This Ground Beef Casserole Recipe is super easy to make with pasta noodles smothered in a rich and creamy tomato sauce and topped with cheese. The ingredients are simple but the flavor is big!
Ground Beef Casserole
Is there really anything better than pasta noodles smothered in a creamy tomato sauce with lots of cheese? The flavor in this casserole is insane!
Let’s go over a few of the ingredients to get a feel for how this comes together and what tastes and flavors you’re going to get:
- Ziti Rigati: This tube-shaped pasta has ridges all around it, which lets the sauce really cling on to each pasta noodle and even fill up inside the tubes!
- Ground Beef: Tossed with sautéed onions, garlic, and flavored with a hint of Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, and flour which helps thicken the sauce even more.
- Tomato Sauce: This provides a nice flavorful base for the sauce that has added texture from juicy diced tomatoes that are also added.
- Sour Cream: Adds a creamy, cool offset to the tomato sauce and adds more indulgence to this casserole. Heavy cream or half and half can be used if needed.
- Cheddar Cheese: Some for the sauce, and some for the top of the casserole. (Would it really be a casserole without cheese?)
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Brown the beef in a skillet and soften the onions/garlic. Add salt, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, and flour. Stir to combine and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add chicken broth, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions and drain. Remove the sauce from the heat and let the base cool down a bit. Swirl in the sour cream and 1 cup of the shredded cheese, stir to combine.
- Stir in the pasta.
- If your dish is not oven-safe, transfer to a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.
- Top with remaining cheese.
Bake uncovered at 400° for 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Serve with a side of cheesy garlic bread.
Pro Tips
- A variety of pastas will work well with this recipe, I recommend a tube or spiral shaped pasta as it clings onto the sauce really well. Rigatoni would be excellent.
- The sour cream adds a hint of tang that my family really enjoys in this casserole, but half and half or heavy cream may also be used.
- Use freshly shredded cheese for creamy results. Bagged shredded cheese contains cellulose which prevents it from melting well. I use Cracker Barrel sharp yellow.
- Make sure the base isn’t too hot when you add the sour cream and the cheese as you don’t want the dairy to separate.
- 1 lb. of ground beef can be used instead of 1.5 if preferred.
Make-Ahead Method
- Cook the pasta for 1 minute less than al dente to ensure the noodles aren’t overcooked when reheated.
- Assemble the casserole as outlined and place it in a casserole dish. Let it cool first, then cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
- Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake for 10-15 more minutes.
Storage
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Tools For This Recipe
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- A 14-inch oven safe skillet is perfect for this recipe.
- Box Cheese Grater– Always shred cheese from a block for creamy/melty results. Bagged shredded cheese contains cellulose and prevents it from melting as well in soups/sauces.
- 9 x 13 baking dish The perfect size for almost any casserole recipe
- Silicone Spatula– Easy for tossing the chicken as it cooks and for stirring in the sauce ingredients.
- Measuring spoons I love that these are magnetic. They keep my drawer neat.
Try These Next
- Chicken Divan
- Chicken Alfredo Bake
- Skillet Lasagna
- Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
- Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
- Sausage Tortellini Soup
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![Ground Beef Casserole on a white plate topped with melted cheese.](jpg/ground-beef-casserole-f1-200x200.jpg)
Ground Beef Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb. ground beef, 85% lean
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 3 Tablespoons flour, optional-helps thicken the sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 16 oz. tomato sauce
- 1 (14.5) oz can Diced tomatoes, undrained
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese---1 cup in sauce, 1.5 for top
- ½ pound Ziti Rigati, see notes
Instructions
- Note: A deep, a 12 to 14-inch pot is the perfect size for this recipe, preferably oven-safe.
- Pre-work: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Shred the cheese and set it aside along with the sour cream. We don’t want those to be cold when we add them to the sauce.
- Cook and crumble the ground beef over medium heat. Add the onions halfway through and cook until softened.
- Drain grease. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add salt, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, and flour. Stir to combine and cook for 2-3 minutes to remove raw flour taste.
- Add the chicken broth and use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom of the pot.
- Add the tomato sauce and undrained diced tomatoes.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let it bubble gently to thicken and reduce while you start to boil the water for the pasta.
- Cook the pasta until al dente (refer to package instructions), and drain. Don't overcook.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and let the base cool down a bit. Swirl in the sour cream and 1 cup (not all) of the shredded cheese, stir to combine. Stir in the pasta.
- If your dish is not oven-safe, transfer to a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch casserole dish and top with remaining 1 ½ cups of cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Let it sit for 5 minutes and serve with a side of cheesy garlic bread.
Notes
Pro Tips:
- A variety of pastas will work well with this recipe, I recommend a tube or spiral shaped pasta as it clings onto the sauce really well. Rigatoni would be excellent.
- The sour cream adds a hint of tang that my family really enjoys in this casserole, but half and half or heavy cream may also be used.
- Use freshly shredded cheese for creamy results. Bagged shredded cheese contains cellulose which prevents it from melting well. I use Cracker Barrel sharp yellow.
- Make sure the base isn't too hot when you add the sour cream and the cheese as you don't want the dairy to separate.
- 1 lb. of ground beef can be used instead of 1.5 if preferred.
Just made this recipe for the first time and yowza, what a tasty dish. Thank you for another fantastic meal!
That’s great news Matt, I’m so happy that you enjoyed this!!
I accidentally left this review for the wrong recipe. This has the BEST flavors…another winner. I cook for my Mom and she’s getting half, so I’ll definitely be making this again really soon.
Thanks so much Cathy!❤️❤️❤️
Another delicious recipe from The Cozy Cook! I made a few slight changes, 1 pound ground beef and 1/2 pound ground turkey, 2 TBSP of Worcestershire, instead of 1, 2 tsp. salt, instead of 1, 1 tsp. yellow mustard, 1/2 tsp. thyme, 1 TBSP sugar and 1 tsp. hot sauce. The changes were very minor, it’s a bad habit of mine to change just about every recipe I come across. I love the idea of all of these recipes, they are comforting and easy with outstanding flavors. Like I stated in a different review, almost every recipe on here uses basic ingredients most people have on hand, or are easily substituted for similar ingredients. Since finding this sight, I have found multiple recipes to add to my rotation and this is another. My husband is a super picky eater and has loved all of these recipes so far, that’s saying a lot! Good job 🙂
Yayyy! Such great comments Julie! I’m so happy you’re finding the recipes easy and yummy. Sounds like the hubby approves too😁 Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
I have made this recipe so many times for my family and they love it and can’t get enough of it.
That’s so awesome to hear! This is definitely a great way to feed a hungry family. I love how it’s budget friendly and easy to customize! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and leave a review!💕
Another great recipe! I only had 1lb. of beef but I think it still had plenty (and I like a lot of meat). I honestly thought it was even better the next day. I’m going to attempt your Creamy garlic chicken next.
Happy to hear you enjoyed this one, especially the next day! I can’t wait for you to try my favorite chicken dish, Creamy Garlic Chicken! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and leave a review!❤️
Delicious….love the recipe…I added 2 splashes of Patron……made Patron Vodka sauce…..
Thank you for sharing!
DELICIOUSLY….DELICIOUS
You’re very welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed the ground beef casserole! Patron vodka sauce is genius!👏 Thanks so much for sharing!
Picture and caption show groung beef and rice???
Hi Ann, I have a ground beef and rice casserole as well- the picture and caption from where?
Oh I see- the weekly email, sorry ab oh t that! This is what you’re looking for- https://thecozycook.com/ground-beef-and-rice-casserole/
This is the second time making this recipe. Last time use bow tie pasta. This time used rigatoni and ground turkey. . Served with zucchini noodles
Love the taste I used roasted can of tomatoes. Last time I used can of rotel, taco seasoning instead of Italian and gave it a kick.
Thanks again CC aka Stephanie ♥️
You’re very welcome Dawn! It’s funny I actually just posted a recipe for Roasted Tomatoes!😋 I love the way you customized this one! Thanks so much for sharing!
Oh my gosh!!! I just made this for my family last night and we absolutely loved it. Definitely plan on making this again very soon, thank you for the recipe! -Marsha
So happy to hear that Marsha! This is always a huge hit with my family too, thank you so much for taking the time to leave this review, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie
There is no measurement in the recipe for the diced tomatoes? And what is 1/2 lb of pasta in cups? Cant wait to try this!
Hi Mel, it’s 1 (14.5 oz.) can of diced tomatoes, sorry about that! I just took out the pasta that I used and it was about 2.5 cups dry. I can’t wait for you to try this either!