This hamburger hashbrown casserole recipe is full of creamy and cheesy goodness and has so much flavor with the seasonings and the peppers and onions. It’s a casserole recipe that’s amazing as a main dish recipe that the whole family will love, or even as a hearty side dish recipe that’s great for the holidays or potlucks!
There’s something so comforting about seeing a hashbrown casserole on the dinner table. It’s usually full of cheese, shredded hashbrowns, or diced potatoes, and finished with a creamy soup and seasonings.
This easy meal is no different. But what makes this recipe better than others, is that it has the flavors of the peppers and onions, for that perfect hint of pepper flavor on top of all of the other amazing flavors going on.
Now, if you’re looking for a dish that doesn’t have meat, these crock pot cheesy potatoes may be for you! Or, this sausage casserole in the slow cooker with kielbasa is a similar dish, that uses a different type of meat.
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Ingredients Needed
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 teaspoons cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, divided
- 2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups frozen seasoning blend
- 2 – 10.5 ounce cans cream of mushroom soup
- 12 ounce can evaporated milk
- 30 ounce package frozen hashbrown potatoes
- 4 Tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded (divided)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
Substitutions
This recipe can be flexible if you prefer certain flavors, types of meat or you simply only have specific items on hand. Here are some suggestions that you may find helpful:
- Cheese – we love using cheddar and mozzarella for this recipe but feel free to use your favorite types of melty cheese instead. Or, you could also try using canned cheddar cheese soup or
- Meat – you can use ground chicken, ground sausage, or your favorite ground meat substitute, instead of this ground beef casserole, if you prefer. (In case you want to use it for these other ground beef dinner ideas.)
- Soup – Cream of chicken soup instead of cream of mushroom soup would also be a great soup to use if you’d rather have that.
- Potatoes – although we highly recommend using frozen shredded hashbrowns, you could also use frozen diced potatoes instead.
How to Make Hamburger Hashbrown Casserole
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
Before Beginning: Heat oven to 375 degrees, grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish, and remove hashbrowns from the freezer so they can thaw while you’re prepping other things.
- Place oil and ground beef in a medium to large skillet. Brown ground beef over medium heat until the beef is just done and is not pink, about 5 minutes. Make sure to break beef into small pieces while cooking.
- Once the ground beef is done cooking, drain the meat and return to the skillet.
- Stir in 1 ½ teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, garlic, and seasoning blend.
- Cook for an additional 5 minutes stirring frequently to make sure seasonings are evenly distributed.
- Then stir in half (1 cup) of the cheddar cheese, and stir to mix in.
- In a medium bowl combine the cans of mushroom soup with the evaporated milk. Mix together until smooth. You can do this with a mixer but a fork also works well.
- Spread the ground beef mixture into the bottom of the greased 9 x 13 inch pan.
- Pour the soup mixture over the beef mixture in the pan. Spread out the soup mixture with a spoon or spatula to make sure it covers the beef evenly.
- In a small bowl, mix the remaining salt (½ teaspoon) and pepper (½ teaspoon) with the melted butter.
- Pour over the partially thawed hash browns that are in a large mixing bowl. Toss to coat the hash browns in the butter mixture.
Pro Tip: If you have excess water, discard this, instead of mixing it with the melted butter and seasonings.
- Evenly spread the buttered hash browns onto the soup mixture.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the edges are bubbly and light golden brown and the center is hot. Then, after baking for one hour, sprinkle the cheddar and mozzarella cheese on top of the casserole and bake for an additional 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.
Allow to Rest: Let the hashbrown hamburger casserole rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Recipe Pro Tips
- For a smaller batch: This recipe can easily be halved and baked in an 8 ½ X 4 ½ in (6 cup) loaf pan. Cook for 40 minutes at 375 before adding cheese when doing this.
- Make ahead: This dish is easy to make the day before. To do this layer the beef, soup, and potatoes then cover and refrigerate. When ready to cook the next day, cover the pan with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for 15 minutes until bubbly and cooked through. Then add cheese and bake for an additional 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
Recipe FAQs
It’s best for them to thaw before baking hashbrowns in a casserole. If you pull them out of the freezer right when starting this recipe, they’ll thaw while making the ground beef and prepping the layers.
If it’s soggy it could be because the hashbrowns were not thawed, and the water from the hashbrowns has caused the casserole to be wet.
Yes! Cooking the ground beef before adding it to the baking in the dish is important.
Storage
Allow the casserole to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate any leftovers of the hamburger hash brown casserole in an airtight container, or cover with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days. To reheat, microwave in a microwave-safe dish.
What to Serve with this Casserole
So many things can go great with this delicious casserole. A green salad recipe or even something like this roasted garlic broccoli is delicious with it! Or, if you want to keep things really simple, see how to make canned green beans taste better!
Similar Recipes
If you love simple recipes like this one, you’ll also love these reader favorites that are similar with ground beef or potatoes:
Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!
Recipe
Hamburger Hashbrown Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 teaspoons cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon black pepper divided
- 2 teaspoons salt divided
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups frozen veggie seasoning blend Frozen vegetable mixture of onions, red pepper, green pepper, celery, and parsley, or similar.
- 2 – 10.5 ounce cans cream of mushroom soup
- 12 ounce can evaporated milk
- 30 ounces frozen shredded hashbrowns
- 4 Tablespoons butter melted
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375 degrees, grease a 9 x 13 inch pan, and remove hash browns from the freezer so they can thaw while you're prepping the rest.
- Place oil and ground beef in a medium to large skillet. Cook ground beef over medium heat until the beef is just done and is not pink, about 5 minutes. Make sure to break beef into small pieces while cooking.
- Once done drain meat and return to the skillet.
- Stir in 1 ½ teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, garlic, and seasoning blend. Cook for an additional 5 minutes stirring frequently to make sure seasonings are evenly distributed. Then stir in half (1 cup) of the cheddar cheese.
- Spread beef mixture into the bottom of the greased 9 x 13 inch pan.
- In a medium bowl combine the cans of mushroom soup with the evaporated milk. Mix together until smooth. You can do this with a mixer but a fork also works well.
- In a large bowl mix the remaining salt (½ teaspoon) and pepper (½ teaspoon) with the melted butter and pour over the partially thawed hash browns. Toss to coat the hash browns in the butter mixture.
- Pour the soup mixture over the beef mixture in the pan. Spread out the soup mixture with a spoon or spatula to make sure it covers the beef evenly.
- Evenly spread the buttered hash browns onto the soup mixture.
- Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the edges are bubbly and light brown and the center is hot.
- Once done cooking sprinkle cheddar and mozzarella cheeses on top and bake for an additional 5 minutes until cheese is melted.
- Let the casserole rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Donna says
Tasted great but was too much for one pan. I used one 9×13 and one 8×8 pan.
Kathryn says
This made such an easy and yummy dinner! It made great leftovers the next day too for lunch. Thanks for the recipe!
Colleen says
My family loved this casserole! It’s a perfect weeknight dinner. Thanks for the recipe!
jess says
I love a good hashbrown casserole and this is one of the best dishes, and my whole family agrees! thank you for sharing this recipe
Sara Welch says
Enjoyed this for dinner last night and it was a savory success! Hearty and delicious; easily, a new family favorite recipe, indeed!
Kerri says
Sooo good! This is a great weeknight meal!
Anna says
This casserole was a huge hit in our house! I should have made two and frozen one for later. It is so good!
Erin says
What an easy-to-make, family-friendly recipe! Reminds me of a classic casserole I ate growing up.
Andrea says
This flavor packed casserole turned out fantastic. It’s perfect for my family.