I know I have said it before, and I will probably say it again, but this crock pot series is making me realize how unappetizing most crock pot meals look. So, once again I am keeping it real instead of picture perfect.
Believe me I tried to get a good picture of this slow cooked cheeseburger casserole, but it just was not happening. Between the food not photographing well, and four very hungry people patiently waiting as I took pictures of dinner, I decided to just go with the pictures I had.
So please ignore the fact that this is not a magazine picture perfect meal and know that it tastes great. It tasted so great that there was none leftover for my husband to take for lunch the next day. No leftovers is a sure sign that dinner was a success.
Slow Cooked Cheeseburger Casserole
A slow cooked cheeseburger casserole makes an easy dinner that kids are sure to love.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds frozen hash browns
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 cups milk
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 pound ground beef
Instructions
- In a skillet brown ground beef, drain off any fat. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine well. You may need to do this in a bowl if your pan is not big enough.
- Place in a crockpot and cook on low for 3-4 hours.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
If you are gluten-free read labels to make sure that your ingredients are gluten-free.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 643Total Fat: 43gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 940mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 4gSugar: 1gProtein: 30g
Nutritional values are approximate and aren't always accurate.
Looks great, and I’m sure my family would love it! But recipes that are to be cooked only 3-4 hours really don’t work for me, as I work from 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. By the time I get home, that would be cooked to a cinder.
🙁
I am working on some longer cooked ones, so they will be coming soon. I have had quite a few people mention the same thing and I have days like that as well, os I will be sharing more longer cooking ones soon!
hook up a timer. like a oulet timer. we used one we used to use for christmas lights.
you set the correct current time, and then also, the time you wish dinner to turn on.
put the slow cooker switch to the setting you want, and the power will flow to it at say 1-2 p.m.
check the max voltage for the timer first, be sure it matches the power draw on your slow cooker.
the info will be on the sticker on both the timer, and usually the underside of your slow cooker.
Perhaps you could make this or other shorter recipes in an evening or on a weekend and have a “planned leftovers” day during the week? It would only need to be heated up at serving time.
For the short timed ones, I put it on as soon os I get home from work and it’s done by bedtime. Throw it in the fridge and reheat in the oven or microwave the next night.
I saw your recipe on I’m an Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday (https://orgjunkie.com/2013/05/menu-plan-monday-may-613.html) and stopped by to check out your recipe! Looks fantastic!! Thanks for sharing! Pinned 😉
Have a lovely week!!
~ Brenda, ChattingOverChocolate.com
I am so glad you found my site. Thanks for pinning it. I hope you have a great week also.
Thank you, these shorter meals are perfect for days I have class and have time in the afternoon to put dinner in the crock pot but need it t cook quickly. Making this Thursday since it is finals and this meal would make my family happy while I am slaving away taking finals while they are eating dinner. 🙂
This looks delicious. How many people does this serve? I’m feeding 10 people.
It serves about six. It feed my family of 5 plus enough for my husband’s lunch the next day. So, I would probably double it for 10 people. I hope you enjoy it.
I just found your site thru “I’m an organized junkie” site. I’m really liking this recipe and I’m going to have to take some time to explore your site more.
A couple questions though. When you add the other ingredients to the meat, do you keep the heat on the skillet? Why not just add everything to the crockpot and mix in there?
The other question is, do you need to thaw the hash browns before they go into the crockpot or do they go in frozen?
Thanks. Can’t wait to try this at home.
I am glad you found my site. Frozen hashbrowns work find. You can mix everything together in the crockpot, I just prefer not to. I find it less messy that way, but whatever works for you is fine. I hope you enjoy it.
I will be making this! I love easy recipes!
I made this last night and my family loved it, especially my 11 month old. She couldn’t get her mouth open fast enough!
I am really glad she liked it! Thanks for letting me know.
This looks delicious – can’t wait to try it out! Quick question, do you drain the browned beef before adding the other ingredients? Or would that not leave enough liquid or the crockpot?
I do drain off that fat if there is any and that should have been in the directions. The beef we get is really lean and I rarely have to drain it, so I just forgot that step in the directions. I just added it to the post, so thanks for asking. I hope you enjoy it!
I have a plug in timer I use for shorter cooking meals. Plug the crock pot into it and set the time to cut it on whenever you want. Dinner ready when I get home.
Made this today and it is a HUGE hit! I used “fresh” potatoes because I didn’t have any frozen hash browns. Even my sick little girl dove into this one!
Just curious…I would LOVE to double this and freeze it. Thoughts?
I am so glad you enjoyed it. I think it would probably freeze fine. The texture might be a little different, but I think it would work fine.
I have a timer that I use during the Christmas holiday for my lights…a programmable timer that plugs in…just set what time you want it to come on and shut off. Just a thought, timer would cost about $8-10 bucks
This recipe sounded good in theory; however, once I had it in the crockpot for 2 hours, it became a really greasy mess from the cheddar cheese. I had to drain off the grease as it rose. (yes I drained the ground beef well). Also, for the amount of potatoes, there was not enough ground beef to consider this a “cheeseburger” meal. I ended up using another pound of drained ground beef and added a packet of instant idohoan cheesy mashed potatoes to help soak up the remaining cheese grease. Also, there was no flavor whatsoever, so I added sauteed garlic, onion, & portabella mushrooms, one packet of dry ranch, and some mexican seasonings (amongst others) just to give it some sort of flavor.
I was just looking for ground beef slow cooker recipes and came across your site. i really liked it. we made this 2day and my family loved it. I did not use the frozen shredded hash browns cuz i found frozen diced w/peppers and onions. i did add garlic salt (cuz i didnt have fresh) because i never cook ground beef without garlic. i used sea salt and pepper. plus i placed only 2 cups of cheese (colby jack-i feel is less creasy) then place a little on top bout 20 min before serving.
I am glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing what you did!
Awesome recipe! Just made it with a little twist. I called it Slow Cooked Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole. Just added some chopped onions and about 3/4 lbs of thick cut bacon I cooked about 5 min in the oven, then chopped it up. Also used 4 cups of cheddar 😉 It did get a bit greasy with those add in, but I just spooned it out as it pooled on the edges…IT WAS AWESOME. I’ll be doubling it next time. Thanks for the great idea.
That sounds really good! I love the addition of bacon. Thanks for sharing what you did.