This cheesy hamburger casserole is a dream dinner! This cheesy casserole is packed with noodles, ground beef, tomato, and cheddar cheese. It’s truly a cheeseburger in casserole form.
Cheesy Hamburger Casserole = Cheeseburger Casserole
When in doubt, get the burger he said! At least, that’s my husband’s motto. This hamburger casserole is everything you’ve ever wanted in a cheeseburger and MORE!
Why you ask? Well, because it has noodles! Hamburger casserole recipes are truly the best meal and for so many reasons.
This cheeseburger casserole recipe is made with ground beef, noodles, diced tomatoes, and cheddar cheese. Keep reading to learn how to make it!
What is hamburger casserole?
A hamburger casserole is a baked dish made with ground beef (hamburger), noodles, tomato products, and cheese. It’s a hearty meal that serves a crowd.
What You Need
Basic ingredients, but big flavor! Here’s what you need for this cheeseburger casserole recipe:
- Macaroni noodles – any kind of noodles work, but elbows are classic.
- Ground beef – want a leaner meat? Try ground chicken or turkey.
- Onion and garlic: both of these add such a great base flavor.
- Tomato sauce – this gets you your glorious ketchup flavor!
- Diced tomatoes – adds a veg plus great texture.
- Beef broth – the beef broth adds soooo much depth. If you don’t have it, feel free to use chicken or vegetable.
- Worcestershire sauce – Don’t skip this part! It adds that zing you get in most burgers.
- Tomato paste: tomato paste helps thicken things up.
- Spices: the spices needed include garlic powder and chili powder.
- Shredded cheddar cheese – it wouldn’t be a cheeseburger casserole without the CHEESE. Feel free to use any kind of shredded cheese.
Get More
Cheddar Cheese Recipes
Looking for more recipes with cheddar cheese? Check out our cheesy collection of cheddar cheese recipes.
How to Make Cheesy Hamburger Casserole (step by step)
Partially Cook Noodles
Step 1 in making your cheeseburger casserole is partially cooking your noodles. I stress partially because your noodles will continue to cook once you place the casserole into the oven, so you do NOT want to fully cook them.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add macaroni noodles and let them cook for 4-6 minutes. The noodles should be slightly less cooked than al dente.
Cook Meat
Next, it’s time to cook up your ground beef, often referred to as hamburger.
Cook ground beef, onion, garlic, and salt over medium/high heat for about 5 minutes. There will probably be some pink spots left in your meat, but no worries! It will continue to cook in the oven.
Combine Ingredients
Add the noodles, beef mixture, 1/2 teaspoon salt, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, garlic powder, chili powder, and 2 cups of cheddar cheese to the casserole dish and mix until combined.
Bake
Bake cheesy hamburger casserole at 375ºF, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Then, remove from oven, sprinkle on a generous amount of shredded cheddar cheese, and bake again for 5-10 minutes or until cheese melts.
topping ideas
Have fun with your cheeseburger casserole toppings! We kept things simple with green onion, but here are more ideas:
- sour cream/Greek yogurt
- hot sauce
- shredded lettuce
- avocado
FAQ
The components of a casserole include a protein, grain, veggies, and sauce.
Ground beef is delicious with veggies, grains, and cheese. Make hamburger casserole and let us know how you like it!
Let your casserole cool completely. Then, transfer it into an airtight container or gallon-size plastic bag. Remove as much air as possible and seal. Freeze for up to 3 months. Note that if you casserole has noodles, we don’t recommend freezing it.
The key to a good casserole is making sure that your grain is fully cooked and that your sauce has so much delicious flavor. We recommend always adding cheese on top of your casserole, too for extra flavor!
Can you freeze hamburger casserole?
Oh the burning question of: can you freeze this casserole? Most of the time, we’d say HECK YES! However, we don’t ever suggest freezing a recipe that involves noodles.
Unfortunately, they don’t hold up too well when thawing and reheating,
Storage
Store cheeseburger casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days.
Cheesy Hamburger Casserole
Ingredients
- 16 oz. macaroni noodles
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1/2 white onion finely diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3/4 teaspoon salt separated
- 15 oz. caned tomato sauce
- 15 oz. canned diced tomatoes
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
- optional topping: diced green onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF and grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add macaroni noodles and let them cook for 4-6 minutes. The noodles should be slightly under cooked because they will be baked in the oven for 20 more minutes.
- Strain the water from the noodles and set noodles aside.
- Next, heat a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add ground beef.
- Cook the ground beef for 2-3 minutes and then add the onion, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
- Cook for an additional 2 minutes and remove from heat.
- Add the noodles, beef mixture, 1/2 teaspoon salt, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, garlic powder, chili powder, and 2 cups of cheddar cheese to the casserole dish and mix until combined.
- Place the casserole dish into the oven, uncovered, and bake at 375ºF for 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle the last cup of cheddar cheese on top of the casserole.
- Place back into the oven and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes and enjoy!
Very flavorful and comforting! Easy to make on a weeknight.
Easy to make and good for a crowd! I plan to cook the onions a little longer before tossing them in the meat next time but otherwise, yum.
Thanks so much for your review!
An easy weeknight dish that can feed and please a crowd. I skipped the tomato paste because I didn’t have any, turned out just fine! Next time I’ll mix everything in a large bowl and then transfer to the pan because I’m a klutz and spilled so much during the pan-mixing step 🙃.
Super easy and tasty. We thought it tasted more like a taco than a cheeseburger, but it was delicious nonetheless.
Glad you liked it either way!
My family loves this recipe! It’s so easy to make, too.
This looks delious!! Can you make it a day ahead ?? Thank you in advance….
Darryl
Hi Darryl, You definitely can! If you’re making the day before, we recommend cooking completely and then reheating covered at 350°F for 15 minutes (or until the center is warm) right before serving.