This hamburger green bean casserole is a one pot meal that's full of creamy and cheesy mashed potatoes, green beans, and ground beef! It's an easy dinner recipe the whole family will love!
This green bean casserole with hamburger is one of my husband Ken's favorite casseroles. I'm sure it is mostly because of the green beans. He can't get enough of them.
This dish works great with ground beef, ground pork, and ground turkey. We've tried it with all and sometimes even a mixture. Frankly, I use whatever I have in the house or my freezer to keep things simple.
This recipe is a great way to use fresh green beans from your garden but these days you can make it all year round!
I love these all-in-one meals or casseroles. Easy to make and easy to clean up!
This beef and green bean casserole was inspired by my classic green bean casserole recipe and pairs well with this air fryer garlic bread recipe.
This casserole is great but a side dish would make it perfect. Check out What to Serve With Ratatouille or our collection of affordable casserole recipes for many ideas.
Why You Will Love Ground Beef Green Bean Casserole
- It's quick and easy to make using easy ingredients!
- Makes a hearty, comforting meal that's perfect for weeknight dinners.
- The perfect recipe to feed a large crowd or family gathering.
- Easy to make in advance in order to save time later on and leftovers taste even better the next day.
- Versatile recipe that's easy to customize with your favorite ingredients.
Ingredients
You'll only need a few basic ingredients to make this hamburger green bean mashed potato casserole. You'll find them below, but be sure to check out the recipe card for the exact quantities of each.
- Ground beef: Our favorite but you can also use ground pork, chicken or turkey. It even works with ground sausage
- Green beans: Use fresh!
- Potatoes: Use an all-purpose potato such as Russets, Idaho, or Yukon gold potatoes.
- Cream of mushroom soup: Using canned soup makes this dish a breeze while giving it a delicious creamy texture.
- Crispy fried onions: Added to the top for crunchiness and pop of flavor.
- Shredded cheese: Because cheese makes everything taste better! Use an easy melting cheese like cheddar, mozzarella, Colby, jack, havarti, Swiss, fontina, provolone, or a blend of cheeses.
- Soy sauce: Added to the creamy sauce for the casserole to give it a more savory flavor. You can also use Worcestershire sauce.
- Butter: Mixed into the mashed potatoes for richer flavor.
- Cream or milk: For the mashed potatoes so anything works but the more milk fat your dairy contains, the richer the flavor they will have.
- Parmesan cheese: Added to the mashed potatoes you can leave it out or swap it for another hard grating cheese like Romano or Asiago.
Substitutions and Variations
- Fresh Green Beans: If they aren't available you can use frozen instead.
- Russet Potatoes: Use yellow, white, or red potatoes instead to make the mashed potatoes.
- Mushroom Soup: Use another type of condensed soup such as cream of celery, cream of chicken, cream of asparagus, cream of potato, cream of onion, or cream of bacon.
- Crispy Fried Onions: Use crushed corn chips, tortilla chips, potato chips or nothing at all.
- Cream or Milk: Use sour cream instead.
- Spicy: Add a teaspoon of chili pepper flakes, jalapeno powder, smoked jalapeno powder, or chipotle powder to the ground beef mixture for a little heat.
How to Make Hamburger Green Been Casserole
This casserole goes together in only a few simple steps! Check out the highlights below, and for the full instructions be sure to take a look at the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Cook the green beans.
- Combine the soup, soy sauce, crispy fried onions, and milk in a bowl.
- Add the green beans to the mixture in the bowl and toss to combine.
- Add the green bean mixture to your casserole dish.
- Spread the cooked ground beef and diced onions over the top.
- Combine the cooked potatoes, butter, milk, and parmesan cheese in a pot.
- Mash the potatoes to desired consistency.
- Spread them over the ground beef layer.
- Add the cheese and crispy fried onions over the top.
- Bake the green bean casserole with hamburger until the cheese is melted and it's heated through. You can broil at the end to brown the cheese a bit if desired.
- Serve it up while it's hot and enjoy!
Storage
Refrigerator: Store in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.
Freezer: Store in an air-tight container for up to 3 months.
Make Ahead: Layer all ingredients up to a day in advance, then refrigerate until ready to bake the dish. Remove the casserole from the fridge and let it sit on the counter for thirty minutes before baking.
Reheat: Bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes until heated through or heat individual portions in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Tips
- Chop the onion into small pieces for a better distribution of flavor throughout the casserole.
- Use fresh green beans instead of frozen or canned. They have more flavor and crunch.
- Grate your cheese rather than using pre-shredded varieties found in stores as these tend to have added ingredients that prevent melting properly during the baking process.
- Drain off any excess grease from cooking the ground meat before combining with other ingredients so they don’t make the dish greasy.
- Broil the top layer of cheese to brown slightly to give it a golden color.
FAQ
No, you do not need to peel the potatoes before boiling them for this recipe. Just be sure to wash and scrub them well beforehand. After cooking you should easily be able to remove the peel if you want or leave them in for a more rustic mashed potato and more nutrition.
Yes, you can use canned green beans if desired but make sure that you drain them well. Also, reduce or omit any additional liquid in the recipe as there tends to be more moisture in canned vegetables than fresh or frozen ones.
Yes, you should brown the ground meat with diced onions until it is cooked through and drain off any excess fat before adding it to your casserole dish.
Potato Green Bean Casserole Video
Take a moment to have a peek at our video below. I hope you enjoy making this easy weeknight casserole as much as we do!
More Easy Dinner Casseroles
Hamburger Green Bean Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups green beans, fresh, cut
Bean Mixture
- 1 can (10 ¾ oz) cream of mushroom soup
- ½ cup cream or ⅓ cup milk
- ½ cup crispy fried onions
- 1 tblsp soy sauce
Meat Mixture
- 1 pound ground beef ground chicken, ground turkey, ground pork, or ground sausage
- 1 small onion, chopped fine
Potato Mixture
- 3-4 medium-large, russet potatoes, unpeeled
- ½ cup cream or ⅓ cup milk
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Topping
- ¼ cup crispy fried onions divided
- 1 cup cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 x 9 inch casserole dish, or equivalent, with cooking spray.
- Boil green beans for 5 minutes or until bright green. Drain.
Bean Mixture
- Mix soup, soy sauce, ½ cup of fried onions and milk or cream. Add beans and combine.
- Place bean mixture on the bottom of casserole dish.
Meat Mixture
- Brown ground meat with diced onions until cooked and drain. Put meat mixture on top of beans. Flatten somewhat with a spatula.
Potato Mixture
- Boil potatoes for approximately 15 minutes, until tender. Drain and return to warm pot. Add butter, milk or cream and parmesan. Use a hand mixer if possible to almost whip and blend well.
- Use a spoon and spatula to place potatoes on top of ground meat. Smooth or flatten somewhat again.
Topping
- Sprinkle crispy fried onions and then shredded cheese on top.
- Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.
- Turn oven up to broil until cheese and onions are brown. About 5 minutes. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published July 2018. It has been updated with new content and images.
Jane says
Making this tonight... Milk is listed twice in the directions ,but only once in the ingredients list. Please clarify. How much in the soup mixture and how much in the potato
es?
Karin and Ken says
I apologize for the confusion. Add 1/2 cup cream or 1/3 cup milk to soup mixture and then again to potatoes. The same amount to both. I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to let me know about my error. I hope you enjoy this casserole as much as we do. All the best. Karin
LEEANNE PICHETTE-MCDUFFIE says
What is an alternative to mushroom soup my husband doesn't like it.
Karin and Ken says
Would cream of chicken, cream of asparagus, cream of bacon or cream of celery work? Hope this helps. Enjoy this easy casserole! All the best. Karin