Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole delivers everything you love about a loaded bacon burger: seasoned ground beef, crispy bacon, melty cheese, and a tangy burger sauce, all folded into tender pasta and baked in one pan. It actually tastes like a cheeseburger, not just noodles with meat and cheese.
If you love skillet dinners that feed the whole family, you will also want my Cast Iron Burgers and my creamy Philly Cheesesteak Pasta.
Quick Look at this Recipe
- ✅ Recipe Name: Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
- 🕒 Ready In: 38 minutes (8 min prep, 30 min cook)
- 👪 Serves: 6 people
- 🥣 Main Ingredients: Ground beef, bacon, elbow macaroni, cheddar and mozzarella, ketchup, mustard, dill pickle
- 📖 Dietary Info: Contains gluten and dairy
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: All the flavor of a bacon cheeseburger in one cheesy cast iron skillet.
Summarize and Save the Recipe
Jump to:
- Quick Look at this Recipe
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- What Makes This Cheeseburger Casserole Different
- Recipe Ingredients
- How to Make Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
- Variations and Substitutions
- Expert Tips
- How to Serve Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
- Recipe FAQs
- Other Related Pasta and Casserole Recipes
- Get the Recipe
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It tastes like a real cheeseburger. The ketchup, mustard, pickle, and Worcestershire hit the same notes as a drive-thru burger, bacon included.
- One skillet, start to finish. Sear on the stovetop, bake in the same cast iron pan. Fewer dishes, more flavor.
- A true family-pleaser. Even picky kids clean their plates. It is the kind of weeknight dinner that gets requested again.
- Budget-friendly pantry staples. Elbow macaroni, ground beef, and a few sauce ingredients you already have.
What Makes This Cheeseburger Casserole Different
Most cheeseburger casseroles taste like mac and cheese with ground beef, or a sloppy joe over noodles. Good, but not a cheeseburger. The fix is the sauce. A blend of beef broth, ketchup, yellow mustard, dill pickle brine, and Worcestershire gives you that tangy, savory special-sauce flavor you actually get from a burger. Stir dill pickle relish in at the end and you get little bursts of that classic burger bite.
The bacon does its own heavy lifting, and cooking the onions in a little of the rendered bacon fat carries that smoky flavor through the whole dish. We use two cheeses on purpose: mozzarella melts into the sauce for creaminess, and a sharp cheddar finish gives you the classic burger-top flavor.
And because it all happens in one cast iron skillet, you get a hard sear on the beef for flavor, then a quick oven finish to melt and brown the cheese. No second baking dish to wash.
Recipe Ingredients
- Macaroni - elbow macaroni is the perfect size, but any small pasta works.
- Ground beef - lean is best, 85% or higher.
- Bacon - regular thickness; thick cut works too.
- Cheese - mozzarella for melt, cheddar for that burger-top flavor. Block cheese you grate yourself melts better than pre-shredded.
- Onion - yellow onion, finely diced.
- Cheeseburger sauce - low-sodium beef broth, ketchup, yellow mustard, dill pickle juice, and Worcestershire. Cornstarch is optional for a thicker sauce.
- Dill pickle relish - jarred dill relish, or finely diced dill pickles.
- Seasonings - salt, black pepper, granulated garlic, and paprika.
See the recipe card below for full measurements.
How to Make Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
- Step 1: Cook the bacon. Chop and crisp the bacon over medium-high heat, then set it aside and drain all but 1 to 2 tablespoons of the fat.
- Step 2: Sweat the onion. Cook the diced onion in the reserved bacon fat for 2 to 3 minutes until it softens.
- Step 3: Brown the beef. Crumble in the ground beef and cook until done, season with garlic, paprika, salt, and pepper, then stir the bacon back in.
- Step 4: Add the cheeseburger sauce. Whisk together the beef broth, ketchup, mustard, pickle brine, and Worcestershire, then pour it in.
- Step 5: Stir in the pasta. Off the heat, fold in the cooked macaroni, then the pickle relish and mozzarella, and simmer until the sauce thickens.
- Step 6: Top and bake. Scatter the cheddar over the top and bake until melted and golden, then let it rest a few minutes.
Variations and Substitutions
- Swap the protein. Ground turkey or ground chicken work well if you want it lighter.
- Change the pickle. Dill is the classic burger flavor, but relish-style or even bread-and-butter work. Hate pickles? Leave them out.
- Load it like a burger. Garnish with diced tomato, chopped green onion, shredded lettuce, or a sprinkle of sesame seeds for a Big Mac feel.
- Make it creamier. Swap the mozzarella for 4 ounces of cream cheese melted into the sauce.
- Slow cooker. Full crock-pot directions are in the recipe card notes.
Expert Tips
- Pull the pasta early. Stop cooking it one minute shy of the package time. It finishes in the oven and will not turn mushy.
- Reserve a little sauce. Hold back about a quarter cup in case you want to thin it after baking, or use the cornstarch option to thicken.
- Dab the fat. While it rests, rendered fat rises to the top. A quick pass with a paper towel keeps it from looking greasy.
- Grate your own cheese. Pre-shredded cheese is coated to prevent clumping and does not melt as smoothly.
How to Serve Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
- A crisp green salad or my Simple Coleslaw balances the richness.
- Make it a burger-joint plate with Garlic Butter Skillet Corn or a basket of Crispy Buttermilk Onion Rings.
- Steamed or roasted vegetables like green beans, broccoli, or asparagus keep it light.
- Diced tomato and extra pickle on top to lean into the burger theme.
- Make it a diner night with a root beer float or milkshake for the kids.
Recipe FAQs
Most fast-food burgers use dill, so that is the flavor we went with. Use your favorite pickle, or leave it out if you are not a fan.
Yes. Assemble it, cover, and refrigerate up to a day. Add 5 to 10 minutes to the bake if it goes straight from the fridge.
Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 3 to 4 days, or freeze up to 3 months. Reheat in a 350F oven or the microwave until warmed through.
Yes. Melt 4 ounces of cream cheese into the skillet with a little sauce before returning the meat mixture, then continue as written.
Yes. Use ½ teaspoon onion powder with the spices, and use the same amount of garlic powder (not garlic salt).
Of course. A greased 9x13 dish works. Smooth it out, top with cheese, and bake.
Butter or your favorite cooking oil both work.
It should halve fine. Just use a smaller skillet so it does not spread too thin.
Other Related Pasta and Casserole Recipes
If you tried this Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Get the Recipe
Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
Equipment
- 12-inch cast iron skillet
Ingredients
- 8 oz. elbow macaroni (any small pasta)
- 1 lb bacon chopped
- 2 tbsp. bacon grease (butter or oil will work too)
- ½ cup onions finely diced
- 1½ lbs. ground beef
- ½ tsp. salt +/-, to taste
- ½ tsp. pepper +/-, to taste
- ½ tsp. granulated garlic (or powdered, not garlic salt)
- 1 tsp. paprika
Cheeseburger Sauce
- 1½ cups beef broth
- 4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1¼ cup ketchup
- 4 tbsp. yellow mustard
- 2½ tbsp. dill pickle juice (brine from a jar)
- 1 tsp. cornstarch (OPTIONAL)
Casserole Mix-ins
- ¼ cup dill pickle relish (or finely diced dill pickles)
- 4 oz. mozzarella cheese grated/shredded
- 4 oz. cheddar cheese grated/shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cook the macaroni according to package directions EXCEPT stop cooking one minute before it should be done.
- Heat the skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chopped bacon, reserving 2 tbsp. renderings once done, drain the rest; set aside.
- In the same skillet, return to medium-high heat, add the reserved bacon renderings and onions, cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Crumble the ground beef into the skillet, stirring to mix in the onions.
- Add the salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika; cook about 5 minutes or until done, drain any renderings.
- In a medium bowl, combine the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, mustard, pickle juice, and cornstarch; whisk until combined.
- Once the beef is cooked, remove from heat and stir in the bacon and the pasta.
- Over medium heat, pour in the liquid mixture, stir to combine.
- Stir in the pickle relish and the mozzarella cheese, cook until it starts to bubble and the sauce begins to thicken; about 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the top.
- Place the skillet in the oven uncovered and cook until the cheese is melted; 7-10 minutes.
Notes
- Pull the pasta early. Stop cooking it one minute shy of the package time; it finishes in the oven and will not turn mushy.
- Thicken to taste. Use the optional cornstarch, or reserve about a quarter cup of the sauce to stir in after baking if it gets too thick.
- Dab the fat. While it rests, rendered fat rises to the top. A quick pass with a paper towel keeps it from looking greasy.
- Grate your own cheese. Block cheese you shred yourself melts smoother than pre-shredded.
Nutrition
Dutch Oven Daddy is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Traci says
Nothing more delicious and satisfying than bacon cheeseburger! This casserole hits the spot and is actually easier than making individual burgers. Thanks for sharing!
rebecca says
ok chopping the bacon is the easiest thing ever, but such a game changer. I'm going to chop it first from now on
Elizabeth says
This is the absolute comfort food! With pasta, hamburger, and gooey cheese all mixed together, what's not to like? Absolutely delicious. I love how it's made in a cast iron skillet too.
Dana says
We absolutely LOVED this. It'd been a long somewhat stressful week and we were just really hankering something cozy. Something we could curl up with. This was perfect. So much flavor and so easy to make—and it's great reheated, too!
Travis says
This sounded quirky so we tried it. It actually has great flavor. The kids looked at it like timid deer.
Joe Spence says
My wife and I really enjoyed this dish. I don’t like pickles on anything and I considered leaving it out of the recipe but I decided to make it according to the recipe. I’m glad I did. It was really good. Can’t wait to try more recipes.
Ned Adams says
Awesome, Joe! So glad you tried it as is and you liked it! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Sean says
You know that feeling when you get home from work and you step out of the car and your hit with a wonderful aroma of someone’s meal and you think to yourself “I hope that smell is coming from my place!”. Well this is one of those meals. It smells so good when it’s cooking which just adds to the delight of eating it because it tastes just as good as it smells. This was a great recipe! So tasty! You nailed the taste of a bacon cheeseburger. I went with the option of dicing up the dill pickles instead of the relish and it was perfect. I doubled the batch when I made this last night and I’m glad I did because I was feeding 7 people and some of them went back for seconds. Thanks for creating such a great dish.
Ned Adams says
This makes me so happy to hear!! I’m glad you and your family loved it! There’s just something awesome about creating delicious food and sharing it with loved ones.
Nikki RS says
I thought this recipe was great! The pickles make the recipe. It really does taste like a cheeseburger.
It was such a hit in my house, I made it twice in one week!
Ned Adams says
That's awesome Nikki! I'm so glad you and family are loving this one! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Colby obray says
Loved this, hope my wife makes it soon.