Cheesy Spaghetti Casserole with Ground Beef

If you love nostalgic comfort food, my stovetop spaghetti casserole is for you.
Ground beef, mushrooms, canned diced tomatoes, mushroom soup, and beef
chili (I prefer chili without beans) come together in an easy dump-and-go pasta
dinner that skips the oven altogether.

 

Mom’s Hamburger Spaghetti Casserole

With large gatherings, it’s nice to have a ground beef spaghetti casserole that’s easy to throw together and something everyone will like. Growing up, my mom’s go-to dish was this cheesy spaghetti casserole. It was a family favorite at every gathering and it’s still my ultimate comfort food.

A Southern Casserole, Not an Italian Spaghetti

Mom’s spaghetti isn’t Italian in any way, nothing like a classic sunday sauce. There’s no Italian sausage, no Parmesan, no mozzarella. It’s one of those from-scratch Southern casserole recipes that took a pasta dinner and made it its own, and once you taste it you’ll understand why Mom made it so often.

Canned Chili Does the Heavy Lifting

The base for this cheesy beef spaghetti is cream of mushroom soup and chili con carne, except I don’t think they even sell chili con carne anymore, so I use canned chili for the meat sauce instead. This is the only recipe in my kitchen that still uses canned mushroom soup, and I’m fine with that. It’s what makes this taste like the 1970s casserole it actually is.

Stretch It, Swap It, Make It Yours

If a couple more people show up for dinner, just add a little more tomato sauce and pasta and this stretches without missing a beat. Want it heartier? Add more ground beef. If you’re a bigger red sauce fan than I am, use more than my one cup, my mom’s version uses two. If you’d rather swap the whole flavor direction, my philly cheesesteak casserole with a panko crumb topping uses the same ground beef and pasta base.

Everyone I’ve ever made this for has loved it, except my own kids. If they’d eaten it at a friend’s house, I’d bet money they’d have loved it.

What You’ll Need

The exact amounts are in the recipe card below.

• Ground beef – lean keeps you from draining off a lot of grease.
• Mushroom soup – I’m not big on processed shortcuts, but this recipe genuinely needs the can.
• Diced tomatoes and tomato sauce – use diced tomatoes in juice, or crushed. I use one cup of tomato sauce, my mom’s version uses two.
• Fresh mushrooms – optional, but I like what they add.
• Colby cheese – gooey and melty. Cheddar works too, or a mix of both. Grate your own block instead of using pre-shredded, which has a coating that keeps it from melting as well.

Let’s Make a Spaghetti Casserole

Step 1: start with some flavor

Step 2: simmer the sauce

Step 3: add the pasta

Cook the pasta al dente in a large pot of salted water and add cooked spaghetti noodles to the sauce. Use some tongs to stir the pasta into the sauce.

Once combined add cheese to the top and cover until it’s melted. If you are making this in advance, wait to add the cheese until right before serving.

This ground beef spaghetti casserole is a great recipe to have on hand for a large group, and it’s a good one to keep in your rotation of pasta casseroles. All you need is some garlic bread. If you’d rather start with chicken instead of beef, my creamy chicken and mushroom spaghetti casserole is built for exactly that.

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.