Super Easy Hamburger Casserole Recipe (30min)- This quick casserole comes together in 30 minutes and tastes like you’re biting into a juicy cheeseburger. The ultimate weeknight dinner is hamburger casserole. In a casserole dish, cheesy pasta noodles are combined with ground beef and tomato sauce. Serve it with a side salad or a crunchy biscuit for a dish that everyone in the family will want seconds of!
Hamburger anything is a local favorite. I’m always looking for new ways to use ground beef in my dinner recipes, from crockpot hamburger soup to one-pot taco pasta, because it’s cheap and simple to prepare.
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Super Easy Hamburger Casserole Recipe (30min):
This super easy and quick recipe won’t dive deep in your pocket to make it. It only requires few simple ingredients like ground beef, pasta of your choice (i prefer the macaroni shape), tomato, spices to flavor the sauce and some good cheddar cheese.
First of all we will start with the pasta and cooking it according to the package’s instructions and at the same time we will cook our ground beef just with salt and pepper and butter in a hot sauce pan.
After the ground beef has been browned you can add in the tomato sauce and season also with salt, pepper, chilli powder, and garlic powder to give a little bit more flavor!
Let it simmer for about 5 minutes or until the tomato sauce has thickened a bit.
Then you can add in your drained cooked pasta along with some shredded cheddar cheese and mix everything very gently!
Now comes the easy part, just toss everything in a baking dish and spread evenly and cover all your pasta surface with the cheddar cheese. Wrap in foil and bake for just 10 minutes on medium high.
Remove from the oven and uncover and just bring it back in to make that good crispy cheese surface look on top (slightly brown).That’s it for as i think one of the best hamburger casserole recipes you can find out there! Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- Ground beef
- Pasta noodles – I prefer brown rice spiral pasta noodles, but any type of noodle will do.
- Onion
- Sauce for pasta
- Tomatoes, diced
- Mushrooms
- cheese, shredded
- Oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper
How To Make Super Easy Hamburger Casserole Recipe (30min)?
- This hamburger casserole comes together in just a few simple steps!
- Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Set aside after draining.
- In a skillet with a little oil, brown the ground beef and onion.
- Combine pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, and all spices in a mixing bowl.
- Mix in the cooked pasta.
- Top with shredded cheddar cheese in a casserole dish.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then set aside for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Tips And Tricks:
- Making your pasta ahead of time makes this meal even easier. Earlier in the week, boil the pasta in water, drain, and rinse. Then refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to make the hamburger casserole.
- Make it a freezer meal by combining all of the ingredients in an aluminum casserole pan and covering with plastic wrap. Keep in the freezer for 1-3 months. When ready to serve, thaw in the refrigerator and bake for 25-40 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and the casserole is thoroughly heated.
- Make a batch of ground beef ahead of time. If I find a good deal on ground beef, I’ll stock up and cook it all at once with some onion. Then I’ll put 1 pound of each in freezer bags. This saves time and money because I frequently use it in casserole dishes and skillet meals.
Variations For Cheeseburger Casserole:
You can add a variety of delicious crowd-pleasing options to this simple hamburger casserole recipe. To improve your cheesy casseroles, try one of the following OPTIONAL methods:
- 1 drained can of corn
- 1 can tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
- Dill pickles, chopped
- 1 defrosted frozen half-bag peas
- sliced green onions as a garnish
How Long Do You Bake Hamburger Casserole?
This quick hamburger casserole takes about 20 minutes to bake until hot and bubbly. The baking step allows some of the sauce to soak into the noodles, ensuring that every bite is flavored to perfection!
If you make this dish ahead of time, remove it from the fridge about 30 minutes before baking. If it’s chilled when it goes into the oven, you may need to add a few minutes to the cooking time.
Best Pastas to Use:
Elbow Macaroni is the most similar to the Hamburger Helper that we all know and love.
Rotini or Mini Shells would also be suitable.
When it’s at a strong boil, elbow macaroni takes about 7 minutes to reach al dente, so check the instructions if you switch up the pastas to see how you might need to adjust the cooking time.
What to Serve With Hamburger Casserole?
Hamburger Casserole has lean beef, pasta, and vegetables, so it’s a complete meal. We occasionally serve it with a fresh salad and Easy Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits to soak up any delicious sauce that remains in the bowl.
Storing leftovers:
- You won’t have to worry about leftovers lasting too long (this recipe is a crowd pleaser and your family will probably gobble it up). Here are some suggestions for storing extra.
- Allow the hamburger casserole to cool completely before wrapping it in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator.
- Cut into squares and wrap each one in plastic wrap. Place all of the ingredients in a freezer bag and freeze for quick lunches.
Refrigerator
Refrigerate in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Freezer
For up to 3 months, store in an airtight container.
Cooking time will vary depending on portion size in the microwave or 350° oven.
Is this casserole good as leftovers?
Unfortunately, this delicious dinner does not reheat well and does not taste as good the next day. It’s a “eat it or lose it” kind of meal!
We tried several methods of reheating it, but you can only get those crispy tater tots, hot meat and cheese, and cool topping combo when it’s made fresh and served immediately.
Can I make this cheeseburger casserole ahead of time?
Kind of! So you can’t fully assemble it, but you can prepare the ground meat ahead of time to speed up the process when assembling the casserole.
Simply prepare the ground meat as directed and refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 4 to 5 days. Then, while your tater tots are baking, quickly reheat your ground meat mixture.
Make-Ahead Technique
- If you prefer to do the prep work for this casserole ahead of time, follow the recipe as written, but cook the pasta for 7 minutes instead of 8.
- Stop at step 10, just before topping the casserole with more cheese.
- Allow the casserole to cool before topping with cheese.
- Refrigerate for up to two days before baking for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Cook for an additional 10 minutes after removing the lid. Serve garnished with parsley!
Notes:
- You don’t have any marinara sauce? Any jarred tomato-based pasta sauce will suffice, as will a similar amount of tomato sauce or a combination of tomato products such as diced tomatoes and tomato paste or crushed tomatoes (I’d then add a bit of Italian seasoning or other herbs for flavor). This recipe is easily adaptable based on what you have in your pantry.
- You can use whatever pasta you have on hand in place of the penne (or even use egg noodles like some casseroles do). To avoid mushy pasta/noodles in the oven, I recommend slightly undercooking them.
- The ingredient amounts do not have to be exact. A little more or less beef is perfectly fine. Do you want to add more sauce? Proceed. The same goes for the cheese.
- If you want to give this recipe a Tex-Mex twist, add some beans, taco seasoning, and a Tex-Mex cheese blend.
MORE PASTA AND CHICKEN RECIPES HERE:
CREAMY SHRIMP PASTA WITH CHEDDAR CHEESE
Chicken Parmesan Pasta (One Pot)
One Pot Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
Did you make this recipe ? be sure to follow me on Pinterest, rate the recipe and tag #recipesforest on Instagram!
Super Easy Hamburger Casserole Recipe (30min)
A lot of us are in a lockdown situation, so there is nothing better than making a great hamburger casserole family dinner recipe! and it won't take you too long just (30min)!
Ingredients
- 1 package of pasta
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 cups of tomato sauce
- shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- salt and pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp butter
Instructions
- First of all cook your pasta according to the package instructions in a salty water for about 8-9 minutes or until al dente
- in the meantime cook your ground beef just with salt and black pepper and with a little bit of butter in hot sauce pan.
- wait until browned and add your tomato sauce to the ground beef, mix gently!
- season your sauce and the beef with more salt to taste and add in your garlic powder along with the chilli powder.
- then add in some shredded cheddar cheese with your drained cooked pasta and mix everything until well combined.
- Transfer everything to a baking dish and top with the remaining cheddar cheese, cover every inch!
- cover everything with foil and bake for 10 minutes approx!
- Remove from the oven and uncover and bring it back to get that golden crispy look on top!
- Serve immediately! and VOILA, Enjoy!
Notes
- You don't have any marinara sauce? Any jarred tomato-based pasta sauce will suffice, as will a similar amount of tomato sauce or a combination of tomato products such as diced tomatoes and tomato paste or crushed tomatoes (I'd then add a bit of Italian seasoning or other herbs for flavor). This recipe is easily adaptable based on what you have in your pantry.
- You can use whatever pasta you have on hand in place of the penne (or even use egg noodles like some casseroles do). To avoid mushy pasta/noodles in the oven, I recommend slightly undercooking them.
- The ingredient amounts do not have to be exact. A little more or less beef is perfectly fine. Do you want to add more sauce? Proceed. The same goes for the cheese.
- If you want to give this recipe a Tex-Mex twist, add some beans, taco seasoning, and a Tex-Mex cheese blend.
looks amazing