For those seeking ways to cut back on pasta consumption, this recipe offers a variation on the ever-popular beefy mac. Add a green salad for a deliciously filling meal.

I’ve substituted garbanzo beans for the noodles to cut down on processed carbs and add fiber. To increase the vegetable-to-meat proportions, I’ve also doubled the amounts of mushrooms, garbanzos and tomatoes and used an extra-large pepper and onion. 

If you’re looking to cut the amount of red meat in your diet, and the saturated fat and cholesterol that come with it, feel free to use ground turkey instead of ground beef. Or, if you want to go vegan, use your favorite plant-based “beef” crumbles. I’ve used the Boca veggie crumbles and found they work very well.

As usual, I use reduced-sodium versions of products whenever available, and do not add salt to this recipe, but include enough spices that I really don’t miss the salt.

Garbanzo beef freezes well, and so lends itself to batch cooking.

This recipe makes approximately 8 servings.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound lean ground beef, ground turkey or plant-based “beef” crumbles
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large green pepper, chopped
• 2 10-ounce jars sliced mushrooms
• 1 28-ounce can reduced-sodium diced tomatoes
• 2 16-ounce cans reduced-sodium garbanzo beans
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon low sodium Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Sauté the onion, green pepper and mushrooms in olive oil until tender and caramelized. Set aside.

Brown the ground beef or turkey and drain excess fat. Or, if using veggie crumbles, brown according to package directions.  

Combine the ground meat/veggie crumbles and spices with the onion, green pepper and mushroom mixture, stirring until well blended.

Add the tomatoes (with their juice) and drained garbanzo beans and simmer on medium heat for about 15 minutes or until the liquid is gone.

Nutrition information

Made with ground beef

Serving size: 1¼ cups | Calories: 260 | Carbohydrates: 10 g | Protein: 11 g | Fat: 19 g | Saturated Fat: 9 g | Cholesterol: 83 mg | Sodium: 184 mg | Potassium: 284 mg | Fiber: 3 g | Sugar: 2.5 g | Vitamin A: 1% | Vitamin C: 21% | Calcium: 5% | Iron: 6% 

Made with ground turkey

Serving size: 1¼ cups | Calories: 152 | Carbohydrates: 10 g | Protein: 13 g | Fat: 7 g | Saturated Fat: 1.5 g | Cholesterol: 40 mg | Sodium: 175 mg | Potassium: 284 mg | Fiber: 3 g | Sugar: 2.5 g | Vitamin A: 1.5% | Vitamin C: 21% | Calcium: 5% | Iron: 4% 

Made with veggie crumbles

Serving size: 1¼ cups | Calories: 120 | Carbohydrates: 14 g | Protein: 11 g | Fat: 2 g | Saturated Fat: .5 g | Cholesterol: 0 mg | Sodium: 287 mg | Potassium: 355 mg | Fiber: 6 g | Sugar: 2.5 g | Vitamin A: 0% | Vitamin C: 21% | Calcium: 7% | Iron: 6%