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This Easy Cheesy Hamburger Casserole is a staple in our family. Made with tender macaroni, ground beef, and loads of veggies, it’s an easy way to get dinner on the table and the kids love it just as much as the parents do!
Comfort food incoming!
Hamburger Casserole Just Like Grandma Made!
Anyone else get in a cooking rut? Like, it’s all Mexican food for a month or two (think fried tacos and restaurant style salsa), and then we move to pizza, and suddenly we’re eating everything out of a bowl.
Right now? In the midst of a casserole phase. It’s a good phase and I’m happy to sit here for a bit.
Casseroles are a win, both as a cook and as a mom!
This Cheesy Hamburger Casserole is easy to throw together. Just stir everything into a 9×13, top with shredded cheddar, and bake until bubbly.
The mom win is that it’s loaded with vegetables that my kids don’t even like (hello, peas and carrots), but the noodles, sauce, and beef hide them just enough that there are no complaints.
Ingredient Notes:
Macaroni – We use regular elbow macaroni for this hamburger noodle casserole as it does a great job of soaking up all the flavors and cheesy goodness! Any small pasta will work here.
Ground Beef – We use lean beef. Ground chicken or turkey would also work, but then it’s not really a hamburger casserole anymore, is it?
Cheese – We’re using shredded cheddar, but feel free to experiment. Pepper jack would add a nice kick!
Tomato Soup – Rather than traditional marinara sauce, we start with a can of tomato soup. Sounds crazy, but it tastes so homey…like Grandma made it!
Vegetables – A can of mixed veggies work well here. Frozen would work as well.
Seasoning – A little mix of Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce will add some extra savory flavors to the casserole.
What We Love About This Recipe!
It’s hard not to love an easy cheesy casserole! They are just so simple to throw together, full of hearty and filling good stuff! This hamburger casserole is also an easy recipe to modify so if you’ve got picky eaters you can be sure everyone in the family will enjoy it.
How To:
Boil the Macaroni: Boil in salted water for 1 minute less than the package directions state. This will keep the pasta from getting too mushy in the oven.
Cook the Hamburger: Brown the beef in a large skillet. When it’s about halfway cooked, toss in the onion and garlic and finish cooking. Drain any excess fat and then stir everything together in a large bowl.
Bake: The final step is to bake this easy hamburger casserole into a savory, cheesy dinner that the whole family will devour. Bake, covered, for 20 minutes, and then remove the cover and bake another 10 minutes.
Recipe FAQs:
Yes, it will last up to 4 days if sealed in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can easily reheat it in the microwave or oven!
I haven’t personally frozen this hamburger casserole, but readers in the comments have reported success! Double wrap in foil for the best results.
Variations:
Hamburger casserole can be made with many different ingredients. Consider some of these options below:
- Try this with egg noodles instead of macaroni!
- Turn up the heat with some red pepper flakes or pepper jack cheese.
- Use any variety of canned vegetables that you like here.
- Add in some sautéed mushrooms or stir in a can of drained pinto beans.
Picky Kid Tip
Not sure you can sneak the mixed veggies by your kiddo? No worries – feel free to swap the can of mixed vegetables for any veggie your kid does like! Green beans, peas, carrots, corn, or spinach are all perfect here.
More favorite casseroles!
- Tater Tot Casserole
- Mexican Chicken Casserole
- Dorito Chicken Casserole
- Taco Lasagna
- Broccoli Cheese Casserole
- Chicken Noodle Casserole
Hamburger Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound uncooked macaroni
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 medium sweet onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper
- 2 10-ounce cans tomato soup
- 1 15-ounce can mixed vegetables
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups shredded cheddar divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9×13 baking dish.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the macaroni. Cook for 1 minute less than the package directions state. Drain the macaroni.
- While the macaroni is cooking, add the beef to a large skillet over medium heat, breaking the meat up.
- When the meat is about halfway cooked through, add the onion and garlic to the skillet and continue cooking until the beef is no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper. Drain the grease and pour the beef into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the macaroni, tomato soup, mixed vegetables, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/2 cup of cheddar to the beef. Stir well to combine.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with the remaining cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for 10 minutes.
- Serve hot.
Karen Signor says
gonna try this next week..Looks and sounds so yummy
Karly Campbell says
Hope you love it! 🙂
LynnIrene G says
This is quite good… easy also. Since there are only 2 of us, I divided the cooked casserole into thirds and froze two amounts for future dinners. I added chopped tomatoes and a variety of chopped fresh vegetables because mixed canned veggies are not anything that I will eat. The total amount of veggies was more than the recipe specifies but it didn’t matter at all in the way it cooked up. Will make again.
Karly Campbell says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Deb Hartranft says
This looks really good, so I was wondering if you could you substitute Mexican corn and/or green chilies for the mixed veggies? Not picky kids but picky adults LOL
Karly Campbell says
The casserole will cook up just fine with that sub. Not sure how the flavor will be with tomato soup + Mexican corn. 🙂
Cyndie says
Super yummy and for a husband who loves the box kind, this allowed me to control the quality of the ingredients. Everything I could find low sodium, I did (i.e., soup, soy sauce, etc). I only used 1/2 an onion, 3/4 lb of pasta, and doubled the veggies. I increased the cheese to 3 cups, and mixed 75% of it into the mixture and sprinkled the rest on top. Served with low fat sour cream and hot sauce. Will make again – it turned out great! (We froze half of it for another time as there’s only two of us.)
Karly Campbell says
I’m so glad you both enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your changes…sounds yummy!
Carol says
I am planning on making this dish today. Do I drain the liquid from the can of mixed veggies or add with the can as is?
Karly says
Drain off the liquid.
mark dupee says
Poor people food, ate it most of my life, every now and again I make this still, but I use Taco seasoning in it, and black olives and green onions and top it off with sour cream and good cheese , not cheeze whiz though
Karly says
Sounds tasty with the taco seasoning!
Karen Kreutzer says
1 lb of uncooked macaroni is 4 cups…that will make a lot of macaroni…is this right?
Karly says
Yep, that’s correct. 🙂
Wanda says
can you substitute ground turkey for the ground beef
Karly says
Sure!
Carla G Skidmore says
I have made this casserole and yes, it is wonderful, I just substituted the tomato soup with Prego tomato sauce as it is GF, my husband is gluten intolerant. For those who are GF other tomato sauces work as well. My husband became gluten intolerant about 14 years ago, and it is an easy allergy/intolerance to work around. My sweet neighbor, who has since moved to a larger home, was lactose intolerant and that would be a dicier allergy with which to work.
Blair says
Sounds delicious, Karly!!!
Martha says
I can’t do the carbs because of diabetes so I usually substitute the pasta in these types of dishes for shredded cooked cabbage. Works great and tastes even better! I love cooked (sautéed) cabbage!
Karly says
Great idea, Martha!
Carol says
I am planning on making this dish today. Do I drain the liquid from the can of mixed veggies or add with the can as is?
Karen Kreutzer says
Thank you…I am also diabetic
Jill Franks says
Thank you for that suggestion!! I too cannot do the carbs.