You can’t go wrong with a hearty, cheesy casserole for any meal of the day. Some of my favorites include sausage egg casserole, tater tot breakfast casserole, taco casserole, chicken casserole and this super delicious cheeseburger casserole. If you love hamburgers, you’ll be sure to love this cheeseburger casserole. It has all the great flavors of a loaded bacon cheeseburger, but with the addition of pasta!
Cheeseburger Casserole Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need macaroni elbows, bacon, ground beef, onion, tomato sauce, ketchup, mustard, cheddar cheese, salt, black pepper, parsley and toppings such as pickles, tomatoes and lettuce.
How Do You Make Cheeseburger Casserole?
Boil your elbow macaroni noodles according to package directions. While you wait for the pasta to be done, cook up the bacon until it’s brown and crispy. Set the bacon aside for later use. Cook ground beef in the pan with the bacon grease, then add onions and cook until they’re softened. Flavor the meat mixture with a variety of seasonings and tomato sauce. Add the pasta to the beef mixture, then sprinkle in half the cheese. Pour the pasta mixture into a baking dish, and top with the remaining cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted, then add the reserved bacon and a variety of other toppings. Serve and watch the rave reviews come in!
Tips For The Perfect Casserole
I typically use 90% lean ground beef in this dish. It has plenty of flavor but is not overly greasy. If you use ground beef with a higher fat content, be sure to drain off any excess grease before proceeding with the recipe. Skip the store bought shredded cheese and grate your own instead. The bags of pre-grated cheese typically contain preservatives and anti caking agents, and do not melt as well as freshly grated cheese. This casserole can be prepared up to 4 hours before you plan to bake it. Store it covered in the refrigerator until it is ready to go into the oven. You may need to add another 10-15 minutes to the cooking time to compensate for starting with a cold dish. The great thing about this casserole is that it’s a complete meal in one dish, with protein, pasta, cheese and veggies. I often serve a fruit or vegetable on the side to round out the meat. Some of my favorite options include berry fruit salad, winter fruit salad, roasted green beans, glazed carrots or cucumber tomato salad.
Cheeseburger Casserole Flavor Variations
This dish is great as-is, but you can absolutely add other ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes.
Meat: Instead of ground beef, feel free to use ground turkey, or a blend of ground beef with Italian sausage. Cheese: While cheddar is a classic cheeseburger topping, I’ve made this recipe with other types of cheese such as mozzarella, pepper jack and colby. Pasta: Any type of short pasta will work, such as rotini, penne or medium shells. Toppings: Add as many toppings as you like. I typically do bacon, pickles and diced tomato, but other great options are olives, avocado, french fried onions or shredded lettuce. Seasonings: Feel free to add other seasonings to the sauce such as worcestershire sauce, or you can also stir in a little beef broth for more flavor. To achieve a creamier casserole, you can stir in a little sour cream or cream cheese. No yellow mustard on hand? Dijon mustard will also work well.
Once you serve up this cheeseburger casserole, your family will be asking you to make it on a regular basis. It’s just that good!
Cheeseburger Casserole Video
