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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Jennifer Sharp says
Making this recipe & I don’t see where/when to add the thyme. I know it’s best to add fresh herbs last, but would like to know how it fit in this recipe. Thank you
Barbara Curry says
Since thyme is a pretty hardy herb, I add it with the onions and mushrooms.
Jake says
I woke up today craving a beef and potato casserole. So glad I stumbled across this recipe that doesn’t use cream of mushroom soup but actually sautéed mushrooms and beef with bechamel. I am going to slice the potatoes with a mandolin and layer it like a lasagna or moussaka. (Beef mixture, cheese, bechamel, potato, beef, cheese, bechamel, potato, bechamel) I am hoping it will hold its shape like a lasagna, and I will serve it with a simple green salad with a vinaigrette. I will let you know if it works! Thanks for the inspiration!
Barbara Curry says
I think slicing the potatoes should work, you may be able to shorten the cooking time.
Brooke says
Made this for dinner and it was delicious! Steamed my cubed potatoes first so they were already soft when putting together in the casserole. Perfect!
Barbara Curry says
A great idea to precook the potatoes to save some time. Glad it was a success.
Melissa says
So yummy!
Barbara Curry says
Thanks for the 5 star rating, I’m glad you liked it.
Tracey Kornbrust says
I was skeptical about using chicken broth with ground beef and I was wrong! I usually alter recipes to my liking but not this one!
I followed the recipe to a T- except I used canned mushrooms and accidentally sliced my potatoes instead of cubing them.
I don’t care much for hamburger casseroles but I found this recipe when I had a package of 90% lean ground beef I got at discount and wanted something out of the ordinary!
I am glad I tried ( and followed) this recipe. It was delicious and I could not wait to eat some, leftovers, for lunch today…..and even tomorrow.
It made a lot for just my husband and I …..so I will put some in the freezer for quick meal night!
This recipe will definitely be added to my recipe book!
Thank You!!
Barbara Curry says
Thank you so much for this review. I’m glad that you found a recipe you loved.
Kirrisa says
Thank you for putting one out there with no canned soup!!
Barbara Curry says
It’s so much better without the canned soup!
Connie L Loyd says
Perfect! I have been looking for an easy beef and potato casserole recipe, that doesn’t include canned soup! My mother has congestive heart failure, and I have to watch her sodium intake. Adding canned soup to any receipt with cheese and hamburger automatically means I can’t give it to her.
Thank you! I can’t wait to try this receipe!
Connie
Nicole M Krause says
Sounds good. I am curious why chicken broth and not beef?
Barbara Curry says
Mostly because, I always seem to have chicken broth, but beef will certainly work.