Poor man’s casserole got its name because it’s made with inexpensive ingredients—specifically refrigerator and pantry staples that you likely already have on hand. And yet, this dish is one of the tastiest ground beef recipes my family has tried. Seriously, we kept going back for more!

I’d describe this casserole as casual lasagna. It’s made with similar ingredients like noodles, tomato sauce and ground beef. But instead of making neat, intentional layers like you would in a regular lasagna recipe, you toss egg noodles with cream cheese and sour cream and then layer them roughly with seasoned tomato meat sauce and plenty of cheese. The casserole comes out of the oven just as bubbling and melty, but without all the work!

Add poor man’s casserole to your collection of tried-and-true 13×9 casseroles—and make an extra one as a potential freezer casserole for meals down the road.

Ingredients for Poor Man’s Casserole

• Ground beef: For this and every other ground beef casserole, learn how to brown ground beef so it’s flavorful and tender. This includes letting the pan get hot before adding the raw meat.
• Tomato sauce: Make this casserole quickly with store-bought canned tomato sauce. For a more rustic texture, use homemade tomato sauce you’ve prepped ahead.
• Egg noodles: Look for packages of quick-cooking, extra-wide egg noodles to layer with the meat sauce.
• Sour cream: The noodles are coated in creamy sauce that’s part tangy sour cream.
• Cream cheese: Cream cheese teams up with sour cream to coat the noodles. Remember to soften the cream cheese ahead of time (you can do it quickly in a microwave oven if you forgot).
• Onions: Diced onions are cooked with the ground beef. You can chop a fresh onion or use convenient, frozen diced onions.
• Garlic: Freshly minced cloves of garlic give the meat sauce plenty of flavor.
• Seasonings: Some salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and an Italian seasoning blend are all you need for poor man’s casserole. Nothing too complicated here!
• Shredded cheddar cheese: A blend of cheddar and Jack cheeses also works well here. Grate your own cheese (as opposed to buying bags of shredded cheese) and it will melt more smoothly on top of the casserole.
• Parmesan: A little Parm on top adds a deliciously savory and nutty flavor to the casserole. You can use shaker Parmesan or grate it yourself.
• Parsley: If you have it, a sprinkle of fresh, chopped parsley looks lovely as a finishing touch on the baked dish.

Taste of Home