Old Fashioned Hamburger Casserole

Here’s what you’ll need.

See recipe card for exact amounts. 

Ingredient Notes

ground beef – we use lean ground beef, it is better for you but my favorite thing about it is I don’t have to drain it.

egg noodles – we use eggless, you can use your favorite type. 

pasta sauce – the store brand at the grocery store we shop at is a family favorite so we use it, use your favorite brand. Use a type that isn’t too chunky or your casserole might be too dry. 

sour cream – full fat or light works great. 

cream cheese – we typically use the 1/3 less fat variety but full fat is good too. 

shredded cheese – we used sharp cheddar cheese in this dish, see notes about the cheese below.

How to make hamburger casserole

1. Boil a big pot of water and cook the pasta 2 minutes less than the package directions for al dente pasta. 
2. Meanwhile brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, drain if not using lean ground beef. When the meat is brown add the pasta sauce and stir until combined. Next add the sour cream and cream cheese and stir that until combined. After the cream cheese has melted stir the cooked pasta into the ground beef mixture. 
3. Top with shredded cheese and then put under the broiler until the cheese melts. 

Note – if you don’t have a skillet with an oven proof handle then you can either put a lid on the pan to melt the cheese on the stove-top or pour it into a casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray and put that under the broiler. Putting aluminum foil on the handle of a plastic skillet handle is not recommended. 

What type of cheese should we use in this casserole?

I typically buy and use pre-shredded cheese (don’t most people?!). I know that freshly grated cheese melts better but this is one of the places I choose to take a short cut. We almost always buy the store brand at Walmart and it’s fine. 

The day I made this dish I had some pre-shredded sharp cheddar cheese I got at Aldi so I just used it. It was the first time I bought it because I wanted to give it a try. I learned that it definitely doesn’t melt as good as the Great Value brand, and you can see that in these photos. It tasted fine but certainly wasn’t the texture I was expecting because it didn’t melt very well. 

So the moral of the story is – use whatever type of cheese you want but be aware that some cheese melts better than others. If you have time then grate your own. But if you’re like me, you take the short cut and are fine that it doesn’t turn out quite as good other options. 

A side note – I debated on whether to redo this recipe. But, I decided not to because I want the food that I make and post on this blog to be a true representation of the end result.

Substitutions and Variations

• Swap the hamburger meat for ground pork, ground turkey or ground chicken. 
• Use elbow macaroni, other short cut pasta, or wheat pasta instead of egg noodles.
• Add in some chopped onions or bell peppers.
• Add a bit of fresh garlic or garlic powder, about a teaspoon of fresh and half teaspoon of powder. 
• Use any cheese you like, mozzarella cheese would be great. Or even a cheese blend such as monterey jack and colby.