An easy hamburger green bean casserole with mushrooms that uses all-natural ingredients and is so full of flavor, it'll instantly become a family favorite. Get dinner on the table in less than 30 mins!
The photos to our reader favorite beef casserole were updated on 6/5/24, it's the same great recipe!
Pinterest reviews
This was so good! Even my husband was surprised that it tasted so good! He went back for seconds! I’ll be making this again! ~ Susan
"It turned out great we all love it, no pics, it’s all gone. We have made this about 4 times now." ~ Sharon
Made this, and absolutely delicious!!!! ~ Destiny
You'll love this ground beef and green bean casserole!
This recipe is seriously a winner and one of our favorite casserole recipes on our site; our teen son literally ate half of the dish himself!
- The entire recipe cooks in under 30 minutes, just saute and then melt the cheese. So easy!
- The casserole sneaks in lots of fresh veggies that picky eaters won't even notice.
- It uses all natural ingredients instead of using processed cream of mushroom soup
- Do you feel like you only eat green beans in the classic Thanksgiving green bean casserole? This unique main dish option is something you will love year-round.
- This is a gluten free, low carb, and keto hamburger casserole too.
Ingredient list
- ground beef- We used an 80/20 blend since the higher fat content gives the meat even more flavor. A lower fat content ground beef would also work, as would ground turkey.
- green beans- Buying a bag of pre-washed and pre-trimmed green beans will save you time, if you use garden green beans or buy them by the bundle, you'll need to trim them first. Drained canned green beans or defrosted frozen green beans is another alternative.
- Worcestershire sauce - coconut aminos or wheat-free tamari make a good gluten free substitute
- cheese- Cheddar cheese or Colby Jack. This is extra cheesy, feel free to cut it back.
- other dairy- While we highly recommend full-fat sour cream and cream cheese for best flavor, low-fat should also work in this recipe.
Variations
Any quick-cooking vegetables make a good alternative to green beans, using zucchini to make a ground beef zucchini casserole is also delicious. Or get creative by increasing the mushrooms, using eggplant, or steamed microwave broccoli.
How to make hamburger casserole
Step 1. In a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to heat. Brown the ground beef until cooked through, this will take about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. Reserve 1 tablespoon of grease to cook the vegetables in.
Step 2. Saute the onion until they're just starting to soften in the 1 tablespoon of grease that was left in the pan; this will take about 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for 2 minutes more. Add in the green beans, garlic, and chicken broth, cook for 2-3 more minutes until the green beans and the other vegetables are softened.
Step 3. Turn the heat down to medium-low and mix in the cream cheese and then sour cream.
Step 4. Add the beef back into the pan along with the salt, pepper, dried thyme, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir gently to combine.
Step 6. Sprinkle with the cheese over the top.
Step 7. Place the entire dish in the oven and broil for 2 minutes until the cheese is browned and melted. Or, add a lid to skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes until the cheese melts. Using the stovetop, your cheddar cheese won't be crispy, but it will melt.
Recipe notes
- Using a cast-iron skillet makes it easy to turn this into a one-pan meal since it can go in the oven too. If you don't have a cast iron skillet, use whatever kind you have and then transfer it to an oven proof baking dish or casserole dish.
- Instead of broiling the cheese - leave it in your skillet, turn the heat down to low, and cover the hamburger casserole, until the cheese is melted for 3-4 minutes.
- Be sure to drain off the grease after cooking the hamburger meat, but don't forget to save a little for cooking the veggies.
- Add extra broth if you prefer a saucier casserole.
Can it be doubled?
To double the recipe, use a larger skillet and then transfer all of the ingredients to a 9x13 baking pan before melting the cheese.
More beef casserole recipes
Looking for more beef recipes? Here are a few of our popular casseroles to try!
If you loved our recipe, please leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and leave us a comment too! Connect with us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube!
Hamburger Green Bean Casserole
An easy hamburger green bean casserole with mushrooms cooks in less than 30 minutes, plus it's a gluten free, low carb, and keto ground beef casserole too.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 cups green beans
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 3 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup beef or chicken broth
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoon cream cheese
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
- 2 cups Colby jack cheese, shredded
- ⅛ teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- In a cast-iron skillet, cook the ground beef on medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove the ground beef and drain grease, leaving 1 tablespoon of the grease in the pan to saute the vegetables in.
- In the same skillet, cook the chopped onions over medium heat until they start to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for 2 minutes more.
- Add in the green beans, garlic, and chicken broth, cook for 2-3 more minutes until the green beans and the other vegetables are softened.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low add the cream cheese and then sour cream.
- Add the beef back into the pan along with the salt, pepper, dried thyme, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir gently to combine.
- Sprinkle with the cheddar cheese over the top.
- Place the entire dish in the oven and broil for 2 minutes until the cheese is browned and melted. Or, add a lid to skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes until the cheese melts. Using the stovetop, your cheddar cheese won't be crispy, but it will melt.
Notes
- Using a cast-iron skillet makes it easy to turn this into a one-pan meal since it can go in the oven too. If you don't have a cast iron skillet, use whatever kind you have and then transfer it to an oven proof baking dish or casserole dish.
- Instead of broiling the cheese - leave it in your skillet, turn the heat down to low, and cover the hamburger casserole, until the cheese is melted for 3-4 minutes.
- Be sure to drain off the grease after cooking the hamburger meat, but don't forget to save a little for cooking the veggies.
- Add extra broth if you prefer a saucier casserole.
- Low carb/GF- Substitute coconut aminos or Tamari if you're following strict keto. Use full-fat dairy products since low-fat adds in fillers with hidden carbs. Likewise, be sure to shred your cheese from a block since pre-shredded cheese adds potato starch.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 474Total Fat 32gSaturated Fat 16gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 126mgSodium 690mgCarbohydrates 10gNet Carbohydrates 7gFiber 3gSugar 5gProtein 36g
Mrs. D says
I wanted a recipe for something simple using ingredients I had on hand and found this. I quadrupled the recipe to feed our family of 8 (5 teenagers). My husband rarely comments much one way or the other about food. He thought this was amazing and repeatedly said so throughout the entire meal. The children loved it as well. Thank you for such a surprisingly delicious recipe that was easy to make. I've already typed it up and added it to our family cookbook. We will be making this a lot.
Christy says
How many net carbs is this please?
Donna Aiken says
We loved this! Made it with ground chicken and doubled the sauce. We like things spiced up a bit and use jalapeño cream cheese. Also, I par boil the green beans 5 min before adding them. There’s only 2 of us, so we eat half and freeze the other half. It freezes just fine.
Thanks for a great keto recipe!
WholeLottaYum says
Thank you so much, Donna! I love the idea of using jalapeno cream cheese. This is a reader favorite <3 Jen
Heather AbuSneineh says
Fresh Green beans cannot cook in 2-3 minutes as stated in the directions. Did the recipe intend to use canned green beans?
Nicole says
This is my 5th time making this dish. love that I can change up the veggies to use up on the fridge and it's hearty but healthy. Always so yummy.
Barb says
Just made it for dinner and I love it! will make this again, definitely.
Kathy Bandli says
I just made this recipe for the first time. I didnt hate it but didnt love it either. Probably wouldnt make it again.
WholeLottaYum says
Sorry to hear you didn't love it, Kathy! We recommend tweaking any recipe to make it your own since flavors can vary so much by brand being used, especially with the seasonings. I always try to taste what I'm cooking with a clean spoon before baking to check the seasonings and then adjust them to my personal tastes. Some readers have said they like this with less dairy and that's an easy ingredient to cut back on too. 🙂
Jan says
Did you use fresh, canned or frozen green beans?
WholeLottaYum says
Fresh green beans!
Renee says
added more cream cheese and sour cream Lil more thyme and garlic was delish oh a Lil more green beans too
Sue says
This was very good. I had some grape tomatoes that needed to be eaten, so I cut them in half and sautéed them for a few minutes with a lid, so they would break down and soften. . I also added half of a diced bell pepper. I sautéed everything ahead of time and then put the ingredients together, except for the cheese, in the iron skillet and baked it for 15 min at 350, then added the cheese for another 15 min. Then broiled it for 5 min. Perfect but very hot. Had to let it sit for 5 minutes.
Jancie says
Really love this recipe. Make it a lot.
Annette says
This was really good!, I didnt have any cream cheese, and replaced it with cream of chicken/mushroom soup, almost a whole can, green beans, canned carrots, garlic minced , bell peppers chopped, , very good! Thank you!
Steve says
We made this dish last night and it was delicious! We didn’t have any thyme so we left it out and no Worcestershire sauce so we subbed Dale’s low sodium. We have added to our keepers recipe box !
Diana McClellan says
Finally getting back to Keto. We really enjoyed this recipe. I cooked the onions with the hamburger because we like ours cooked through. I was out of thyme so I used Italian seasoning. We loved the use of Co-Jack cheese. I will definitely be making again!
Julie Raymond says
This recipe was delicious I must say. I have tried a different recipe in the past that I really like too. It calls for whipping cream instead of sour cream with the cream cheese. I substituted basil instead of thyme as I didn’t have any . I used 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup of marble to my dish and let it broil for a few minutes in the oven. I definitely will make this again. Thank you so much .
Julie Shelley says
If you like the onions with less crunch you may want to cook them a little longer before adding the mushrooms. Also, a little shredded cheddar within the meat mixture gives it an added bonus.