A delicious and hearty ground beef casserole that is filling and full of flavor! This Sour Cream Noodle Bake takes basic ingredients and turns them into a memorable meal that your family will be requesting regularly.
Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees if you plan on cooking your casserole right away.
Get a large pot of lightly salted water boiling for your egg noodles. As soon as the water is boiling, cook your noodles just until they're just past al dente or li. Do not overcook them, because when you reheat the casserole it could make the noodles too soft or soggy. Drain and cool the noodles, so you can assemble the casserole.
While the noodles are boiling, get your ground beef cooking in your frying pan. Once the meat is cooked, drain the fat. Then add the 15 oz can of Tomato Sauce, salt, and ½ tsp pepper and allow it to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove it from the heat and set it aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the sour cream and cottage cheese. Add the remaining ½ tsp ground black pepper. Combine the noodles to the sour cream and cottage cheese mixture and carefully mix. If you are wanting to add green onions, mix them in at this time!
To assemble the casserole, start by lightly greasing a 9x13 baking dish. Add half of the noodles to a baking dish. Then add a layer of half of the meat mixture. And sprinkle ½ of the cheese on top of the meat mixture. Repeat the three layers of the noodles, meat, and then top with the cheese.
Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the casserole is heated all the way through. Serve with a side salad or vegetable!
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Notes
MAKE AHEAD INSTRUCTIONS FOR SOUR CREAM NOODLE BAKE:
To make ahead: You can prepare this meal up to 24 hours ahead of time. Make sure the noodles are cooked al dente. After preparing, cover the casserole tightly with tin foil and refrigerate. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. It will need approximately 10 extra minutes of cooking time because you're putting it in the oven cold.
Absolutely you can. I have tried a few kinds and strongly prefer egg noodles. They're the easiest to eat! I've used Fettuccine and Linguini, which worked great because it's in the same family as egg noodles. But honestly, the casserole just looks best with egg noodles!
HEALTHIER VERSION:
To make this recipe less fat, use Low Fat Cottage Cheese and Low Fat shredded cheese!