Growing up, my mom used to make this dish that never had a name other than “noodle casserole” and it was amazing. Every time she’d mention it, I would have no idea what she was talking about until she’d make it; then I’d remember how much I loved it. I decided to recreate it for my family and perfect it so I could also share the best noodle casserole recipe here with you too! It’s super simple, absolutely delicious, will feed a crowd, and is ready in no time! You’ll want to be sure to save this recipe!
Before I get to the recipe, I want to mention that you can absolutely use your favorite store bought spaghetti sauce if that’s what you prefer or you’re low on time, but I do enjoy making my own so it’s flavored perfectly and comes out just as I had planned every time.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef or turkey
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups spaghetti sauce
- 16 ounces wide egg noodles, boiled in salted water
- 16 ounces sour cream
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 2 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese
- Parmesan cheese (optional – I typically add it on top of the shredded cheese, but somehow forgot at the time of making and taking photos of it for this post, oops!)
Directions
- Cook ground beef with the onion, garlic, and salt in a large skillet, then drain. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer on low heat, covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Cook and drain noodles.
- Combine meat sauce and noodles.
- In a bowl, mix sour cream and cream cheese together. You can do this in a regular bowl with a fork or hand mixer, or use a stand mixer.
- Dump half the noodle mixture into a lightly greased 9×13 casserole dish.
- Spread the entire cream cheese/sour cream mixture on top of the noodles, add the rest of your noodle mixture, then top with shredded cheese and parmesan.
- Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, or until cheese has melted. If you want a browned top, once the cheese has melted, you can uncover and broil for a few minutes.
I’m so excited for you to try this simple, but absolutely delicious noodle casserole recipe I’ve recreated! Let me know what you think in the comments below! Did you grow up eating this too?