5 Ingredient Ground Beef Casserole – Old Fashioned Hamburger Noodle Casserole

This 5 Ingredient Ground Beef Casserole is a classic and is really easy to make. All you need is a few common ingredients. If you’re looking for a ground beef casserole to make on a chilly night, you’ve come to the right place.

Classic comfort food comes in many forms, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. My family comes running to the kitchen table when I serve up this 5 Ingredient Ground Beef Casserole. It’s loaded with beefy, cheesy goodness.

5 Ingredient Ground Beef Casserole Recipe:

Are you drooling yet? It’s hard to believe that something this beefy and cheesy has only five simple ingredients – ground beef, onion, tomato juice, wide egg noodles and shredded cheese.

Sometimes, I come upon a recipe in a cookbook that’s so easy, I wonder why I never thought of this myself. And that’s just what happened when I saw this Ground Beef Casserole recipe in my North Carolina Elk’s Cook Book.

It’s simple recipes like this one that my husband and kiddos like the best. Nothing green or veggie-like, just good old fashioned comfort food.

Old Fashioned Hamburger Noodle Casserole

This hamburger and egg noodles casserole isn’t just comforting, it’s also very economical.  A bag of egg noodles and a quart of tomato juice is quite inexpensive, and this casserole makes a huge pan.

Consider making this for your next weekly family dinner or serve it up to your kids and their friends at their next sleepover. Believe me when I say, kids love this meal.

Or, let’s face it. On a busy weeknight, sometimes I just need something easy. Something that takes minimal time, minimal effort, minimal ingredients. And, this hamburger noodle casserole fits that weeknight dinner order. Don’t have ground beef on hand? Try our easy sausage noodle casserole recipe!

Ingredients for Hamburger Noodle Casserole

• Ground Beef
• Onions, diced
• Tomato Juice
• Wide Egg Noodles
• Shredded Cheese

What can I make with lots of ground beef?

My freezer is full of ground beef (also called hamburger).  This means I’m always using ground beef for recipes throughout the week. Here are 25 great ways to use ground beef.

1. Ground Beef Goulash 
2. French Onion Joes
3. Easy Shepherd’s Pie 
4. Ground Beef Stuffed Squash 
5. Frisco Tater Tot Casserole
6. Mom’s Hamburger Gravy
7. Cheeseburger Quiche
8. Easy Crock Pot Taco Soup
9. Baked Beans with Ground Beef
10. Hamburger Pork and Bean Skillet
11. An Old Fashioned Sloppy Joe Recipe
12. Old Fashioned Stuffed Bell Peppers 
13.  Ground Beef Crescent Pie 
14. Bacon Cheeseburger Squash Casserole
15. French Onion Sliders
16. Spanish Hot Dog Sauce
17. Hamburger Vegetable Soup with V8 Juice 
18. Homemade Hamburger Helper 
19. Hamburger Hot Dish with Rice 
20.  Old Fashioned Cowboy Beans Recipe
21. Loose Meat Sandwiches
22. Zucchini Tomato Casserole with Ground Beef
23. Ground Beef Burritos
24. An Instant Pot Lazy Lasagna 
25. Ground Beef Pizza Casserole

How to Make Ground Beef and Noodle Casserole:

1. Brown ground beef and onions in a large skillet. Drain excess grease if needed.
2. Add tomato juice and uncooked noodles to the beef mixture; simmer until softened, approximately 8 minutes.
3. Pour into a 13 x 9 inch baking dish; sprinkle with shredded cheese.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F until you get melty cheese.
5. If desired, top with avocado, sour cream and salsa.

For the full recipe and ingredient amounts for beef noodle bake, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Recipe FAQs

• Drain off the excess grease from the hamburger if needed.
• I always season my ground beef with salt and pepper to taste when browning it for any recipe.
• 4 cups equals 1 quart.
• Most bags of wide egg noodles are 16 ounces, use approximately half the bag.
• Substitute your favorite shredded cheese for the sharp cheddar, if desired.
• It doesn’t take long to bake in the oven, just until the cheese melts and is bubbly hot.
• If you don’t want to dirty another dish or use the oven. Leave the beefy, cheesy noodles in the skillet, top with shredded cheese, and cover with a lid until the cheese is melted.
• Check out our Amazon Store for our favorite pantry essentials and kitchen gadgets.

More Hamburger Casserole Recipes:

Potato Pizza Casserole

Sour Cream Ground Beef Casserole

Baked Spaghetti Pie

Mexican Lasagna

Ground Beef Burritos

Linking up to Meal Plan Monday.