I’m always looking for great dinner ideas with ground beef. While we love hamburgers, tacos, and shepherd’s pie, this ground beef casserole is easy to make and always a family pleaser.
Ground Beef Casserole Recipe
When my kids were younger, getting them to try new things was often like pulling teeth. I knew I was in for the “what’s that” type questions. I always tried to be very generic in my answers, the less details the better.
So I called this “southwest casserole” which is quite generic and doesn’t reveal anything in the ingredient agenda. It was different than hamburger casserole I had grown up with for sure!
Which Pasta to Use for This Casserole
- The first time I made this years ago I used a quick cooking pasta, which I don’t recommend. Use regular pasta as indicated in the recipe. The quick cooking type cooks too long in this dish and tends to get a bit mushy.
- You could certainly use a no-boil pasta in this casserole, I would suggest soaking them in hot water while you are prepping the recipe on the stove.
A great casserole for leftovers
This ground beef casserole is great as leftovers so it doesn’t hurt to make it for a smaller family or just two people! I’ve made it several times and enjoyed the leftovers for lunch or another dinner. You can scoop out the finished recipe into individual serving containers, great for taking to work.
Can I freeze this casserole and bake it later?
As with any casserole containing pasta it will do fine in the freezer for up to three months. Just be sure you follow these steps:
- Prepare the casserole according to the instructions in the printable version below – do not add the onions to the top as they are for garnish when you serve it.
- Cool the dish completely after cooking.
- Wrap tightly in plastic wrap to avoid freezer burn.
- Wrap in foil then label and date it.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 F and remove foil so you can take off the plastic wrap from frozen dish. Put the foil back on and bake (casserole will still be frozen) for about an hour. Check for doneness, continue for another 15 minutes if needed. If you defrosted the casserole, reheat for 35-45 minutes.
Tip: If you don’t want your baking pan in the freezer for three months, after the dish has cooled completely line another baking dish with 2-3 layers of plastic wrap leaving extra hanging over the sides. Place the cooled casserole into the lined pan and freeze. Once frozen lift the dish out with the plastic wrap. Remove the plastic wrap and transfer the frozen item to a freezer safe bag. When you’re ready to bake it, simply remove from the bag and place it into a baking dish.
The ingredients I prefer to use for this casserole
- You can use ground beef, ground turkey or even ground chicken, depending on your flavor preferences. Other ground meats can be substituted as well such as venison or bison, making this a very versatile recipe. Ground Italian sausage mixed with ground beef or turkey would be a great flavor combination too!
- I mention something called Magic Dust in the recipe below. This is a mixture I keep in my kitchen that I found in the book Peace, Love & Barbecue. I prefer it and I’ve provided it in the recipe below, but you can use a steak seasoning instead.
- While I have listed Red Gold diced tomatoes, you don’t have to use that brand. The key was that they have green chiles already added. If you can’t find them, you can use a regular can of tomatoes and add a 4-ounce can of green chiles.
- You can find a Mexican cheese blend already shredded at the grocery store. However if you have a preference on cheese feel free to use whatever you like. I do recommend that you have a cheddar cheese and a jack cheese in the mix.
Kitchen tools you’ll find helpful
- You can use a 9×9 square baking pan or a 2-quart casserole.
- Make sure you use a large skillet. You’ll be browning the ground meat, but then you will add several ingredients and need room to stir.
- You’ll also need a cutting board, a chef’s knife for chopping your vegetables, your favorite spoon for stirring everything and of course some measuring cups and spoons.
How to Make Hamburger Casserole
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a two-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
- In large skillet brown ground beef with onions, bell pepper and red pepper flakes. Season with Magic Dust or steak seasoning.
- Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, oregano and chili powder and bring to a gentle boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Add the frozen corn and simmer for a few more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the 2 ounces of cheese until melted.
- Gently stir in the cooked pasta.
- Pour everything into prepared casserole dish and top with shredded cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.
- Garnish with green onions if desired.
More Casserole Recipes
Ground Beef Casserole
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate It Text ItIngredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1/2 cup diced orange bell pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon Montreal Steak seasoning or Magic Dust seasoning (see recipe below)
- 16 oz. tomato sauce
- 10 oz can of Red Gold Diced Tomatoes & Green Chiles
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 2 ounces shredded Mexican 4 Cheese blend
- 1 1/2 cups dried macaroni style pasta cooked al dente
- 1 cup shredded Mexican 4 Cheese blend
- sliced green onions for garnish
OPTIONAL – Magic Dust ingredients (you can use steak seasoning instead):
- 1/2 cup paprika
- 1/4 cup Kosher salt finely ground
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons mustard powder
- 1/4 cup chili powder
- 1/4 cup ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup granulated dried garlic
- 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
Before You Begin
- Use regular pasta as indicated in the recipe. The quick cooking type cooks too long in this dish and tends to get a bit mushy.
- You could certainly use a no-boil pasta in this casserole, I would suggest soaking them in hot water while you are prepping the recipe on the stove.
Can I freeze this casserole and bake it later?
As with any casserole containing pasta it will do fine in the freezer for up to three months. Just be sure you follow these steps:- Prepare the casserole according to the instructions in the printable version below – do not add the onions to the top as they are for garnish when you serve it.
- Cool the dish completely after cooking.
- Wrap tightly in plastic wrap to avoid freezer burn.
- Wrap in foil then label and date it.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 F and remove foil so you can take off the plastic wrap from frozen dish. Put the foil back on and bake (casserole will still be frozen) for about an hour. Check for doneness, continue for another 15 minutes if needed. If you defrosted the casserole, reheat for 35-45 minutes.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a two-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
- In large skillet brown ground beef with onions, bell pepper and red pepper flakes. Season with Magic Dust or steak seasoning.
- Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, oregano and chili powder and bring to a gentle boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Add the frozen corn and simmer for a few more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the 2 ounces of cheese until melted.
- Gently stir in the cooked pasta.
- Pour everything into prepared casserole dish and top with shredded cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.
- Garnish with green onions if desired.
To make Magic Dust:
- Mix everything together and store in an airtight container. Keep some on a shaker bottle for the grill!
Nutrition
More ground beef dinner ideas
I’ve amassed a pretty good collection of ground beef dinner ideas. Here are a few of our family’s and our readers’ favorites:
- John Wayne Casserole – This delicious casserole uses canned biscuits for the crust which is topped with taco seasoned ground beef, a creamy cheese mixture, and peppers and tomatoes.
- Taco Empanadas – Making these simple meat-filled pockets is a fun thing for the kids to help with, and they are great for taking along to football and soccer games!
- The Best Meatloaf Recipe Ever – I have the say, this is the best meatloaf I’ve ever had and don’t make any other kind now!
- Spaghetti Pie – Cooked spaghetti noodles, ground beef, sauce, and cheese all baked in a pie plate.
- Shepherd’s Pie – Another one of my favorite recipes, this Shepherd’s Pie is a far cry from the hamburger pie I grew up with.
- Salisbury Steaks – If you ate OnCor Salisbury steaks when you were young, this homemade version is going to be your new favorite!
- Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole and Ground Beef Stroganoff are on other blogs, but look delicious!
- Beef stroganoff casserole is a hearty weeknight dinner the whole family will love thanks to its rich flavors and creamy sauce.
- A hearty and filling weeknight dinner, this 7 Layer Casserole uses ground beef, cheese, bacon, veggies, and rice.
- Cheesy, beefy, Dorito casserole is an easy weeknight bake packed with taco-inspired flavors in each layer!
- This creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole is a satisfying comfort meal.
- Cabbage rolls are a true comfort dish stuffed with a variety of different flavors and texture.
- Ground beef stroganoff aka hamburger stroganoff features all the same delicious flavors as classic beef stroganoff, but with ground beef in place of steak.
- The flavors in this Beef Barbacoa have everything to do with the seasoning blend and chipotle peppers in adobo.
- Lasagna roll ups are perfect for prepping ahead of time and freezing, making weeknights a breeze!
This post was originally published on this blog on April 25, 2011
Amanda Davis
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Katy says
I never comment on recipes but my family LOVED this so I wanted to make sure to leave a positive review. This isn’t the type of recipe I’m usually drawn to but it was so good. Made it twice just as written. The second time I made it I doubled it and took some to a potluck.
Darlene says
Delicious 😋 My family loved it. I was looking for a different flavor and type of a beef dish. Made lots too. Leftovers Delicious too.
Thanks for this awesome recipe
No name says
Absolutely delicious!!! And easy to make!
Tammie says
I am always looking for different recipes with hamburger meat. I followed the recipe by except used Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies instead of the Gold brand as thats what I had. Plus only had green bell pepper. It was fantastic. We loved it and will definitely be cooking this casserole again. And it looked pretty😜😋 I even garnished the top with green onion.
Debbie says
This dish was amazing!! Found the recipe on my cell and tried it yesterday. I typically don’t like spicy food however my husband does. I was a little leary at first considering my taste but this was wonderful!! I had to stop my husband from eating as he was out of control. Absolutely fantastic casserole and easy as well. Will be making this dish quite often. Thank you Amanda.
Debbie Cleveland says
How about using rice if out of pasta?
Amanda Formaro says
That should be ok :)
Veronica says
Very easy and delicious! Everyone loved it! I did not add the red pepper flakes and it was spicey enough without it :) I doubled the ground beef and the Montreal seasoning and left all other ingredients the same. I did not have a bell pepper on hand to use and it still tasted fabulous! I used Mild chedder cheese since that’s all I had in the fridge. I had to use a 3 QT dish due to the extra meat. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Very inexpensive meal that was soo good!
Sam says
This dish is amazzzing! I wanted to make something different using ground beef and turkey, and I’m glad I found this recipe! I did a few things differently. I used a pound of ground beef and one pound of ground turkey. My mom doesn’t like spicy, so I kept the peppers out and the only seasonings I added were garlic salt and minced onion. Everyone loved it! This is a great recipe for meal prepping and I plan to eat this dish for the next few days.
RiverHag says
OH!MY!WOW! 😲 I’m always looking for that dish bursting with flavor… Guess what? FOUND IT❣️ This was REALLY AMAZING!! Thank You, Amanda, for sharing! 🥰
MARTHA MCNEAL says
OMG this is almost the exact same recipe that has been made over and over since my great grandmother added it to the family hand written recipe book and she was born in 1851. Just not all the spices and pasta. She put bread crumbs on top with small pats of butter before baking. I saute the bread crumbs in the butter before putting it on top. If not you have to very carefully watch so it doesn’t burn or I will use crushed potato chips. Guess what I am making next week? Along with homemade corn bread (do not like any of those mixes). I’m going to add just one of the spices as it will probably give me a different flavor. Probably the paprika. Also our family did not completely cook on top of stove but put in casserole dish to finish the cooking. Good leftovers too.
Emily McNair says
It wasn’t until I tasted the sauce before putting it in the oven did I realize how spicy I had made mine. I added a few dollops of plain Greek yogurt around the casserole to tone it down a bit. Yum! Perfect dish!
Susan says
I got distracted and let my simmer about twice as long so added a jar of medium chunky salsa since some liquid simmered away… it was awesome!
My husband made a point to tell me how fantastic he thought this meal was!
2 Thumbs UP!!
Marilyn Jennings says
This was very good. I saw a picture of sour cream on top so that is what i did. Very yummy. My niece said she would make it and add extra spice. It had enough spice for me. :) I also made cornbread and it was a perfect addition. Coleslaw might go well with this too. Thanks for the recipe.
Candice says
So good!… Doubled the recipe. And OMG it is so delicious… I definitely will be making this again and planning on taking it to a potluck dinner for our community… It is definitely a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10… Thanks
Dani says
I bought a lot of grass fed beef and was looking for a easy meal to use it. Can’t wait to try it tomorrow. Looks amazing and so simple.
Robin says
I made this! I didn’t have red pepper flakes, or Green chilies, and used green bell pepper (that’s what I had on hand) instead of orange bell pepper. I also used cheddar cheese instead of the Mexican blend cheese… I added a little minced garlic, onion powder, minced onion, and two tablespoons of Worchester sauce. I used a little more than what was called for of the Montreal Steak Seasoning. I like a lot of flavor! I’m telling you it was AWESOME!!
Lauren says
Tried this for the first time today and IT WAS SERIOUSLY AMAZING!! I prepared it over the weekend and then cooked it in the oven today (on a busy night with 2 soccer practices, dance, and a back to school party). This is our new favorite meal!! Everything blended so well together! I wish I would have doubled it to have another one to freeze for later!! This will be added to our meal rotation. I’m also going to make one for my brother and SIL after they have their baby!! Thanks for a great recipe!!!!
Fallon Hare says
This was sooooooo good and very easy to make!
Jill says
Could this be put in a 9 x 13 glass dish vs a 2 quart casserole dish because nor sure if I have them. I can also make more pasta too…?
Amanda Formaro says
That should work, just keep an eye on it during cooking as that size pan is larger and it may cook faster.
Robin says
That’s what I used and worked great!
Veronica says
Made this for the second time. I love that it makes 8 portions so that we always have enough for two meals (for the two of us) and we freeze the rest for another time. This recipe is now a family keeper!