Cheeseburger Casserole | Cookies & Cups

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.
• Straightforward clean-up. The noodles turn 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 preserve 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 under the put up 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 purple 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 under).
• 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 possibly can substitute this straightforward mix with one other melty cheese like Colby, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, or no matter you could have 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, one of the best 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 best way to Make Cheeseburger Casserole

Right here’s a fast have a look at learn how to make this gooey and bubbly cheeseburger casserole. Make sure you scroll all the way 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 making 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, be sure to solely cook 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. For those who’re in search of a hearty vegetarian pasta recipe, do that baked Boursin cheese pasta or this Midwest five-cheese bake.

Serving Strategies

Cheeseburger casserole is a meal-in-one, however I’ll usually spherical out dinner with a facet of fluffy dinner rolls or do-it-yourself crescent rolls. This casserole additionally goes nice with a facet 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 may 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 making ready this casserole prematurely, 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 doable, 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 learn how to 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 means of.
• 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.

Extra Pasta Casserole Recipes