Amish Country Casserole
Amish Country Casserole is an economical, creamy dinner, perfect for a crowd. Make-ahead and freezer friendly recipe too ! This casserole is perfect to ease into Fall or out of Winter, beginning Spring.
Creamy, comforting Amish food ! A Recipe also known as an old fashioned hamburger noodle casserole.
Many people prefer noodles, but I do love my Fussili or screw-shaped pasta. You can however choose to use whichever pasta you prefer.
The recipe is so easy to make and can be doubled or even tripled easily. Vegetables can also be added to give the dish that little extra stretch.
Amish Country Casserole loaded with vegetables !
Ever since I have started to make the Amish Country Casserole, I have added lightly fried Mushrooms, Broccoli, Peas and once I even added Carrots.
However, the Carrots took a bit longer to cook and my family did not really like the end result.
We all love the added Mushrooms though ! And I try to add some every time I make the casserole, if I happen to have a punnet of Mushrooms available.
Which I normally do have, by the way. Saute the Mushrooms just before adding the ground beef to the heated oil and carry on with the recipe.
I was curious about one thing, though. Going back a few (and I mean quite a few) Amish generations, did they have canned soup already, homemade and bottled ?
Or would the cooks have made a batch of Tomato- and a batch of Mushroom Soup specially for this dish ??
Anyhow, back to the recipe ~ it’s quite a large dish, but so tasty, all of us always have second helpings.
Since my daughter moved into her own house and my son is not always home for dinner, I started to freeze half the dish.
How to freeze the Amish Country Casserole :
- Follow all steps to just before baking.
- Transfer to one or two, depending on the portion size you prefer, freezer dishes which you can pop into the oven later when needed.
- Cool completely and place in the freezer. Do make sure to have an airtight lid on or even platic wrap will work.
- The container should be big enough for the leftovers, otherwise on defrosting it might turn out a bit watery.
- Defrost in the refrigerator overnight and simply pop into the oven when required.
**NOTE (very Important): Use thick cream of soups (the condensed type). And only the best quality you can get as this is what gives this casserole most of it’s flavor.
Easy Pasta recipes you might like:
- Quick Pasta Casserole
- One Pot Spicy Steak Fajita Pasta
- Stir Fried Pasta Side Dish
- Quick White Cheddar And Bacon Pasta
- Cheesy Chicken Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes and Mushrooms
Update: I have since started to alternate the ground beef with chicken strips (or cubed) and the end result is just as delicious ! No other changes to the recipe required.
Remember : You can make this Amish Casserole with egg noodles too ! ( This was the casserole known as the old fashioned hamburger noodle casserole )
Amish Country Casserole
Amish Country Casserole
Ingredients
- 500 g Pasta your choice
- 1 TB Olive Oil extra-virgin
- 1 Onion chopped
- 2 t Garlic crushed
- 750 grams Lean Ground Beef
- 600 grams canned Tomato Soup condensed **See note in post**
- 600 grams canned Mushroom Soup condensed **See note in post**
- 1 cup Milk
- Salt and Black Pepper to taste
- ½ t Paprika
- ½ t Dried Parsley
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 deg C (350 deg F) – spray a large oven dish with cooking spray.
- Cook the Pasta, in a large pot, as per the instructions on the packet.
- Meanwhile, saute the Onion and Garlic in the Olive Oil until soft – add the Ground Beef and cook until done.
- As soon as the Pasta is done – drain and return to the pot.
- Add the cooked Meat, Tomato and Mushroom Soups and Milk to the Pasta – stir through – season to taste with Salt and Pepper.
- Transfer to the prepared oven dish – sprinkle with Paprika and Parsley – bake 25 – 30 minutes.
Notes
- See in post for vegetable addition recommendations
- Recipe updated: July 2021
- See in post recommedations for type of soup to use
Serve with a salad or a side dish.
LINKED UP AT:WEEKEND POTLUCK
Excellent and easy to make. Would definitely make this dish again.
So good and easy!
I made this for a feeding program, for about 50 people. had to upscale it a bit. Was devoured by guests at our shelter. they loved it!
Just made this and it is wonderful
Quick, easy. Makes a lot
I was wondering if I could just put the egg noodles uncooked after making ground beef and all the other ingredients together.The reason I asked cause I figured it would bake in the oven anyways . Save a step of boiling the noodles . I was wondering if you can just do that way . Would will it turn out just as good ?
Btw made for my husband he loves it
Loved this recipe! Super simple and great for picky eaters. (Note: I replaced the cream of mushroom with cream of celery)
Delicious, especially with added sauteed mushrooms ! Easy to freeze and reheat leftovers
This dish was simple to make and delicious! My whole family enjoyed this meal.
The only thing I did different, I added 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder in with my onions and I added shredded sharp chedder and mozzarella on top of the casserole.
Sounds good may have to tey this out for dinner in a day or two. Question-If this is truly Amish then why metric measurements?
Hope you enjoy the dish as much as we do, Donna ! We only use metric in South-Africa and I have found this recipe many years ago, which, when I found it in imperial I converted to metric (if any problems, you can use the KITCHEN CHEAT SHEET in the tabs above)
Actually, the Campbells Soup Company has been around for a very long time so its possible that the Amish developed this dish decades and decades ago! Tomato soup was one of the first soups that Campells produced. Here is their history from their website!:
The Campbell Soup Company began in 1869 in Camden, New Jersey, USA.
The company was originally called the Joseph A Campbell Preserve Company and made canned tomatoes and vegetables, jellies, soups, condiments and minced meats.
In 1897, a major landmark occurred when Arthur Dorrance, the general manager of the company, reluctantly hired his 24-year-old nephew to join the company. Dr. John T. Dorrance, a chemist who had trained in Europe, was so determined to join Campbell that he agreed to pay for laboratory equipment out of his own pocket and accept a token salary of just $7.50 per week. In 1897, Dr John T Torrance invented condensed soup. This invention revolutionised soup….
The Campbell Soup Company is famous for its high quality products. In 1876, the company was awarded a medal for quality at the Centennial Exhibition. In 1900, Campbell's soups won the Gold Medallion for excellence at the Paris Exposition. This medal has been featured on cans ever since.
Well, honestly, this is not true Amish. They only just in the last generation or 2 started using things like canned soup and prepared pasta. Their true generationally passed down recipes would have hand made noodles that a lot of people know from chicken and dumplings. So I think they were not totally honest with you in saying it was passed down from generation to generation. With all that said, it sounds interesting and I would be willing to give it a try. Sure is easy enough. (and btw, I come from an area with a huge Amish community so I have been exposed ALOT to their way of life so my comments are based on my interactions with them.)
I bought a cookbook once at a little Amish store in the middle of Amish country. I expected it to have homemade Amish recipes but it was full of recipes using canned soup, tater tots, etc. I guess they're just like us.
That is interesting, Suellen ! I think we, and I'm mainly speaking of myself, watch too much TV and just assume everything Amish is made from scratch 🙂
Is there a substituted for the Mushroom soup?
In this particular recipe I have used a can of mixed vegetable soup before, which also turned out delicious, but you can use any vegetable soup which would go well with beef and tomato -hope this helps 🙂
Cream of celery would likely be good.
Celery sounds excellent ! One I did try before was cream of asparagus, but it tasted a bit bland, not spicy enough.. celery really sounds like a delicious substitute
Sounds so delicious – and a nice easy recipe too!
Thank you very much for sharing such a great recipe. It looks absolutely delicious.
I think this is the Casserole that my aunt used to make it is soooo good. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a great weekend!
Come Back Soon,
Miz Helen
Hi Linda! I found your blog through Anyonita Nibbles Take a look Tuesdays link party. I'm always looking for hearty meals like this and this is perfect for fall and winter nights in England. Also a recipe that requires seconds is always good! I've pinned this and look forward to trying it!
Hi Linda! I found your blog from Anyonita Nibbles Tasty Tuesdays link party. I'm always looking for hearty recipes like this and so perfect for the cold fall and winters in England. I love big meals as well where seconds are required! I've pinned this and looking forward to trying it!
Looks like a really easy pasta dish to make! I'm all about easy these days now that the sports season has started!
That's a nice quick meal to prep, still I oven for me yet 🙁