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This Slow Cooker ground beef noodle casserole is creamy, cheesy, and made with simple pantry staples. Tender egg noodles, seasoned beef, and cheddar cook into a cozy, budget-friendly dinner you’re going to love. Serve it with green beans, a sharp little salad, or a jar of pickles for an easy meal.
Why You’ll Love It
- Feeds a crowd — one pound of ground beef makes 8 to 10 servings.
- Simple ingredients — ground beef, egg noodles, soup, broth, and cheddar.
- Slow Cooker ease — dinner cooks while you handle the rest of the day.
- Creamy and comforting — tender noodles soak up the beefy sauce and melted cheese.
- Low-fuss meal — just watch the noodles so they do not overcook.
Ingredient Notes
Use wide egg noodles, the regular dried kind in the bag. Thinner noodles can get too soft. Wide egg noodles hold up better.
For the ground beef, 80 to 90 percent lean is just right. You want enough flavor, but you do not want a greasy Slow Cooker situation. Brown it well and drain it. Washing an extra skillet is irritating, but raw ground beef does not belong in the slow cooker for this one. It needs that browned flavor, and it needs to be fully cooked before it goes in.
Cream of mushroom soup is what gives this its old-fashioned casserole character. Use the regular condensed kind. If mushrooms are not your thing, you can swap one can for cream of chicken or cream of celery. But the basic version here is mushroom, and it really does work.
Buy a block of cheddar and shred it yourself if you have the patience. It melts smoother. That said, bagged shredded cheddar works plenty of times too. No guilt.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef, 80 to 90 percent lean
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles, uncooked
- 2 cans (10.5 ounces each) cream of mushroom soup
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided—nothing fancy, just a good medium or sharp cheddar
Instructions
Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up with a spoon as it cooks, until no pink remains, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the salt and black pepper while it cooks. Drain off the excess grease when it’s done; tip it carefully into an old can or heat-safe bowl, never down the sink.
Lightly spray the inside of a 6-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Don’t skip this if your slow cooker tends to run hot around the edges, especially when making something with cheese.
Put the uncooked wide egg noodles into the bottom of the slow cooker and spread them out as evenly as you can. They will overlap some, and that is perfectly fine. Just don’t leave them in one big clump like a nest.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the two cans of cream of mushroom soup and the 2 cups of beef broth until the mixture is smooth. It may look a little homely at this point. Keep going. Plenty of good things look questionable before dinner.
Sprinkle the cooked, drained ground beef evenly over the noodles. Pour the soup and broth mixture over everything, then use a spoon to gently press the noodles down so most of them are moistened and covered by liquid. Do not stir it aggressively; you’re not making cement. A little nudging is enough.
Sprinkle 1 cup of the shredded cheddar over the top, saving the remaining 1 cup for later. Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours or on HIGH for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the noodles are tender and the sauce is bubbly. Try not to lift the lid during the first couple of hours. It’s tempting, but that steam is what cooks the noodles properly.
Once the noodles are tender but not mushy, sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese over the top. Cover again and cook on LOW, or simply keep the cooker on WARM, for 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and stretchy.
Gently stir the casserole from the bottom before serving, bringing some of the beef and sauce up through the noodles. Leave a little melted cheese across the top, or stir it all in if preferred. Taste and add more salt and pepper if it needs it, then serve hot.
Variations
One can of cream of chicken soup can replace one can of mushroom. Frozen peas can be added during the last 30 to 45 minutes, about a cup or two. It’s actually very good if you like them.
Frozen mixed vegetables or corn work the same way: add them near the end so they heat through without collapsing into mush. A little mozzarella mixed with the cheddar gives you a really stretchy cheese topping, if that is your household’s idea of a good time.
Ground turkey can stand in for the beef, or you can do a mix of ground beef and pork. Brown and drain it just as you would the beef. Adding sour cream can make the casserole heavier, not better.
Storage & Reheating
Put leftovers in the refrigerator within 2 hours. This keeps well in a covered container for a few days, though the noodles keep absorbing sauce as they sit. It gets thicker as it sits—still tasty, just more like a scoopable casserole than the soft, creamy thing it was fresh from the slow cooker.
To reheat, add a splash of beef broth or water before warming it up, then heat it until it reaches 165°F. The microwave is fine for a bowl or two. Cover it loosely so it doesn’t splatter all over the inside, because cleaning melted cheese off a microwave ceiling is the sort of task that makes life choices feel questionable.
For a larger amount, warm it in a covered baking dish in the oven, adding that little splash of liquid first. Stir once halfway through if you think of it. If you don’t, it will probably still be okay. This is not the soufflé Olympics.
Final Notes
This is one of those recipes to make when dinner does not need to be interesting. Sometimes what is wanted is a hot plate of noodles and beef with melted cheddar pulling off the spoon in long strings.
It’s not glamorous. It’s not green. It’s not especially photogenic unless you catch that cheese at just the right moment.
But it is filling and familiar and cheap enough to make without doing math in the grocery aisle. And frankly, that counts for quite a lot.
Slow Cooker Amish Ground Beef Noodle Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef 80 to 90 percent lean
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles uncooked
- 2 cans (10.5 ounces each) cream of mushroom soup
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up with a spoon as it cooks, until no pink remains, about 6 to 8 minutes, adding the salt and black pepper while it cooks. Drain off the excess grease.
- Lightly spray the inside of a 6-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
- Put the uncooked wide egg noodles into the bottom of the slow cooker and spread them out as evenly as you can.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the two cans of cream of mushroom soup and the 2 cups of beef broth until the mixture is smooth.
- Sprinkle the cooked, drained ground beef evenly over the noodles, pour the soup and broth mixture over everything, and gently press the noodles down so most are moistened and covered by liquid.
- Sprinkle 1 cup of the shredded cheddar over the top, saving the remaining 1 cup for later. Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours or on HIGH for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the noodles are tender and the sauce is bubbly.
- Once the noodles are tender but not mushy, sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese over the top. Cover again and cook on LOW, or keep the cooker on WARM, for 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Gently stir the casserole from the bottom before serving, taste, and add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve hot while leaving some melted cheese across the top if preferred.