Mini Saucy Beef Appetizer Cups

Name: Mini Saucy Beef Appetizer Cups
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 13 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1/2 pound grass-fed ground beef; 1/2 teaspoon cumin; 1/2 teaspoon oregano; 1/8 teaspoon salt; dash of pepper; 1/2 jar RAGÚ Old World Style Traditional® sauce; mini pearl mozzarella balls; 15 frozen phyllo cups

Last updated on May 18, 2020. Originally posted on January 22, 2018 By Elaine 42 Comments

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This recipe for mini saucy beef appetizer cups recipe is so easy that you’ll have your hungry hordes munching away in no time. The saucy beef is nestled in phyllo cups and topped with mini mozzarella cheese pearls, making these the perfect game day appetizer.

Whenever I’m trying to get ready for a game day gathering, I know that I want quick and easy appetizers. But I don’t want to serve just boring chips and dip, or chips and salsa! No, I want the appetizers to stand out as so delicious that others will clamor for my recipe.

I’m funny like that. You might say, competitive! I want to serve The Best Appetizers.

That’s where RAGÚ^® comes in. I decided to make two different game day recipes, utilizing the brand’s delicious sauces. This saucy beef appetizer cups recipe features the RAGÚ^® Old World Style Traditional spaghetti sauce. It’s my go-to sauce when I need fast, easy AND delicious! I trust the RAGÚ brand to always be vibrant in flavor, scrumptious and steeped in tradition.

Did you know that in the early 1930s, a woman named Assunta and her husband Giovanni emigrated to upper state New York from Naples, Italy? They planted a garden and they used the bounty of fresh vegetables and herbs from their harvest to make this sauce. People loved their sauces so much that they started selling them from the front porch! The RAGÚ sauce made today is still inspired by that original vine ripened tomato recipe!

That reminds me of my grandmother, Clara Santomango!

I came up with the idea for this recipe because even though we think of the smooth, flavorful RAGÚ sauces for making pasta dishes, I wanted to highlight that they are just as delicious when used in appetizers. And did you know that just a 1/2 cup of this traditional sauce has TWO servings of vegetables in it?

How cool is that?

So, without further ado, let me show you how easy it is to use RAGÚ in your next appetizer-frenzied game day extravaganza. To find more recipes using this lovely sauce, go to their website for RAGÚ^® Old World Style Traditional spaghetti sauce.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I get a small commission, at no additional cost to you, if you click the link and buy something. You can read my disclosure here.

How to make this appetizer

Two RAGÚ sauces

I wanted to showcase two of RAGÚ sauces. Like I said, I’m using the RAGÚ Old World Style Traditional^® sauce in this recipe. I will feature the RAGÚ Double Cheddar^® in a special post all its own! You can read more about the cheese sauce here.

Sauté the beef

I have grass-fed beef front and center, the delicious RAGÚ sauce and some mini pearl mozzarella balls. What aren’t shown are the phyllo dough cups I’m going to place the saucy beef into; they’re chillin’ in the freezer.

I heat up my cast iron pan on medium and place 1 tablespoon of olive oil in it. I use my spatula to break the beef up as it cooks and add 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon oregano and 1/8 teaspoon salt. The beef takes 5 minutes to cook.

Here is the beef all cooked.

I preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and pour some RAGÚ sauce on the beef.

I stir the sauce in the beef and stop pouring once it looks enough. Next, I used about 1/2 jar of RAGÚ but you can err on the side of abundanza because none of it will go to waste.

I take the phyllo cups out of the freezer and place them on a small jelly roll pan. Then I take a teaspoon and spoon some of the saucy beef in each cup. I use a 1/2 pound of beef, so you are bound to have extra. Next, I usually place that out on the appetizer table as well, since people enjoy having extra saucy beef on their plates.

Now, I take a mini pearl mozzarella ball and place one on each saucy beef appetizer cup.

I pop them in the oven and bake for 7 – 8 minutes.

Yay!! Don’t they look delicious?

Christopher loves these saucy beef appetizer cups so much that I always eat at least one while I know I can still get some; that is, before I bring them to the table!

Chomp!

You will love the combo of RAGÚ sauce, beef, mozzarella, and phyllo dough that make these cups such a treat to eat! They are sure to be a big hit at your next game day party.

Other popular appetizer recipes

I hope you enjoyed this saucy beef appetizer recipe!

Let me know what you think of them by leaving me a comment! What is your favorite game day appetizer?

And as always, may all your dishes be delish!

If you’ve tried this saucy beef appetizer or any other recipe on the blog, I’d love the hear what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!