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There is something elemental about building a meal with ground pork. Of course pork chops, ribs, pork loin, and roasts all have their place in cuisine, but it turns out that ground pork is just as versatile as ground beef or ground turkey. Ground pork is the basis for breakfast sausage after all.
It’s the garlic powder, sage, and pepper that really turns it into a breakfast patty or link. We put together this list of easy ground pork recipes that use ground pork that encompass several different types of cuisine.
1. Homemade Meat Sauce
A slow-simmered Homemade Meat Sauce transforms humble pantry staples into a rich, savory sauce that tastes like it’s been on the stove all afternoon. It’s the kind of sauce that turns a weeknight pasta into something worth lingering over.
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2. Grilled Pork Kofta
Juicy, spiced pork kofta shaped on skewers and cooked over a hot grill for a lightly charred exterior and tender interior. Bright parsley and onion keep the meat fresh while cumin and coriander give it warm, aromatic flavor—perfect for weeknight grilling or a backyard feast.
This Chinese inspired ground pork recipe is delicious and easy to make. This is flavored with Chinese five spice and soy sauce. Chinese five spice is an earthy spice made of star anise, fennel, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon.
It is a unique flavor that when combined with soy sauce makes an incredibly delicious dish. This dish also has shiitake mushrooms , hard boiled eggs and scallions. It is served over rice.
Once you try this dish you will want to eat it over and over again. It is unique and jammed with flavor.
Cooking Help: 5 soy sauce substitutes
Asian lettuce wraps are an appetizer that I often just turn into my entire meal. They are deceptively filling. These are so fun to eat, especially if the lettuce is perfectly crisp and green.
Though, I must admit that I often make one heck of a mess with these things. When you cook up your ground pork dinner recipes here you will cook it with white onions, garlic, shiitake mushrooms and water chestnuts. Yum!
Also, don’t overlook topping these lettuce wraps with those green onions. They add flavor, texture and beauty to this dish. While sesame seeds are a natural topper for many Asian dishes, they really make these lettuce wraps POP.
This is one of those easy ground pork recipes that you will want to make again and again.
Some folks are fanatical about their ramen. If you fall in this camp, I think that you are gonna like this recipe. This is a brightly flavored recipe.
It uses a heaping amount of fresh ginger. If you can handle it, it also calls for a nice kick of Sriracha. What I think makes this soup stand apart is the use of Bok Choy. Bok Choy is a lovely green that doesn’t tend to get enough love.
Well, in this soup it sure does. Oh and the garlic. Can we just talk about it for a mere moment.
Use more than recommended. Ya know, just get a little heavy handed with it for once. Your ground pork deserves all of the flavor love in this soup and for that matter so does your ramen.
Hot Tip: How to best reheat ramen
So pork fried rice is one of my all-time favorite Chinese dishes. It has ground pork, rice and veggies. This recipe also has pineapple, which I love.
When you combine Asian spices with the tangy sweet pineapple it just all comes together so deliciously. One of my struggles with making ground pork fried rice at home is the tendency for it to come out too salty. To avoid this, don’t over use the soy sauce.
You may think adding just a bit more will enhance the flavor but it will also make it so salty.
Hot Tip: How to reheat fried rice
We just had a party where sliders were the star of the show. They are just so fun to eat. These sliders are made with ground pork and barbecue sauce.
Then that ground pork mixture is topped with sautéed onions and melted mozzarella cheese. Now, I personally recommend that your slider buns be Hawaiian rolls but that is up you. These would also be delicious on pretzel rolls.
The question with this recipe isn’t will you like it. It is how many will you eat in one sitting?
Dr Pepper is a Texas tradition. That is why I had to, without question, add this pork recipe to the list. I love tater tot casserole. Growing up this one was one of my favorite dishes.
I was a picky eater but this always got me to the dinner table. This is a fun twist on tater tot casserole because it is a ground pork recipe, that has bbq sauce and Dr Pepper. It still has the heaps of stringy gooey cheddar cheese that you are accustomed too.
By the way, tater tot casserole is fantastic left over. So you can double the batch and reheat it for lunches the next day.
This ground pork Korean soup has it all. It has bok choy. It has hard boiled eggs. It is made with a creamy coconut base.
It has gochujang chili paste and all of the aromatic flavors that you would expect. The best part is you can absolutely make this ground pork recipe at home. You can use udon noodles or dan dan noodles.
You can use ramen noodles that are frozen. Heck you can even use that ramen noodles that you made in college. Yes, those!
Why does beef get all of the chili love? Well, after you eat this Ground Pork Chili recipe you will be asking this question for sure. This chili recipe not only has stewed tomatoes.
It also has ro-tel diced tomatoes with green chilis. That will be that surprising flavor that everyone will be asking you about. Ya know that question that all of us cooks like.
So what is this flavor? I know what it is but I can’t place it. It is up to you as to whether you tell everyone or keep it as your secret.
This casserole is hearty. You can make it ahead and freeze it and bake it later. It is filling and it is delicious.
This is an excellent use of ground meat. I love meal prepping. Back in the day, I was super into putting together casseroles on a Sunday and popping those bad boys in the freezer.
Then before work, I could put it in the fridge and have it thawing for when I got him. Next, pop it in the oven and dinner is done. This pork casserole has pork sausage, onion, garlic, pasta sauce, pasta cheese and oh so much more.
By the way, I would add even more cheese on top than you think that you should. Then when you pull it out of the oven it will be all bubbly and amazing. Yum!
Nachos baby! Yep, that is what I had for dinner last night. I love nachos so insanely much.
Ground pork on nachos is a fantastic use of this meat. This recipe is loaded with mozzarella cheese, olives, red peppers and green onion. This won’t take you much time to put together but the entire house will be happy.
But hey, this is a perfectly fine recipe just for you too. So don’t think that you need a crowd to make this lovely dish.
You don’t have to go to Ikea to get Swedish meatballs. You can make your own at home right now. These meatballs are made with a mixture of ground beef and ground pork.
You can serve these meatballs over rice, noodles or even mashed potatoes. Heck you could even use cauliflower rice. The sauce is a beef broth based sauce that is made creamy using sour cream and heavy cream.
But to me, Swedish meatballs really should be served over noodles.
The sloppy joes are made using ground pork and they have a hint of citrus to them. What makes a sloppy joe great isn’t just the glorious meat mixture. It is also the bun used and the toppings.
In this case, the toppings are swiss cheese, pickles and mustard. The meat is seasoned with so much deliciousness, which includes brown sugar, allspice, paprika and coriander. Yep, this is one full flavored sloppy joe right here.
15. Asian Pork Tacos
I love tacos and I love tacos that have a fantastic slaw. These ground pork Asian tacos fit that bill perfectly. Oh and you can make this recipe in 30 minutes flat.
So you can have yummy without a lot of time. This ground pork taco is topped with a cabbage slaw that has a zesty flavor and offers the perfect amount of crunch. Then you drizzle on top of it all the spicy mayo.
Boom! You got an amazing dinner in 30 minutes.
Meatloaf recipes have come a long way since I was a kid. This Ground Pork Meatloaf recipe is one example of that. This meatloaf recipe is made with a mixture of beef and ground pork.
I think that a key to this recipe is that it calls for fresh breadcrumbs. Then it brings in freshly ground black pepper. Those small details really make an impact.
Oh pot stickers are legit just the best! Sometimes we will have nothing but Gyoza for dinner. As a matter of fact, I almost had a batch of them for lunch today.
This is a recipe for how to make your own from scratch right at home. If you want to have some fun in the kitchen I strongly recommend giving this recipe a try. But do be warned, these are addictive.
Stuffed peppers are pretty if they are done properly. This recipe shows you how to do them properly. Now of course, it doesn’t matter how pretty your food is if it doesn’t also deliver in the taste department.
This recipe does just that. The beauty of this recipe is all in the ingredients and the method. This recipe calls for lots of fresh ingredients including fresh ripe tomatoes and fresh rosemary.
By the way, check out our favorite sides for stuffed peppers.
Hot Tip: How to reheat stuffed peppers
19. Dan Dan Noodles
Dan Dan Noodles is a popular Chinese noodle dish well-known for its robust flavor. It features a thick sauce with a distinct nutty, fiery, and numbing flavor from the combination of Chinese sesame paste, five-spice powder, and ground Sichuan pepper. The key to this dish’s success is how the ingredients’ layers come together.
Freshly boiled noodles are topped with seasoned stir-fried pork and pickled mustard greens, and the whole thing is doused in a scorching, smokey red chili sauce. Lastly, the noodles are topped with chopped green onions for a pleasantly crisp, aromatic bite and crushed peanuts for a little crunch. All that’s left to do after you’ve stirred the noodles and sauce together is to slurp them up!
20. Egg Roll Soup
This Egg Roll Soup has all the flavor and comfort of your favorite egg roll but in a warm, hearty soup. When you want a delectable Asian appetizer but are not in the mood to wrap or fry, try this lighter version of traditional egg rolls. The soup gets a little more body and flavor from the cabbage, and pork absorbs and enhances the flavors of the other vegetables, and voila: a balanced soup you’ll be craving all week long.
Also, the ginger gives everything an excellent, refreshing kick. It’s incredibly savory because of the beef broth—delicious! So many great flavors—it’s hard to imagine how this soup could possibly fail!
This gorgeous dish is a spectacular burst of bright and zingy flavors! Everything you might want in a salad, this one has lightness, freshness, and wholesomeness. A vibrant salad of baby greens, red bell peppers, and fresh mint leaves mixed in a tangy, sweet-spicy vinaigrette.
You can taste the peanut’s crunch, the toasty rice powder, the ground pork’s richness, and the tang of the fish sauce and lime juice sauce, all working together in perfect harmony; Thai cuisine is at its finest. For an extra kick, you can jazz up your dressing with chili garlic sauce or sriracha. Serve it at your next summer cookout alongside some sliced steak or grilled chicken.
The bottom line
If you are looking for easy recipes to cook with lean ground pork, this list will not disappoint. You can make juicy ground pork burgers one night. Then next time you can make juicy pork meatballs. The options with ground pork truly are endless.
