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 this recipe be prepared and frozen for later?
I’m wondering the same! Does it freeze well?
You could prep it in advance but I’m unsure how freezing it uncooked will turn out. Freezing sour cream and cottage cheese changes the texture, so they might be grainier or chunky.
I use cream cheese instead of cottage cheese😊 and a teaspoon of chili powder….. awesome
Thanks for sharing your substitutions and I’m glad you enjoyed this! Chili powder is a great way to add a deeper flavor.
Keeper receipe. I used Rotel tomatoes instead of diced tomatoes. Adds great flavor and a little heat.
Rotel is a great substitute. I use it a lot in my dips as well. Happy you were able to customize this to your liking, Mike!
Made this exactly as called for, easy to make reminded me of hamburger helper when I was a child. For me it definitely needs more seasoning and would add a can of mushrooms.
Wasn’t bad but it wouldn’t be in my rotation for dinner.
I’m glad you find it easy to make – I try to focus on easy but tasty recipes so it’s always rewarding to hear that I’m on track. Thank you for trying this out, Sherry.
Have made this twice now and we really like it. Will be a staple! Thank you!
You’re welcome and I’m glad this is delicious enough to be a staple! Have fun cooking the next time round, Lisa 🙂
This recipe is amazing and quick to prepare. The whole family loves it, never any leftovers
I’m glad it’s a hit with everyone in the family! Thanks for sharing and trying out the recipe, Yasmine.
Excellent taste my husband give thumps up. Will be making again..
I hope you both enjoy the casserole the next time you make it! Thanks, Rosemary 🙂
This casserole is delicious and fun to customize. I had some things I needed to use up, so I added 1/2 green bell pepper, 1/2 red bell pepper, and 8 oz of fresh sliced mushrooms that I cooked with the meat-onion-pepper mixture. I also added a tsp of anchovy paste for a little extra umami oomph. Today, I wasn’t feeling the smokey taste for this, so I used Hungarian sweet pepper, but next time, I will try the smoked paprika. I wish I had thought to add green onions to the sour cream-cottage cheese mixture because that sounds delicious!
I live alone and work from home, and I hate fast food or most carry-out, so casseroles are lifesavers for me. After the casserole has cooled overnight in the fridge, I cut it into portion sizes and wrap them in plastic wrap. I put the packages in a big ziplock bag and freeze. They’re quick to thaw and microwave beautifully.
Thanks for this great casserole recipe!
PS I actually prefer cottage cheese over ricotta in baked pasta/noodle dishes (unless I make the ricotta myself, which is actually very easy to do) because commercial ricotta is usually very dry.
Hey Kim! Thanks for sharing your substitutions. That anchovy paste addition sounds delicious! It’s like adding a more concentrated Worcestershire sauce since it’s made from anchovies. I love how Worcestershire sauce brings out the umami in beef!
Also, thank you for sharing how well the casserole heated up from being frozen. I’m sure it will help someone else along the line.
I made this recipe substituting ricotta for cottage cheese. Turned out very nice. It’s going to be a new “go to” fav in our house
Great substitution! Not everyone likes cottage cheese so I’m glad ricotta worked out for you – I use ricotta in a lot of my other casseroles and my favorite brand is Galbani. Enjoy this casserole the next time you make it 🙂
Hello, I made this tonight, and my family enjoyed it. The only change I made was using venison instead of beef. I will be making again. Thank you!
Yum! I bet it tasted great with venison. Thank you for sharing, Anna!
Wonderful 😋 tasty & easy to make.
I love hearing that! I try to focus on easy but tasty recipes so it’s always great to hear I’m on the right track.
It’s delicious I have made this multiple times. I double sauce ingredients keeping 1lb beef. We like it saucier I use rotel and cheddar jack. One of our favorites!
Yum! Those substitutions sound delicious! Thank you for sharing, Stacy. I’m happy you found a staple 🙂
Reminds me of lasagna. Except much easier to make. I used half cream cheese, half cottage cheese. Was delicious.
This is definitely easier than lasagna. I actually have a lasagna casserole that uses ravioli as layers instead of lasagna sheets which is just as easy. Also, thanks for sharing that half cream cheese and cottage cheese is just as delicious!
I made this casserole today,,my husband and I loved it. The casserole will feed a lot of people. I will need to cut it in half for two to three people. I wonder if this can be froze.
I’m glad you both enjoyed the casserole. You could technically freeze this as long as you go with the expectations that the noodles will be soggy (it’s just the nature of freezing pasta) and the texture of the sour cream will change when frozen and reheated. It will be a little grainy.
I made this for dinner tonight!! It was absolutely delicious 😋!!! I followed the recipe and seasoned to taste . The only thing I added to it was mushrooms . This is way better than lasagna !! Loved it !!
Yum, mushrooms! I love mushrooms in everything – grilled cheese, pizza, noodles, pasta. Hope your mushrooms were the nice, meaty kind too. Thanks for sharing how this recipe turned out for you, Debra!
Very tasty but mine was runny. Any suggestions?
Hmm, I took a look at the ingredients and the only culprits I can think of that would make the sauce runny are the ground beef and diced tomatoes. All that extra fat rendered from browning your beef will need to be drained unless you use lean. It could also be the sour cream or cottage cheese if they were previously frozen – freezing dairy will make them grainy and runny.