This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
If you’re like me – the taste and flavors of some recipes can send you back in time! This Hamburger Cheese Bake is the perfect example of a long-forgotten dish that my mother used to make – but one taste, and I’m a little kid back at home!
There’s nothing fancy at all about this comforting, family-friendly dish – egg noodles, tomato sauce, ground beef, onions, green bell pepper and scallions, plus a combination of cottage cheese, sour cream, cream cheese and Parmesan cheese – all layered together, then baked in the oven.
But the slightly tart flavor from the combination of sour cream and cream cheese in the sauce, plus the freshness of the scallions and green bell pepper is distinctive in this dish – and as soon as I took I bite I remembered this recipe from my childhood!
For those of you who are regulars readers here at A Family Feast , you already know that Jack and I have been pouring through my mother’s old recipe box over the last few months – and it is filled with magazine and newspaper recipe clippings and some handwritten recipe cards. This Hamburger Cheese Bake is another recipe from her collection. After a little bit of research, I was able trace this recipe back to Better Homes and Gardens and we adapted it slightly – using tomato sauce in our version instead of tomato juice for a thicker sauce.
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Hamburger Cheese Bake
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound 80/20 ground beef
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 2 cups prepared tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 cups uncooked egg noodles (any size)
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 8 ounces softened cream cheese
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup chopped scallions, tops and bottoms
- ¼ cup green bell pepper chopped
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large skillet, brown beef and chopped onion in olive oil. Drain off fat and discard.
- Add tomato sauce, sugar, salt, garlic powder and black pepper, mix then remove from heat. Set aside.
- Cook egg noodles to just under al dente. Drain and set aside.
- While noodles are cooking, in a large bowl mix cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, scallions and bell pepper. Mix to combine.
- In a 2-quart rectangular casserole dish (ours was 11x7x1½ inches in size), spread half the noodles. Top with half the beef sauce. Cover with all of the cheese mixture. Cover with remaining noodles and remaining beef sauce then top with Parmesan cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 30 minutes and serve.
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
You may also like:
Baked Tortellini with Chicken Gratinati
Straw and Hay (Paglia e Fieno)
Martha, this recipe looks delicious and creamy. Love the meat sauce and egg noodles. As always your photos are remarkable!
Thanks Renee!
I can almost taste the creamy and the tangy…mmmm. This reminds me of something I grew up with, too – looks like comfort food to me!
This is definitely one my family (and readers) will love! Pinning!
Mmm – perfect Saturday snowstorm dish! I have ground beef thawing now. Thanks!
Thanks Jennifer! (I’m sure it will be especially delicious with CAB!) 🙂
It was delicious … the kids ate third helpings! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
So glad you all liked the recipe Jennifer!
Oh this looks so good and comforting!
I have a recipe much like this from a dear friend I lost several years ago. The minute I saw your post, I thought of her. Just returned from the market with ingredients to make your version.
Oh – how bittersweet Linda! I hope our version of the recipe does her memory justice! Thank you for writing to us and I hope you enjoy the recipe!
I love when a recipe has the power to take me back to my childhood.
Me too Theresa – It’s been wonderful to relive some nice memories by cooking our way through my mother’s recipe box!
What a perfect pasta dish for a busy weeknight! It’s so much fun making family recipes too. It always makes us feel so good inside!
This definitely looks like a dish straight from my childhood…and that’s a very good thing. This would be the ultimate comfort food.
Thanks Dara!
This was the first thing I saw on my news feed this morning. Now I’m going to spend all day thinking about it!
Looks great. Quick and comforting – I can’t wait to try this when I come in from shoveling snow for the umpteenth time tonight!
Thanks Sam! We’re in the same boat – so much shoveling! Hope you enjoy the recipe!