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Cheeseburger Casserole has all of those delicious cheeseburger flavors in one easy-to-make dish! It’s loaded with ground beef, veggies, dill relish, pasta, and plenty of cheese, all baked together for a comforting, family-friendly dinner.
Casseroles make some of the best crowd-pleasing meals! They’re hearty and satisfying and so simple to throw together! If you love this cheeseburger casserole recipe, here are a few more recipes you should try: meatball casserole, sloppy Joe casserole, Swiss chicken bake, and cowboy casserole.
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Family-Friendly: Your kids will love this fun twist on a classic cheeseburger! It’s packed with all the meaty, cheesy goodness they crave, served in a delicious pasta casserole.
- Budget-Friendly: Skip the expensive trip to the burger joint and make this at home! You can enjoy the same great flavors while saving money with this easy, cost-effective recipe.
- Quick and Simple: This recipe is super easy to make! Just cook the pasta, brown the meat, sauté the veggies, layer it in your baking dish, and you’ll have a delicious dinner ready in no time.
Don’t Worry!
This recipe is Picky Eater Approved!
Ingredients in Cheeseburger Casserole
If you’re a fan of burgers, this beefy pasta dish is a must-try! It packs in cheeseburger ingredients, adds extra flavor and pasta, and delivers a hearty meal that the whole family will love. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements!
- Ground Beef: Using 80/20 ground chuck will add more flavor, but feel free to use leaner ground beef if you’d like. It will be incredible either way!
- Vegetables: Yellow onion, green bell pepper, and garlic are sautéed with the browned meat to add depth and flavor.
- Diced Tomatoes: Add to the sauce and are used as you would have tomatoes on your burger.
- Tomato Paste: Provides the base of the sauce and is used in place of catchup.
- Dill Relish: For that classic hamburger taste!
- Beef Broth: Flavorful liquid that will keep everything moist and help the pasta cook properly.
- Sour Cream: Makes the sauce creamy and adds a subtle tangy flavor.
- Worcestershire Sauce: A savory sauce that adds a tangy and umami kick to the beef and veggies.
- Pasta: You can use any short pasta. We recommend something that the sauce can really cling to, like elbow noodles or shells.
- Seasoning: Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper enhance all of the flavors.
- Cheese: Both Velveeta cheese and cheddar cheese are layered with the beef and pasta mixture to bring plenty of cheesy deliciousness to this recipe.
How to Make Cheeseburger Casserole
This is one of those meals that’s so good you’ll want to make it on repeat! It’s easy to make, and if your kids are anything like mine, they’ll be begging for it all the time.
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and then spray a 3-quart baking dish with pan spray.
- Brown the Meat: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and then add the ground beef. Thoroughly brown the meat and drain off the fat. Use a wooden spoon to break apart the meat into small pieces.
- Mix in Other Ingredients: Add the onions, peppers, and garlic to the meat and then cook for 4-5 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the tomato paste, canned tomatoes, relish, beef broth, and sour cream to the pan and stir until mixed. Then add the pasta and seasonings.
- Layer Beef Mixture With Cheese: Bring the mixture to a boil and then remove it from the heat. Next, add half of the mixture to the prepared baking dish and pour the Velveeta cheese sauce over it. After that, layer the remaining meat mixture on top and sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese. Finally, cover the dish with foil.
- Bake: Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Allow the casserole to sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Tips and Variations
Make this cheeseburger casserole your own with these simple tips and tricks!
- In the Crockpot: Brown the beef on the stovetop before adding it to a 6-quart crock pot. Stir in the remaining ingredients except for the noodles, sour cream, Velveeta, and cheddar cheese. Cook on high for 3 hours. After 3 hours, cook the noodles on the stovetop according to the package to avoid overcooking. Then add the cooked and drained noodles, sour cream, and Velveeta into the meat mixture. Top with the cheddar cheese and cover with the lid for 10-15 minutes until the cheese has melted.
- In the Instant Pot: First, set the Instant Pot to the sauté setting and brown the beef thoroughly. After you brown the beef, drain off the fat. Next, add all the remaining ingredients except for the noodles, sour cream, Velveeta, and cheddar cheese. After that, place the lid on the Instant Pot and set it to manually pressure cook for 4 minutes. Finally, after the 4 minutes are up, manually release the pressure. Meanwhile, cook the noodles on the stovetop according to the package to avoid overcooking. Add the cooked and drained noodles, sour cream, and Velveeta into the instant pot and stir to combine. Top with the cheddar cheese and cover with the lid for 10 minutes or so until the cheese has melted.
- Swap the Cheese: If you don’t like Velveeta, you may replace the cheese sauce with one additional cup of shredded cheddar cheese. This should be stirred into the mixture, not put on top.
- Use Turkey: If you prefer to use ground turkey, feel free to swap the ground beef for turkey.
Storing Leftover Casserole
- Refrigerate: If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. However, I don’t recommend freezing this cheeseburger casserole.
- Reheat: When you’re ready to enjoy the leftovers, reheat them in the oven at 350°F for 10-20 minutes. Alternatively, for a quicker option, microwave individual portions for 1.5-2 minutes.
More Casserole Recipes
Here are a few more amazing casserole recipes that your family will devour! They’re warm, comforting, and so easy to make! For more dinner inspiration, check out my full list of casseroles!
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Cheeseburger Casserole
Cheeseburger Casserole has all of those delicious cheeseburger flavors in one easy-to-make dish! Loaded with ground beef, veggies, dill relish, pasta and plenty of cheese, all baked together for a comforting family-friendly dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ cup yellow onion diced
- ½ cup green pepper diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 14- ounce can petite diced tomatoes undrained
- 2 tablespoons dill relish
- 1 ¼ cup beef broth
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups elbow pasta uncooked
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 4- ounce packet of velveeta cheese sauce
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and spray a 3 quart baking dish with pan spray.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the ground beef. Thoroughly brown the beef and drain off the fat, using a wooden spoon to break apart the meat into small pieces.
- Add the onions, peppers, and garlic to the meat and cook for 4-5 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Add the tomato paste, canned tomatoes, relish, beef broth and sour cream to the pan and stir until mixed. Add the pasta and seasonings.
- Bring the mixture to a boil before removing from the heat. Add half of the mixture to the prepared baking dish and add the velveeta cheese sauce over it. Add the remaining meat mixture on top of that and top with the shredded cheddar cheese. Cover with foil.
- Bake for 25 minutes before removing the foil and baking for an additional 15 minutes. Allow the casserole to sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 360kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 25gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 65mgSodium: 655mgPotassium: 572mgFiber: 2gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 560IUVitamin C: 15mgCalcium: 259mgIron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!
Fantastic recipe. I don’t use Velveeta Cheese so I substituted Cheddar and Boursin. Another outstanding job by Alyssa. Thank you for the wonderful recipe ideas!
It looks good. I will try it
😂 Why you rate this low if you haven’t tried it?
Not fair to give it a low rating when you haven’t even tried it! SMH.