5-Ingredient Ground Beef Casserole (2024)

Dinnertime just got easier. Our 5-ingredient ground beef casserole is bursting with flavor yet requires minimal prep and cooking time. You can whip up this hearty and satisfying dish with a quick list of kitchen staples. It is budget-friendly and takes a little over an hour to make and cook.

Prep Time: 15 minutes, Cook Time: 1 hour
Servings: 12, Preparation Level: Beginner +

Details About the Recipe

• It only requires five ingredients.
• Your dinner will be ready in a little more than an hour. Plus, this feeds our family of four, and we still have leftovers.
• The casserole recipe can be made ahead of time and frozen, so you can pull it out and cook it when you’re ready. I will usually make the entire recipe, split it into two containers, and freeze one for later.
• It’s very adaptable. You can add vegetables or use pantry ingredients, such as pasta or spaghetti sauce.
• The recipe is a hit with picky eaters! The kids ask for it all the time.

What Do I Need to Make the Best Ground Beef Casserole?

• Oven
• Stovetop
• Spatula
• Skillet
• 13″ x 9″ casserole dish
• Non-stick spray
• Large mixing bowl
• Groundbeef
• Cream of mushroom soup
• Cream of cheddar cheese soup
• Cubed potatoes (I used frozen)
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper
• Tinfoil

Full printable recipe with ingredients, measurements, and instructions listed at the bottom of the post on the recipe card.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Start by cooking the ground beef. Drain the grease and add it to a large bowl. You’ll need a large bowl to mix up this ground beef meal. It’s a lot, and it will feed a lot of people. In fact, I have two teenage boys who eat quite a bit, and we had some leftovers. I think we all had a couple of servings, too.

Secondly, add the cream of mushroom soup and cream of cheddar cheese soup to the bowl.

I make several dishes with the combination of the two soups, and they always work great and add a ton of flavor to ground beef, chicken, tuna, or pork casseroles. Plus, they are inexpensive and budget-friendly meals.

Next, add the cubed potatoes to the bowl. I used frozen cubed potatoes because they’re so much easier to prepare than chopping up a bunch of potatoes. You need three cups of cubed potatoes, so you can cut up some potatoes, boil them, and add them to the casserole, or add the frozen ones.

See Also

40+ Healthy Ground Beef RecipesMeatloaf Muffins {Healthy, kid-friendly, freezer-friendly!}Homemade Hamburger HelperBaked Rigatoni Pasta Recipe

Pile the shredded cheddar cheese right on top. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, and give everything a good stir.

Finally, pour everything into a greased 9″ x 13″ casserole dish and spread it out. Sprinkle the remainder of the shredded cheese on top and cover with tin foil. You’ll be baking the dish for half an hour with the tin foil and half an hour without the tin foil, so the cheese will bake on top toward the end.

This is one of the best ground beef casserole recipes out there. It’s so simple to make. You can add diced onions, green peppers, or even different cream soups to the mix.

Tips

• You can cook the beef ahead of time and store it in the fridge for a couple of days or put it in the freezer until you’re ready for it. It’s handy to have several bags of cooked meat to pull out of the freezer, thaw it, and have it ready for the casserole.
• I buy my meat at the Fresh Market on sale days. They have a sale on chicken and ground beef, and I always try to stock up each week. It saves us quite a bit of money over the course of a year, and I love their ground beef.
• For this recipe, I used two pounds of ground beef, but you can use less.
• If you have a bag of hash-browned potatoes in your freezer, you can use those instead of the cubed potatoes.
• This recipe allows you to switch out the soups. For example, you can use cream of chicken or cream of celery. I’ve had readers use con queso cheese dip instead of the cream of cheese soup.
• You can switch out the potatoes for cauliflower for a low-carb recipe.

Other Casserole Ideas

• Jiffy Cheeseburger Casserole is a simple and inexpensive dish to make for the whole family, and it’s always a hit around here.
• Chicken and Rice Crock Pot Casserole is perfect for those busier days when you don’t have time to cook but want the family to eat something healthy.
• Chicken Casserole with Ritz Crackers is a mouthwatering, delicious meal for the family.

What Is The Best Way To Cook The Ground Beef?

Cooking ground beef in a skillet on top of the stove is an easy and great way to make dinner. You can cook the ground beef for your meal or place it in an airtight container and refrigerate it until you’re ready to use it.

Can I Make This With Lean Meat?

Yes, you can make the recipe with lean ground beef or ground turkey.

What To Serve With Your Dinner

• Moist Jiffy Cornbread
• Corn fritters
• Jiffy jalapeno cornbread
• Jiffy creamed corn cornbread
• Buttermilk cornbread recipe

Share your comments below andclick here to share a picture of your dinner on the Pinterest Pin! If you made any changes or added something different, be sure to share it with us.

Looking for more casserole recipes? Try Crock Pot chicken and rice or slow cooker pork chops and rice.

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Check out other delicious recipes at:

Julia’s Simply Southern and South Your Mouth