Why You’ll Love This Cheeseburger Casserole

As we speak’s cheeseburger casserole is a family-style spin on cheeseburger pasta, baked within the oven as a substitute! 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:

• Traditional flavors. Cheeseburger casserole is a bit like a do-it-yourself tackle boxed Hamburger Helper (much 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 sizzling and on the desk in lower than one hour.
• Simple clean-up. The noodles develop 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 straightforward cheeseburger casserole recipe. Scroll to the recipe card beneath the put up for a printable listing.

• Floor Beef – You’ll want about one pound of lean floor beef. You may as well make this casserole with floor hen 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 hen inventory create the bottom for the sauce.
• Pasta – You may make this pasta bake with raw cavatappi, or one other brief pasta (see beneath).
• Milk and Bitter Cream – Substitute plain Greek yogurt rather than bitter cream, or use heavy cream for a extra decadent dish.
• Cheese – I prime this casserole with shredded mozzarella and grated cheddar cheese. You possibly can substitute this easy mix with one other melty cheese like Colby, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, or no matter you’ve got 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?

Just like mac and cheese, the very best forms of pasta for cheeseburger casseroles are hole and tubular. These shapes enable 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).

Tips on how to Make Cheeseburger Casserole

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

Recipe Suggestions 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.
• Attempt to not overcook the pasta. Because you’ll be baking the pasta after it’s cooked within the pan, ensure 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 rather than beef or hen broth. When you’re on the lookout for a hearty vegetarian pasta recipe, do this baked Boursin cheese pasta or this Midwest five-cheese bake.

Serving Strategies

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

1. Observe 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, take into account including a bit of additional broth. This helps to maintain the filling from drying out as soon as it’s within the oven. At any time when potential, 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 sizzling oven. See the following part for instructions on how one 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 be nice to freeze. Cowl the casserole or wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, plus a layer of foil. You may as well 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.

Extra Pasta Casserole Recipes