Also known as a Hamburger hotdish, this cheeseburger casserole recipe is a serious throwback to growing up with filling and hearty casserole food. This beef and noodle casserole recipe is so savory and delicious you may even get to skip the side dish.
It’s already 4 pm, and you are looking for a way to use ground beef. Our household go-to for beef is tacos and quesadillas (doesn’t everyone default to Mexican?), but there are many other ways to eat, enjoy, and love ground beef that picky eaters cant deny.
This creamy cheesy cheeseburger casserole may be the BEST; no, let me rephrase – it WILL be the best homemade “hamburger helper” recipe ever.
Ground Beef Casserole To the Rescue!
It only takes about 30 minutes to prepare this hamburger beef casserole with noodles. Simple ingredients like beef, pasta, onions, and Worcestershire sauce season the cheeseburger casserole nicely, while the creamy, cheesy sauce pulls together family favorite better-than-boxed cheeseburger “helper.”
Super cheesy, full of flavor, and uses delicious and filling egg noodles, this family-friendly cheeseburger casserole is economical comfort food that requires very little kitchen time but fantastic flavor.
Often you will see cheeseburger casserole recipes that include tater tots, and we do have two other options for that type of recipe – check out tater tot breakfast casserole and cream of chicken tater tot casserole here.
Ingredients
- Ground beef – Good quality ground beef with a bit of fat content is what I prefer for this hamburger recipe. It is OK to use lean ground beef if that is your preference, but I feel like it loses some of the flavors. Just make sure to drain grease very well.
- Onion – Dice white or yellow onion down into small bite-sized pieces, so it spreads through the dish.
- Worcestershire sauce – Worchestershire sauce is an additive to bring out the flavors of beef. Dont skip this one!
- Seasoning – While you can season hamburger hotdish with any of your favorite common seasonings, garlic powder, kosher salt, and black pepper are a must.
- Sour cream – As always, I recommend full-fat sour cream for the best flavor in cheeseburger casserole.
- Misc. ingredients – Cream of chicken soup, milk, cheddar cheese. It is OK to substitute with sharp cheddar or Monterey Jack for a variation in distinct flavors.
- Velveeta cheese – Along with regular shredded cheddar cheese, Velveeta and ground beef casserole uses cubed Velvetta for an extra creamy and rich taste.
- Egg noodles – Perfect for casserole dishes, al dente egg noodles need to be cooked and drained.
How to make Cheeseburger Casserole Hotdish
- Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set baking dish with cooking spray aside.
- In a large skillet, add ground beef, onion, Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder to a skillet. Heat meat mixture on medium-high heat, frequently stirring until meat is browned. Drain all excess grease.
- Season ground beef with salt and black pepper.
- Add sour cream, soup, milk, and Velveeta cheese to medium heat, stir to combine and frequently until cheese is melted. This will create a thick mixture. If you are adding any additional ingredients to the cheeseburger casserole, like corn or diced tomatoes, add them at this stage in the recipe (SHOWN).
- Place already al-dente cooked pasta in prepared baking dish.
- Pour ground beef mixture across top of pasta noodles and mix well.
- Bake cheeseburger casserole for 15 minutes or until heated through.
- Sprinkle with shredded cheese and return to oven until melted, for about 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and serve.
Tip
While in this recipe I use a light sprinkle of 1 cup of shredded cheddar, in reality, if you LOVE cheese, feel free to smother more cheddar cheese on.
Weeknight Casserole Recipes
Are you looking for more easy casserole recipes for a perfect weeknight meal or side dish?
- This zucchini casserole recipe is a great summertime way to enjoy fresh veggies.
- This throwback tuna casserole recipe will remind you of your mom’s dishes.
- Vibrant and bold, this full of flavor unstuffed pepper casserole recipe is as pretty to look at as it is to eat.
- A reader-voted favorite top casserole recipe is here.
- Lastly, we just updated our cheesy bacon potato casserole recipe. Check out the changes!
Variations For Cheeseburger Casserole
There are many delicious crowd-pleasing options that you can add to this easy-to-make hamburger casserole recipe. Try adding one of the following OPTIONAL ways to enhance your cheesy casseroles:
- 1 can of corn, drained (as shown in recipe images, but not in video)
- 1 can of diced tomatoes or tomato sauce
- Chopped dill pickles
- 1 half bag of defrosted frozen peas
- Topping of sliced green onions
Related Beef Recipes
If you need more beef recipe ideas, there are so many top breakfast recipes, side dish recipes, and of course, main dish recipes that use beef.
Try a few of our suggested favorites, Wendy’s copycat chili, this amazing copycat big mac pizza recipe, or even hash brown casserole and substitute the ground pork for ground beef.
If you specifically want beef casserole ideas, try Mexican ground beef casserole or loaded beef and tortilla casserole.
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Comments & Reviews
Sabrina says
I love casseroles and I’m always looking for new delicious recipes. This one did not disappoint! It was so easy to make and packed with so much flavour. Thanks for this, its a keeper!
Wendy says
Casserole was very easy to prepare however it is a bit bland. I added chopped green scallions and crispy bacon over the top at the end. Scallions added a nice flavor and the bacon gave it crunch; and who doesn’t love a bacon cheeseburger!
Trisha Haas says
So glad you found a solution to work for your taste buds – I love scallions on anything!
Vicky flow says
Loved this recipe.
Trisha Haas says
Thankyou!
Cindy says
Was ok to me. Hubby loved it. Pretty easy and fast.