This cheesy hamburger casserole with noodles recipe is the dinner you make when there is a pound of ground beef in the fridge and no plan. Add egg noodles, tomatoes, vegetables, and cheese, and that unremarkable package of beef becomes a dinner that feeds the whole table.

What sets this one apart is the tomato. Instead of a jar of pasta sauce or a can of soup, it uses tomato sauce and diced Italian tomatoes together, so the sauce tastes fresher and less sweet than the creamy, canned-soup versions of this dish. It lands closer to a goulash than to a casserole out of a can.

A glass baking dish filled with cheesy Hamburger Casserole, made with ground beef, diced tomatoes, and green peppers. A wooden spoon lifts a serving of this delicious Hamburger Casserole Recipe, showing melted cheese stretching invitingly. Plates and forks are in the background.

Make It Tonight Or Assemble It Ahead

This is the part worth knowing before anything else: the whole casserole can be assembled a day ahead, covered, and refrigerated, then baked when you need it.

A glass baking dish filled with a layered Hamburger Casserole topped with shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, peas, and carrots, placed on a white marble surface. — Much of the cooking happens on the stovetop. By the time the casserole goes into the oven, the beef is browned, the vegetables are tender, and the noodles are nearly cooked. The oven only needs to heat everything through and melt the cheese.

If you bake it straight from the fridge, give it a few extra minutes in the oven for the center to heat through.

This is the type of hamburger casserole recipe that also freezes well, which is a good reason to make it even when you don’t need it all right away. Freeze it in a freezer-safe container, thaw it in the fridge, and warm it through in a 375°F oven.

A Few Things Worth Getting Right

Brown the beef until it is almost done rather than all the way, then let it finish while the vegetables cook down with it.

A skillet with cooked ground beef, chopped green bell peppers, and diced onions on a marble countertop—the perfect base for a classic Hamburger Casserole Recipe.

Drain the grease before the tomato goes in, or the sauce sits on top of a layer of fat instead of coating the noodles.

A skillet with cooked ground beef, chopped green peppers, onions, and two piles of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce on top—all the ingredients you need to start a classic Hamburger Casserole Recipe—rests on a white marble surface.

Ground beef and egg noodles are both bland on their own and can absorb more seasoning than expected.

I season the beef as it cooks and make sure I taste it before it goes onto the egg noodles in the casserole dish.

A skillet with ground beef, diced tomatoes, green bell peppers, and onions in a tomato sauce, sitting on a white marble surface—this classic dish is the perfect start to any Hamburger Casserole recipe.

The noodles finish cooking in the oven, so cook them to just short of al dente on the stovetop.

A clear glass baking dish filled with uncooked egg noodles, ready to be transformed into a delicious Hamburger Casserole, sits on a white marble surface.

A minute or two under package time is enough. Fully cooked noodles going into a 25-minute bake will come out too soft. Trust me on that.

A glass baking dish filled with a baked Hamburger Casserole containing ground meat, peas, carrots, corn, tomatoes, and melted cheese, on a marble surface.

Make It Yours

A variety of groceries on a counter—including frozen vegetables, ground beef, eggs, spices, tomato sauce, an onion, a green bell pepper, and canned goods—are displayed with a white tiled wall in the background, perfect ingredients for preparing a delicious Hamburger Casserole.

Egg noodles are what I use because I like how they soak up the sauce. Other short pasta shapes, including rotini, penne, and shells, will also work. Just make sure you follow the same rule and stop cooking them just before they reach al dente.

You can swap the beef for ground turkey, ground chicken, or Italian sausage. Sausage is the one I’d point you to if you want more flavor, since it plays up the tomato and herbs already in the sauce.

Use whatever vegetables you have. Peas, carrots, and corn are what I usually go with, but bell pepper and extra onion are good. Even mushrooms, zucchini, or spinach are all fine if that’s what needs using up.

I recommend cheddar jack cheese because it melts well and browns, but mozzarella or an Italian blend are good replacements.

What To Serve With It

It is a full plate on its own, but it wants something green and something with crust beside it. A Caesar salad and a piece of cheesy pull-apart bread turn it into a dinner you would set in front of company.

A plate of beef noodle casserole—often known as Hamburger Casserole—with ground beef, noodles, tomato sauce, corn, and green peas is served on a white plate. Two glasses of water with lemon slices are in the background, making this classic Hamburger Casserole Recipe a comforting mealtime favorite.

If casseroles are your weeknight default, hamburger potato casserole swaps the noodles for potatoes, hamburger rice casserole does the same with rice, and cowboy casserole tops it all with tater tots.

Storing Leftovers

Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for three days. To reheat without drying it out, cover it and warm it in a low oven, or microwave single portions in short bursts with a splash of sauce or water if it has tightened up.

This post was originally published in December 2022. It was updated in July 2026 with new photography.

Hamburger Casserole with Noodles

5 from 89 votes

Baked with noodles, ground beef, seasonings, cheese, and vegetables, this hamburger casserole recipe goes together in minutes.

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 25

Total Time 45

Servings

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Ingredients

4 cups dry egg noodles cooked
1 pound lean ground beef
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced green pepper
1 teaspoon garlic minced
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
8 ounce can of tomato sauce
14 ounce can of diced Italian-style tomatoes
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon pepper
½ cup frozen peas and carrots
¼ cup frozen corn
2 cups shredded cheddar jack cheese divided in half

Instructions

Prepare egg noodles according to directions and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
In a medium skillet, cook the ground beef until it is almost done, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as you go.
Add the onion and green pepper to the skillet and cook about 4 minutes, then add the garlic and Italian seasoning and cook 1 minute more.
Pour tomato sauce and diced tomatoes into the skillet, add salt and pepper to taste, and cook together for a few minutes, stirring frequently.
Put the egg noodles in the bottom of the baking dish. Pour the ground beef mixture on top. Add in the peas, carrots, corn, and half of the cheese. Mix everything together thoroughly.
Top with remaining cheese and bake for 25 minutes in the oven, until the cheese is melted and the casserole is heated through.
Serve warm, garnished with fresh parsley if desired.

Video

Notes

This recipe can be assembled ahead of time the night before and popped in the oven when you are ready to bake it.
Ground beef can be cooked ahead of time in larger batches and frozen until you need it. Add the ground beef where indicated and continue the recipe as written.
To test your pasta for al dente, take a bite of the pasta a minute or two before the package instructions indicate it should be done. When you bite into it, and your teeth feel some resistance, but the pasta is still tender, your pasta is al dente.