Sour cream beef noodle casserole is a dependable family favorite. With egg noodles in a rich beefy tomato sauce and cheesy sour cream layers.
A good casserole is a great answer to end-of-the-year weeknight meals. It’s comforting and serves up a big batch of food for no-fuss dinners. There’s usually a lot of leftovers too so you can relax the next day. If you have hamburger or ground beef in your freezer to use up, try this kid-friendly sour cream beef noodle casserole.
This old-fashioned meal is a deliciously simple combination of beef, pasta, tomato sauce and cheese to serve up a warm and bubbly meal. “Comfort” is the word that comes to mind when we think about digging into this casserole.
It’s a little twist on your traditional tomato and beef noodle casserole. We’re stacking a few layers of egg noodles mixed with sour cream, cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese between layers of ground beef in a rich and rustic tomato sauce and generous layers of cheddar cheese for a creamy melt. For more comforting beef recipes, try this beef stroganoff or a classic Salisbury steak recipe.
How To Make Sour Cream Beef Noodle Casserole (1 Min Video)
SOUR CREAM BEEF NOODLE CASSEROLE RECIPE TIPS
Onions and garlic – You can substitute fresh onions and garlic with onion and garlic powder. I would start with 1/2 teaspoon first and build up from there for more flavor.
Ground beef – If you use extra lean ground beef, you won’t need to drain as much grease.
Pasta – I used wide egg noodles but you could also use regular egg noodles or pasta like elbow macaroni or shells. To prevent soggy noodles in the casserole, we rinse the cooked noodles under cold water to stop the cooking process.
For that reason, I like to cook the noodles a little under al dente. So if the package directions suggest cooking it for 9-12 minutes, I’ll pick 9 minutes and finish off the cooking in the oven.
Seasonings – I added smoked paprika to give the meat layer a rustic, smoky flavor and some Worcestershire sauce to balance out the tartness from the tomatoes.
Switch out cottage cheese – If you’re not a fan of cottage cheese, you can substitute it with ricotta or cream cheese. Cottage cheese is soft and creamy and isn’t as sour as you might think. For this recipe, I used Breakstone’s small curd cottage cheese with 4% milkfat.
Cheddar cheese – I used extra sharp cheddar but you can use mild cheddar, triple cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby, or Pepper Jack.
Green onions – Some versions use green onions mixed in with the sour cream egg noodles layer. If you’re a fan of green onions, try this out! It’s about 1/2 cup of chopped green onions mixed into the sour cream noodles.
Mixing it up – I made three layers to give three distinct flavors when digging in but you can mix all the layers together and bake it that way for easier assembly.
Make it in advance – You should be able to make this in advance, cover and refrigerate it. Try adding in an extra 10-15 minutes of baking time since you’re starting with a chilled casserole.
Customize It!
- Add more heat – Add more kick with some jalapeños or cayenne pepper.
- Add more flavor – Throw in some bacon bits in there for more flavor.
And that’s about it. Enjoy digging in! Let me know how you liked it, what substiutions you made or what you paired it with in the comments below.
MORE CASSEROLE RECIPES TO TRY
- Meatball Pasta Bake
- Spinach and Artichoke Ravioli Bake
- Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake
- Sloppy Joe Tater Tot Casserole
- Bacon Cheeseburger Tater Tot Casserole
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Sour Cream Beef Noodle Casserole
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
Sour cream beef noodle casserole is a dependable family favorite. With egg noodles in a rich beefy tomato sauce and cheesy sour cream layers.
Ingredients
- 12 oz. uncooked egg noodles
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
- 1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- Red pepper flakes to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 8 oz. sour cream
- 8 oz. small curd cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- Fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the egg noodles according to package directions until al dente. Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process. Add a splash of olive oil to prevent the noodles from sticking.
- Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a skillet, breaking up any clumps. Drain any excess fat.
- Add chopped onion and garlic to the skillet and sauté until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
- Pour in tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Season with Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste and simmer until sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine sour cream, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese and cooked egg noodles. Mix well.
- Spoon half the creamy pasta mixture into a 9×13 casserole dish.
- Top with half the beef mixture and half the cheddar cheese.
- Repeat with one more pasta – beef – cheddar layer each. Finish with a cheddar cheese layer on top.
- Bake uncovered at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until cheese has melted.
- Top with optional parsley and dish and serve hot.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Add more heat – Add more kick with some jalapeños or cayenne pepper.
- Add more flavor – Throw in some bacon bits in there for more flavor.
- Scroll up to RECIPE TIPS for more useful tips, suggestions and ingredient substitutions.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
Comments & Reviews
Can I use homemade pasta noodles?
Absolutely! I bet they will taste wonderful with homemade pasta.
My husband and I love this dish. We are making it tonight for the second time.
We substituted cottage cheese for ricotta and kept everything else the same. We did the layers the first time. Tonight, we are going to mix it all together. We’ll see which way we like it better. Thank you for this delicious recipe!!
You’re very welcome, Chris! Great substitution – I love ricotta and cottage cheese both. I hope the second time was just as delicious for you. I’m interested to see which version you prefer.
My daughter found this recipe and asked for it. She absolutely loved it! Probably will use a bit less paprika next time, but definitely a hit!
Thank you for trying it out and I’m happy to hear she loved the results! Good luck making it the next time and adjusting the paprika amount to your tastes.
We absolutely LOVE this!! Didn’t change much except that I used regular paprika instead of the smoked because I didn’t have any smoked. I mixed everything together except the cheddar cheese, and layered the cheese with the that, and topped with the cheese as well. Perfect. This will be in regular rotation for sure!
Regular paprika works just as well and I’m glad to hear you loved the recipe! Enjoy the casserole the next time you make it 🙂
Can you sub ricotta cheese for cottage cheese? I don’t have any cottage cheese on hand.
You should be able to – I’ve had many people use them interchangeably in casseroles baked at this temperature. Some people tend to prefer one over the other. The taste will change a little, but that is expected.
This was really good! I thought the paprika was a bit much so next time – and there will be a next time- I will reduce that – maybe just by a quarter. The sour cream/cheese mixture looked a little bland so i added some Italian seasoning but otherwise followed the instructions and really appreciate the recipe! Thank you!
I’ve been hearing how some would prefer less paprika – so it’s good to get feedback. It might help those wanting to try the recipe who read the comments and where this might be an issue! I’m all for building on a recipe and adjusting it to your tastes! Italian seasoning is a great addition. You’re very welcome, Carie 🙂
Delicious!I made this as per the recipe and paired it with a simple green salad and baguette. The picky 15 year old had 3 helpings & rated it a 9.9 (it lost .1 because I put mushrooms in it) the 12 year old said it was fantastic! Lovely weeknight dinner; thank you!
Have you ever frozen it? I loved it and would love to make it for my college daughter to take back to school.
Hey Amber! I have not tested freezing this. I worry the texture of cottage cheese and sour cream might change a little when frozen. They might be more grainy or lumpy too. The noodles might also be a little soggy. If you do try it out, however, please let us know your results!
Wow, that’s a GREAT rating from picky eaters, especially the kids. I love it and thank you for sharing 🙂 Mushrooms is a great idea, I’m a big fan of them myself!
Can you make it without boiling the noodles?
Trying this tonight!
I haven’t tried it that way – I imagine there’s not enough liquid content to add enough moisture to get the egg noodles evenly cooked. That concept might work for no-boil lasagna sheets since they are layered heavily in sauce, meat and cheese, but I don’t think it will work with this casserole. If you do try it, let me know!
Tried this for the first time tonight. I only used 1 tsp of the smoked paprika only because I’m not a lover of that flavor. All in all this was really good! Will certainly make it again!!
Thank you for sharing your results, Lisa! Some people substitute the smoked paprika with paprika or use less of it. It’s all about experimenting and adjusting it to your tastes so I’m glad to hear you were able to do that. I hope the next batch will taste even better!
Recipe was pretty good- personally, I would have sautéed the onions first then added the beef and later the garlic to make the onions softer- the order of this recipe left them a little firmer than my family prefers! I also think a little cream cheese would take this recipe a long way. Next time I may also sub mozzerella or Gouda for the cheddar. Overall, tasty dish that I think could become a family favorite with a few tweaks 🙂
I brown the beef first because there are so many variables of lean/fat content in ground beef in the US and I don’t assume someone might have the leanest at 95%. If someone has 70% lean, they will need to drain all the grease rendered once cooked and it’s just not ideal to have sauteed onions and garlic swimming in all that grease! Someone else substituted cottage cheese with cream cheese so that is definitely an option. Have fun experimenting with different cheeses the next time!
I made this tonight… only thing I had to change was the onions… my fiance can’t handle them. Fabulous meal! The Worcester sauce makes this so good.
Thanks for sharing your outcome, Darlene! I love Worcestershire sauce – I use it in all my pasta sauces. It rounds out the flavor and adds depth to a meat sauce.
Made this last night and it was deemed a “do over” by my husband. I made it with cream cheese instead of cottage cheese because I knew he would not try it with cottage cheese. I also added a green pepper for my veggie appeal. This recipe will go into regular rotation. YUMMO!
Some people like cottage cheese, some don’t. I used to hate it until I realized that brand matters vs generic when it comes to the taste of cottage cheese. Galbani is my go-to brand for cottage cheese now. Thank you for sharing your substitution of cream cheese and green peppers, Terrie! I’m sure it will help someone else who takes the time to browse comments before making a recipe.
So many good things, how can it NOT be good. The tomatoes really added to the flavor and made this unique. Even my mother liked this and she is the pickiest of all eaters!!
Another picky eater won over! I’m glad this recipe worked out for you and your mom, Melissa and thanks for sharing your tasty results 😀
I just made this casserole and the whole family loves it even our youngest a very picky eater, asked for more
Winning over a picky eater is great news. I hope you make it again and thank you for letting me know, Lizzy.
Made this recipe last night for dinner my husband and I loved it. Gave some to our widowed neighbor he said better than a restaurant. I definitely will make this again
That’s a great compliment! Thank you for trying out the casserole and sharing it. I’m always happy to hear I indirectly helped feed someone 🙂