Hamburger potato casserole
Tender layers of sliced potato, savory beef and a creamy cheddar sauce, baked until bubbling and golden.
- 105 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $2.24 a serving
- 500 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 2 tbsp butter, divided
- 4 russet potatoes
- 1 lb 85/15 ground beef
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cups milk
- 1½ cups shredded cheddar, divided
From your pantry
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
Each serving has about 500 calories, 27 g protein, 38 g carbs and 27 g fat, and costs about $2.24 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No russet potatoes? Yukon Gold potatoes work.
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No shredded cheddar? Cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese or Monterey Jack cheese works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 375°F and rub a 9x13-inch baking dish with a little of the butter.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Scrub the potatoes and them into rounds about ⅛ inch thick, as even as you can.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Dolly’s tip: About the thickness of a coin. Thin, even slices all turn tender at the same time.Heat a large over medium-high, add the beef and onion, and press the beef flat. Leave it 3 minutes, until underneath.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 3 min
Break the beef into and cook 5 minutes more, until no pink is left. Spoon off the fat and stir in 1 teaspoon salt, the pepper and garlic powder.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Whisk the cornstarch into the cold milk in a , add the rest of the butter and ½ teaspoon salt, and cook over medium, , 4 to 5 minutes, until it like cream.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Keep the whisk moving along the bottom. Milk scorches if it sits still.Take the sauce off the heat and stir in ½ cup of the cheddar until smooth.
Layer half the potatoes in the dish, spread all the beef over them, top with the rest of the potatoes, and pour the sauce evenly over everything.
Cover the dish tightly with foil and 50 to 60 minutes, until a knife slides through the potatoes with no resistance.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Timer: 50 min
Uncover, scatter the remaining cheddar over the top, and 15 minutes more, until and bubbling.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 15 min
Let it 10 minutes before you cut it, so the sauce settles.
Rest. Resting means letting cooked meat sit for a few minutes before you cut it. It keeps cooking gently, and more of the juice stays in the meat instead of running onto the board.
How you’ll know: Loosely covered with foil, it stays hot, and very little juice runs out when you slice it.
Timer: 10 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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