This hamburger potato casserole is a hearty, homemade comfort food made with creamy potatoes, seasoned ground beef, and a rich sour cream and cheese sauce—no canned soup needed! Ready in just 20 minutes, it’s an easy, family-friendly meal everyone will love.
Before You Get Started
Normally ground beef and potato casseroles are made with a can of cream of mushroom soup, and while that is easier, making your own sauce just takes a few minutes and the flavor is so much better than what you can get in a can. A homemade soup mixture surrounds layers of cubed, not sliced potatoes which is added to a ground beef mixture flavored with sautéed mushrooms and onions.
A creamy sauce made with Worcestershire sauce and sour cream coats the potatoes and beef for a casserole that you’ll be making over and over again. It only takes about 20 minutes to prep and the oven does all the rest of the work. Since it’s pretty hardy by itself, I like to serve this with a light salad like a strawberry spinach salad or Greek salad.
What Makes This Recipe a Must-Try Hamburger Potato Casserole Recipe
- Calls for simple ingredients and no soup needed
- The sour cream adds a tangy flavor and a creamy texture you’ll love
- It’s perfect comfort food for any time of year
- An easy meal you can serve with almost any side dish
- Make ahead, refrigerate, and serve when you’re ready
- It makes for easy and fresh tasting leftovers
Featured reader review
“Thank you! This dish was a hit! I made individual containers to share with my mom, aunt and uncle, and for my husband and myself. I followed the recipe exactly as written! I really prefer making the sauce as opposed to using canned soups. This recipe is a keeper! .”
Julie
A Few Recipe Notes
- Drain the meat – Drain your ground beef or soak up excess grease with a paper towel.
- Make now, bake later – Make this casserole ahead of time, refrigerate, and bake when ready. This is not only convenient, but it allows the flavors to absorb for a longer period of time.
- Use a shallow dish – A shallow dish will cook quickly and also allow more surface area for a crispy cheesy topping.
- High quality cheese is a good choice – Using a good quality cheese will melt better and taste better overall. I recommend grating your cheese at home instead of buying shredded cheese.
- Top it off – Feel free to add bacon, green onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, etc. to this casserole. Make it your own!
- Cook the Potatoes – Make sure to cut the potatoes into small cubes or it will take much longer to cook.
Ingredient Notes for a Ground Beef and Potatoes Casserole
Get the full list of ingredients below in the recipe card.
- Ground beef – 90% lean ground beef works best for this recipe because of the small amount of grease. If you’re using a fattier cut, make sure you drain the grease. You can also use ground turkey or ground chicken or mix it up and do ½ beef and ½ sausage.
- Potatoes – Russet potatoes are best for this casserole. They are a high starch potato which means it will keep its shape when cooked. Some call them Idaho potatoes.
How to make a Ground Beef Casserole
Step 1: Cook the ground beef
Brown the hamburger with mushrooms and onions and remove from the skillet.
Step 2: Add liquid
Whisk butter and flour together then add your liquids to make a roux. Remove from the heat and add the sour cream.
Step 3: Mix in potatoes
Mix potatoes and ground beef in a large bowl and drench with the liquid mixture.
Add some cheese to the mixture.
Step 4: Bake
Pour into a casserole dish and bake covered until the potatoes have cooked.
Step 5: Get cheesy
Add as much cheese as your heart desires then baked uncovered until the cheese is golden brown.
Pro tip: Don’t overcook the beef in the skillet, it will bake more in the oven.
How to Store and Reheat
To store a ground beef casserole, first let it cool to room temperature and then cover with plastic wrap or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. To reheat, let it come to room temperature and then reheat in the oven at 350º for 10 minutes or you can reheat in the microwave.
You can also freeze this casserole after it has cooled to room temperature. Let it thaw in the fridge before reheating.
If you loved this recipe, give it a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating! Also, snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #butterandbaggage and tagging me @butterandbaggage.
Hamburger Potato Casserole Without Canned Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef 90% lean
- ½ cup onion diced
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 3 medium russet potatoes 4 cups chopped
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups colby jack cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º, grease a 9 x 13 baking dish.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add the ground beef, cooking for about 2 minutes until it starts to brown. Then add the onions, mushrooms and thyme and cook until the beef is cooked through and the mushrooms have browned, about 8 minutes. If there is extra grease, drain it. Place in a large bowl.
- In the same skillet, add butter and melt over medium heat. Add flour and cook for a minute. Slowly whisk in chicken broth adding gradually. Next slowly add milk and cook until it is slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and add sour cream, Worcestershire sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Add chopped potatoes to the bowl with the ground beef and pour the sauce over it, stirring to combine. Add a cup of the cheese and stir. Add to the prepared casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 60 minutes, until the potatoes are soft but not mushy.
- Remove the foil and cover with remaining cheese. Cook uncovered an additional 3 minutes to allow the cheese to melt. Let it sit for a few minutes before serving.
Video
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- You can prepare this in advance and store in the fridge for a day before baking.
- You can use cheddar cheese instead of colby jack or almost any cheese that you like.
- Make sure to drain any grease from the hamburger.
- Russet potatoes work great for this casserole, but you can use Yukon gold.
Nutrition
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Maria says
Can I use can potato’s
Barbara Curry says
I have not cooked with canned potatoes. However, canned potatoes have been cooked so you can use them for this casserole, but you won’t need to cook it as long. Take it out when it is bubby and the cheese has melted. I would start checking it at about 20 minutes. Let me know how it turns out.
Claudine says
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Barbara Curry says
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Theresa Lewis says
In talking about the recipe and tips it says to drain the ground beef but in the recipe itself, draining isn’t mentioned unless I misread. Thanks
It sounds good- who doesn’t like meat and potatoes! I plan to try it
Barbara Curry says
I made it a little more clear, you just need to drain it if you are using a lower fat hamburger. Hope you like it!
Lyssa says
I believe that would actually be if you’re using a “higher” fat content Ground Beef that you would need to drain off or blot the grease. This can be easily done with paper towels and tongs to hold the towels if you don’t have a HUGE AMOUNT of grease to get rid of. It’s a much easier process than trying to drain using a colander. I’m
I haven’t tried this yet, it’s 2:00 am and I JUST FOUND IT, so unfortunately it’s going to have to wait, BUT YOU CAN BET YOUR BUTTER IT WILL BE ON OUR DINDIN TABLE SOON!!! 🍽♥️🍴
Barbara Curry says
I agree, if you use a lower fat ground chuck, you might not have to drain it at all.
BRIDGETT BRENNAN says
Sounds like a wonderful recipe and excited to try it! (Maybe tonight!!) Have you used canned mushrooms? If used when would you suggest.. when the onions are about halfway done? Thanks for the recipe and for your reply if you get a minute. 👍🙋🏼♀️🙇♀️❤ Have a great night and blessed week!
Barbara Curry says
Canned mushrooms can definitely be used, I would add them at the end just before the meat mixture is done.
Gloria Schantz says
I ways use Red Potatoes instead. Russet Potatoes. Can I use Red Potatoes ?
Barbara Curry says
Yes, you can use red potatoes, they may cook a little quicker so check the time and take out when they are fork tender.
Schantz Gloria says
Thank – you ! For your answer and coming quickly . 😊
Barbara Curry says
I’m always happy to answer questions when I can.
IMP says
Flavor was good, but was not quick meal. Potatoes took forever to soften.
Barbara Curry says
Next time, you could try cutting the potatoes into smaller pieces. You can also prep this recipe the day before to save time.
Sarah Ramsey says
I have two hamburger and potato cheese casseroles baking in the oven.
I’m never going to add any amount (from a carton) of low sodium chicken broth in any of the ground beef and ground turkey casseroles I make. Or to a ground beef and ground pork casserole I make ever again.
Not after what occurred last week.
I skipped it this time. Why? The last casserole I made had it, and while it was baking our apartment smelled of it, and it was strange and it wasn’t pleasant smelling it while it was baking. It smelled like I
was baking greasy chicken. Maybe it was the combination of the milk, butter and chicken broth that made it smell awful? Again this is not in regards to your recipe at all. I had made someone else’s recipe and I used ground beef ground pork, potatoes, and low sodium chicken broth. When I tasted it it tasted like it ruined the casserole so I soaked up all the chicken broth, with a big pile of napkins and then it tasted better. It was not your recipe that I’m referring to at all. I’m describing why I won’t use chicken broth in a casserole not unless it has chicken in the casserole recipe or I’m making Avgolemono soup.
In your recipe I modified it with ground hamburger and ground turkey. I was glad you said cook the meat in a frying pan and drain, soak up the grease. That’s what I was thinking about the animal fat, grease. We wouldn’t want a greasy casserole. I put in gluten free flour (Suncoast has no sorghum) and canned mushrooms. I rinsed the salt out of the canned mushrooms in a colander and soaked it up with napkins. Also didn’t have any onions so I put in lots of garlic powder instead. It smells delicious 😋baking! Thank you for sharing your recipe. I don’t have a picture yet.
Barbara Curry says
Glad you could make this to your liking. You might try using bone broth instead of chicken broth, I find that the Zoup brand is pretty good and always my first choice.
Sarah Ramsey says
My husband has enjoyed the casserole so much, because it’s delicious and convenient to heat quickly and eat. I have as well. Is Zoup gluten free? Trader Joe’s sells chicken bone broth.
Barbara Curry says
Their packaging says that it is gluten free. I’m not sure about Trader Joe’s.
Bosco's mom says
Excellent! My adult son couldn’t stop eating it. I didn’t do too bad myself. I thought I’d have enough for 2 days but if 3 tablespoons of leftovers doesn’t make a meal for 2 adults. I thought he’d give the little bit that was left to the dogs but they were out of luck because he saved it for himself for a midnight snack. I’ll be making this again but I’ll probably double the recipe.
Barbara Curry says
I love leftovers, so definitely make extra!
Julie Malter says
I’m looking forward to making this casserole for dinner. Sounds wonderful. What size are the potato pieces when chopped (like a hash brown dice? bigger?)
Barbara Curry says
Yes, about 1/2 inch cubes.
Julie Malter says
Thank you! This dish was a hit! I made individual containers to share with my mom, aunt and uncle, and for my husband and myself. I followed the recipe exactly as written! I really prefer making the sauce as opposed to using canned soups. This recipe is a keeper!
Barbara Curry says
I love having sharing a casserole with family. I’ll freeze individual servings so I’ll have it for lunch.
Bill Plogman says
I haven’t made this yet want to thank you for others that I have and turned out great.
Thanks so much. Bill Plogman
Barbara Curry says
It’s hard not to like this casserole, I love the sour cream based sauce.