Hamburger Casserole {Sour Cream Noodle Bake}

This Amish hamburger casserole is a comforting dinner that’s full of ground beef, pasta, vegetables, and three different types of cheese. My mom served the layered sour cream noodle bake when I was growing up, and my own kids now love the easy meal, too. Pair it with a simple green salad, broccoli, cornbread, or a crusty loaf of bread!

For even more ground beef recipes, be sure to try these cast iron skillet burgers, a pot of creamy tomato soup with ground beef and noodles, this Jiffy cornbread taco bake, Johnny Marzetti, this stuffed bell pepper casserole, and a bacon cheeseburger casserole with rice, too!

Hamburger Noodle Casserole

When it comes to feeding our families, recipes like this cozy dinner make the daily task so much easier. I grew up on my mom’s old fashioned hamburger casserole, and I’m happy to report that it’s now one of my kids’ favorite dishes as well. What’s not to love about layers of noodles, ground beef, and cheese?!

In general, a “casserole” is any food that is cooked and served in the same dish. Casseroles typically include three main components: a base that provides the main flavor and texture of the dish (in this case, the ground beef), an extender that helps thicken the dish (here it’s the noodles), and a binder or liquid that holds it all together (such as the tomato soup). We’ve checked all of the boxes with this easy hamburger noodle casserole recipe, and we’ve upped the ante with some vegetables, cheese, and sour cream!

Ingredients

This is a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a classic sour cream noodle bake. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.

• Egg noodles: cooked just until barely al dente, since the noodles will continue to bake in the oven.
• Cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, and butter: come together to form the creamy, cheesy layers throughout the dish. It actually tastes similar to a lasagna recipe!
• Ground beef: gives the meal hearty, rich flavor.
• Onion, green bell pepper, and diced tomatoes: vegetables that add nutrition, flavor, and filling, satisfying bulk to the casserole.
• Condensed tomato soup: a sweet tomato sauce that brings the meat filling together.
• Worcestershire sauce: for a touch of salty, umami flavor that pairs so well with the beef.
• Shredded cheddar cheese or mozzarella cheese: because every good casserole deserves some ooey, gooey, melty cheese on top!

How to Make Hamburger Casserole

There’s nothing difficult about assembling this dish. You can even put it together in advance to make dinnertime quicker and easier!

1. Boil the noodles; drain and set aside.
2. Stir together the softened cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, and melted butter in a large mixing bowl; set aside.
3. Cook the ground beef, onion, and bell peppers in a large skillet. Drain off the fat.
4. Stir in the diced tomatoes, tomato soup, and Worcestershire sauce.
5. Assemble the casserole by layering half of the noodles, half of the cheese mixture, and half of the ground beef mixture.
6. Repeat layers with remaining cheese mixture, beef mixture, and noodles.
7. Top with cheddar cheese.
8. Bake in a 350°F oven for 25-30 minutes, until the cheese melts and the filling is hot and bubbly.

What to Serve with this Ground Beef Casserole Recipe

Since this casserole includes protein, veggies, and a starch, you really don’t need anything else on the side. Convenient, right? However, if you’d like to round out the meal with a couple of other options, here are some great sides that go well with the hamburger casserole:

• 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits, Flaky Biscuits, Cheese Biscuits or Drop Biscuits
• Skillet Cornbread, Honey Cornbread, Corn Sticks, Mexican Cornbread or Sweet Cornbread Muffins
• Crusty French Baguette, Soft Dinner Rolls, or Homemade Crescent Rolls
• 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins, Applesauce Pumpkin Muffins or Pumpkin Bread
• Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette, Caesar Salad, or our favorite House Salad with Candied Pecans
• Fried Corn
• Southern Fried Apples
• Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
• Roasted Broccoli or Broccoli and Cheese
• Roasted Asparagus or Sauteed Asparagus
• Amish Green Beans with Brown Butter or Southern-Style Green Beans
• Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
• Cranberry Sauce
• Balsamic Roasted Root Vegetables

Preparation and Storage Tips

• Prep ahead: You can assemble this casserole in advance and keep it covered in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking.
• I do not recommend freezing this casserole, as the sour cream mixture has a tendency to “break” or separate when thawed.
• Have leftovers? The cooked casserole will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

How to Reheat

To reheat a previously baked casserole, cover the dish loosely with foil to prevent the top from excess browning. Warm in a 300°F oven for about 20 minutes, or just until heated through. If you need the topping to get crispy again, remove the foil cover during the final 5-10 minutes. You can also reheat individual portions in the microwave for about 1-2 minutes, just until heated through.

Recipe Variations — Old Fashioned Hamburger Casserole

• Cooking for a Smaller Family? Cut the ingredients in half and prepare the casserole in an 8-inch square baking dish. You can reduce the baking time to 20 minutes.
• Use ground turkey or ground chicken in lieu of the ground beef.
• Season the beef mixture with additional spices, such as an Italian seasoning blend, garlic powder, or onion powder. Herbs like parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary, chives, or oregano would all be great, too!
• Omit the bell pepper or onion if your family doesn’t like those extra vegetables, or substitute with different veggies like diced carrots or frozen peas.
• Instead of tomato soup, substitute with canned tomato sauce. The tomato sauce isn’t quite as sweet as the soup, so you might need to add a touch of sugar to balance the acidity in the tomatoes.
• Use ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese. Since cottage cheese is saltier than ricotta, you might want to add a little bit of salt to the sour cream mixture.
• If you don’t have egg noodles, you can substitute with 8 ounces of another pasta that your family enjoys — such as cooked macaroni, penne, or farfalle.

Tips for the Best Hamburger Noodle Casserole

• Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water. Well-salted water is imperative for flavorful noodles.
• Boil the pasta just until barely al dente (about 1 minute less than called for on the box). They will continue to cook in the oven, so you don’t want to end up with mushy, overdone noodles.
• Bake the casserole just until it’s heated through. All of the ingredients are already cooked, so you just want to warm it in the oven until bubbly. Don’t bake it for too long or it may dry out or get burned on top.
• Garnish the casserole with fresh herbs, such as chopped parsley, for a bright touch of flavor and color.

More Hamburger Casserole Recipes to Try

• Hamburger Potato Casserole
• Easy Ground Beef Noodle Casserole
• Shipwreck Casserole
• Frito Pie
• Bisquick Cheeseburger Pie
• Tater Tot Cowboy Casserole
• 4-Ingredient Ground Beef Casserole
• Hamburger Casserole with Rice

Did you make this recipe?

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Amish Hamburger Casserole {Sour Cream Noodle Bake}

5 from 19 votes

Prep: 15 minutes minutes

Cook: 50 minutes minutes

Total: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Calories 534 kcal

Author: Blair Lonergan

This Amish hamburger casserole is a comforting sour cream noodle bake that the whole family will love!

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Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 8 ounces uncooked wide egg noodles
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 1 cup cottage cheese, at room temperature
• ½ cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 ½ lbs. ground beef
• ½ cup diced onion
• ½ of a medium green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
• ¾ cup condensed tomato soup, not diluted
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese
• Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley, basil, or other herbs

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish; set aside.
• Cook noodles in a pot of salted boiling water according to package instructions until just barely al dente, about 5-6 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together softened cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, and melted butter. Set aside.
• In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the ground beef, onion, and bell pepper. Cook until the meat is no longer pink and the onion is translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Drain excess fat.
• Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato soup, and Worcestershire sauce.
• Place ½ of the cooked noodles in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with ½ of the cream cheese mixture and ½ of the meat mixture. Repeat layers with remaining ingredients. Top with shredded cheese.
• Bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes, or until heated through.
• Garnish with fresh herbs, if desired, and serve!

Notes

• Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water. Well-salted water is imperative for flavorful noodles.
• Boil the pasta just until barely al dente (about 1 minute less than called for on the box). They will continue to cook in the oven, so you don’t want to end up with mushy, overdone noodles.
• Bake the casserole just until it’s heated through. All of the ingredients are already cooked, so you just want to warm it in the oven until bubbly. Don’t bake it for too long or it may dry out or get burned on top.
• Garnish the casserole with fresh herbs, such as chopped parsley, for a bright touch of flavor and color.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/8 of recipeCalories: 534kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 30gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 148mgSodium: 446mgPotassium: 556mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 880IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 194mgIron: 3mg

Keyword: Amish Casserole, Hamburger Casserole, hamburger noodle casserole, sour cream noodle bake

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Author: Blair Lonergan

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This recipe was originally published in August, 2017. It was updated in December, 2021.