Beef Noodle Casserole

This is the best beef noodle casserole ever! My favorite recipe from my grandmother is this casserole with plenty of vegetables, ground beef, and egg noodles. Top with grated cheddar cheese.

Beef Noodle Casserole
Elise Bauer

One of my favorite recipes from my childhood is this ground beef noodle casserole that my grandmother used to make for us when we came for a visit. It has ground beef, egg noodles, black olives, corn, mushrooms, and shredded cheddar cheese.

It may sound like an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink kind of recipe, or a midwestern version of tamale pie (corn, olives, mushrooms?), but wow is it good!

It also feeds a crowd—which was perfect for out big family (six kids)—and is relatively budget friendly.

I have no idea where my grandmother got the recipe, but I did find her old hand written notes for it, including its name—Talerine. Doing a quick Google search for "talerine" reveals several similar recipes that many people coincidentally got from their grandmothers.

Beef Noodle Casserole
Elise Bauer

It's a great casserole—tasty, easy to make, hearty, and makes for great leftovers too. Do you have a similar casserole in your family history? Let us know about it in the comments!

Can This Noodle Casserole Be Made in Advance?

Meal planners, rejoice! You can assemble the casserole up to a day in advance, cool it, then cover with foil and refrigerate. Pull the casserole from the fridge when you preheat the oven. Bake as directed in the recipe, though you may need to add a few more minutes, since the casserole will be going into the oven cold.

Freeze an uncooked, fully assembled casserole for up to 3 months. Cover the casserole in its dish with foil and then wrap with two layers of plastic wrap. To bake, remove the plastic wrap, and bake the frozen casserole with the foil on at 350°F for 1 1/2 hours, or until fully cooked through. Remove the foil 30 minutes before it's done cooking.

5 More Crowd-Pleasing Casserole Recipes

From the Editors Of Simply Recipes

Beef Noodle Casserole

Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 60 mins
Total Time 80 mins
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 medium white onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups)

  • 1 bell pepper, seeded, ribs removed, finely chopped, about 1 cup

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced, about 1 tablespoon

  • 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled or crushed tomatoes

  • 1 1/2 pounds ground beef

  • 4 ounces mushrooms, sliced

  • 12 ounces egg noodles

  • 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, defrosted

  • 1 (15-ounce) can black olives, strained and chopped

  • 8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated

Method

  1. Preheat the oven, start heating the water:

    Preheat the oven to 350°F. Add 1 tablespoon of the salt to 2 quarts water in a large pot, and start to bring to a boil for cooking the egg noodles.

  2. Make the tomato sauce:

    Heat 1 tablespoon of oil on medium high heat in a large, heavy bottomed pot or skillet. Add the onions and bell pepper and sauté until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a minute more.

    Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with your fingers or a knife if you are using whole canned tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to warm.

  3. Brown the ground beef, then season:

    In a separate skillet, add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat to medium-high. Working in batches, so you do not crowd the pan, add the ground beef, breaking it up with your fingers as you add it to the pan.

    Do not stir the ground beef, but let it sit and cook for a minute or two until it browns on one side.

    beef-noodle-casserole-talerine-method-1
    Elise Bauer
    beef-noodle-casserole-talerine-method-2
    Elise Bauer

    Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of the salt over the meat while cooking.

    Once browned on one side, turn the pieces over to get the other side browned. Once the meat is mostly browned (can still be rare in the center), remove the beef from the pan and add to the tomato onion mixture.

  4. Sauté the mushrooms:

    Add the mushrooms to the same pan that you had used for browning the beef and sauté the mushrooms in the remaining oil and beef drippings. Once browned, add the mushrooms to the beef and tomato mixture.

    beef-noodle-casserole-talerine-method-3
    Elise Bauer
    beef-noodle-casserole-talerine-method-4
    Elise Bauer
  5. Cook the egg noodles:

    While the mushrooms are cooking, add the egg noodle pasta to the boiling water. Cook as directed, about 4-5 minutes. Strain when cooked, but still a little firm (al dente).

  6. Add everything to the casserole:

    Add the cooked egg noodles to a large (3 quart) casserole dish. (If your casserole dish isn't big enough, you may need to use 2 casserole dishes.)

    Stir in the tomato beef mixture. Stir in the corn, chopped olives, and about two thirds of the cheese.

    beef-noodle-casserole-talerine-method-5
    Elise Bauer
    beef-noodle-casserole-talerine-method-6
    Elise Bauer
  7. Bake:

    Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of casserole. Place in the oven. Bake uncovered at 350°F for 30 minutes.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
557 Calories
35g Fat
29g Carbs
34g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 557
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 35g 45%
Saturated Fat 12g 62%
Cholesterol 116mg 39%
Sodium 1323mg 58%
Total Carbohydrate 29g 11%
Dietary Fiber 6g 20%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 34g
Vitamin C 37mg 186%
Calcium 319mg 25%
Iron 6mg 33%
Potassium 750mg 16%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.