onion.

Variations of onion include:

• green onions: 13% of recipes

In recipes for beef, onion is often used with salt, garlic, black pepper, beef and carrots.

Potential substitutions for onion in beef:

• green onions

salt

Salt is another common ingredient in beef dishes. In fact, over 55% of beef recipes contain salt.

Common quantities for salt in beef dishes include 1 teaspoon, half a teaspoon or a quarter teaspoon.

In beef recipes that contain salt, it is on average, 0.2% by weight.

Black pepper, onion, garlic, pepper and tomatoes are commonly used together with salt in beef dishes. Conversely, salt is not often used with soy sauce and cornstarch.

garlic

Another popular ingredient in beef is garlic. From the recipes we've sampled for beef, over 45% have garlic.

Minced, sliced, peeled, chopped and grated are frequent preparations for garlic in beef dishes.

Garlic is often included in beef dishes in amounts of 1 clove, 2 cloves or 4 cloves.

In beef recipes that contain garlic, it is on average, 1% by weight.

For beef recipes, garlic is frequently used with onion, black pepper, salt, soy sauce and vegetable oil.

Potential substitutions for garlic in beef:

• garlic powder

beef

Another popular ingredient in beef is beef. From the recipes we've sampled for beef, over 35% have beef.

Variations of beef include:

• beef stew meat: 15% of recipes

Onion, salt, garlic, tomatoes and black pepper are commonly used together with beef in beef dishes.

Potential substitutions for beef in beef:

• beef stew meat

Also, beef is not often used with carrots, vegetable oil, parsley, soy sauce, green onions, potatoes, celery, brown sugar, bay, paprika and cornstarch.

carrots

Carrots is another common ingredient in beef dishes. In fact, over 15% of beef recipes contain carrots.

Sliced, peeled, chopped, quartered and julienned are frequent preparations for carrots in beef dishes.

Carrots is often included in beef dishes in amounts of 2 carrots, 4 carrots or 1 pound.

In beef recipes that contain carrots, it is on average, 8% by weight.

For beef recipes, carrots is frequently used with onion, garlic, black pepper, potatoes and celery. However, garlic powder, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, chili powder and cumin are almost never used together with carrots in beef dishes.

vegetable oil

Another popular ingredient in beef is vegetable oil. From the recipes we've sampled for beef, over 15% have vegetable oil.

Vegetable oil is often included in beef dishes in amounts of 2 tablespoons, 3 tablespoons or 1 tablespoon.

In beef recipes that contain vegetable oil, it is on average, 4% by weight.

In recipes for beef, vegetable oil is often used with garlic, black pepper, salt, onion and soy sauce.

Potential substitutions for vegetable oil in beef:

• olive oil

Also, vegetable oil is not often used with tomatoes, beef broth, butter, cumin, bay and chili powder.

tomatoes

Tomatoes is another common ingredient in beef dishes. In fact, over 15% of beef recipes contain tomatoes.

Chopped, diced and seeded are frequent preparations for tomatoes in beef dishes.

Common quantities for tomatoes in beef dishes include 28 ounces, 2 tomatoes or 14 ounces.

In beef recipes that contain tomatoes, it is on average, 16% by weight.

Onion, salt, black pepper, beef and garlic are commonly used together with tomatoes in beef dishes. Conversely, tomatoes is not often used with vegetable oil, soy sauce, green onions, brown sugar and cornstarch.

soy sauce

Another popular ingredient in beef is soy sauce. From the recipes we've sampled for beef, over 15% have soy sauce.

Soy sauce is often included in beef dishes in amounts of half a cup, a third of a cup or a quarter cup.

In beef recipes that contain soy sauce, it is on average, 9% by weight.

For beef recipes, soy sauce is frequently used with garlic, vegetable oil, green onions, cornstarch and pepper. However, salt, tomatoes, parsley, olive oil, flour, potatoes, butter, celery, beef broth, oregano, cumin, bay, thyme and paprika are almost never used together with soy sauce in beef dishes.

parsley

Parsley is another common ingredient in beef dishes. In fact, over 15% of beef recipes contain parsley.

Beef dishes often call for parsley to be dried and chopped.

Parsley is often included in beef dishes in amounts of 2 tablespoons, 1 teaspoon or 1 tablespoon.

In beef recipes that contain parsley, it is on average, 4% by weight.

In recipes for beef, parsley is often used with salt, onion, black pepper, garlic and carrots. On the other hand, parsley is almost never used with soy sauce, brown sugar, white sugar, worcestershire sauce, cumin, chili powder and paprika.

olive oil

Another popular ingredient in beef is olive oil. From the recipes we've sampled for beef, over 15% have olive oil.

Common quantities for olive oil in beef dishes include 2 tablespoons, 3 tablespoons or a quarter cup.

In beef recipes that contain olive oil, it is on average, 3% by weight.

Salt, garlic, onion, black pepper and beef broth are commonly used together with olive oil in beef dishes.

Potential substitutions for olive oil in beef:

• vegetable oil

Also, olive oil is not often used with soy sauce, green onions, worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and white sugar.

garlic powder

Garlic powder is another common ingredient in beef dishes. In fact, over 15% of beef recipes contain garlic powder.

Garlic powder is often included in beef dishes in amounts of 1 teaspoon, 2 teaspoons or half a teaspoon.

In beef recipes that contain garlic powder, it is on average, 0.3% by weight.

For beef recipes, garlic powder is frequently used with onion, salt, black pepper, pepper and chili powder.

Potential substitutions for garlic powder in beef:

• garlic

Also, garlic powder is not often used with carrots, potatoes, green onions, beef broth, celery and butter.

flour

Another popular ingredient in beef is flour. From the recipes we've sampled for beef, over 15% have flour.

Flour is often included in beef dishes in amounts of a quarter cup, 2 tablespoons or 4 tablespoons.

In beef recipes that contain flour, it is on average, 2% by weight.

In recipes for beef, flour is often used with salt, onion, black pepper, butter and pepper.

Potential substitutions for flour in beef:

• cornstarch

Also, flour is not often used with soy sauce, green onions and white sugar.

Other beef Ingredients

Other significant ingredients used in beef recipes include:

• potatoes - 10%
• worcestershire sauce - 10%
• butter - 10%
• beef broth - 10%
• brown sugar - 10%
• celery - 10%
• white sugar - 10%
• thyme - 10%
• oregano - 10%
• cumin - 10%
• bay - 10%
• chili powder - 10%
• paprika - 10%
• cornstarch - 5%

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