One Pan Cheesy Meat and Potato Skillet

One Pan Cheesy Meat and Potato Skillet combines golden, crispy potatoes with savory ground beef and a blanket of melty cheese. Everything comes together in one skillet for a hearty, comforting dinner that’s quick, satisfying, and perfect for weeknights when you need something easy but full of flavor.

Love More Dinner Ideas ? Try My Garlic Shrimp Over Mashed Potatoes or this Creamy Garlic Chicken next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This skillet is pure comfort made easy—crispy potatoes, savory meat, and melty cheese all coming together in one pan. It’s rich, satisfying, and the kind of dinner that feels indulgent without requiring a pile of dishes or a long list of ingredients.

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Ingredient List

For the Skillet:

• 1 lb ground beef (turkey works too I guess)
• 3 potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped up
• 1 tablespoon oil

Seasonings:

• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

For the Finish:

• 1 cup beef broth (whatever broth you have)
• 1 cup cheese, shredded (cheddar is best)
• Parsley if you care about making it look nice

Friendly Substitution Notes: I’ve used ground turkey when beef was too expensive. Tastes fine. Whatever cheese you have works – I’ve done this with mexican blend, mozzarella, even that weird cheese my mother-in-law brought over.

Why These Ingredients Work

Potatoes absorb all the beef grease and get crispy edges that everyone fights over. Ground beef makes it filling enough that nobody asks what’s for dessert twenty minutes later. Bell peppers add color so it doesn’t look completely beige on the plate.

Onions make everything smell good while it’s cooking. Paprika makes it look fancy without doing anything fancy. Broth keeps it from being too dry. Cheese makes my kids eat it without complaining.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• Big skillet – 12 inch or bigger
• Knife
• Cutting board
• Spoon to stir with
• Measuring stuff
• Lid for the skillet

How To Make One Pan Cheesy Meat and Potato Skillet

Step 1: Prep Your Ingredients

Chop potatoes into small chunks. Not tiny or they’ll turn to mush. Chop everything else too. Get it all ready because once you start cooking you can’t stop to chop more stuff.

Step 2: Get Those Potatoes Golden

Put oil in your biggest skillet. Medium heat. Add potatoes but don’t pile them up or they’ll steam instead of getting brown. Cook them 5-7 minutes, flip them, cook more. You want them golden brown. Take them out and set aside.

Step 3: Brown That Beautiful Beef

Same pan, add the ground beef. Break it up with your spoon. Let it actually get brown, not gray. This takes a few minutes but makes it taste way better. Drain the grease if there’s a lot.

Step 4: Add the Aromatics

Add onion, bell pepper, garlic. Cook until onion looks clear – maybe 3 minutes. Smells amazing right now. Don’t let garlic burn or it tastes gross.

Step 5: Bring It All Together

Put potatoes back in. Add all the seasonings. Stir everything around. Now it’s starting to look like something.

Step 6: The Magic Moment

Pour in the broth. It’ll bubble up. Put cheese all over the top. Cover with lid. Wait 3 minutes. Cheese should be melted and bubbly.

Step 7: Serve and Enjoy

Put parsley on top if you want. Nobody in my house cares about garnish. Eat it hot from the pan.

Expert Tips

Personal Secret: My mom always said let stuff get brown before you move it. I let the potatoes get really brown even when I think they’re done. That’s what makes it taste good instead of just okay.

Critical Tip: Use a big enough pan. I tried this in my small pan once and everything just got soggy and gross. Get a 12-inch pan. You’ll use it for other stuff too.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

• For Extra Crispy Potatoes: Dry the potatoes after you cut them – wet potatoes don’t get crispy
• Avoid This Mistake: Don’t mess with the potatoes while they’re browning – leave them alone
• Smart Shortcut: Pre-shredded cheese is faster, grating your own tastes better – whatever
• Level Up the Flavor: Put some Worcestershire sauce in with the broth – makes it taste fancier

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Mexican-Inspired: Use taco seasoning instead of all those other spices. Add jalapeños if you like spicy. Use mexican cheese. Put cilantro on top.

Italian Twist: Use Italian seasoning. Add canned tomatoes. Use mozzarella instead of cheddar.

Loaded Potato Style: Add bacon bits. Put sour cream on top when you serve it. Green onions too if you have them.

Veggie Boost: Throw in mushrooms or zucchini or whatever vegetables are about to go bad in your fridge.

Make-Ahead Options

This tastes best right when you make it but you can chop stuff earlier if you want. Put the potatoes in water so they don’t turn brown. The cooking part only takes like 20 minutes so it’s not a big deal to do it all at once.

Meal Prep Friendly: Make extra and take it for lunch. Reheats okay in the microwave.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

• Potato Choice: Regular potatoes work fine. Don’t use tiny potatoes, they’re annoying to cut up
• Meat Temperature: Cook the beef until it’s not pink anymore
• Cheese Melting: Take it off the heat when the cheese melts or it gets weird and rubbery

Serving Suggestions

This is pretty much a complete meal. You could make a salad if you’re feeling ambitious. Bread rolls are good for soaking up any leftover cheese. My kids like it with ketchup but they put ketchup on everything.

Perfect for when you don’t want to think too hard about dinner but still want something that tastes good.

How to Store Your One Pan Cheesy Meat and Potato Skillet

Refrigerator: Put leftovers in the fridge. Lasts 3 days maybe.

Reheating: Heat it up on the stove with a little extra broth. Microwave works too but the potatoes get a little mushy.

Freezer: You can freeze it but the potatoes get weird when you thaw them. Better to just make it fresh.

I hope this saves your dinner some night like it saved mine. My family eats this at least twice a month now and nobody complains about it.

Allergy Information

Contains: Cheese so dairy

Gluten-Free: Yeah this doesn’t have gluten in it

Dairy-Free Substitution: Use fake cheese or just skip the cheese I guess. Won’t taste as good but whatever.

Low-Carb Option: Use cauliflower instead of potatoes if you’re doing that keto thing.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can I use frozen potatoes? I haven’t tried it but probably. Thaw them first and dry them off good.

What if I don’t have beef broth? A Chicken broth works. Water with a bouillon cube works. Even just water works but it’s not as good.

Can I make this ahead? A: It’s better fresh but leftovers are fine. Just reheat it.

How do I know the potatoes are done? They should be brown on the outside and you can stick a fork in them easy.

Can I add other vegetables? Sure. Add whatever you want. Just don’t add too much or it gets weird.

💬 Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating below! Tell me if you changed anything or if your kids actually ate it.