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Five ingredients, ten minutes of prep, and your Slow Cooker does everything else. This tomato beef Casserole is the kind of cozy, stick-to-your-ribs dinner that basically makes itself — raw ground beef goes right into the crock, you pour thinned tomato soup over the top, layer on egg noodles, dollop on a sour cream and cheese mixture, and walk away. That’s it.
Why You’ll Love It
Only 5 ingredients — all pantry and fridge staples you probably already have on hand
Zero browning required — the raw beef goes straight into the crock, which means one less pan and a few less minutes
Truly hands-off cooking — 10 minutes of prep and the Slow Cooker handles the rest
Rich, creamy, crowd-pleasing sauce — the tomato soup and sour cream melt together into something way more satisfying than the ingredient list suggests
Great leftovers — it reheats beautifully the next day and the flavors get even better overnight
A Word on the Ingredients
The ground beef: I use 90/10 lean, or close to it. You don’t want a lot of fat sitting in the bottom of the crock. If you accidentally use something fattier, you might want to drain a little off about halfway through. Or not. It’s your kitchen.
The tomato soup: condensed, straight from the can, two of them. I’ve used different brands over the years and they’re all more or less the same — but if your grocery store carries a store-brand version, it works just as well and costs about fifty cents less. You’ll whisk in a cup of water to thin it out slightly, which is what lets it really seep down through the beef and around the noodles as everything cooks.
Egg noodles: wide ones. This is not negotiable for me, I’ve tried the medium size and they get a little mushy, but the wide ones hold up in a way that feels more like something you’d actually want to eat. Go wide.
Sour cream: full fat. I know, I know. But this is not the recipe to try to lighten up. I made it once with reduced-fat sour cream and it was fine, technically, but the sauce wasn’t quite as silky and I was vaguely disappointed the whole time I was eating it.
Cheese: I use mild cheddar because that’s what my family likes, but Colby Jack works beautifully here, and I’ve done a mozzarella-cheddar blend when I was cleaning out the fridge. Any meltable cheese you’ve got hanging around is probably fine.
Ingredients
2 pounds lean ground beef
2 cans condensed tomato soup (10.5 ounces each)
1 cup water
2 cups wide egg noodles, uncooked
1 cup sour cream, full fat
1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese, divided
Let’s Make It
First, give your crock a little swipe of butter or a spritz of cooking spray — nothing elaborate, just enough so it doesn’t stick around the edges. Then take your raw ground beef and press it evenly into the bottom of the Slow Cooker. I break it up into rough pieces and spread it around, but I don’t obsess over it. Even is the goal, not perfect.
Whisk your two cans of condensed soup with one cup of water in a bowl until they’re smooth and pourable — this takes about thirty seconds and is the most active thing you’ll do in this recipe — and pour that over the beef. It should cover the whole layer. That’s your sauce foundation.
Now sprinkle the uncooked noodles over the top. Just scatter them evenly, then press them down gently with the back of a spoon so they’re mostly nestled into the soup. They’ll cook in the steam and moisture as the casserole bubbles.
In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream and half of your shredded cheese. Just stir until they’re combined. Then dollop this mixture over the noodles — I do maybe eight or ten spoonfuls and then spread it loosely, not worrying too much if it’s uneven. It melts and settles as it cooks, so it doesn’t need to be pretty at this stage.
Lid on. Cook on LOW for four to five hours, or HIGH for two to three hours. I always go LOW when I can — I think the casserole comes out a little more tender and cohesive, though that might just be in my head. When it’s done, the beef will be cooked through, the noodles will be soft, and the edges will be bubbling. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, put the lid back on, and let it sit for about ten more minutes on LOW or WARM until the cheese melts down.
Then stir gently from the outside in — don’t mash it, just fold it a little so the layers get slightly incorporated. Taste it. Add salt and black pepper if you want, and I usually want.
Variations
Ground turkey works well here if you want to go lighter — use a lean grind and it holds up just fine, just a little less rich. Venison is another option if you have it.
If your family likes a little sweetness in their tomato-based dishes — mine doesn’t, but a lot of people do — a teaspoon or two of brown sugar stirred into the soup mixture makes it taste a little more like something that came out of a farmhouse kitchen. I mean that as a compliment.
You can add dried parsley or Italian seasoning to the soup if you want a little more depth. A small can of diced tomatoes stirred in will stretch the sauce and add a little brightness, though it does tip slightly more acidic.
If you want to stretch the meal for a big family — or for leftovers — add another cup of noodles and a half cup more water. It’ll be thicker and a bit more hotdish-like, which is not a bad thing.
Storage
Leftovers keep in the fridge for three or four days, covered. Reheat in the microwave in a shallow bowl and stir in a spoonful of sour cream or a little splash of soup if it looks dry. The noodles will have absorbed a lot of the sauce overnight, so don’t expect it to look exactly the same — it won’t — but it’ll taste good.
A Few Last Things
Serve this in shallow bowls with buttered bread alongside — soft dinner rolls are ideal — and something green on the side. Green beans, peas, a salad with whatever’s in the crisper. Sliced cucumbers in a little vinegar and salt is the old-fashioned pairing I keep coming back to. Something cool and a little acidic cuts the richness nicely.