Hamburger Potato Casserole

An old-fashioned comfort food dish — this cheesy and creamy Hamburger Potato Casserole is an easy dinner that the whole family can agree on! You’ll love the layers of sliced potatoes, ground beef, vegetables and corn in a creamy sauce made with cream of mushroom soup. Add a Corn Flake crumb topping for the ultimate cozy meal!

Hamburger and Potato Casserole

Casseroles are comfort food, and you just can’t beat the classic combination of flavors and textures in a creamy Hamburger Potato Casserole. I’m definitely raising a family of meat-and-potato-lovin’ boys, so satisfying, stick-to-your-ribs dinners are a must around here. Fortunately, both kids and adults enjoy the mild flavors and the variety of textures in this old-fashioned dish. It’s a quick and easy recipe that’s ideal for busy weeknights!

This particular ground beef and potato casserole can be tweaked in a variety of ways to suit your family’s taste preferences and schedule. Prep it ahead for your craziest evenings, or toss in whatever veggies, cheese or ground meat you have on hand. The kids will go crazy for the creamy combination of sliced potatoes, sweet corn, and tender beef that’s finished with a cheesy, buttery, crunchy Corn Flake topping!

How to Make Cheesy Hamburger Potato Casserole

Sometimes I make a white sauce from scratch, and sometimes I love the convenience of canned cream of mushroom and cream of celery soup! If you can brown ground beef, then you can assemble this easy casserole in about 20 minutes.

Ingredients for Easy Hamburger Potato Casserole

• Ground beef: the “base” that provides the main flavor and texture for the casserole
• Onion and celery: for subtle flavor
• Corn: adds a sweet pop of flavor
• Condensed cream of mushroom soup and condensed cream of celery soup: the “binder” that holds the casserole together, creates the white sauce, and adds even more flavor
• Milk: to thin the creamy white sauce
• Russet potatoes: an “extender” that helps thicken the casserole
• Cheddar cheese: to make the casserole cheesy and delicious!
• Corn Flakes cereal: for a crunchy, flavorful topping
• Butter: to help the topping turn a crispy golden brown

How to Cut Potatoes for Casserole

You do not need to boil these potatoes before you layer them in the dish. Instead, peel the potatoes and then slice them very thin (less than ¼-inch thick). You can do this carefully by hand with a sharp knife, or use a mandoline slicer to quickly and easily get the job done. Just remember to keep the potato slices very thin and even in width so that they cook through and become tender by the time the casserole comes out of the oven.

Step 1: Prepare Topping

In a small bowl, combine the crushed Corn Flakes with the melted butter. Set aside until the very end.

Step 2: Cook Hamburger Meat

In a large skillet, brown the beef, onion and celery until the meat is no longer pink. Drain off the fat and stir in the corn.

Step 3: Make White Sauce

In a separate bowl, whisk together the condensed soups and milk.

Step 4: Assemble Casserole

Create two layers of the beef, potatoes, soup mixture and cheese in the dish.

Step 5: Bake

Cover the dish with foil and bake in a 350 degree F oven for 1 hour. Then remove the foil, add the Corn Flake topping, and return to the oven (uncovered) for about 10-15 more minutes. The casserole is done when the topping is golden brown and the potatoes are tender.

What to Serve with Southern Hamburger and Potato Casserole

This simple hamburger casserole goes well with just about any of your favorite sides. Here are a few easy options to try:

• A simple green salad dressed with Buttermilk Dressing or Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette
• Arkansas Green Beans with Bacon
• Roasted Broccoli
• Roasted Asparagus
• Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
• Creamed Peas
• Three Bean Salad
• Southern Collard Greens
• Amish Green Beans with Brown Butter
• Sauteed Spinach with Garlic

And don’t forget the bread basket! My family loves a side of cornbread, corn muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, dinner rolls or biscuits with just about any meal.

Make Ahead

This is a great make-ahead dinner. You can assemble the entire casserole up to 24 hours in advance and keep it covered in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Before baking, allow the dish to sit on the counter and come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

You can freeze the casserole before baking. Wrapped tightly, the assembled casserole will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Storage

Leftover ground beef casserole will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

To reheat the casserole: If reheating an entire casserole, cover the dish loosely with foil and bake in a 350 degree F oven until warmed through (about 20-30 minutes). Individual portions can be reheated in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.

Recipe Variations

• Any ground meat will work in this recipe. Instead of the ground beef, try ground turkey, ground pork or ground chicken.
• Use your favorite flavor of condensed soup. You can swap out the cream of mushroom or cream of celery soups for condensed cream of onion, cream of bacon, or cheddar cheese soups.
• Hamburger Bacon Potato Casserole: add crispy chopped bacon to the casserole layers for even more flavor.
• Add More Veggies: feel free to include crisp-tender steamed, roasted, or sauteed broccoli, green beans, carrots or even frozen peas in the casserole.
• If using frozen corn kernels instead of canned corn, there’s no need to thaw it before stirring it into the skillet. You’ll need a total of about 1 ¾ cups of corn.
• Don’t have Corn Flakes? You can substitute with Ritz cracker crumbs or even crushed potato chips. I don’t recommend using plain bread crumbs, since they’re lacking in flavor.

Tips for the Best Hamburger Potato Casserole Recipe

• Total baking time may vary depending on the type of casserole dish that you’re using and on how thinly you slice your potatoes. I use a mandoline to quickly and easily slice the potatoes very thin. This ensures that the potatoes are tender and cooked evenly after about 70 minutes. If you slice your potatoes thicker, you can increase the baking time as necessary. Just tent the dish loosely with foil if the top starts to get too dark before the potatoes are done.
• Cooking for a Smaller Family? Cut all of the ingredients in half and bake the casserole in an 8-inch square dish. The baking instructions remain the same. You can even prepare the full recipe, but divide the ingredients between two 8-inch pans and freeze one casserole for later.
• For an extra cheesy casserole, feel free to stir an additional 1 cup of grated cheese into the sauce mixture. Any good melting cheese will work — cheddar, American, Monterey Jack, Colby, Gruyere, or Pepper Jack!
• Garnish the casserole with fresh herbs (such as parsley, thyme, basil or oregano) for a bright, fresh touch. Sliced green onions would also be good.

More Easy Hamburger Casserole Dinners to Try

These are some of the best hamburger casserole recipes ever:

• Hamburger Casserole with Noodles
• Hamburger Casserole with Rice
• Beef Stroganoff Casserole
• Hamburger Mashed Potato Casserole (“Cottage Pie”)
• Dump-and-Bake Ground Beef Casserole with Rice

Hamburger Potato Casserole

5 from 1 vote

Prep: 20 minutes minutes

Cook: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

0 minutes minutes

Total: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 605 kcal

An old-fashioned comfort food dish — this cheesy and creamy Hamburger Potato Casserole is an easy dinner that the whole family can agree on!

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Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup crushed Corn Flakes cereal (about 1 ¾ cups whole cereal before crushing)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 ½ lbs. ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 medium stalk celery, diced
• 1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
• 1 cup milk
• 2 lbs. (about 4 medium) russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (less than ¼-inch thick)
• 8 ounces (about 2 cups) grated cheddar cheese
• Optional garnish: chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish; set aside.
• Combine crushed Corn Flakes with melted butter in a small bowl; set aside.
• Cook the beef, onion and celery in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the beef is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the corn.
• In a bowl, whisk together condensed soups and milk.
• In the prepared baking dish, spread half of the beef mixture in an even layer. Add half of the potatoes on top and season with salt and pepper. Pour half of the soup mixture over top and sprinkle with half of the cheese. Repeat layers once more, ending with the cheese on top.
• Cover with foil and bake 1 hour. Remove foil, sprinkle the buttered Corn Flakes on top, and return to the oven (uncovered) for about 10-15 more minutes (or until the topping is golden brown and the potatoes are tender). Garnish with fresh parsley just before serving.

Notes

This is a great make-ahead dinner. You can assemble the entire casserole up to 24 hours in advance and keep it covered in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Before baking, allow the dish to sit on the counter and come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

You can freeze the casserole before baking. Wrapped tightly, the assembled casserole will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/8 of the casseroleCalories: 605kcalCarbohydrates: 64gProtein: 34gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 950mgPotassium: 1084mgFiber: 4gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 1175IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 285mgIron: 12mg

Keyword: ground beef casserole, hamburger potato casserole

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Author: Blair Lonergan

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