Kid-Friendly Ground Beef Noodle Casserole
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Ground Beef Noodle Casserole is a dish that has everything kids love – hamburger and egg noodles in a creamy sauce. This easy recipe makes a huge casserole making it the perfect family-friendly dinner recipe.
Ground Beef and Noodles Bake Recipe
Kid Friendly Casserole
Let’s face it. Kids can be picky. But most kids are crazy about ground beef and noodles. This hamburger noodle casserole has a creamy sauce made with canned tomato sauce, sour cream and cream cheese that checks the box for kid-friendly meals.
I tend to cook with ingredients that kids eat.
Hamburger
Noodles
Tomato Sauce
I find myself making different meals with similar ingredients. There’s no shame it that. As long as it tastes good, and the kids eat it without complaining, I consider it a win.
Large Casserole Recipe
Beef Noodle Bake makes a huge casserole, and it’s also hearty and filling. I made it on a night when I had my three kids plus my sister’s four kids to feed. We all ate the beef noodle bake, and there was enough for some leftovers.
This is a recipe from my college days at Purdue. A total of 32 college girls lived in my cooperative house, and this was one of our regular dinners. We actually took this hamburger noodle bake recipe and multiplied it by six!
What can I make with egg noodles and ground beef?
Make a casserole!
Here’s the entire ingredient list for Beef Noodle Casserole:
Ground Beef
Onion, diced
Egg Noodles
Sour Cream
Cream Cheese
Tomato Sauce
Garlic Salt
Sugar
Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese or Similar Blend
How to Make Ground Beef Noodle Casserole
Step by Step Instructions
- Brown ground beef and onions in a large skillet over medium-high heat; remove from heat and drain excess grease if needed.
- Add tomato sauce, sour cream, cream cheese, sugar and garlic salt; stir to combine.
- In a 13 x 9 inch baking dish or casserole dish, layer 1/2 cooked egg noodles and 1/2 ground beef mixture. Repeat.
- Cover and bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes; remove foil and sprinkle with shredded cheese.
- Turn off the oven, and put the casserole back in for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Turning off the oven prevents the cheese from getting crunchy.
Storage Instructions
Let leftovers cool. Transfer to an airtight container, and store in the fridge for up to a week. Rewarm leftovers in the microwave.
For the full instructions for hamburger and egg noodles casserole, scroll to the bottom of this post.
Recipe FAQs
- Don’t overcook the egg noodles because they will continue to cook in the oven. I recommend cooking them a minute or two less than the package instructions. Drain well.
- Be sure the cream cheese is softened so that it blends into the sauce. To soften cream cheese quickly, add the foil package of cream cheese to a saucepan and cover with water. Turn the stove-top onto the lowest setting, and cover the saucepan with a lid. The heat will quickly soften the cream cheese inside the foil packet.
- Always be sure to season ground beef with salt and pepper to taste when browning. Do this for every recipe you make.
- Try to spread the meat sauce all the way to the edges to cover the egg noodles. If not, the edge noodles can get a little hard during baking.
- Cover this beef noodle casserole for the first 30 minutes of baking; remove the foil, turn off the oven and return the casserole to the oven until the cheese is melted.
- Any type of shredded cheddar is perfect. Love a cheesier hamburger noodle casserole? Add more!
- Our Amazon Store features our favorite pantry essentials and kitchen items.
- Want a simpler casserole with similar ingredients? Try this easy ground beef and egg noodle casserole.
Recipe Variations
- Substitute ground turkey or ground chicken for hamburger.
- Add your favorite cooked veggies such as peas, corn, carrots or green beans.
- Use cooked elbow macaroni instead of egg noodles.
- Any type of shredded cheese will do. Try Colby jack or pepper jack.
- Stir in a packet of taco seasoning for a taco hamburger casserole recipe.
- Add fried bacon!
- Add spices such as basil or oregano.
More Ground Beef Recipes
Frisco Melt Tater Tot Casserole
Our Favorite Kid-Friendly Dishes
4-Ingredient Baked Chicken Legs
Ground Beef and Noodles Bake
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion, diced
- 16 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 7 cups wide egg noodles
- 1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Cook wide egg noodles in water and drain. Cook 1-2 minutes less than package instructions.
- Preheat oven to 350 degress F. Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with non stick cooking spray.
- In a large skillet, brown ground beef and onions; drain excess grease if needed.
- To the skillet add tomato sauce, sour cream, softened cream cheese, sugar, and garlic salt and stir until combined.
- In the prepared baking dish, layer 1/2 noodles topped with 1/2 beef sauce. Repeat.
- Cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes.
- Turn off oven. Remove foil; sprinkle with shredded cheese. Return to oven for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Notes
- Don’t overcook the egg noodles because they will continue to cook in the oven. I recommend cooking them a minute or two less than the package instructions. Drain well.
- Be sure the cream cheese is softened so that it blends into the sauce. To soften cream cheese quickly, add the foil package of cream cheese to a saucepan and cover with water. Turn the stove-top onto the lowest setting, and cover the saucepan with a lid. The heat will quickly soften the cream cheese inside the foil packet.
- Always be sure to season ground beef with salt and pepper to taste when browning. Do this for every recipe you make.
- Try to spread the meat sauce all the way to the edges to cover the egg noodles. If not, the edge noodles can get a little hard during baking.
- Cover this beef noodle casserole for the first 30 minutes; remove the foil, turn off the oven and return the casserole to the oven until the cheese is melted.
- Any type of shredded cheddar is perfect. Love a cheesier hamburger noodle casserole? Add more!
- Looking for more ground beef recipes? Try our Cheeseburger Quiche and Frisco Hamburger Helper.
Nutrition
We loved this casserole! Thanks for sharing!
You all are hitting out of the park home runs at our house! This is the third casserole I’ve tried from this site — and the third my little picky eater devoured and absolutely loved. She actually had an extra helping of this at dinner and then came back for a small bowl as a pre-bedtime snack!
I added another pound of ground beef (for some reason, it seemed a bit soupier than it should be, even though I drained the grease), plus some extra onion and garlic powder, plus some thyme. Really was a good, tasty pantry casserole and I’m definitely making it again. Thank you all for sharing these recipes. So glad they’re not getting lost!