Big Mac Casserole brings savory ground beef, tender potatoes, melted cheddar and tangy burger sauce to a weeknight dinner, with cool, crunchy toppings added just before you eat. You get the contrast of a warm casserole and fresh lettuce and pickles without baking those toppings until they wilt.
How to make Big Mac Casserole: Cook the potatoes and beef in a skillet, combine them with cheddar, and bake covered at 375°F for 15 minutes. Add the sauce and fresh toppings after baking.
Why You’ll Love It
- Skillet-to-oven cooking: You use the same skillet for the potatoes and beef before moving everything to a casserole dish.
- Warm and cool textures: Soft potatoes and melted cheddar sit beneath crisp lettuce, pickles and diced tomato.
- Sauce made during the bake: You can stir it together while the covered casserole is in the oven.
- Toppings stay flexible: You can add lettuce and pickles to each serving, so stored portions do not have to sit under the fresh vegetables.
Ingredient Notes
Russet potatoes are the base here. Chop them small so you can cook them in the skillet until they begin to soften before they go into the casserole dish. I would not put large, firm chunks straight into the dish and expect the covered bake to do all the potato cooking.
Lean ground beef gives you the burger part of the casserole. Cook it with diced white onion, Worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard, garlic powder and onion powder; check the beef with a food thermometer rather than judging it only by its color. Save the separate portion of diced onion for serving if you want that fresh onion bite.
Cheddar goes over the beef and potatoes before baking. The foil-covered bake melts it into the warm filling; you are not looking for a browned, crisp cheese crust. I like the melted cheese underneath the sauce, where you can still taste both.
Mayonnaise, ketchup, relish and dill pickle juice make the tangy sauce. Stir them together while the casserole bakes, then drizzle the sauce over the finished dish. Keep the dill pickle chips separate: they are a topping, not a replacement for the relish in the sauce.
Iceberg lettuce, tomato and pickles belong on the served casserole. Buy iceberg if you want the cool crunch described here. I keep the toppings off any portion I plan to refrigerate, especially the lettuce, which gets soggy in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 1 pound russet potatoes, chopped small
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 white onion, diced, for the beef
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup relish
- 1 tablespoon dill pickle juice
- 1 large tomato, diced, for serving
- 1/4 cup white onion, diced, for serving
- 3/4 cup iceberg lettuce, shredded, for serving
- 1/4 cup dill pickle chips, for serving
How to Make Big Mac Casserole
1. Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 375°F and lightly grease a casserole dish. Set it near the skillet so you can transfer the potatoes as soon as they begin to soften.
2. Cook the potatoes. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the chopped potatoes with the water and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. When the pieces begin to soften, transfer them to the prepared dish.
3. Cook the beef. In the same skillet, cook the ground beef with the 1/2 white onion, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic powder and onion powder. Season with salt and pepper, and cook until the beef reaches 160°F on a food thermometer.
4. Assemble and bake. Add the beef mixture to the potatoes and stir to combine. Scatter the cheddar over the top, cover the dish with foil and bake for 15 minutes. The cheese should be melted, and a food thermometer inserted into the center of the casserole should read 165°F.
5. Make the sauce. While the casserole bakes, stir together the mayonnaise, ketchup, relish and dill pickle juice. Keep it ready for the casserole once it comes out of the oven.
6. Add the fresh toppings. Drizzle the sauce over the baked casserole. Add the diced tomato, remaining 1/4 cup white onion, shredded lettuce and dill pickle chips when serving, so each portion gets the cool toppings.
When Do the Sauce and Toppings Go On?
Bake the potato, beef and cheddar mixture first, then finish it with sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle chips. That order gives you melted cheese against the warm filling and a cool, crisp bite on top. I put lettuce on individual portions rather than across the whole dish when I expect leftovers.
If you want a bottled shortcut, Thousand Island dressing can stand in for the homemade sauce for a similar flavor. Add as much to your serving as you like. Keep it out of the oven along with the fresh toppings.
Tips for Success
Why are my potatoes still firm?
You will notice firm pieces when you scoop through the finished casserole if the potatoes went into the dish before they began to soften. Chop them small and give them their skillet cook first. If you are still at the skillet stage and a piece feels firm, keep cooking the potatoes before you transfer them.
Why is my leftover lettuce soggy?
Lettuce loses its crisp texture when it sits on a dressed casserole in the refrigerator. Spoon out the portions you want to eat, then add lettuce to those plates. Keep the lettuce away from the portions you are saving.
Is melted cheese enough to tell me it is done?
Melted cheddar tells you what happened to the topping, not the temperature at the center. Check that center with a food thermometer; the casserole needs to reach 165°F. I reach for the thermometer instead of trying to guess from how the cheese looks.
Variations
- Use Thousand Island dressing: Replace the homemade sauce with dressing for a similar tangy finish, adding it after baking.
- Put the lettuce on each plate: Set out the shredded iceberg at serving time so people can add it to their portions and you can store the remaining casserole without lettuce.
- Choose how much fresh onion you want: Keep the diced serving onion on the side so you can add it to the portions that need that sharper, fresh bite.
Another ground beef and pasta dinner is Chili Mac, a one-pot meal ready in about 25 minutes.
If you like fun beef casseroles, Dorito Casserole layers nacho cheese chips with creamy seasoned beef and vegetables.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers and use them within 3 to 4 days; keep the lettuce off stored portions. I would not freeze a fully topped serving, since lettuce and mayonnaise do not freeze well; set aside undressed filling if you plan to freeze some. Reheat leftovers to 165°F on a food thermometer, then add fresh toppings.
What to Serve With It
For another ground-beef dinner, try Easy Cowboy Casserole or Hobo Casserole. If you would rather have rice or noodles with your beef, look at Cozy Beef and Rice Casserole and Slow Cooker Amish Ground Beef Noodle Casserole. For more casserole ideas, there is Slow Cooker Amish Beef and Corn Casserole or Copycat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole.
Frequently Asked Questions
What ingredients are in Big Mac casserole?
Seasoned ground beef, cheddar and a special sauce of mayonnaise, ketchup, relish and dill pickle juice, finished with the burger toppings: lettuce, tomato, diced white onion and dill pickles. This one bakes the beef over a layer of chopped russet potatoes.
Can you make a Big Mac casserole with crescent rolls?
Yes. A sheet of crescent dough can take the place of the potato layer as the base under the beef and cheese. Here the potatoes stay: they soften in the skillet before the casserole bakes.
Do the two portions of white onion do the same job?
No. The 1/2 white onion cooks with the beef, while the remaining 1/4 cup is diced for serving. Keeping them separate gives you cooked onion in the filling and fresh onion on top.
Final Notes
Keep a clean spoon handy for adding sauce to individual servings if you are saving some casserole for later. If you have a question or make it, tell me how it turned out in the comments.
Big Mac Casserole
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Ingredients
- 1 pound russet potatoes chopped small
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 white onion diced, for the beef
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup relish
- 1 tablespoon dill pickle juice
- 1 tomato large, diced, for serving
- 1/4 cup white onion diced, for serving
- 3/4 cup iceberg lettuce shredded, for serving
- 1/4 cup dill pickles chips, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°F and lightly grease a casserole dish.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the chopped potatoes with the water and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until they begin to soften, then transfer them to the dish.
- In the skillet, cook the ground beef with the 1/2 white onion, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic powder and onion powder. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the ground beef to 160°F on a food thermometer.
- Add the beef mixture to the potatoes and stir to combine. Top with cheddar cheese, cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes, until the cheese melts and the center of the casserole reaches 165°F on a food thermometer.
- While the casserole bakes, stir together the mayonnaise, ketchup, relish and dill pickle juice.
- After baking, drizzle on the sauce. Add the tomato, remaining 1/4 cup white onion, lettuce and dill pickle chips when serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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