How to Make Hamburger Casserole (Depression-Era Recipe)

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

I don’t mind cooking – sometimes there’s just nothing like a hot meal to make us feel warm, safe, and loved. But I have to confess that I really don’t like making recipes that have too many fancy ingredients that I’ll never use again. And I don’t have time to scour every dish in the house after every meal, either. 

So when I discovered this 100-year-old casserole recipe, I knew we had a winner. It has simple, healthy ingredients that I almost always have on hand. It only uses a single cast iron pot, so you won’t be scrubbing pots and pans all night long. And the best part is that it's absolutely delicious. 

It’s so good that even my pickiest eaters thought it was pretty amazing – and I think you will too! 

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Jump to Recipe

Here’s the basic recipe: 

• 1 pound of ground beef
• 5 potatoes 
• 1 onion
• 2 peppers 
• Provolone cheese slices

First, I gave my cast iron deep dish skillet a healthy coating of coconut oil spray and preheated it on the stove top. This helps to season the cast iron and keep anything from sticking to it while you are cooking. 

Next, I browned the ground beef. While the beef was cooking on the stove top, I diced the onions and potatoes. I peeled the potatoes, but you can leave the skin on if you prefer. 

I added the onions and peppers to the ground beef and cooked it a little bit longer to soften the onions, stirring periodically. 

Next, I added the potatoes and cooked them with the lid on for about 15 minutes, until they were tender. While the potatoes were cooking, I preheated the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 

I added a cup of milk and stirred it in. Then I layered the provolone cheese across the top. 

When the potatoes were tender, I put the entire casserole in the oven, uncovered, and baked it for 20 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The entire casserole just smelled so good! I let it rest on top of the stove for a few minutes before we all dug in. 

Serving Suggestions

I made the casserole with ingredients I had on hand. The inspiration for this recipe came from a 100-year-old recipe I found on diyjoy.com, but I put my own spin it. My family loved it just like this, with a sprinkle of salt and pepper on top. 

If you prefer, you can switch out the milk for chicken broth or beef broth to add extra flavor, or just add some bouillon right into the casserole. 

More Veggies 

If it’s hard to get your family to eat their greens, you can sneak all kinds of veggies into this casserole. We used plenty of peppers and onions, but you could easily add carrots, celery, peas, and you could even add some green beans if you like them. 

You could use fresh, frozen, or even canned vegetables. Add them with the potatoes if they need extra cook time, or right before you add the cheese if they are already cooked. 

More Cheese 

If you need more flavor, you can add a variety of cheese to make it extra special. I used provolone because that’s what I had, although I think more would have been better. You could use sharp cheddar, Colby jack, or any blend of cheese you like. 

More Potatoes 

Do you need to stretch your meat a little bit farther? I used a pound of ground beef, but you could easily stretch it further with extra potatoes or vegetables. 

Other Meats 

If you don’t have ground beef, you could also use ground turkey, shredded chicken or pork, or whatever you have on hand. Whatever meat you use, just make sure it’s thoroughly cooked before adding in the potatoes. 

Leftovers 

If you have leftovers on hand, you can mix them in, too. Whatever you have left in the fridge – a handful of cooked veggies, a little leftover steak – if it's fully cooked, you can dice it and toss it in before you put it in the oven. 

Don’t be afraid to serve this yummy dish with a side of vegetables, butter bread, or soup if you need to stretch it even further. 

My family loves this casserole because it’s warm, filling, and tastes so good! I love it because it’s easy to make, easy to clean up, warms their hungry bellies, and is inexpensive, easy, and flexible. 

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