By Brayden is eighty weeks old. The mom-and-tot social network has continued to expand — the Tulsa-library Saturday morning gathering has become a regular weekly fixture for us. The second monthly recipe-workshop at Mama’s cafe was Wednesday afternoon. The Sunday family-lunch at our apartment with Mama and Aunt Linda was the small mid-April gathering.
The hamburger hash brown casserole is a Sunday-family-lunch comfort dish — ground beef seasoned with onion and garlic, layered with frozen hash brown potatoes and a creamy cheddar-and-sour-cream binder, topped with shredded cheddar and crushed cornflakes, baked at three-fifty for forty-five minutes. The dish is the Midwestern-comfort-casserole archetype — substantial, savory, sliceable on a plate, and family-friendly across age ranges.
The technique question is the hash-brown moisture. Frozen hash browns release moisture as they thaw and cook. The casserole binder needs to be thick enough to absorb the moisture without going soupy. The fix is using full-fat sour cream and full-fat condensed cream-of-mushroom-soup as the binder base, plus a tablespoon of cornstarch to bind any excess liquid. The casserole comes out sliceable rather than scoopable.
Sunday I made it. Mama had two helpings. Aunt Linda had one. Dustin had two. I had one. Brayden had a small portion of plain hash-brown-and-ground-beef. The leftover casserole covered Monday lunch and Tuesday dinner.
Hamburger Hash Brown Casserole
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour | Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef (80/20)
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (10.5 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 (10.5 oz) can cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 (30 oz) bag frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- Fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
- Brown the beef. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef and diced onion together, breaking the meat apart as it cooks, until the beef is no longer pink and the onion is softened, about 8–10 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook 1 minute more. Drain excess fat.
- Make the sauce. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and milk until smooth. Stir in the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
- Combine. Add the browned beef mixture, thawed hash browns, and 1 1/2 cups of the cheddar cheese to the bowl with the sauce. Stir until everything is evenly coated.
- Assemble. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.
- Bake. Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbling and the casserole is heated through.
- Rest and serve. Let the casserole rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 480 | Protein: 26g | Fat: 28g | Carbs: 32g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 820mg