When I became a mom, casseroles seemed to find their way into my meal planning, and this beef and noodle casserole recipe is no exception. Casseroles are budget-friendly recipes and perfect for weeknights.
This ground beef casserole recipe is a little different. It is a casserole recipe without canned cream of soup something or other.
I never really realized how often most casseroles use cream of soup for a base. I would say at least half of them do!
Beef and noodle casserole is an easy family dinner recipe you can make on your busier nights of the week.
Especially if you have a smaller family, you’ll have plenty for leftovers, and if you have a larger family you might not even have to double this recipe unless you do want leftovers
You can also make this with some of our favorite sides like Instant Pot Steamed Vegetables, Best Italian Roasted Vegetables, or of course, this casserole is always great with Sheet Pan Garlic Bread.
Ingredients Needed For This Beef and Noodle Casserole Recipe:
- Wide egg noodles
- Ground beef
- Garlic salt
- Salt
- Pepper
- Tomato sauce
- Sour cream
- Small curd cottage cheese
- Diced green onions
- Sharp cheddar cheese
How To Make This Beef and Noodle Casserole Recipe:
Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.
Then, boil water and cook the egg noodles according to the directions on the packaging.
Once the noodles are done, rinse them in cold water to stop the cooking process, then drain them.
While the noodles are cooking, take the ground beef and brown it in a pan with garlic salt, salt, and pepper.
After all the beef is browned, drain the grease from the pan.
Next, add in the tomato sauce and let the meat simmer for 5 minutes over low heat.
In another mixing bowl, mix together the sour cream, cottage cheese, and the diced green onion together.
Once it’s all mixed together, add in the sour cream mixture to the rest of the meat and mix it all in.
Now, place the noodles and the creamy meat mixture in a 9×13 inch baking pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
Then, top the casserole with shredded cheese and bake it uncovered for about 20-25 minutes.
Once the timer is done, pull it out and serve it with your favorite sides!
To Make This Ground Beef Casserole Recipe You Will Need:
- 9×13 inch baking pan
- Skillet (THIS is a great one!)
- Medium mixing bowl
- Spatula
- Nonstick cooking spray
Egg Noodle Substitutes:
Do you need to replace the egg noodles with something else? Take a look at egg noodle substitutes from the Gourmet Sleuth there are plenty of suggestions!
If I don’t feel like making an extra trip to the grocery store I will normally check and see what other pasta I have in the pantry to use and it turns out just fine!
More Swaps
If you are not a fan of cottage cheese, you can always replace it with ricotta cheese!
And if sour cream is not going to work for you, try using plain Greek yogurt as a substitute.
Want to make this as a 20-minute stove top recipe? Try our skillet version of Beef and Noodles Recipe.
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Try Out These Delicious Casseroles:
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole Recipe
- Cowboy Casserole Recipe (Tater Tot Casserole)
- Million Dollar Casserole Recipe (Spaghetti Casserole)
- Chicken Taco Casserole Recipe
- John Wayne Casserole (Beef and Biscuit Casserole)
- Skinny Cheeseburger Casserole
- Easy Chicken and Noodle Casserole
- French Onion Chicken Noodle Casserole
Beef and Noodle Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces wide egg noodles, 1 package
- 1 pound ground beef
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 15 ounces tomato sauce, 1 can
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 1 cup small curd cottage cheese
- ½ cup green onions, diced
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cook egg noodles following directions on packaging. Rinse noodles in cold water and drain.
- While noodles are cooking, brown ground beef in a pan with garlic salt and salt and pepper.
- Drain excess grease from beef.
- Add in tomato sauce and let simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
- In another bowl mix sour cream, cottage cheese, and green onions together. Add sour cream mixture to meat in skillet and mix well.
- Place noodles and meat mixture in a 9×13-inch baking pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and top with shredded cheese.
- Cook for 20-25 minutes.
Notes
- Rinse the noodles in cold water to stop the cooking process, then drain them.
- If you are not a fan of cottage cheese, you can always replace it with ricotta cheese.
- If sour cream is not going to work for you, try using plain Greek yogurt as a substitute.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.Recipe slightly adapted from The Pioneer Woman.
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Was wondering if this could be frozen and reheated? On a mission to make some “real” micro meals for my Uni daughter for the fall! Thanks, and another GREAT recipe!
This should work great frozen, then thaw and reheat. Thanks for stopping by and checking out our recipes! Have a great week!
This looks so yummy, easy, and quick! Perfect for a busy weeknight. Thanks for sharing. Pinning!
I was wondering if you can substitute anything for the cottage cheese?
You could use ricotta cheese as a substitute for cottage cheese.
I was wondering if you could substitute Quinoa for the noodles? I’m a gastric bypass patient and pasta is a no no for me! But this looks so good!!!
i was wondering have you ever used chicken in this recipe instead of ground beef? If so did it turn out the same?
Do you have to cook the egg noodles first? Was thinking of mixing them in uncoked with extra sauce and maybe foil?
Yes, cook the egg noodles. It’s #2 in the directions.
This sounded so good, but I made it tonight, and it had absolutely no flavor. I expected it to be much better, but it was incredibly bland.
hi Erica The recipe says salt and pepper to taste. I just made it and I added some garlic powder and cayenne pepper. Turned out delicious. Hope this helps.
Could you leave out the cottage cheese all together from this recipe?
made this recipe tonight and I was disappointed that it tasted like something from a box like hamburger helper. it was quick and easy and NOT from a box and my kid’s enjoyed it. So thank you
Hi Vicki. The recipe calls for 1 cup which is quite a bit. I looked up some substitute options for you and this is what I found. Hope this helps!
Pureed cream cheese or thick Greek yogurt are popular substitutes used in many recipes calling for cottage cheese, as they don’t sacrifice flavor or texture in most dishes. Ricotta cheese is often used instead of cottage cheese, and is a great filling for ravioli, cannoli and other Italian desserts.
I make this but I add a package of taco mix to the hamburger and that gives it more flavor. Follow the directions on the taco mix package. Haven’t tried it with egg noodles, I use whatever pasta I have on hand.
I usually slip in a package of peas and carrots so that they kids are getting the veggiees they need with out complaining (by kids I mean my husband and 20 yo son!). They love this casserole on a nice cool evening. THANK YOU!
I substituted and used ground turkey, used regular white onions, medium shredded cheddar and it tasted great. My kids loved it. My husband and I added some spice to our helpings.
I found this to be very bland and dry. Made it exactly as directed. Sorry, but will not be making again.
I made this tonight. Basically a deconstructed lasagna of sorts. I added a good deal of garlic powder to cheese/sour cream mixture. I think next time I’ll cut the sour cream by half, see if that helps thicken things up. Otherwise, this is a bit soupy.
I’ll be adding peas, yogurt instead of cottage cheese, plenty of garlic and taco seasoning mix
I made this last night, and it was very good. I read some of the previous comments beforehand, so I used a couple of the recommendations / suggestions. I used ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese, and I added a taco seasoning packet to the beef. I also added a whole onion in place of the green onion. That’s just a personal preference. Highly recommend.
I also added mild sausage.. and cup od grated parmesan cheese and topped with crushed rosemary and olive oil triskets… was good
Can it be cooked in a crockpot? If, so what setting and how long?
Hi Judith. Here is some information I found for you and converting a oven recipe over to the slow cooker. It was very helpful. With the beef and noodle casserole, I don’t think you will have to alter the recipe that much because everything is basically cooked before sticking it in the oven or slow cooker. It just needs to get heated through. You may also need to cook longer because the high setting on a slow cooker is around 300 degrees and this beef and noodle casserole needs to cook at 350 degrees in the oven. Here is the link to the conversion information. I hope this helps.
https://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/crockpot-conversion-chart
Do you cover this when you bake it?
We left it uncovered during baking.
Just made this and it’s super good, my husband, 7 yo and 4 yo is eating it up. I followed the directions almost exactly except I used a lot of salt/pepper, a lot of garlic salt and added an ample amount of garlic powder. I chose this recipe because it’s from Six Sisters – so good!
Hi Tanya! Thanks for your sweet comment!
Is there any way to leave out the cottage cheese and sour cream. If so what can be used instead. I don’t like cheese or yogurt
Do you think it would work to use cream of chicken soup instead of Sour cream and Cottage cheese?
We have not tried it omitting those ingredients and adding cream of chicken soup. It would definitely change the taste of the casserole. But I’m sure the casserole would still work.