Easy Cheeseburger Casserole

This easy, homemade version of hamburger helper makes this Cheeseburger Casserole the perfect idea for a quick weeknight meal anytime. With a handful of ingredients like ground beef, onions, tomato puree, cheese, and spices, you’ll have a beefy and cheesy dinner the entire family will enjoy.

Love casseroles? You may also enjoy my Broccoli and Cheese Casserole Recipe, Turkey Sausage Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole, or this Low-Carb Tex-Mex Casserole.

This dish reminds me of my childhood, and if you were like me, hamburger helper made a frequent appearance. And it was clear why my mom chose this dish time and time again — it was easy, simple, and good! But now you can make a similar version that is so much better than the box mix.

What is cheeseburger casserole?

Basics like seasoned ground beef, sautéed onions, tomato puree, cooked pasta, and two types of cheese are cooked with garlic and spices for a meal anyone will love. It starts on the stovetop and finishes in the oven.

If you remember stovetop hamburger helper, this is the sister dish that takes it a few steps further by placing the prepared ground beef and macaroni in a casserole dish (paid link), topping it with cheese, and baking it. It’s the best cheeseburger macaroni recipe!

How to make cheeseburger casserole?

In a few simple steps, dinner will be on the table in around 30 minutes. Easy, breezy.

Boil the pasta. Boil your pasta per the instructions. Drain and set to the side.

Season and cook the ground beef. Season and brown your ground beef in a skillet with the onions, garlic, and spices, while your pasta is boiling.

Add the tomato puree. To the same skillet, add your butter, onions, garlic, and tomato puree.

Add remaining ingredients. Add cooked pasta to the beef mixture and mix. Add the heavy whipping cream, chicken stock, parsley, basil, Monterey Jack cheese, and cheddar cheese. Stir until combined.

Place in a casserole dish (paid link) and top with cheese. Transfer all ingredients to a large casserole dish (paid link) and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake. Bake at 400°for 15 minutes.

Ingredient Tips, Tricks, & Substitutions

Ground Beef

You want to use 80/20 ground beef for this recipe, as this ratio will ensure your beef is moist and adds additional flavor to the recipe. Also, while the recipe calls for 1 ½ pound of ground beef, you adjust this amount to your preference. The more meat, the meatier it will be. If you don’t want to go the ground beef route, you can substitute ground turkey, ground chicken, or a plant-based alternative.

Onions

Since you’ll add your onions to the seasoned ground beef raw, you’ll want to dice the onions as small as possible. This will allow the onions to melt nicely into browned beef.

Canned Tomatoes

Pureed tomatoes add some zest to this dish. You also use crushed tomatoes for texture for some additional texture. The great part about this ingredient is you can use any canned tomatoes you have one hand.

Cheese

Pre-packaged cheese will work great for this recipe and may be your preference for minimal preparation; however, using a grater to shred a block of solid cheese is another alternative. While it may be a little more work, the cheese melts better due to the oils present in block cheeses. This recipe uses a combination of cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack cheese. You can substitute any cheddar cheese, like white cheddar cheese.

Pasta

Elbow macaroni is the most traditional pasta to use and closely resembles the hamburger helper we all know and love, but rotini or mini shells would also work well.

Cream

This beefy, cheesy casserole needs some moisture, so all ingredients combine in perfect harmony. Heavy cream is an excellent choice, but you can use sour cream if you don’t have heavy cream on hand. Make sure your heavy cream or sour cream is at room temperature before adding it to your warm pasta. The consistency will be creamy and will not separate or curdle.

What can I serve with my cheeseburger casserole?

This casserole can serve as your main course, and it is excellent paired with garlic bread or chewy dinner rolls. For a balanced meal, pair it with a side of roasted vegetables like carrots, broccoli, and Brussel sprouts. A garden or tossed salad is the perfect complement as well.

Not only is this meal quick and easy to pull together, but you can enjoy it year-round. Plus, the simple one-pot to casserole dish (paid link) preparation makes it a no-brainer when time is limited (like those busy weeknights) and when you don’t want to spend a ton of time in the kitchen. Need to make this dish in advance? No problem.

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