Hamburger Casserole is an honest to goodness quick and easy meal! Using quality ingredients like lean ground beef, pasta sauce, tomatoes and of course my favorite spices, you know the end result is going to be over the top tasty!
We serve this delicious meal with a fresh salad and 30 Minute Dinner Rolls for a complete meal my whole family loves!
Thank you to McCormick for partnering with me to create this amazing belly warming casserole to share with all of you!
Hamburger Casserole
One of the best parts about creating recipes and sharing them with you is all of the cool things I get to learn and experience! I recently got to spend some time with the McCormick flavor experts and learned to be a flavor expert myself! The care and detail put into all of the spices they produce is amazing and made me excited to get in the kitchen and start creating! I’m super excited to share what I’ve learned!
I know how much you guys love my Easy Hamburger Soup, so it was only natural I would take those same amazing flavors and create a delicious hamburger casserole!
How to Make Hamburger Casserole
Hamburger Casserole is really easy to make! This meal starts with ground beef (aka hamburger meat) cooked with onions, salt and pepper.
Next I stir in some veggies (I use frozen to make it easy but fresh work well too), tomatoes and McCormick Oregano, McCormick Basil Leaves and McCormick Garlic Powder for flavor! The sauce simmers for a few minutes while the pasta cooks to allow all of the spices and flavors to blend. Finally stir the meat sauce and pasta together top with cheese and bake!
You can count on McCormick for their commitment to pure ingredients and Oregano is no exception – it is an herb that is so versatile and I love the addition in this sauce! McCormick’s Oregano is bright green as a high quality oregano should be. In McCormick Oregano, it’s easy to see actual chopped oregano leaves with no green fillers, large stems or buds (which can be bitter) as I’ve noticed in other brands. You’ll find oregano in countless meals from Baked Spaghetti to lamb or beef!
It’s a typical spice that reminds me of pizza and I love how it pairs with any tomato-based dish from Oven Roasted Tomatoes to a fresh Fresh Tomato Salad and of course any type of tomato-based sauce like this Hamburger Casserole recipe!
Top Spice Tips
Spices are an easy (and affordable) way to add an abundance of flavor to any recipe for only pennies per dish! McCormick ensures they provide sustainably-sourced spices and have a commitment to quality. Spices last for years if stored properly and I love that I can open up my spice cabinet and be welcomed to a whole world of culinary flavors!
It is no wonder we are able to create meals from recipes that span across the globe, simply because we have the ability to access these delicious spices! Here are my fave tips for keeping your spices fresh:
- No Heat or Light: Store in a dark space away from heat. Light, sunshine and heat can make your spices deteriorate quickly.
- No Moisture: To make sure your spices don’t expire more quickly, use a spoon to add spices directly to your cooking pot or skillet to prevent moisture from steam.
- Do Not Freeze: McCormick doesn’t recommend freezing your spices as it can cause condensation (although red pepper spices like paprika & chili powder can be stored in the fridge to maintain their fresh flavor longer).
- Use Good Quality: McCormick Spices can last up to 2-3 years if stored properly and one bottle can season countless meals. Spending an extra dollar on a bottle, making sure you’re getting the best possible quality spices, means only pennies per dish. You’ll be amazed at the difference in flavor a quality spice will make!
- Season Throughout: Layer spices throughout your dish for the best flavor, season and taste each step along the way!
How Long Do You Bake Hamburger Casserole?
This easy hamburger casserole bakes for about 20 minutes until hot and bubbly. The baking step allows some of the sauce to soak into the noodles ensuring every bit has lots of flavor!
If you make this dish ahead of time, I would suggest you take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before baking. You may need to add a few minutes onto the cook time if it’s chilled when it goes into the oven.
What to Serve With Hamburger Casserole
Hamburger Casserole has pretty much everything you need in a meal, lean beef, pasta and veggies. We sometimes serve it with a fresh salad and Easy Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits to sop up any yummy sauce left in the bowl.
More Easy Casserole Dishes You’ll Love
- Beef Stroganoff Casserole
- Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole
- Tater Tot Casserole
- 4 Ingredient Chicken Rice Casserole
- Baked Spaghetti
Hamburger Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 ounces egg noodles about 3 cups dry
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
- 14 ounces pasta sauce canned/jarred
- 14 ounces diced tomatoes, canned drained
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon McCormick Oregano Leaves
- ½ teaspoon McCormick Basil Leaves
- ¼ teaspoon McCormick Garlic Powder
- 2 cups cheddar cheese divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Cook egg noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse.
- Brown ground beef and onion over medium-high heat. Drain any fat.
- Add pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, frozen vegetables, oregano, basil, garlic powder and salt & pepper. Simmer 3-4 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
- Combine noodles, meat sauce and 1 cup of cheese in a 2 ½ QT casserole dish.
- Top with remaining cheese and bake 20-22 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Casserole, Main Course
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Wonderful recipe! Please create more casseroles’ recipes.
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Lilia! You can see all of our casserole recipes here.
Hi, what other noodle or pasta have you tried with this or used that would also be good. It’s a good recipe but I do not always have egg noodles on hand.
Any medium noodle shape should work in this recipe. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
Delicious! Will be going in my potluck rotation!
My husband and I can’t have tomatoes in our diet due to acid reflux. Could this be made with mushrooms and beef gravy instead of the tomatoes and pasta sauce?
I think that sounds delicious. Make it more of a ground beef stroganoff style!
My family and I have really enjoyed this recipe. Instead of the frozen vegetables I put fresh mushrooms, bite size zucchini and squash.
Love this recipe! I cooked lots for a winter outreach (for unhoused). They ate it all and asked to have again.
Can this be made ahead and frozen?
Hi Kathy, the noodles can get a bit soft when frozen and reheated so I would recommend cooking them al dente to help when reheating. You may need to refresh the spices as well depending on how long it is frozen.
This is a great recipe for kids. I have 4 granddaughters and a couple of them are picky eaters but they love everything in this. I would not make it for a group of adults but a great family friendly choice
Casserole was very good. Made a few substitutions: mushrooms and pea pods, and tomato sauce instead of pizza sauce.
What a disappointment and waste of time and money. This is not a good recipe. I even sautéed fresh garlic as something didn’t look correct with recipe. A complete disaster, sorry Holly. Avoid this by all means.
I’m sorry and surprised to hear that you think it was a complete disaster Michael. What went wrong? This recipe is well loved by my family and many readers.
It totally lacked flavor. I had high hopes as most reviews were positive.
Sorry to hear. Thank you for letting me know. And thank you for trying the recipe.
May I suggest, instead of sauteeing garlic cloves, to put the cloves in the dish before baking, so when it bakes, more garlic flavor will be released by its natural oils?
Obviously your result was from “Operator Error”. 4.91 rating from over 150 people means something definately wrong with how you prepared it.
Can you use any other pasta noodles in the recipe other than egg noodles?
Any medium noodle shape should work in this recipe.
Tired of the same things. I need inexpensive recipes. Cooking for one.
Hi Debra, most of our recipes are for multiple servings but so many of them are great as leftovers or even in the freezer. Have fun cooking!
I need some recipes that are not expensive.
This was so good! Definitely making again. My husband and I both loved it! So simple and quick to make. So happy to have leftovers. Surprised that some people didn’t enjoy it but I think it’s really important to use quality, flavourful ingredients to suit individual taste. The only thing I changed was I used a mix of cheddar and mozza cheese because it was what I had. And as I was afraid to add too much salt and pepper this time (a lot easier to add then to take away) I will be increasing slightly next time.
Thank you so much for sharing all your wonderful recipes with us.
I must say, I was a little skeptical about this recipe. Wow, was I wrong!! It’s so easy, so good and so filling. It will be a must have in our household from here on out. Thank you!
This was delicious! I used a can of drained mixed vegetables instead of frozen. I didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. It was super easy to throw together and turned out amazing! I will definitely be making this again. I served it with toasted ciabatta bread with butter and garlic powder sprinkled on it. My family also loved it. I did use the whole jar of spaghetti sauce because I used about 4 cups of egg noodles and a little over a pound of hamburger. Thank you for this wonderful recipe
I just pulled this out of the oven but I made a few changes to suit our taste. In place of the mixed vegetables, I used a large can of sliced mushrooms, I used fresh garlic and mozzarella cheese. We topped it with Parmesan cheese and crushed red peppers. Absolutely delicious in addition to being quick and easy!
Are you able to use canned vegetables instead of frozen?
You can use canned drained veggies. They will be a bit softer than frozen but should still work great.
Wow. Very good. I used Picsweet onion 3 pepper mix, in place of mixed veggies (I didn’t have any). Also I use more seasonings than most recipes call for. I love oregano and basil. Prepared this before work, so I could just pop into oven when I got home. I don’t usually leave comments but this was truly an easy, delicious meal. Served with a salad and crusty bread. Yum. Thank you for the recipe
Thank you so much for coming back and leaving a comment Diane! I’m glad you loved this.
Meh. Should have listened to some other reviewers who commented on lack of flavor. I seasoned the meat well, but really didn’t like this dish. The frozen mixed vegetables were just not a good addition. We had a lot left over but it was just meh. We threw it in the trash.
I’m sorry your family didn’t enjoy this as much as ours did. Thank you for trying the recipe.
I so wanted to like this casserole. I made it exactly as directed. It just tasted so bland and ordinary. I ate it. Husband didn’t care for it. Now I have leftovers neither of us like.
Sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy this as much as we do Joan. Thank you for trying it!