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Slow Cooker Hamburger Casserole is so simple that my teenagers can make it! With cook times of only 3-5 hours, it won’t be long before dinner is ready. If you’re in a time crunch, this could be made in a skillet or even cooked in the oven.

I absolutely love using the slow cooker to cook dinner each day. I have a feeling you do, too. I think you’ll love these amazing Slow Cooker Ground Beef Recipes, especially this amazing Slow Cooker Shepherds Pie Recipe!

Slow Cooker Hamburger Casserole Recipe

I’m always on the lookout for easy hamburger recipes, and thankfully I found this amazing hamburger casserole recipe! It’s so good and of course, simple. You know me, I love simple!

Being the busy mom of 7 children, 2 of which are now in college, I have to figure out a cost effective way to keep dinner on the table AND fill all the tummies. This Hamburger Casserole Recipe fits that bill entirely!

While I do have a couple of picky eaters in my house, I tend to just make the food just how the recipe says and let them pick out the small pieces of green pepper or onion if they don’t like it. However, I’ve heard of many other parents just making those pieces so tiny the kids can’t even pick up on it. If all else fails, you CAN leave out the vegetables, I just don’t recommend it. 😉 You’ll be throwing out so much of the amazing taste.

Do I Have to Precook the Ground Beef or Can I Just Cook it in the Slow Cooker with the Rest of the Food?

This is a question that I often get asked because it would be so much simpler if we didn’t have to brown the ground beef first. Truly, I do understand your hesitation and your hatred of extra steps. But, I have tried it and it just didn’t work for a couple of different reasons.

Too much grease. Of course, you can rectify this by buying the leanest ground beef you can buy, but then you’ll be paying $5 a pound.
Sometimes ground beef that is cooked in the slow cooker stays pink, even when it’s fully cooked. Yeah. Yuck. We tried cooking a huge batch of ground beef in the slow cooker for hours….and when we were done, a lot of it was still pink. There was no way that it hadn’t been cooked enough, after 10 hours in the slow cooker. It just wanted to be browned in a skillet.

Honestly, I just cook it in the skillet on the stove top and then drain it using my Easy Greasy Colander that collects the grease in a bowl. It’s super handy to keep on hand. Once the grease is cooled, I just scoop it out into the trash. So simple.

Does it Matter What Kind of Pasta I Use in This Hamburger Casserole Recipe?

No. Not at all! While the recipe calls for egg noodles, I think it would be really good with penne, spirals or elbows. I think interestingly shaped pasta is a lot of fun and I love playing around with it in my cooking! Give whatever shape you prefer a try.

Can I Cook This Hamburger Casserole Recipe in the Oven Instead of the Slow Cooker?

Yes! You can even do it in a large skillet or pot on the stove top if you want to. The purpose of putting this meal into the slow cooker is to give all the flavors time to meld together nicely AND also that you can just fix it and forget it. My meal times are alway so much better when I put the food in the slow cooker.

WANT MORE EASY CROCKPOT MEALS MADE WITH GROUND BEEF?

Slow Cooker Mexican Casserole

Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup

Slow Cooker Tater Tot Casserole

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

Slow Cooker Hearty Western Casserole

And of course, you can join my Freezer to Slow Cooker Meal Plan Subscription where you can get 6 recipes, a grocery list, assembly instructions, side suggestions and MORE, once a week in your inbox.

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