This Hamburger Casserole Recipe is easy to make and so yummy! Made with only 10 ingredients, this ground beef casserole is a must try! This post is sponsored by my friends at ButcherBox.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Click here to read my policy and about affiliate links.
If you didn’t already know, casseroles can absolutely be a healthy dinner option when you lighten them up with healthier ingredients, no condensed soups, and pack them with protein to keep you full!
This easy hamburger casserole is made with 7 simple ingredients and takes about an hour to make, which is so perfect for an easy weeknight dinner!
If you like this recipe, try our Southwest Chicken Casserole and our Broccoli and Rice Casserole or our Cheeseburger Soup.
Why We Love Old Fashioned Hamburger Casserole
There is so much to like about this ground beef casserole recipe! Here’s why it is one of our favorite dinners:
- Easy to Make – Brown the meat, layer the ingredients and bake for a super easy dinner!
- Simple Ingredients – Most of these ingredients are pantry staples and there are only 7 ingredients and some spices needed for this delicious casserole!
- Done In Under An Hour – This casserole recipe is so quick and easy. You can have dinner on the table in about an hour!
Love ground beef? Check out this list of 25+ Healthy Ground Beef Recipes!
Easy Hamburger Casserole Ingredients
To make hamburger casserole you’ll need:
- ButcherBox Ground Beef
- onion, garlic
- jasmine rice
- chicken broth
- tomato sauce
- mozzarella cheese
- dried basil, dried parsley, dried oregano, pepper
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded box.
We’ve been ButcherBox customers for many years and absolutely love it. Here’s why we enjoy it so much:
- Convenient: Every month all the meat we need arrives right at our door!
- Affordable: Grocery store meat is expensive. Per pound, I find it’s cheaper to get organic meat from ButcherBox (check out this post where I did a ButcherBox Price Comparison)
- Delicious: You really can taste the difference with ButcherBox meat!
Want free ground beef? Right Now when you join ButcherBox you can get free ground beef for a year and $10 off! That’s up to 24 lbs of ground beef for free!
How to Make a Hamburger Casserole
- In a large sauté pan, brown ground beef until cooked, about 10 minutes. After the ground beef is cooked, add onions and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes or until onions start to get translucent.
- In a 9×13 oven safe dish, add rice. Cover with chicken broth. Stir to make sure the rice is coated evenly with broth.
- Top the rice with cooked ground beef/onion mixture.
- Sprinkle spices on top of ground beef mixture. Top with tomato sauce, then cheese.
- Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake for an additional 10 minutes until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.
Ground Beef Casserole Recipe Substitutions
Ground Beef: We like 85/15 ground beef. Feel free to use leaner ground beef depending on what you like. To make vegetarian you can use cooked lentils or ground beef substitute. You’ll need to adjust your cooking time. I haven’t tried making this with ground turkey or ground chicken but I think it would work.
Onion/Garlic: Fresh onion and garlic really adds flavor to this recipe. We don’t recommend skipping it, but if you have to you can use 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1/2 tablespoon onion powder.
Jasmine Rice: Different types of rice cook at different times and need different amounts of liquid. If you substitute the rice in this recipe it may come out under or over cooked. I haven’t tried this recipe with short grain white rice or any type of brown rice. If you were to sub cauliflower rice this will be extremely watery. I wouldn’t recommend subbing rice.
Broth: Any broth or stock (broth and stock are the same) can be used in any soup recipe. Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, or vegetable broth all work interchangeably. I always use low or no salt broth.
Dried Spices: Sub double the amount of fresh herbs for dried herbs.
Tomato Sauce: We wouldn’t recommend omitting tomato sauce, it’s necessary for the recipe. You can use cooked pasta sauce or canned tomato sauce.
Dairy Free: To make this recipe dairy free, omit the cheese or use dairy free cheese.
Extra Vegetables: You can add more veggies to this dish. I think raw or frozen green beans would be a nice addition or diced carrots & peppers.
What to Serve with Ground Beef Casserole
This hamburger casserole is a complete meal in itself! You can serve more veggies on the side. Here are some of our favorite veggie side dishes:
- Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Grilled Vegetables
- Honey Thyme Garlic Carrots
- Green Beans Almondine
- Parmesan Roasted Asparagus
Hamburger Casserole Recipe FAQ
It’s best to cook ground beef on medium heat because it prevents it from burning or being under cooked.
Ground beef is flavorful on its own but adding dried herbs like basil, parsley, onion powder or garlic powder helps to add flavor. Cheese or sauces will also help to add flavor to ground beef!
The best way to cook ground beef so it’s not dry is to not overcook it! Cook your ground beef over medium heat until it reaches an internal temp of 160 degrees and it’s completely brown with no pink.
It’s best to season ground beef after you’ve browned and drained it to make sure your seasonings don’t get lost!
Storing a Casserole with Ground Beef
Storing: This will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container
Freezing: You can freeze this casserole recipe for up to 3 months. I don’t like to freeze glass, but we like these containers for freezing.
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave, oven, or on the stove.
Other healthy casserole recipes:
Looking for other easy meals? Check out these 40+ Healthy Dinner Recipes or 30+ Ground Beef and Rice Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
Don’t forget, you can get free ground beef when you try ButcherBox!
Ground Beef Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup white jasmine rice
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- In a large sauté pan, brown ground beef until cooked, about 10 minutes. (You can spray the pan with a little cooking spray or olive oil if you’d like).
- After the ground beef is cooked, add in onions and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes or until onions start to get translucent.
- In a 9×13 oven safe dish, add rice. Cover with chicken broth. Stir to make sure the rice is coated evenly with broth.
- Top the rice with cooked ground beef/onion mixture.
- Sprinkle spices on top of ground beef mixture. Top with tomato sauce, then cheese.
- Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake for an additional 10 minutes until cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.
Mary says
Adding this to my postpartum freezer meals! What is the best way to freeze this? Fully cook in the oven & then freeze? Then how would you reheat it in the oven? Thanks!
The Clean Eating Couple says
You can freeze this casserole recipe for up to 3 months. I don’t like to freeze glass so I wouldn’t put it in a casserole dish in the freezer (I’d be afraid it will crack. We like these Souper Cubes containers for freezing (code CLEANEATINGCOUPLE works sitewide). I’d cook the casserole completely, then portion it out in containers or souper cubes and freeze.
Madeline Tanner says
So good! I turned this into a one-pan meal and used my enamel cast iron skillet. Anything to make life in the kitchen easier! This was so simple to throw together and it’s delicious! I added a yellow bell pepper to it. The family devoured this. ❤️
Samantha says
Made this for dinner tonight, quick, easy, and flavorful! We substituted the boil in a bag rice (put it in raw) because that’s what we had on hand and it was DELICIOUS we will definitely be making this again! Thank you again for another great dinner recipe
Katie says
This recipe was so easy to throw together on a busy weeknight! Husband and kids loved it (and so did I of course). Could be personal choice, but we did feel it needed some more seasoning so added salt and cajun seasoning blend to our bowls. Definitely will be making again!
Meredith says
Do you think I could add some pureed carrots in with the tomato sauce? I’m always trying to sneak in veggies my kids won’t notice.
Thanks
The Clean Eating Couple says
I’ve never tried that, but it should work if it doesn’t make the sauce too thick. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!