Easy Creamy Hamburger Casserole

Monday and I was house/dog sitting for the ex that was flying home. Question was, what to make for dinner after I had worked all day. And yes, I still get along well enough with her to watch the dogs and make dinner for when she gets home from a trip.

The fridge was a mess of things, but there was a pound of hamburger that needed to get used up so I Googled up a “hamburger casserole recipe”. I was thinking more lasagna style, but one of the first listings was for a creamy hamburger casserole and being brave I thought I’d give it a try.

One reason that I leaned toward this recipe was that it was incredibly easy to assemble. This was a plus as I had about an hour to get it ready between the time I got done working and she arrived home.

I did need to make some adjustments to this recipe from the original. First was the pan size. It stated using a 13 by 9 pan, which really didn’t work. If you follow the instructions and lay out half the pasta, it doesn’t cover the bottom of the pan. So I switched it up to a square pan and it filled it nicely.

The second change was the spices. The original was far too light on seasoning so I ramped that up as well.

The result was a cheesy, semi-creamy lasagna dish that while didn’t look cover of a magazine pretty, tasted quite good. We both had seconds of it.

Amazing easy hamburger and noodles with cheddar cheese casserole
Print Recipe
Easy Creamy Hamburger Casserole
Easy to assemble cheesy casserole that can be ready to eat in less than an hour. Maybe not heart healthy, but definitely a filling, comfort food type dish for after a long day.
Easy creamy hamburger and pasta casserole
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword Hamburger
Prep Time 20 Minutes
Cook Time 30 Minutes
Servings
Servings
Ingredients
  • 8 oz Farfalle pasta
  • 1 lb Ground beef
  • 1 15oz can Tomato Sauce
  • 1 tsp Garlic salt
  • 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
  • 1 cup Sour cream
  • 1 cup Cottage cheese
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
  • 3/4 cup Green onions sliced
  • 1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese shredded
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword Hamburger
Prep Time 20 Minutes
Cook Time 30 Minutes
Servings
Servings
Ingredients
  • 8 oz Farfalle pasta
  • 1 lb Ground beef
  • 1 15oz can Tomato Sauce
  • 1 tsp Garlic salt
  • 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
  • 1 cup Sour cream
  • 1 cup Cottage cheese
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
  • 3/4 cup Green onions sliced
  • 1 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese shredded
Easy creamy hamburger and pasta casserole
Instructions
  1. Start preheating the oven to 350°
  2. Cook the noodles until al dente, being sure to salt the water liberally.
  3. While the noodles are cooking, cook the hamburger until no longer pink, usually about 5-7 minutes. When done, drain and add the tomato sauce, garlic salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 2-3 minutes more.
  4. In a large bowl combine the cottage cheese, sour cream, parmesan cheese, half the green onions and the cooked and drained pasta.
  5. In your casserole dish, layer in half the pasta mixture followed by half the beef mixture, then half the shredded cheddar cheese. Then repeat this for the second layer.
  6. Bake for 20-30 minutes depending on how done you like the cheese on top. Sprinkle with the remaining green onions and serve.
Recipe Notes

This recipe could easily be doubled, moving it up to a 13" by 9" if you were looking to feed more people or have leftovers. 

It is also a good dish to assemble ahead of time and have ready to cook when you get home.