40 Ground Beef Casserole Recipes To Bake For Hearty Family Dinners
Need to put a filling dinner on the table, but don't have a lot of time to fuss? We're here for you, but more importantly, so is the ground beef from your freezer.
VICTOR PROTASIO, FOOD STYLIST: RUTH BLACKBURN, PROP STYLIST: LYDIA PURSELL
Need to put a filling dinner on the table, but don't have a lot of time to fuss? We're here for you, but more importantly, so is the ground beef from your freezer. We've collected some of our favorite, easy ground beef casseroles that will make weeknight meals a delicious breeze. Beckon your family to the table with the promise of piping hot and delightfully casual ground beef casserole combinations with noodles, cheese, and colorful vegetables.
With 40 recipes to choose from, if you're looking for beef casserole ideas, you've come to the right place. We're always searching for new, healthy ground beef casserole recipes that are just as easy as anything that comes out of a box, but infinitely more delicious. These don't disappoint. We love the hearty ground beef base of our Shepherd's Pie, the spice and zest of our Texas-Style Beef Enchilada Casserole, and the simple cheesy goodness of our Greek Baked Ziti. Try a twist on an old favorite, like our Cheeseburger Casserole, or something entirely new, like our Cheesy Chili Hash Brown Bake. No matter what your ground beef casserole style is, we've got you covered.
Million Dollar Spaghetti
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
With four types of cheese, this easy baked version ensures spaghetti night is anything by boring. Plus, you can prep the casserole ahead of time and refrigerate it unbaked overnight or freeze for up to 3 months.
Sloppy Joe Casserole With Dinner Rolls
Crowned with toasty King's Hawaiian rolls, this Sloppy Joe Casserole is unlike anything you've had before. Not only does it look great, but it's remarkably easy to throw together. Add a bit of yellow mustard and dill pickle relish in the filling to drive home this supper's sweet and savory flavors.
Our Best Lasagna
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Karen Rankin; Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
This no-fuss lasagna recipe is hard to beat. While it takes a little more time to make the homemade bolognese sauce, which sets it apart from other lasagnas, ready-to-use store-bought cheeses and no-boil noodles make up for it.
Cheeseburger Casserole
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
Skip the drive-thru burgers in favor of this cheesy, tater-topped casserole. Sprinkled with thick-cut bacon bits, this meaty dinner will be a hit served with a nice green salad.
Husband's Delight Casserole
Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey, Prop Stylist: Caleb Clarke
Essentially a deconstructed lasagna, this casserole is the ultimate comfort dish thanks to noodles, ground beef and sausage, cream cheese, and red sauce. All you need is 15 minutes of hands on prep.
Tamale Casserole
Jen Causey; Food Stylist: Ana Kelly; Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
If you love tamales, this casserole is the perfect weeknight solution. Our Test Kitchen described it as "basically chili baked with cornbread on top, which is the best thing ever," and we think you'll agree.
Old-Fashioned Cabbage Rolls
Greg DuPree; Food Stylist: Ali Ramee; Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood
This classic dish adds in a few ingredients for an extra Southern flair. The homemade sauce starts with the holy trinity, a mixture of bell pepper, onion, and celery, plus Creole seasoning for plenty of flavor.
Beefy Skillet Lasagna
Melty, cheesy and delicious, our Beefy Skillet Lasagna is perfect to enjoy on a rainy day. We use no-cook pasta to make this a quick and simple process for any night.
Beef Enchiladas
Stacy Allen; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood
These beef enchiladas will easily become a family favorite. Each tortilla is filled with beef, peppers, onions, black beans, and two types of cheese, then top with extra sauce and cheese. After baking, garnish with fresh toppings.
Cottage Pie With Potato Crust
Chock full of mushrooms, peas, and beef and topped with mashed potatoes, this Cottage Pie is a complete meal in one dish. Savory and flavorful, each bite oozes toasty warm, homemade sentiment, but little will everyone know: pre-made mashed potatoes are the secret to this quick and easy meal.
Cheeseburger Pie
Channel the spirit of summer cookouts with this playful Cheeseburger Pie. It's layered with beef filling, American cheese, and a stunning lattice crust to make this an entree-worthy pie.
Related: Get The Recipe
Easy Pastitsio
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
This Greek dish relies on cinnamon and oregano for its unique flavor. A quick ragù serves as the base with pasta shells while a creamy ricotta, cheese, and egg mixture creates a golden layer on top.
Beefy Nacho Casserole
Shepherd's pie gets a Tex-Mex twist in this whimsical recipe, where tortilla chips replace mashed potatoes and the ground beef is well-spiced. Loaded with protein and cheese, who says nachos can't be a proper meal?
Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
In lieu of noodles, this hearty casserole relies on spaghetti squash. Mix together with sautéed onion, ground beef, Italian sausage, plus marinara sauce and cheese, then top with extra shredded mozzarella and parmesan before baking.
Taco Pie
Taco 'bout a serious upgrade to your next Taco Tuesday. With all your favorite fixings and garnished with fresh cilantro, sour cream, and a squeeze of lime juice, this eccentric ground beef pie is a great dish to feed a family.
Beefy Baked Ravioli with Spinach and Cheese
Transform that package of ravioli into a decadent pasta bake, complete with fresh spinach and beef. Mix and match just about every ingredient to reflect your pantry. For example, this recipe calls for four-cheese ravioli, but feel free to substitute for your favorite filled pasta.
Greek Baked Ziti
Inspired by the classic Greek comfort dish known as pastitsio, this pasta casserole uses fresh and flavorful ingredients, which give it a lovely, refreshing quality. It's hearty and filling, but the flavors of oregano and garlic add a lilting lightness to the Mediterranean-inspired dish.
Homestyle Ground Beef Casserole
With a base of egg noodles and four different kinds of cheese mixed in, this hearty casserole will easily feed a hungry family. If it's not all gobbled up in one supper, this dish freezes well and makes for delicious leftovers.
Doritos Casserole
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
Don't knock this chip-based recipe before you try it. After all, Doritos are just seasoned tortilla chips. Combined with cheese, chiles, ground beef, and taco seasoning, the flavorful snack-time favorites will prove that they deserve a spot on the dinner table.
Beef Tamale Pie
GREG DUPREE; PROP STYLING: HEATHER CHADDUCK HILLEGAS; FOOD STYLING: EMILY NABORS HALL
Under a corn muffin cover laden with jalape?o slices, a cheesy beef and veggies medley is hidden within a cast iron skillet. Pop this casserole in the oven and in about 20 minutes, the epitome of comfort food will be ready for supper.
Cowboy Casserole
Robby Lozano; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall
Underneath a golden brown layer of tater tots, a scramble of beans, chiles, and lots of creamy Southwestern flavors await. We know the whole family will be eager to dig in when they hear it's Cowboy Casserole Night, but hold your horses and allow this dish some time to cool before giddying up to the dinner table.
Easy Taco Casserole
Fred Hardy II; Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf; Prop Stylist: Julia Bayliss
This dinner only takes 30 minutes and is customizable to suit the whole family's tastes. Serve the toppings on the side so that everyone at the table can create their own concoction with beefy, cheesy casserole and taco fixings to their liking.
Skillet Beef Enchiladas
VICTOR PROTASIO, FOOD STYLIST: RUTH BLACKBURN, PROP STYLIST: LYDIA PURSELL
Top this hearty, delicious dish with some pickled red onions, avocados, and diced tomatoes. It's easy to put together, but the best thing you will put on your table all week.
Sloppy Joe Casserole
Nobody can resist a saucy, savory sloppy joe, but you're bound to leave a sloppy joe meal with at least one article of clothing stained. Luckily, we have the perfect solution. This mess-free Sloppy Joe Casserole transforms all those beloved beef flavors into an easy-to-eat casserole.
Vanessa's Make-Ahead Beefy Lasagna
You had us at "make ahead," but "beefy" and "lasagna" don't hurt either. This is going to be your kitchen hero on those weeknights when the kids are demanding dinner and you can practically hear the stomachs rumbling from the living room. This recipe calls for a container of refrigerated pesto, which we love, because it adds a wonderful distinctive flavor to this basic beef-and-cheese lasagna, and the unbaked lasagna can be frozen for up to three months, so you'll always have a back-up plan ready to be thawed at any moment.
Sweet Potato-Topped Southwestern Cottage Pie
While the traditional version of this warm-your-soul dish uses regular mashed potatoes, we topped this version with creamy sweet potatoes. Peppers, poblano chiles, and black beans give the filling a Southwest flavor.
Baked Beans with Ground Beef
Impress at your next cookout with this flavor-packed dish. Whether you serve it as a main or side dish, everyone will be asking for seconds.
Shepherd's Pie with Potato Crust
In our version of a Shepherd's Pie, we use scalloped potatoes for the crust rather than mashed ones. For the filling, lean ground chuck is perfect, while red wine will add flavors that are rich and bold. Our Shepherd's Pie also has a dash of Worcestershire Sauce, as well as a hearty measure of English peas.
Cheesy Chili Hash Brown Bake
This 5-ingredient casserole features convenient, frozen hash brown potatoes, a can of sloppy joe sauce, and can of chili. This recipe takes those simple ingredients and turns them into a delicious bake with the ultimate quick-fix supper hack: These are baked in individual ramekins, allowing your family to just eat grab-and-go style.
Texas-Style Beef Enchilada Casserole
No need to go out to the neighborhood restaurant for enchiladas when you can whip them up just as easily in your own kitchen. In our recipe, we also include an alternate preparation in case you want to make a lightened version.
Extra Easy Lasagna
Just simmer the ground beef low and slow, layer it with noodles in a casserole dish, and pop this lasagna in the oven for easy party fare. Or, whip up this casserole for straightforward and satisfying weeknight dinner for the whole family.
Shepherd's Pie
Shepherd's Pie is a classic recipe, and when you see how simple it is to make this meal, you'll understand why. It is one of our favorite ground beef quick-fix dinners, and this recipe makes it even easier to get that Shepherd's Pie on the table. Begin with ground round—we think its flavor is perfect for this dish. Next, put the pie together. This potato-topped delight gets extra flavor from the cheese and carrots that are added to the mashed potato crust.
Meatball Pasta Bake
You'll never guess the secret ingredients in this delicious casserole: orange juice and fennel. With these two ingredients to give this quick supper bright, fresh flavor, this meatball bake is anything but textbook, though your kids will be rushing home from school once they hear that this casserole is in the oven.
Tomato 'n' Beef Casserole With Polenta Crust
A flavorful cornmeal-based crust is topped with hearty ground beef, tomato paste, and sharp cheddar cheese in this easy Italian casserole. With only eleven ingredients, this recipe is quite easy to prepare, and it also only calls for 30 minutes in the oven. That's plenty of time to catch up with your family and enjoy the Italian-inspired scents drifting through your kitchen.
One-Pot Pasta
Turn that store-bought pasta and jarred sauce into a luxurious pasta bake. Cheesy, meaty, and shortcut-savvy, this recipe is some real one-pot magic.
Taco Dinner Mac and Cheese
Why choose between taco night and mac and cheese night when you can have the best of both worlds? In just five ingredients, your kids will go crazy for this combo of their two favorite meals.
Smothered Enchiladas
Robed in a blanket of creamy, melty cheddar cheese, these simple beef enchiladas are always a crowd-pleaser. With only 10 minutes of hands-on preparations needed, this recipe gives you lots of time to whip up some salsa while it bakes.
Meatloaf Casserole
A cross between two classic beef dishes, meatloaf and Shepherd's Pie, this casserole will be a welcome addition to your weeknight repertoire. To build indulgent Southern charm into this dish, the meat is seasoned with Worcestershire and tomato, all topped with creamy mashed potatoes.
Deb Wise's Tamale Pie Mix-up
A creamy cornmeal topping calls on classic tamale flavors while a beef-and-veggies mixture pays homage to weeknight tacos. With just one pan, this casserole offers the best of both worlds.
Homemade Baked Lasagna
You can't go wrong with the classics. Every Southerner should have a go-to lasagna recipe, and this version is packed to the brim with ground beef and four types of cheese: ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, and cottage cheese.
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Read the original article on Southern Living.
