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. The low carb ground beef recipe makes a healthy main dish in less than 30 mins! It's a WHOLE LOTTA YUM!
Why You'll Love This!
During the summer heat when people simply crave more produce or possibly have garden veggies coming out of their ears, making a quick one dish stovetop casserole is an easy dinner that won't heat up your kitchen. 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 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.
Not sure what else you can do with green beans? Be sure to also try them in the air fryer and roasted with cheese.
Ingredient Notes
While it might at first seem like the hamburger casserole recipe has a lot of ingredients, the majority of them are kitchen basics that most people probably have on hand.
- 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.
- 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 substitute
- cheese- We used a Colby-Jack blend, using one variety like cheddar or Monterey Jack tastes great too.
- 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.
Ground turkey or ground chicken would be a great substitute for hamburger meat. Sometimes when we use leaner ground meats for beef we have to increase the salt and pepper seasoning a little bit.
Diet Adaptions
- Gluten-Free- Be sure the brand of Worcestershire sauce you're buying is gluten-free, many brands are not. Both coconut aminos or wheat-free Tamari sauce can be used instead.
- Keto/Low Carb- 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.
- Vegetarian- Beyond Meat makes a plant-based ground "beef" option for nights you want to cut back on meat.
- Lower fat option- While low-fat cream cheese, sour cream, and shredded cheese will also work, please don't use the non-fat varieties.
Step by Step Instructions
Saute
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.
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.
Season
Turn the heat down to medium-low and mix in 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.
Broil
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.
Expert Tips
- 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.
Common Questions
Can You Freeze Casseroles?
While we haven't tried freezing this ground beef casserole recipe, generally, casseroles with dairy in them don't freeze well since it often turns grainy or separates when it gets defrosted. Freezing casseroles is best left for ones that don't have added cream or sour cream in them. It's best to make it fresh and eat it within 4 days.
What to Serve it With?
Since this already includes a protein, dairy, and 3 different vegetables, it could technically be considered a one-dish skillet recipe. Our favorite sides are something simple like a green salad, herbed potatoes, or bread (if you can eat bread).
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!
Please leave a review if you make our hamburger green bean casserole recipe! We love feedback from readers, plus it helps others too.
Come connect with us on Instagram! Be sure to tag us (wholelotta.yum) when you make something. You can also find us on Facebook, and Pinterest.
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.
Recommended Products
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Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet 2-Piece Set (10-Inch and 12-Inch) Oven Safe Cookware - 2 Heat-Resistant Holders - Indoor and Outdoor Use - Grill, Stovetop, Induction Safe
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Zulay Flexible Silicone Spatula (13 inch) - Heat Resistant Up To 600F Rubber Spatula - BPA Free Spatula Silicone For Cooking, Flipping, Frying, and More - Large
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
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.