Cheesy Penne Ground Beef Casserole

Ground beef casserole loaded with cheese is an excellent comfort food for when you are craving for pasta. So cheesy, hearty and filling!

When you don't know what to make with ground beef, try this easy casserole recipe. It's a perfect idea for dinner and the kids and adults alike will absolutely love it.

Okay, a little bit of story time. In my home country, anything with pasta is a high-end dish in my opinion. Spaghetti and macaroni are two of the most popular pastas in the Philippines.

We normally cook and eat them during special occasions like birthday or whenever we are craving for it we go to a fast food chain that serves them.

Coming here in America, pasta is a staple food (equivalent to Asia's rice) and is usually served during dinner. And amazingly, there are a lot of ways to cook pasta, I was a bit surprised. Most of them are quick and easy to do.

I was intimidated at first but this casserole with ground beef turned out great and delicious! This ground beef casserole is quite similar to our baked macaroni but without the mornay sauce.

Ingredients

You will need:

Pasta. Penne pasta is what you need for this recipe. Usually packed 1 pound per bag. You may also use macaroni. Cook the pasta according to the package in a boiling salted water but you have to undercook it because you are going to bake it. I cooked it under 10 minutes leaving just a little bit of crunch to the pasta.

Ground Beef. 1 pound of lean ground beef is recommended but any ground beef will do. Make sure to remove the excess oil after you brown it. You don't want a greasy ground beef casserole.

Oil. I usually use olive oil but vegetable oil will do. You just need a tablespoon to brown the ground beef or less if you are using beef with lots of fats.

Onion. You will want to mince them and cook them until translucent.

Garlic. Also minced them fresh garlic.

Marinara Sauce. Out of all the sauces for pasta, this one is my favorite. You need just 2 cups.

Salt and pepper to taste

Brown Sugar. You may skip this ingredient but I like the contrasting flavor of sugar against salt and pepper. The recipe I adapted it from does not have this ingredient so you may choose to omit it. Recipe adapted from Salt and Lavender.

Cheddar Cheese. Shredded cheddar cheese are available in groceries, or you can grate your own if you are used to buying the block cheese. If you don't have enough cheddar cheese, you can add any cheese you have.

Optional Ingredients

• fried bacon bits
• mushrooms
• seasonings: basil, parsley

How to Make Cheesy Penne Ground Beef Casserole?

First, preheat your oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit at the same time grease a deep rectangular baking dish by spraying oil to it. This recipe perfectly fits the 9 by 13 deep dish.

Cook your pasta in a pot of boiling water with salt. Undercook your pasta so it won't get too mushy once baked. I cooked mine for 9 minutes. Drain the pasta and transfer to the baking dish.

Meanwhile, start browning the beef in a pan over medium heat. Start by heating a tablespoon of oil, then put the ground beef, add the onions and garlic. Remove excess oil. You don't want a greasy casserole. Finally add your sauce until heated.

Pour the sauce mixture over to the baking dish with pasta. Toss until all of the pasta is coated with the sauce. Take 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese and combine and toss with the pasta and sauce.

Top the remaining cheese on the pasta dish making sure the top is fully covered with cheese.

Now bake for 10 minutes. You can broil for a minute or 2 before serving.