A classic dish that a lot of grew up with, Savoury Mince was a regular in our family home. It is quick and easy and ready in under 30 minutes.
This is my low-carb version of a classic Australian dinner everyone knows and loves. Make it today and then try our curry version with our Old Fashioned Curried Mince recipe.
A black plate with minced beef and vegetables on it.

What is Savoury Mince?

Traditionally savoury mince is made with ground beef (mince), carrot, celery, potato, peas. It is simmered in a rich gravy, and when I grew up it was served with toast. It is one of those recipes where you really can add any vegetables, seasonings or flavours to customise it to your own taste.

My easy savoury mince recipe is with rich beef stock gravy and low-carb vegetables. Add potatoes and peas if you want to. For me, this is delicious as-is and I hope you love it too.

Related Recipes: Old Fashioned Curried Mince / San Choy Bow

Watch Me Make It

YouTube video

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

Low carb family favourite – this savory mince recipe has only 3g net carbs and is totally family friendly.

Pantry staple ingredients – easy ingredients and even easier to make it with what you have on hand.

Quick and easy – this is one easy beef mince recipe we can all be grateful for. Ready in under 30 minutes.

Cook it your way – You can cook this in a slow cooker, Instant Pot, or a multi-function appliance like the Magimix or Ninja. This old fashioned savoury mince has been revived in this recipe.

Thermal-cooker friendly – an easy recipe and I have included instructions to make in the Thermomix as well.

The Ingredients

Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the quantity of ingredients used and the full detailed recipe for savoury mince!

This beef mince recipe is very versatile. Below are the ingredients I have used. I doubt any drastic changes to ingredients would adversely affect the outcome for a delicious minced beef meal.

I recommend tasting your dish after the beef is browned and you have added the final seasoning and adjust to your taste.

Beef Stock – for me this is easily my most important ingredient. Choose the best-tasting beef stock you love. I prefer Urban Forager or Grevity RX pastes.

Seasoning – I use smoked paprika and Italian Seasoning. Instead of salt (or Worcestershire sauce), I use Vegemite, but you can use either or both.

Canned Tomatoes – I used only the 2-3 tablespoons you see me add in the video. You can add more if you want this to be richer, more tomatoey and great for dishes like pies or beef lasagna. You can also use something like passata or our napoletana sauce recipe.

Vegetables – to keep the dish low carb I opted out of potatoes and frozen peas (surprisingly removing the carrot from the nutrition calculations did not lower the carbs significantly). You can use any vegetables you prefer. Mushrooms are delicious as well as radish, turnips, or choko.

How to Make It

Step 1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, and celery; sauté until the onion softens.

Ground beef and diced vegetables in a frying pan.

Step 2. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the mince, paprika and Italian Seasoning; stir and break up the mince. Cook, stirring occasionally until the meat is browned.

Savoury mince in a skillet with. woman stirring it.

Step 3. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down and cover with a lid. Cook 10-15 minutes until vegetables are tender and sauce is thick. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve topped with Gremolata or Chimichurri.

How to Serve Savoury Mince

As mentioned above in our household growing up everyone had it on toast or toasties. A toasted savoury mince “sanga” or savoury mince and mash was pretty standard in the seventies and eighties. For a low carb option, you can serve with our amazingly creamy cauliflower mash recipe.

Personally, I love mine with something green like gremolata, cilantro chimichurri, basil pesto and a good sprinkling of Mexican red pickled onions.

(Below) I have served the mince in toasted Low Carb Bread with some chimichurri and Mexican Pickled Onions. This would also work well on our Keto Tortillas, Keto Pita Bread or Low Carb Buns.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Savoury-Mince-2.jpg

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does savoury mince last in the fridge?

I always recommend eating any cooked dish with 3-4 days. Savoury mince freezes really well so if you make it in bulk make sure to freeze some for easy meal planning.

Is savoury mince keto?

This version is for sure. At only 3g net carbs for a large portion is very keto-friendly. If you don’t eat carrots feel free to leave it out but the net carbs per serve are still around 3g net carbs.

How do you make savoury mince in the slow cooker?

Simply place all the ingredients into the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. If the sauce needs reducing do this on the stove or turn up the heat for the last hour to finish it off.

More Recipes to Try

We have loads of low carb healthy recipes for mince. Here are just a few of my favourite keto recipes with mince.

  1. The Best Keto Burger | Low Carb Big Mac
  2. Easy Keto Beef Lasagna
  3. The Best Keto Taco Salad
  4. Keto Chilli Con Carne
  5. Keto Taco Recipe

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A black plate with savory mince and red onions on it.

Savoury Mince

A classic dish that a lot of grew up with, Savoury Mince was a regular in our family home. It is quick and easy and ready in under 30 minutes.
This is my low-carb version of a classic Australian dinner everyone knows and loves. Make it today and then try our curry version with our Old Fashioned Curried Mince recipe.
5 from 121 votes!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Course: Lunch and Dinner
Cuisine: Australian
Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free
Recipe Category: Low Carb
Calories: 373kcal
Author: Megan Ellam
Servings: 4 serves
Tap or hover over number to scale ingredients
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Ingredients 

  • 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) olive oil
  • 1/2 (1/2) onion diced
  • 1 clove (1 clove) garlic finely diced
  • 1 (1) carrot finely diced
  • 1 (1) stick celery finely diced
  • 500 g (1.1 lb) ground beef mince
  • 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) smoked paprika
  • 2 teaspoons (2 teaspoons) Italian Seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) tinned chopped tomatoes I use Ardmona Rich & Thick
  • 1 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) tomato paste
  • 1 cup (1 cup) beef stock or chicken stock
  • 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Vegemite
  • Salt flakes and black pepper
  • Gremolata to serve

Instructions

CONVENTIONAL METHOD

  • Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, and celery; sauté until the onion begins to soften.
  • Turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the mince, paprika and Italian Seasoning; stir and break up the mince. Cook until the meat is browned.
  • Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down and cover with a lid. Cook 10-15 minutes until vegetables are tender and sauce is thick. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve topped with Gremolata.

THERMAL METHOD

  • Heat oil 2 min/120℃/stir. Add the diced onions, garlic, carrot, and celery; sauté 3 min/120℃/speed 1.
  • Add the mince, paprika and Italian Seasoning; cook 5 min/120℃/reverse/speed 1.
  • Use the spatula to break up the mince. Add the remaining ingredients; cook 15 min/120°C/speed 1 or until the vegetables are tender and sauce is thick. Adjust seasoning to taste. Serve topped with Gremolata.

Video

Notes

SUBSTITUTIONS
MEAT CHOICES
I prefer to use an 80/20 beef/fat ground beef mince. You can swap for any mince you prefer. If making a vegan or vegetarian alternative consider using a medley of mushrooms over plant-based mince as it is higher in carbs.
CHILLIES
Guajillo chillies are a large smokey Mexican chilli that imparts incredible flavour. Guajillo, chipotles or ancho chillies can be added to make a delicious Mexican-style savoury mince if preferred.
I use tinned tomatoes but fresh is fine. You can use a tomato puree, passata or pizza sauce. They can also be omitted completely if preferred.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Serve on toast (keto toast for low carb) or creamy cauliflower mash (or potato if that is what you love)
Delicious served with pickled red onions, guacamole, Mexican fried cauliflower rice, or Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice. 
This recipe yields approximately 4-6 servings. The actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes. 
To calculate the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe by 4-6. The result will be the weight of one serving. 
Nutritional values shown are guidelines only. They are for 1 serving using the ingredients listed. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on the brands and types of ingredients used. 
All recipes have been tested using all of the cooking methods included by various recipe testers.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Alternatively, store in an airtight container and freeze.
The recipe card instructions contain the most basic of steps and list of ingredients. If you have any queries, questions or are unsure of substitutions, please scroll up to the blog post for more information.

Your Own Notes

Nutrition

Serving: 1serve | Calories: 373kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 173mg | Potassium: 526mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 2938IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 3mg | Magnesium: 34mg | Net Carbs: 3g
Tried this recipe?Mention @meganellam or tag #madcreations!

Megan Ellam is an Australian keto recipes blogger and author of amazing keto cookbooks such as Keto Mojo, Slow Cook KetoKeto LocoThe Healthy Family Keto Cookbook and Every Day Keto.

Megan has been following a ketogenic diet since being diagnosed with insulin resistance in early 2017.

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