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Cheeseburger Casserole
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Does your family love cheeseburgers? Juicy cheeseburgers aren’t just for summer grilling. By turning a backyard grilling favorite into a one-pot cheeseburger casserole, you can make cheeseburgers a family-friendly dinner that you can serve year-round.
This easy, cheesy, cheeseburger casserole is a simple dinner recipe full of your favorite burger toppings.
When you combine classic hamburger helper ingredients, like ground beef, pasta, and some cheese, you know you’re on your way to a dinner recipe the whole family will enjoy. Maybe you’ll make some One Pot Chili Mac or one of these Best Goulash recipes.
Cheeseburger Casserole Ingredients
- Hamburger meat- lean
- Onion- chopped
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Minced garlic
- Italian seasoning
- Garlic powder
- Chili powder
- Worcestershire sauce
- Tomato paste
- Diced tomatoes
- Water
- Beef bouillon cubes
- Elbow macaroni
- Sour cream
- Whole milk
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Shredded mild cheddar cheese
SUBSTITUTIONS AND ADDITIONS
CHEESE: The combination of mozzarella and cheddar gives this casserole a layered dimension, however, you could easily substitute another type of cheese just as you would a regular burger. Colby Jack or Pepper Jack cheese would make a good choice!
PASTA: Rotini noodles and mini shells can be substituted for macaroni in this hearty cheeseburger casserole or use any of your favorite small pasta that can grab onto the meat and cheese mixture.
SOUR CREAM: Plain Greek yogurt can also be used in the place of sour cream in this easy recipe.
BACON: Try adding crumbled bacon for an extra tasty crunch and to turn this into a bacon cheeseburger casserole.
MEAT: Ground turkey or ground pork would also work well in this hearty casserole.
Do you want fries with that? When it comes to a cheeseburger casserole you can serve them with some fries and our secret fry sauce or a green salad.
Different from traditional canned soup casseroles, this cheeseburger casserole recipe is full of ground beef, onion, garlic, diced tomatoes, elbow macaroni, and plenty of cheese.
How To Make Cheeseburger Casserole
FIRST STEP: In a medium bowl add 2 cups water and 3 beef bouillon cubes. Microwave on high for 4-5 minutes, or until the beef bouillon cubes are dissolved. Set aside.
SECOND STEP: In a large saucepan, cook ground beef over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Drain grease and return beef to the pan.
THIRD STEP: Turn heat down to medium and add chopped onion, salt, pepper, minced garlic, Italian seasonings, garlic powder, and chili powder. Stir well and let cook until onions are soft and translucent about 5-7 minutes.
FOURTH STEP: Add Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes (in their juices) and stir together.
FIFTH STEP: Next add the dried large elbow macaroni noodles and beef bouillon broth to the beef mixture and stir together.
SIXTH STEP: Cover and let simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Uncover and stir. Cover again and let cook for another 5 minutes, or until pasta is done.
SEVENTH STEP: Stir in sour cream and milk.
EIGHTH STEP: Pour ½ of the beef and pasta mixture into a 9x13 glass baking dish.
NINTH STEP: Sprinkle ½ of the mozzarella and cheddar cheese over the casserole.
TENTH STEP: Pour the remaining casserole into the dish and spread evenly.
ELEVENTH STEP: Sprinkle the remaining ½ of the mozzarella and cheddar cheese over the top of the casserole.
TWELVE STEP: Bake uncovered at 400°F for 10 minutes, or until the sides of the casserole are bubbling.
Can I make this recipe into a freezer meal?
You can make this great recipe into a freezer meal. Prepare the dish right up to the baking step. Let cool and cover with foil before freezing. Thaw and bake as directed.
Can I leave the tomatoes out of this dish?
If you are not a fan of tomatoes, you could leave them out, and this dish would still be delicious.
Can I use a beefy onion soup mix instead of beef bouillon cubes?
You could add a flavorful beef and onion soup mix in place of the plain beef bouillon cubes.
HOW TO STORE CHEESEBURGER CASSEROLE
IN THE FRIDGE: Cover the casserole dish tightly with aluminum foil and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Heat at 350°F for 15 minutes covered. Uncover and reheat for an additional 10 minutes.
IN THE FREEZER: To freeze this cheesy casserole, store it in an airtight container. To reheat, simply do so in the oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.
Cheeseburger Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound 92% lean hamburger meat
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 15 ounces can diced tomatoes
- 2 cups water
- 3 beef bouillon cubes
- 2 cups dried large elbow macaroni
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese (shred from the block)
- 1½ cups shredded mild cheddar cheese (shred from the block)
DIRECTIONS
- In a medium bowl, add 2 cups water and 3 beef bouillon cubes. Microwave on high for 4-5 minutes, or until the beef bouillon cubes are dissolved. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, cook ground beef over medium high heat until no longer pink. Drain grease and return beef to the pan.
- Turn heat down to medium and add chopped onion, salt, pepper, minced garlic, Italian seasonings, garlic powder, and chili powder. Stir well and let cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes
- Add Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes (in their juices) and stir together.
- Next, add the dried large elbow macaroni noodles and beef bouillon broth to the beef mixture and stir together.
- Cover and let simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Uncover and stir. Cover again and let cook for another 5 minutes, or until pasta is done.
- Stir in sour cream and milk.
- Pour ½ of the beef and pasta mixture into a 9×13 glass baking dish.
- Sprinkle ½ of the mozzarella and cheddar cheese over the casserole.
- Pour the remaining casserole into the dish and spread evenly.
- Sprinkle the remaining ½ of mozzarella and cheddar cheese over the top of the casserole.
- Bake uncovered at 400°F for 10 minutes, or until the sides of the casserole are bubbling.
WATCH THIS RECIPE VIDEO
Nutrition
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Comments
Rich Ploenes says
Omgosh this was amazing! I made it for my wife and I and we loved it and she made me make it again. Lol 😆
Cindy says
Great job.
Kimberly says
I made this recipe last night and OMG was it good. My mom loved it as did I. It is pretty easy to put together and as usual taste so much better the next day. I froze half of it so we cant wait to have it again.
Linda says
I love everything about this casserole. All the ingredients I have on hand. I am going to try one difference. It is incredibly hot here right now, 106 degrees. So, rather than using the oven I am going to do this all as a skillet dinner. I will try later as a baked casserole. With these ingredients I think it will work ok. Thanks for the great recipe. I love your blog.