Best Ever Beef Rissoles Recipe

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This beef rissoles recipe is packed full of flavour as well as hiding a few sneaky veggies. An inexpensive alternative to steak for meat and three veg days.

beef rissoles

Rissoles are a classic, Aussie family favourite in the 80s and 90s. While there are many versions, the version below was made by my mother and grandmother. My twist is to add grated vegetables – it makes the meat go further and the rissoles a bit healthier. 

Classic Beef Rissoles Ingredients

rissole ingredients

These rissoles use inexpensive ground beef and I like to add grated vegetables to stretch the meat and increase our veg intake. This is optional.

Or you can just use carrot or just zucchini, depending on what you have on hand. If you want to hide the vegetables, grate them finer than I have in the picture.

Ingredients

beef mince
finely diced onion (or grated)
grated carrot (optional)
grated zucchini (optional)
1 egg
breadcrumbs
tomato sauce (ketchup)
Worcestershire sauce (optional)
mixed herbs
salt and pepper

Tips

  • Save money and leave the panko breadcrumbs for when you need a crunchy coating. The breadcrumbs are just for binding and the panko is wasted in a rissole.
  • You can use finely grated onion rather than finely chopped onion to disperse the onion flavour more evenly through the rissole.
  • Stretch a small amount of ground beef by adding cooked red or brown lentils to the uncooked mix (no need to add breadcrumbs). You can mash the lentils to hide them if you like. Rissoles with lentils taste the same but are a little dryer (see tip below).

How to Make Rissoles

making rissoles
An ice cream scoop makes light work or making even rissoles but you can also just use your hands!

To make the rissoles, place all the ingredients into a large bowl and using your hands, squish it all together. 

Make small balls from the rissole mixture (using an ice cream scoop makes the job easier, but not essential), then using wet hands, shape the rissoles into balls then flatten them slightly into patties.

For juicy beef rissoles, use only enough breadcrumbs needed to bind – too many breadcrumbs will result in dry patties. Lean beef mince will result in dryer patties. You can always rescue dry rissoles with gravy or a glaze BBQ sauce glaze.

Cooking Rissoles in the Frying Pan

Homemade rissoles are usually cooked in the frying pan in a little oil on both sides and cooked through. 

Heat a large frying pan or electric frypan to medium heat.  Add a little olive oil or vegetable oil to the pan and add the patties, cooking for 4-5 minutes each side or until golden brown and cooked through. 

You know the patties are done when they are no longer pink inside – cut one open to check or use a meat thermometer to test the internal temperature has reached 65°C. 

Cooking Rissoles in the Air Fryer

air fryer rissoles

It’s super easy to cook rissoles in the air fryer.

Spray the air fryer with a little oil and place the rissoles inside. Spray the top of the rissoles with oil and then cook for 10-20 minutes on 180°C.

The timing will depend on the size of the rissoles. Check them after 10 minutes and then cook in five minute spurts until cooked. Overcooking the rissoles in the air fryer will result in dry rissoles. If they do dry out, you can always add a glaze.

Making Glazed Rissoles

Adding a glaze to your rissoles is optional but it’s something a little different when you want to switch things up. You can make a glaze from barbeque sauce, tomato sauce, or relish. 

To make a glaze in the frying pan, cook the rissoles as normal and then remove them from the pan. Add approximately 1/4 cup of barbeque or tomato sauce and a splash of water to the frying pan and stir to combine, then place the rissoles into the glaze, tossing for 1 minute to coat. 

To make a rissole glaze in the air fryer, simply brush some sauce over the top of the rissoles about five minutes before the end of the cooking time and continue to cook for the five minutes.

What to Serve with Old-Fashioned Beef Rissoles

I love rissoles with mash and steamed greens, but you have a lot of options.

I served the rissoles above with broccoli and cauliflower in white sauce, homemade chips, and caramelised onions (the how-to video is in this post for caramelised onion dip).

You could also serve these with an easy green side salad, potato salad or even on a burger bun.

Leftover Rissoles – Storing, Freezing, Reheating

Store leftover rissoles in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. Leftover rissoles make a great lunch either with a salad or as a rissole sandwich.

To freeze, place the rissoles on a tray and freeze until solid, then they can be stored in an airtight container. Defrost before reheating.

Reheat cooked rissoles in the microwave, in a frying pan, or in the air fryer or oven until piping (or internal temp is 75°C). This is the recommended temperature for food safety – the rissoles may dry out a bit, so best served with a sauce. 

Uncooked rissoles can be tray frozen and then stored in an airtight container. Defrost before cooking as per recipe. 

Yield: 8

Beef Rissoles

beef rissoles

While some may think of these as poor man's steak, these beef rissoles hold their own by being full of flavour. You can also hide a few veggies in them too, great if you need your kids to eat more veg.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 400g mince
  • 1/2 onion finely chopped or grated
  • 1 carrot, grated
  • 1 zucchini, grated
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. or so of dried mixed herbs
  • 3 Tbps. tomato sauce (ketchup) or tomato relish
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup dried breadcrumbs or enough to bind

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
  2. Mix well with your hands, adding enough breadcrumbs so that the mixture comes together without being sloppy.
  3. Shape into rissoles and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes. This helps them stay together when cooking.
  4. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add some oil and fry for 5-8 minutes on both sides or until golden and cooked all the way through.

Notes

Makes about 8 rissoles depending on the size you make them.

I like to fry these in a little macadamia nut oil flavoured with a little butter, but they BBQ and grill just as well.

If you want to make the mince go further or make them a little extra healthy, add cooked red lentils to the mixture, about 1/4 or less of the mince. The lentils add fibre, but they can make the rissoles stick when you cook them on the BBQ, so you may need a little extra oil when cooking them.


If you combine the mixture well, giving it a good squish, no-one will see the vegetables and lentils and they won’t even know they’re eating them.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 359Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 136mgSodium: 271mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 3gSugar: 7gProtein: 31g

Nutritional information is calculated automatically using the Nutritionix database. Nutrition information can vary for a recipe based on factors such as precision of measurements, brands, ingredient freshness, serving size or the source of nutrition data. We strive to keep the information as accurate as possible but make no warranties regarding its accuracy. We encourage readers to make their own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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One Comment

  1. Morgan Gilson morona says:

    Add the lentils and the onion mixture pulse until the mixture is cohesive but still somewhat textured.