Beef Cheese Casserole

An adopted recipe

Grandma wasn't above adopting other people's recipes, as is evidenced by the name at the top of this one. Her grandson, Steve, got this recipe from a college roommate who has long been forgotten, and brought it home to share with the rest of the family. Grandma took an immediate liking to it, and it became a regular sight on our supper table. 

I already knew I liked this recipe. However, I'd been making my own sauce instead of using the two canned soups listed in the ingredients. For this test, I wanted to remind myself what the canned soup version tasted like and see how closely my from-scratch version came to the original. 

How to make Beef Cheese Casserole

The first step was to brown the ground beef with some onion and diced celery. I almost always use dried onion, something I didn't feel bad about here because I knew that Grandma used it often.  

While I was browning the ground beef, I brought a pot of water to a boil and added 8 ounces of spaghetti. Once the beef was done, I drained off the small amount of grease that had accumulated and added the two cans of soup. 

Along with the soups, I added the water, salt, and sugar and brought the mixture to a simmer. 

As you can see, the sauce is creamier-looking than regular spaghetti sauce. When the noodles were done, I drained them and placed them in a baking dish.  

I poured the hot sauce over the top, mixed it together, and sprinkled on the cheese. 

The recipe says to put the baking dish into a 350-degree oven until the cheese melts. I also looked for bubbles at the edges to ensure the casserole was heated through. This took about 15-20 minutes. 

And that was it. Such an easy dish to pull together. The big question was--how would it taste? 

The verdict

 Not only does this casserole look creamier than noodles and spaghetti sauce, but it tastes creamier, too. The tomato-y tang is still there but in a mellow, slightly sweeter way. The melty layer of cheese also sets this dish apart, making it not just another spaghetti supper. It's delightfully different.

If you're wondering how the canned soup version compared to my from-scratch take, I'd say I've replicated the taste pretty well. Making the sauce does take more time, though, and that's a downside because one of the major draws of this casserole is how easy it is to pull together. This dish is a go-to for a quick evening meal that will please the whole family.  

Try it by clicking on the upper right-hand corner of the recipe below. It might become a permanent part of the rotation for your family, too.