This beef noodle casserole is ground beef in a rich tomato sauce, tossed with egg noodles then topped with plenty of cheese and baked to perfection. An easy comfort food dinner that’s perfect for feeding a crowd.
When I have a package of hamburger in the fridge, I often make homemade hamburger helper, ground beef stroganoff and this simple yet hearty beef casserole. It’s cheesy, kid friendly, and quick to whip up on a busy night.
I love a good casserole, and this beef noodle casserole is always on our regular dinner menu rotation. It’s a simple yet delicious combination of ground beef, tomato sauce, egg noodles and cheese. Put it all together and bake until melted and bubbly, then serve it to your family and watch the compliments roll in!
How to make beef noodle casserole
The first step to making beef noodle casserole is to brown some ground beef with onions and garlic. I use 90% lean ground beef, it’s got plenty of flavor but isn’t overly fatty. I cut the onions small so that my kids won’t even notice that they’re in this dish. After the beef is cooked, some seasonings and tomato sauce go into the pan.
While the beef is cooking, I boil my egg noodles. The noodles go into the pan with the beef and everything gets mixed together and spread into a baking dish.
The finishing touch is shredded cheddar cheese, and plenty of it!
I add a sprinkling of parsley at the very end, but that’s an optional step.
Can beef noodle casserole be made in advance?
Yes, you can make beef noodle casserole in advance. Simply prepare the beef and tomato sauce and toss it with the noodles, then cover and refrigerate. Right before you’re ready to bake your casserole, add the cheese and pop it in the oven. You’ll need to add about 10-15 more minutes to the bake time to compensate for the fact that you’re starting with a chilled casserole.
This beef noodle casserole is a great basic recipe that can be altered in different ways to be customized to your tastes. Some variations include using ground turkey instead of beef, adding more vegetables like peas or green beans, using macaroni instead of egg noodles and trying different types of cheese for the topping.
If you’re craving comfort food tonight, grab a container of ground beef and try this casserole, you won’t be disappointed.
More fabulous casserole recipes
- Chicken Noodle Casserole
- Broccoli and Cheese Casserole
- Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Beef Noodle Casserole Video
Beef Noodle Casserole
Ingredients
- 12 ounces egg noodles uncooked
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 1/4 lbs lean ground beef I use 90% lean
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
- 16 ounces canned tomato sauce
- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes drained, I prefer to use the small diced (petite cut) variety
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil; add the egg noodles and cook according to package directions. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- While the noodles are cooking, heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat.
- Add the ground beef to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes, breaking up the meat with a spatula.
- Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until onion has softened and beef is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the tomato sauce, tomatoes and Italian seasoning to the beef and stir to combine.
- Drain the noodles and add to the pan with the beef; toss to combine.
- Pour the beef and noodle mixture into a 9"x13" baking pan that's been coated in cooking spray. Top with cheddar cheese.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Easy to make. Husband and I enjoyed it very much! Added a can of mushrooms and that was a really nice addition. Yum! Will definitely be making this again. Thank you.
Do you drain the grease off the meat before adding everything else?
I use 90% lean beef which doesn’t produce a lot of grease. If you’re using meat with a higher fat content, then drain the grease first!
Made exactly as written, super easy and everyone liked it
I LOVED IT. I ADDED PEAS. MY HUSBAND LOVED IT!
It was so easy.
This was absolutely fantastic! Everyone loved it. Will definitely be putting this in the meal rotation. I didn’t use the cheddar cheese -used mozzarella and parm. But I think we’ll try the cheddar next time to see! Thanks for the great recipe:)
Can you use spaghetti sauce?
Yes that’s fine!
I made this dish and it was fabulous!!
I cut the recipe in half as there is only 2 of us. This was quite good and I will make it again. Very simple and easy to make. Thank you.
Would other kinds of pasta work? I have shells and penne on hand.
Yes either is fine!
So, So, So, SOOO good. Just made it now. Simple and delicious!!
This was very good! I made it with pre-made spaghetti sauce, and added mushrooms, it was great!
Can you use spaghetti sauce instead of diced tomatoes and the the tomatoes sauce
Yes that should be fine!
Easy and good. I added chopped sweet mini peppers and a chopped serrano chili. Also a 1/4 cup parmesan. And penn pasta because I didn’t have egg noodles.
is this a typo? “1 1/4 lbs lean ground”
Did you mean a QUARTER POUND? ONE fourth?
11/4 is 2 and three quarter pounds. Seems a bit much.
Looks delish, I’ll improvise.
There is no typo, it’s 1 and 1/4 pounds.
Yea, I think it’s just the way my browser is displaying it.
Well…. we made this tonight. (Slightly varied.) I had some frozen mixed veggies, and a little bit of chopped spinach left over. Added it to the meat. Great way to sneak some veggies into my family. It was real tasty. Thanks.
1 1\4 lbs is ONE pound plus ONE QUARTER lbs, just as it is written.
Do you think chopped green pepper would be good to add?
Yes that would be great!
This recipe is wonderful!!!! Enjoyed it very much. I went ahead and added some parsley when I mixed it up and I ended up using a cheddar jack shredded cheese for the top. Thanks for this recipe!!!!
I made the Beef and Noodle Casserole tonight . It was very easy and my husband kept saying this is really good and He hard a hard time to stop eating..
I recently made this for my boys. I don’t keep cans of diced tomatoes on hand, but I had a can of Rotele. I substituted that and added a mexican blend of shredded cheese to the top and it was delicious!
I did the same! I also added sausage chunks and pepperoni (family is a bunch of meat-eaters). It was glorious. Hubby has already packed his lunch for tomorrow. Thank you!!
Did you use fresh parsley?
Yes I did!
This was very good. Ive made it twice. Added extra vegetables to sneak them in for my kids. Everyone loved it.
Can this be frozen after cooking?
Yes it should be fine to freeze!
Any way to make this without the tomatoes? I cook for someone who is now allergic to tomatoes. Thanks..
This recipe has a lot of tomato in it, so it would be a completely different recipe without the tomato products and I’m not sure how it would best be adapted!
Can this be made with tomato soup or diced tomatoes? I do not have any tomato sauce.
Both of those would be fine, I’d probably combine the two!
i make a cream of mushroom soup version.
Awesome recipe. My inner-tweak is telling me to add an 8oz. layer of cream cheese/sour cream paste in the middle. If Italian seasoning and olive oil is included, I HAVE to add some pesto. 🙂
What is best way to heat this wonderful dish?
You can microwave individual portions, or reheat the entire pan covered in foil in a 325 degrees F oven until warm!