This cheeseburger casserole is a super affordable and delicious crowd pleaser.

Easy Cheeseburger Casserole

From the recipe collection of Tara Ippolito

I’m not sure that I’ve posted a dinner thats as easy to make and more delicious then this cheeseburger casserole. There also aren’t many ingredients and they’re all very affordable.

The whole dinner itself took me less then $20 to make. Cheeseburger casserole hits all marks. It’s inexpensive, easy to put together and absolutely delicious.

My family devoured this one in no time. It’s kinda hard not to like cheeseburger casserole. It’s meaty, cheesy and fully carb loaded. Sometimes we all need a little comfort food in our lives.

It feels so good so share a big bowl of hot bubbling deliciousness that we can all enjoy.

You may be checking this recipe out and thinking that cheeseburger casserole is a lot like hamburger helper. I think that’s spot on actually!

Those were awesome to eat when I was a kid in the 80’s/ 90’s. Now that we’re all grown up this version is even better because homemade always is.

It’s just as simple to make as that boxed stuff, too.

If you have to make dinner on a budget or please a picky crowd, this cheeseburger casserole is the one for you. it’s as easy to make as it is to enjoy.

So say hello to your new favorite week day dinner and let’s get into making it!

other easy and affordable dinner ideas you’ll love:

• Semi homemade orange chicken tenders
• Easy canned tuna cakes
• NO ROUX Shells and Cheese
• Doritos taco pizza
• Easy cottage pie
• Chicken noodle casserole

Budget Breakdown

I had mentioned that this cheeseburger casserole was under $20 to make. To feed 6 people for that price is a deal if you ask me. I just want to break down the cost so you can see where the money went. Maybe you can find a way to make it even more affordable. With the price of groceries these days, saving money is more important then ever.

• 1 Pound Ground Beef- $6.25
• 2 Cans Soup- $1.89 each
• Shredded Cheese -$5.00
• Box of Pasta – $.88
• TOTAL: $15.91

I didn’t take into count the seasonings and a tiny bit of Worcestershire sauce. I’m assuming you probably already have that stuff. If you don’t just add on an extra buck or two and we’re still under budget.

The most expensive ingredient in this recipe is the beef. Some people can get really great deals on their meat. Unfortunately for me in New Jersey our prices are incredibly high right now. If I could have saved there in anyway I would have and encourage you to do the same.

easy cheeseburger casserole recipe video:

Whats the difference between tomato soup and tomato sauce?

Now this is something we have to talk about quickly.

Some of you are probably wondering why not just use tomato sauce here. I did that for a very specific reason and that was to stay away from turning this into an Italian dish.

I feel like adding sauce would have made this more of a bolognese sauce and less of a cheeseburger casserole.

The tomato soup was as close to a ketchup flavor as I could get without actually using ketchup. Tomato sauce would have absolutely worked so feel free to give that a try if you’d like.

The only real difference between tomato sauce and tomato soup is seasoning and extra ingredients.

Tomato soup is way more basic and scaled back then tomato sauce is.

For me and this particular dish the tomato soup was the right choice.

Pasta Variations

You don’t have to use shells in this recipe if you’d rather someone else. I would recommend something that would soak up and hold all this meaty sauce really well though.

Here are a few alternative choices if the shells aren’t your thing.

• Macaroni
• Ziti
• Penne
• Fusilli
• Gemelli

Most importantly anything in a tube would work. I’d just avoid any flat pasta shapes like spaghetti or linguine.

Cheeseburger Deluxe Casserole

Sometimes less is more when it comes to incredible flavor combinations. I feel like that’s the case here but if you’d like to kick this casserole up a little bit here are some suggestions on what to add to make it a cheeseburger deluxe casserole .

• Cooked and crumbled bacon. I have a great method for making bacon, too.
• Sautéed onions
• Relish/ chopped pickles
• Shredded lettuce as a topping

Really anything that you like on a traditional cheeseburger would be great here. Get creative, if all works!

Ingredients:

• Ground Beef
• Tomato Soup Cans
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Salt & Pepper
• Onion Powder
• Water
• Medium Sized Shells
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Instructions

1. First, brown the ground beef.

2. Next, drain the fat.

3. Now season the beef with the salt, pepper and onion powder.

4. Then add the Worcestershire sauce and stir it into the beef.

5. Now the tomato soup cans.

6. Then stir them into the beef and let them cook together for 5 minutes

7. Next, add the shredded cheese and water.

8. Stir everything together until the cheese melts.

9. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and add the cooked shells

10. Now add the sauce and mix it in.

11. Top the casserole with cheese and cover in tin foil.

12. Finally bake the casserole until golden bubbly.

13. Lastly, dried parsley as a garnish and serve

If you liked this affordable dinner, you’d probably also really like my fettuccine Alfredo and 3 ingredient blueberry cobbler.

If you tried this recipe, please leave me a comment here and let me know how it was. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Thank you so much!

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