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Johnny Marzetti is a classic ground beef casserole with egg noodles, tomato soup, veggies and cheese — all baked into one delicious comfort food dish! The easy dinner recipe is a perfect freezer meal, prep-ahead supper, or potluck offering to share with friends and family!
There’s nothing better than a cozy casserole to satisfy, nourish, and warm you from the inside out! Johnny Marzetti is a blast from my past, and it’s the type of comforting meal that I grew up enjoying during the cool weather months.
Just the smell of the ground beef browning in a skillet takes me back to my mamma’s kitchen!
How to Make Johnny Marzetti Casserole with Egg Noodles
This is truly your basic casserole recipe, and it starts with browning the meat in a large skillet.
My recipe for Johnny Marzetti includes a combination of ground beef and pork sausage, along with diced onion and green bell pepper. I think that the sausage adds great flavor to the dish, but you can certainly swap out the sausage for an additional 1/2 lb. of ground beef.
Season the cooked meat mixture with salt and pepper, to taste. Then go ahead and add the canned tomatoes, condensed soup, brown sugar, dry mustard and garlic powder.
Be sure to use a very large skillet, because it will be full to the brim! This recipe makes a lot of sauce.
Allow the sauce to simmer (uncovered) for about 30 minutes over very low heat. Then you can stir in the green olives and sliced mushrooms.
Don’t worry! If you (or your kids) don’t love green olives, you can easily omit them from the recipe. Your Johnny Marzetti will still taste amazing!
While the sauce bubbles for about a half hour, you will have time to boil your egg noodles. I like to leave my noodles a bit al dente (with a little bite to them), since they will have some additional time to cook in the oven.
Then just combine your sauce with your cooked pasta, and the dish is almost done…
Transfer the Johnny Marzetti to a large baking dish and sprinkle with freshly grated cheddar cheese.
Your casserole goes into the oven at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes, or just until heated through.
The end result is a delicious one dish meal to serve a crowd!
Kids love this simple, hearty casserole, making it the perfect option for family dinners or larger group gatherings like a church potluck.
I also like to prepare meals like this in advance, which I can stash in my freezer (before baking) and thaw on a later date when I don’t have time to cook!
Since this recipe creates a lot of food, I will often divide the mixture between two smaller 8-inch square pans. That way I can bake one for dinner the first night, and stick the other unbaked casserole in the freezer for another meal. It’s like getting TWO for the price of ONE!
Recipe Variations — Johnny Marzetti Casserole
- Green olives are controversial — especially when kids are dining at the table — so feel free to omit them if your family’s not on board!
- As I mentioned above, you can omit the pork sausage and replace it with additional ground beef.
- You can also swap out the beef and use ground turkey or ground chicken, if that’s your preference. Anything goes!
- Have fresh herbs on hand? Feel free to add more seasonings to this casserole. Make it your own!
More Casserole Recipes to Try
- Amish Chicken and Corn Casserole
- Dump-and-Bake Meatball Casserole
- Chicken Noodle Casserole
- Beef Stroganoff Casserole
Johnny Marzetti Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs. lean ground beef
- ½ lb. pork sausage or use additional ground beef
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes, NOT drained
- 2 cans (10.75 ounces each) condensed tomato soup, NOT diluted (I used Campbell’s Healthy Request)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 8 ounces dry wide egg noodles
- 1 (4 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
- 1 (7 ounce) jar green olives, drained optional
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown beef, sausage, bell pepper, and onion in the skillet; drain. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add tomatoes (with juice), crushing them slightly with a wooden spoon, condensed soup, brown sugar, dry mustard, and garlic powder. Simmer over very low heat for about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook egg noodles according to package instructions. Drain well.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a large rectangular baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- After beef mixture has simmered for 30 minutes, stir in mushrooms and olives. Remove from heat and toss with the cooked noodles.
- Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly.
Notes
- Green olives are controversial -- especially when kids are dining at the table -- so feel free to omit them if your family's not on board!
- As I mentioned above, you can omit the pork sausage and replace it with additional ground beef.
- You can also swap out the beef and use ground turkey or ground chicken, if that's your preference. Anything goes!
- Have fresh herbs on hand? Feel free to add more seasonings to this casserole. Make it your own!
Oh my, I made this tonight and boy, it was so delicious! I posted the link to Facebook and I hope that everyone gets a chance to make it. It’s so fantastic that you can dress it up however you like! And the olives make a huge difference in the taste. Enjoy all!
Thank you, Greg! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it, and I really appreciate you sharing it with your friends. 🙂
sunds good! like a saturday night specialmy mother would make, except no olives. although i believe i would like olives also being my family like elbow macaroni i would sub that thanks
Great! I hope you enjoy it, Jean!
sounds good! like a saturday night specialmy mother would make, except no olives. although i believe i would like olives also being my family like elbow macaroni i would sub that thanks