Hashbrown Hamburger Casserole is a creamy, beefy weeknight dinner with tender potatoes and a bubbly cheddar top. The onion and mushroom sauce make it satisfying enough to serve on its own, though it also travels well to a potluck.
How to make hashbrown hamburger casserole: Mix cooked beef with thawed hash browns, creamy sauce, and cheddar. Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes or longer, until the center reaches 165°F.
Why You’ll Love It
- Weeknight-friendly prep: You can get the filling into the oven after 20 minutes of prep.
- Cheese throughout: Cheddar goes into the filling as well as over the top, so you get creamy bites beneath the bubbly finish.
- One hearty dish: Beef and potatoes bake together rather than needing separate pots at serving time.
- Easy to portion: A 10-minute rest gives you a chance to set the table before scooping.
Ingredient Notes
Hash browns: Buy a 20-ounce package and thaw it before you start mixing. The important part is what happens after thawing: if the potatoes feel wet or you see liquid around them, remove that excess moisture. I like to spread them out and pat them dry so I can see whether any damp patches remain.
Ground beef and onion: You’ll cook them together, then drain off the excess fat before they meet the creamy filling. I take a moment to check the skillet after draining; liquid left there will go straight into your casserole.
Condensed cream of mushroom soup: Use the condensed soup called for here, not a prepared bowl of soup. It forms the sauce with the sour cream, so adding liquid to it would change the filling.
Sour cream: Have it at room temperature as you begin. Stir it with the soup and seasonings until the mixture looks smooth before the potatoes and beef go in.
Cheddar: Shred enough for both the filling and the top. I keep those portions separate on the counter; otherwise it’s easy to use the topping cheese while stirring the bowl.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 cup yellow onion, diced
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (10.5 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 8 ounces sour cream, at room temperature
- 20 ounces hash browns, thawed; remove excess moisture before mixing
- 3 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded; divided into 2 cups for the mixture and 1 1/2 cups for the topping
How to Make Hashbrown Hamburger Casserole
1. Heat the oven. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Set out a casserole dish, a large skillet, a large mixing bowl, and a food thermometer.
2. Cook the beef. Cook the ground beef and diced onion in the skillet over medium heat, breaking the meat up as it cooks. When the onion is soft, check that the beef has reached 160°F with your thermometer, then drain the excess fat.
3. Mix the sauce. In the large bowl, stir together the condensed cream of mushroom soup, onion powder, garlic powder, and sour cream. Keep stirring until you no longer see separate streaks of soup or sour cream.
4. Combine. Remove excess moisture from your thawed hash browns, then add them and 2 cups of the cheddar to the sauce. Stir in the cooked beef and onion until the potatoes and meat are distributed through the creamy mixture.
5. Top and bake. Transfer the mixture to your casserole dish and scatter the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar over it. Bake for 45 minutes or longer, until the top is bubbly and a food thermometer inserted into the center reads 165°F. Melted cheese alone won’t tell you whether the middle is ready.
6. Rest. Let the casserole rest for 10 minutes before serving. Scoop down through the cheese topping so each portion gets beef, potatoes, and creamy sauce.
How to Keep It From Turning Watery
Pay attention to moisture before the filling reaches the baking dish. Thawed hash browns can carry excess water, and cooked beef can leave fat behind in the skillet. Pat the potatoes dry or gently squeeze out excess liquid, and make sure the drained beef isn’t sitting in a puddle before you stir it into the sauce.
You want the finished casserole to be creamy around the tender potato shreds, not surrounded by loose liquid. The cheddar on top should look melted and bubbly, but that’s only a surface cue. I check the center with a thermometer rather than letting an attractive top decide when dinner is done.
Tips for Success
Why does the filling look greasy?
You may see glossy pockets around the beef instead of an evenly creamy coating. Excess fat from the skillet can end up in the filling, so look at the cooked beef before it goes into your bowl. If liquid is still collecting beneath it, drain it again.
Why does the sauce look streaky?
Separate pale streaks mean the soup and sour cream haven’t been stirred together fully. Mix those ingredients until smooth before adding the bulky potatoes and beef; it’s much easier to see what you’re doing while the bowl contains only sauce.
Why is the topping ready before the middle?
Cheddar can melt while the casserole’s center still needs more oven time. If the top looks bubbly but you’re unsure about the filling, check the middle rather than scooping from an edge. Keep baking until the center reaches the temperature given in the instructions.
Variations
- Use a crumb topping: Add crackers or breadcrumbs over the cheesy top if you’d like a crumb-covered finish.
- Add vegetables: Mixed vegetables are an option if you want them alongside the beef and hash browns. Keep in mind that the creamy filling will look less uniform once they’re stirred through.
Storage & Reheating
USDA FSIS says to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers. Keep them in the fridge for 3 to 4 days or freeze them for 3 to 4 months; thaw frozen leftovers in the refrigerator, cold water, or microwave, not on the counter. Reheat a portion until its center reaches 165°F on a food thermometer.
What to Serve With It
Because this casserole already contains beef and potatoes, you can keep the rest of your meal simple. If you’re planning future dinners, try a hashbrown casserole, cheesy hamburger potato casserole without soup, or an easy hamburger and potato casserole. For a change of starch, there’s hamburger rice casserole; you can also put hobo casserole or slow cooker ground beef noodle casserole on your dinner list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is hashbrown hamburger casserole the same as funeral potatoes?
The cheesy hashbrown base is sometimes called funeral potatoes. Here, ground beef is mixed into that potato-and-cheese filling, making it a beef casserole you can serve as the main dish.
Can I make this without cream of mushroom soup?
This filling calls for condensed cream of mushroom soup along with sour cream; leaving the soup out would change the sauce. If avoiding canned soup is your priority, choose a hamburger-and-potato recipe written without it rather than omitting it from these ingredients.
How much casserole does the recipe make?
It makes 8 servings. Let it finish resting before you portion it, then scoop through the topping to include the mixed filling underneath.
Final Notes
Keep the topping cheddar aside until you’ve finished mixing the filling, so it’s ready when you fill the dish. If you have a question or make the casserole, tell me how it turned out in the comments.
Hashbrown Hamburger Casserole
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 cup yellow onion diced
- 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup 10.5 ounces
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 8 ounces sour cream at room temperature
- 20 ounces hash browns thawed; remove excess moisture before mixing
- 3 1/2 cups cheddar cheese shredded; divided into 2 cups for the mixture and 1 1/2 cups for the topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Cook the ground beef and diced onion in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking up the meat, until the onion is soft and the beef reaches 160°F on a food thermometer. Drain excess fat.
- In a large bowl, stir the cream of mushroom soup, onion powder, garlic powder and sour cream until smooth.
- Remove excess moisture from the thawed hash browns. Add the hash browns and 2 cups of cheddar to the sauce. Stir in the cooked beef and onion until combined.
- Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish and top with the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar. Bake for 45 minutes or longer, until the top is bubbly and the center reaches 165°F on a food thermometer.
- Let the casserole rest for 10 minutes before serving.
