This Paleo Cheeseburger Casserole is an epically delicious, healthy meal the whole family will love! It’s made with a layer of crispy hash browns, seasoned burger, a dairy-free cheese sauce, and fresh toppings.
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Ok, now let’s talk Paleo Cheeseburger Casserole! It’s no secret that I LOVE BURGERS. A giant burger with french fries was my first meal after Gray’s delivery and I crave one at least once a week. While I prefer my burger bun-less (lettuce-wrapped, instead), I do still like all the fixings. This casserole is fashioned after my favorite meal …made even more epic by a Paleo-friendly “cheese” (or regular shredded cheese, if you’d prefer that!). The casserole starts off with a crispy layer of hash browns (to replace the fries), a layer of seasoned “burger,” and a layer of either (really easy) Paleo cheese or shredded cheese. All you need to do is assemble, bake so that the flavors come together a bit, and top with your favorite fresh bonus fixings. Spoon up your servings and enjoy!
Recipe Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil (or another fat of choice)
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 pounds of ground beef
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 1, 20-ounce package of frozen hashbrowns (or 5 cups of shredded potatoes)
- 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese OR Paleo nacho cheese
- 4 slices of bacon, cooked, for topping
- 1/4 head of iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced, for topping
- 1/2 of a tomato, diced, for topping
- 1 avocado, diced, for topping
- 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced, for topping
How to Prepare this Paleo Casserole
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Saute the onions and garlic – heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat in a 13-inch cast iron pan (or an oven-safe skillet of similar size). Add the diced onions and garlic and saute for 5-7 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
- Add the ground beef – add the ground beef, salt, and pepper to the skillet with the onion and garlic, and cook for 7-8 minutes, until the ground beef is browned and fully cooked. Then remove the ground beef mixture from the pan and set aside.
- Brown the hashbrowns – add the 3 tablespoons of oil to the pan, then add the hashbrowns. Cook the hashbrowns for 5-6 minutes, then flip, and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, or until the potatoes are crispy and cooked through.
- Assemble the casserole – place the ground beef mixture on top of the hashbrowns in an even layer. Then, top with either the Paleo nacho cheese or shredded cheese.
- Bake – put the skillet in the oven and bake the casserole for 15 minutes.
- Top, serve, and enjoy – once the casserole has finished baking, garnish it with the lettuce, bacon, tomato, avocado, and jalapeno, and serve!
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’ve ever been to the ground beef section of the grocery store, you know that there are lots of different lean/fat ratios to choose from when it comes to this versatile protein. We typically use 85/15 ground beef for this recipe (and most ground beef recipes in general).
Because this casserole is a really balanced meal all on its own, you actually don’t need to make anything extra to go alongside it. If you want to, though, a nice simple lemon arugula salad would be really tasty!
Store any leftover casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Stored this way, it’ll keep for up to a week. For longer storage, freeze the casserole for up to 3 months! My favorite way to do this is to package individual portions in airtight, freezer-safe containers so that I can heat up a serving (or two!) at a time.
Paleo Cheeseburger Casserole Video
Here’s the recipe video with step-by-step instructions, enjoy!
More Favorite Ground Beef Recipes
Cheesy Hamburger Casserole
Ingredients
For the Casserole:
- 4 tablespoons olive oil or other fat of choice, divided
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 20 ounce package frozen hashbrowns or 5 cups shredded potatoes
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese or Paleo nacho cheese for dairy-free
For the Topping:
- 4 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1/4 head iceberg lettuce thinly sliced
- 1/2 tomato diced
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 jalapeno thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- In a 13-inch cast iron pan, or 9×13 inch oven-safe pan, heat the oil over medium heat, add the diced onions and garlic and saute 5 to 7 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add the ground beef, salt, and pepper, and cook 7-8 minutes until ground beef is browned and fully cooked. Remove from pan.
- Add the 3 tablespoons oil to the pan, then add hash browns. Cook 5 to 6 minutes, then flip, and cook an additional 3-4 minutes, or until the potatoes are crispy and cooked through. Place the ground beef and onion mixture on top of the hash browns, then pour on the nacho cheese.
- Put the pan in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. While casserole is baking, prepare the toppings.
- Once casserole has finished baking, garnish with the lettuce, bacon, tomato, avocado, and jalapeno and serve!
Nutrition
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Cassy Joy Garcia
Recipe Developer, Copywriter, and Photographer
This was so easy to make and super flavorful, my whole family enjoyed it and it was definitely kid approved!
Amazing – kiddo approved is the highest of compliments!! Thank you for sharing this with us, Hannah!
Fantastic! I made this at the same time as the Philly Cheesesteak casserole (on this site) and it was so easy & delicious. I used shredded cheese instead of nacho cheese. Also used tater tots instead of hashbrowns, because I didn’t realize till later that I didn’t buy hashbrowns. I don’t think it would make a difference though. I cooked it exactly the same way. All the men in the house loved it and that means something in the South.
That’s so great to hear, Jackie!!!
So simple and so delicious!!!
Yay! So glad!
This was easy and delicious, thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it!!
Made this tonight with premade hashbrowns patties. Baked them and put in a 13 by 9 pan. Turned out great!
Awesome! We’re glad you enjoyed it, Lyndsy!
SO GOOD and clean! I felt full and didn’t find myself searching for snacks after! I swapped regular potatoes for sweet potatoes!
Has anyone ever frozen the leftovers for later meals? It makes so much!
So glad you enjoyed it Tiffany! This is a great one to freeze – just don’t include the fresh toppings like lettuce and tomatoes.
Watch imposters and wanted on netflix!
Oh my gosh! This looks great. Thank you for always having meals that my husband and daughter are willing to eat. It makes life as a working mom so much easier!
The Crown, Hart of Dixie, Crazy ExGirlfriend and I loved the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime. Also the movie Set it Up on Netflix.
This was SO good!! I only wish I’d made more for leftovers!
So glad you liked this!
Hart Of Dixie! It’s in Netflix and you’ll love it!
I’m not a TV gal either but I watched a lot on during the first few months.
This was so so so delicious. I’m wondering if anyone has any tips for getting their hashbrowns crispy. I can never quite do it right!
Hey Alyssa! Patience is key. You really have to let the hash browns sit and cook for a while, then take a peek and see if they are browned, then flip. The other key to this is plenty of oil, and a good non-stick pan.
A couple tips for anyone who hasn’t made this yet but plans to. I cooked the bacon first, and then used the bacon fat to saute the onions and garlic, plus the meat. Also, this is a LOT of meat! I used my largest skillet (13″), but after the meat was finished cooking I decided to reserve about half of it for another recipe. I don’t think I could have made this in my regular cast iron skillet (9″) but would love to hear if anyone else did!
Looking forward to eating this tonight and seeing how much my husband and toddler enjoy it!
Netflix recommendations: Ozark and Mindhunter. These are kind of dark but I’m into that 🙂