Easy Recipes With Ground Beef: Million Dollar Casserole (2024)

Easy Recipes With Ground Beef: Million Dollar Casserole (1)

Easy Recipes With Ground Beef

In my quest to find more freezer cooking friendly meals I decided to try some easy recipes with ground beef. My husband loves beef, so finding a casserole that I could easily freeze and cook on busy nights was a priority. After cooking a big batch of ground beef in the crockpot, I jumped into this super easy recipe I found online from here.

Here’s the ingredients you will need. (I tripled this to make four half size pans to freeze.)

1 lb ground beef
26 oz spaghetti sauce
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
8 oz ricotta (you can also use cottage cheese)
1/2 cup butter
16 oz penne pasta
8 oz sharp cheddar shredded cheese

You will also need aluminum pans if you plan to freeze this recipe. You can find the best deal on pans here.Easy Recipes With Ground Beef: Million Dollar Casserole (3)

UPDATE: Some of you noticed that I used cottage cheese but listed Ricotta. I tried both, the pictures just came from the cottage cheese trial. I definitely think the ricotta did better in the freezer and had a creamier taste which is why I chose to list the ricotta on the recipe. I definitely use the recipes I share here and try them out first. That means freezing them for at least a few weeks and then serving them to my family. 🙂

Easy Recipes With Ground Beef: Million Dollar Casserole (4)

1. Cook the ground beef. When I know I’m going to do do some freezer cooking in a big batch, I cook the ground beefin the crockpot easilythe night before. Once it’s completely cooked, drained and cooled, I place it in the a container in the refrigerator. The next day, it’s really easy to pull together a recipe like this one.

But anyways, once the ground beef is cooked. Set it aside.

2. Boil the penne pasta and drain once fully cooked.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese. It’s much easier to mix them together if you let the cream cheese soften first.

4. Add half of the pasta to the containers you’re using. In this case, since I had tripled the recipe, I used four half containers. If you’re making only one batch, I would use a 9×13 pan.

5. Top the pasta with the cream cheese mixture. Spread it evenly around the pan.

Easy Recipes With Ground Beef: Million Dollar Casserole (6)

6. Top the cream mixture with the rest of the noodles.

7. Cut the butter into slices and top the noodles.

8. Top the butter with the ground beef.

Easy Recipes With Ground Beef: Million Dollar Casserole (7)

9. Top the ground beef with the spaghetti sauce. Straight out of the can, man.

10. Add cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees Faranheit for 45 minutes.

If you’re freezer cooking, you can top it with foil and add it to the freezer. Once thawed in the future, you can bake it for the same time. Personally, I think when you freezer cook with pasta, it sometimes soaks up the sauce. I like to add some sauce to the casserole before cooking it.

Let me know what you think!

If you plan to do a lot of freezer cooking, make sure to grab these pans! You won’t find a better deal!

Easy Recipes With Ground Beef: Million Dollar Casserole (8)

Created by: Lynette Rice

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Million Dollar Casserole


Course Main

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings 8

8

Million dollar casserole with layers of spaghetti sauce and noodles and a cheesy middle Can easily be frozen to enjoy later.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 26 oz spaghetti sauce
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 8 oz ricotta
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 16 oz penne pasta
  • 8 oz sharp cheddar shredded cheese

Instructions

  • Cook the ground beef.

  • Boil the penne pasta and drain once fully cooked.

  • In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese. It much easier to mix them together if you let the cream cheese soften first.

  • Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Add half of the pasta to the containers you're using. Top the pasta with the cream cheese mixture. Top the cream mixture with the rest of the noodles.

  • Cut the butter into slices and top the noodles. Top the butter with the ground beef. Top the ground beef with the spaghetti sauce. Straight out of the can, man. Add cheese.

  • Bake at 350˚ F for 45 minutes.

Notes

If you’re freezer cooking, you can top it with foil and add it to the freezer. Once thawed in the future, you can bake it for the same time. Personally, I think when you freezer cook with pasta, it sometimes soaks up the sauce. I like to add some sauce to the casserole before cooking it.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 909kcal | Carbohydrates: 116g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 118mg | Sodium: 5264mg | Potassium: 451mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 825IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 388mg | Iron: 2mg

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Looking for another casserole to try? You will love this recipe for Chicken Enchilada Casseroleor this Spinach Rice Casserole recipeor even this Green Bean Casserole recipe!

What are some of your favorite easy recipes with ground beef?

Easy Recipes With Ground Beef: Million Dollar Casserole (2024)

FAQs

How do you cook large amounts of ground beef? ›

If you're cooking for a family of four to six, a pound of ground beef in a skillet is likely the quickest and easiest solution for browning ground beef. But if you're feeding a crowd and need a way to brown ground beef in large quantities, an Instant Pot or even opting for a sheet pan dinner can be your supper savior.

Is beef skirt good for casseroles? ›

Ideal for making your own stews and casseroles, this Beef Skirt comes to you whole and is prized for its outstanding flavour. Hours of long and slow cooking will turn this exceptionally good value cut into a melt in the mouth, tasty casserole that the whole family will love.

How to cook large amounts of beef? ›

Bulk Cooking Ground Beef in a Slow Cooker
  1. Break ground beef up into smaller pieces in the slow cooker.
  2. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. ...
  3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. ...
  4. Drain. ...
  5. Let cool and package into smaller portions into freezer bags (don't forget to label the bags).
Feb 18, 2016

What does adding vinegar to ground beef do? ›

Acidic ingredients like vinegar, lemon juice, yogurt and wine weaken collagen and protein in meat. Once the proteins are broken by acid, one loose protein can bond with another and trap liquid in the meat, making it juicy and tender.

Why add baking soda to ground beef before cooking? ›

However, by gently tossing a baking soda solution with the meat (about ¾ teaspoon baking soda to 2 tablespoons water for 2lbs of grind) and letting sit for 15 to 20 minutes before cooking, beef loses less liquid, browns faster and tastes better.

How many pounds of ground beef do I need for 10 people? ›

When Meat Is a Component of a Dish. If the meat is part of a bigger dish, like pasta or curry, plan for 1/4 to 1/3 pound (four to six ounces) per person. That means you'll want at least 2 1/2 pounds of meat if you're planning to have 10 people over to dinner, and 5 or more pounds of meat if you're cooking for 20 guests ...

What to season ground beef? ›

ingredients
  1. 2 tablespoons oregano.
  2. 1 tablespoon chili powder.
  3. 1 teaspoon cumin.
  4. 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
  5. 2 teaspoons onion powder.
  6. 12 teaspoon salt.
  7. 1 lb ground beef.
  8. 12 cup water.

Do you drain the fat after cooking ground beef? ›

Draining the grease from ground beef will make a dish healthier and is usually recommended. Brown the meat first to extract the fat. Then, you can spoon the grease out of the pan or use a colander to drain the grease. It is important you do not discard the hot grease down a drain as it can cause damage to the drain.

What is the best beef to make a casserole? ›

Chuck, braising and stewing are all suitable for long slow cooking. Delia says…. My own favourite cut for braising, where I live in East Anglia is called chuck and blade steak. In other regions it can be called shoulder, which is exactly where it is.

What is the best meat for casseroles? ›

We suggest using chuck steak as it is well marbled and stays tender through long cooking. You could also use brisket, bone-in ribs or beef osso bucco. You may think you're doing your stew a favour by using a more expensive cut like rump or eye fillet, but these are too lean and will be dry and stringy.

Why is my beef casserole tough? ›

Two options really, either it is really a poor cut of beef, or more likely it hasn't been cooked for long enough. Usually 3 hours in the oven in a casserole dish at 180C/350F should make any cut of beef tender.

What cooking method is usually used with large pieces of meat? ›

Roasting and baking methods are conducted by cooking food uncovered in an oven (dry heat) with little or no liquid added. They are essentially the same process, except that roasting usually refers only to meat. 1. Roasting is a dry-heat cooking method often used for large pieces of meat.

What is the best beef to cook for a crowd? ›

Grass-fed and grass-finished Brisket

This large cut of grass-fed beef is perfect for feeding a crowd. We suggest slow cooking for several hours, resulting in a tender and flavorful dish that's perfect for any occasion.

How to cook 5 pounds of ground beef? ›

All you do is add up to 3 pounds of ground beef to your crock-pot (I have done as many as 5 lbs. at one time). Break up the beef and add ¼ cup water (per pound of beef). Turn your crock-pot on and cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or LOW for 4-6 hours.

How is ground beef best cooked? ›

The best way to cook ground beef is to brown it. This is done by sautéing the ground beef in a skillet on the stovetop until it's cooked through.

What can I add to ground beef to make it taste better? ›

The magic lies in the seasoning – a simple yet potent mix of garlic, onion, cumin, and cayenne, creating some of the most tasty ground beef.

What makes ground beef better? ›

I always advise using cuts of beef that get the most amount of work from the cow, as this will render beefier-tasting meat, along with cuts that have a good amount of fat to add flavor. If you're willing to make it, I promise you, this will be the best ground beef you've ever tasted.

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