Cheeseburger Casserole | Cookies & Cups

Why You’ll Love This Cheeseburger Casserole

Right this moment’s cheeseburger casserole is a family-style spin on cheeseburger pasta, baked within the oven as an alternative! Tender pasta will get tossed in a savory combination of juicy floor beef, tomato, candy onions, and burger seasonings, then baked beneath fistfuls of melted cheese. Right here’s why you want this weeknight favourite in your desk, stat:

• Basic flavors. Cheeseburger casserole is a bit like a do-it-yourself tackle boxed Hamburger Helper (just like my creamy beef pasta). This recipe ditches the field combine and recreates all these gooey, tacky, beefy flavors from scratch.
• Prepared in lower than an hour. The cheeseburger-inspired filling comes collectively in minutes, adopted by a brief bake within the oven. Have the entire casserole scorching and on the desk in lower than one hour.
• Straightforward clean-up. The noodles change into tender within the skillet as they take in all the flavour, after which it’s a matter of filling a casserole dish for baking. Clear-up is fast, and leftovers hold for days.

Ingredient Notes

Right here, I’ve included some notes on the important thing components and seasonings you’ll want for this simple cheeseburger casserole recipe. Scroll to the recipe card beneath the submit for a printable record.

• Floor Beef – You’ll want about one pound of lean floor beef. It’s also possible to make this casserole with floor rooster or turkey as a leaner choice.
• Onion – I like to make use of yellow onion however one other selection, like Vidalia and even crimson onion, additionally works.
• Seasoning – I season my floor beef with a mix of salt, pepper, chili powder, and Italian seasoning.
• Garlic – You’ll want two minced garlic cloves, or to style.
• Tomato Paste and Broth – Tangy tomato paste together with low-sodium beef broth or rooster inventory create the bottom for the sauce.
• Pasta – You can also make this pasta bake with raw cavatappi, or one other brief pasta (see beneath).
• Milk and Bitter Cream – Substitute plain Greek yogurt instead of bitter cream, or use heavy cream for a extra decadent dish.
• Cheese – I high this casserole with shredded mozzarella and grated cheddar cheese. You’ll be able to substitute this easy mix with one other melty cheese like Colby, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, or no matter you will have readily available. I like to recommend grating the cheese contemporary from the block. Pre-shredded cheese comes with a waxy coating and gained’t soften as easily.

What’s the Greatest Pasta to Use?

Much like mac and cheese, the most effective sorts of pasta for cheeseburger casseroles are hole and tubular. These shapes permit extra cheese sauce to cling to them. I make my cheeseburger casserole with cavatappi, or “corkscrew” pasta, which is a bit like an even bigger, spiralized model of elbow macaroni. Different good choices are elbow macaroni, penne, ziti, and mini conchiglie (shells).

The way to Make Cheeseburger Casserole

Right here’s a fast have a look at how you can make this gooey and bubbly cheeseburger casserole. Make sure to scroll right down to the recipe card for detailed directions.

Recipe Ideas and Variations

• Use room temperature components. Take components like milk, bitter cream, and cheese out of the fridge 20-Half-hour forward of getting ready your casserole. Room-temperature components are simpler to mix and yield the creamiest texture.
• Strive to not overcook the pasta. Because you’ll be baking the pasta after it’s cooked within the pan, be sure to solely prepare dinner the pasta within the sauce till it’s simply al dente (cooked however nonetheless agency within the middle).
• Add bacon. Stir in cooked, crumbled bacon for a bacon cheeseburger casserole.
• Extra cheeseburger toppings. Add burger-inspired toppings like diced tomatoes, caramelized onions, and dill pickles for much more taste.
• Mexican-style. Swap the Italian seasoning within the recipe for taco seasoning for a Tex-Mex spin on cheeseburger casserole. You may additionally like this taco pasta.
• Make it vegetarian. Substitute floor meat with canned beans, lentils, or your most well-liked meatless mince, and use vegetable broth instead of beef or rooster broth. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a hearty vegetarian pasta recipe, do that baked Boursin cheese pasta or this Midwest five-cheese bake.

Serving Options

Cheeseburger casserole is a meal-in-one, however I’ll typically spherical out dinner with a aspect of fluffy dinner rolls or do-it-yourself crescent rolls. This casserole additionally goes nice with a aspect of inexperienced salad or veggies, like air fryer asparagus. For dessert, tuck right into a slice of creamy cherry cheesecake!

Can I Make This Casserole Forward?

Sure. Cheeseburger casserole might be made forward after which refrigerated or frozen till you’re able to bake it. Right here’s how:

1. Comply with the recipe as directed proper up till you switch the casserole filling to an oven-proof baking dish and canopy it with cheese.
2. Wrap the unbaked casserole tightly in plastic wrap to refrigerate for as much as 2 days, or freeze for as much as 3 months. Thaw the casserole fully earlier than baking as directed.

When getting ready this casserole upfront, think about including a bit of additional broth. This helps to maintain the filling from drying out as soon as it’s within the oven. Each time attainable, let your casserole come again to room temperature earlier than baking. It’s vital to concentrate to the temperature necessities of your casserole dish to keep away from a chilly dish cracking within the scorching oven. See the following part for instructions on how you can retailer and reheat cheeseburger casserole as soon as it’s baked.

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

• Fridge. Retailer any leftover cheeseburger casserole hermetic and refrigerate it for as much as 3-4 days. Reheat servings within the microwave or within the oven at 350ºF till warmed by.
• Freezer. Baked cheeseburger casserole can also be nice to freeze. Cowl the casserole or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, plus a layer of foil. It’s also possible to retailer smaller parts in an hermetic, freezer-safe container. Retailer leftovers frozen for as much as 3 months, and defrost them within the fridge earlier than reheating.

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