Whole30 Cheeseburger Casserole
I am feeling so pumped for 2020! I love even numbers so that is one reason I am pumped. But i’m mostly just excited to watch Ruthie keep growing, grow this blog even more and see my first cookbook come into the world!! So to start off this year the right way, let’s get some delicious and healthy recipes in our system. This one is pretty epic because it’s a simple casserole and all of the layers come together in cheeseburger deliciousness. The best part is that Ruthie loved this dish so much and with her getting pickier by the day, that’s a huge win! I would LOVE for you to try out this recipe and let me know what you think in the comments. Enjoy!!
Served with a Topo Chico of course.
Casseroles are hard to photograph but trust me, its amazing!
Pin the image below to save this recipe for later!
PrintWhole30 Cheeseburger Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced bell pepper
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 (14 oz) can tomato sauce
- ¼ cup mayo
- ⅓ cup chopped pickles (or compliant relish)
- 1 cup cashews
- ¾ cup water
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 16 oz. frozen hash browns
- ½ head of thinly sliced iceberg lettuce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place a large skillet over medium heat and once it is warm, add in oil.
- Place diced onion and bell pepper into the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add in ground beef and cook, breaking it down and mixing it with the veggies until it has browned, about 5-7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, mayo & chopped pickles. Remove from heat.
- In a blender combine cashews, water and nutritional yeast and blend on high until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish, pour frozen hash browns on the bottom in an even layer and toss with 1 teaspoon salt.
- Top the hash browns with ground beef mixture and spread evenly. Then drizzle on the cashew cheese in an even layer. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and top with thinly sliced iceberg lettuce before serving.
Nutritional yeast gives it the cheesy flavor and keeps it Whole30 so unless you don’t mind the dairy then it’s probably nessesary!
I can’t find whole30 compliant frozen hash browns anywhere. Would fresh shredded potatoes work?
Yes for sure!!!
This was delicious although a little too salty. I did use the Nutritional Yeast which was great.
★★★★
Definitely have to salt to taste depending on your liking!
Do you soak the cashews?
No! But if you don’t have a high powered blender you can to make sure they break down!
Made it tonight! So good! And my husband was so impressed that the cheesy sauce WASN’T cheese!!
AMAZING!
Hands down one of the best casseroles I’ve ever had. My husband couldn’t get enough. I felt so good after eating this. I also added some mustard to the tomato sauce and mayo mix because I like that combo. So easy to make. So worth it! Just make this yourself and see!!
★★★★★
That’s awesome to hear!! 🙂
This was amazing! My husband, toddler and I all loved it so much!
★★★★★
Winner!!
Absolutely delicious! Super easy to make and was a big hit with the boyfriend. 🙂
★★★★★
That’s always a win!!
My husband and I loved this! I might try baking the hash browns first to crisp them a bit, otherwise it was absolutely delicious!
★★★★★
Great idea!!
So good! As I was making it, I wasn’t sure my husband and boys were going to like it. They loved it! One said it tasted like a healthy Big Mac.
★★★★★
That’s the goal!! 🙂
Made this for my family for the first time last night. We enjoyed it! The crunchy shredded lettuce on the top was great for texture.
★★★★★
Awesome!
I love this casserole! I’ve made it twice already! I subbed compliant fries for hashbrowns since I haven’t been able to find compliant ones. Turned out great!
★★★★★
That sounds amazing!
This is so good and super easy to throw together. Definitely recommend!!
★★★★★
Great!!
Totally delish!!! I added a drizzle of mustard on top of my serving and it adds extra burger tang! I also might try adding more pickle and finely chopped raw onion, I think it would just be bonus flavor! Great recipe!
★★★★★
That’s a great idea!!
We made it last week and are making a bbq bacon version this week! It’s definitely going to be part of our rotation from now on!!!
★★★★★
Yes!! Great idea!
This was super yummy! And bonus my 6 and 9 yr old ate it up! Always a win if everyone loves my whole 30 meal! Thanks for keeping it easy to feed the fam ❤
★★★★★
Such a win!!
Loved this! I’m not doing a whole and am not dairy free so I sprinkled a little cheese on top and it was delish!!
★★★★★
That’s great!!
Really lovely and easy to make recipe ! Thank you
★★★★★
You got it!! 🙂
My husband and I loved this recipe! So easy and delicious!
★★★★★
That’s great!!
My family loved this recipe. It was easy and delicious. Thanks Kelsey!
★★★★★
Awesome!!
This was so good! Both my husband and toddler approved too! We aren’t whole 30 so we used some not approved ingredients and it still turned out great. We doubled the hashbrowns and browned them first before putting the beef mixture on top. I also decreased the amount of pickles since I used sweet relish instead. So so good!
★★★★★
Amazing!!
Another rave review! I was missing a can of tomatoes so I chopped up fresh cherry tomatoes. The husband is not a fan of cheese, so he was excited that this didnt have any. I heard at least 5 “wow!” comments while hea ate the first helping. Thanks for a great recipe!
That’s awesome!!
Loved this casserole! Delicious, easy to make and filling. Thanks!!
★★★★
Great!!
Soo good! We had with mustard and used cheddar for the non whole 30 1/2. Will make again for sure!!!
★★★★★
Awesome!!
by far, one of my FAVORITES!!! SO DELICIOUS! And there is a BBQ Bacon one!?!
★★★★★
YEP!!
Love this easy and delicious dinner. Served with a big side salad and it was a hit! The cashew cheese was super yummy.
★★★★★
That is great!
Delicious! My husband and two young boys loved this and ask for it on the regular. I didn’t have hashbrowns so I used fries- worked great and the kids thought they were #winning. Thanks for great meals!!
Great to hear!
That is awesome!
This is one of mine and my families favorites! I like to add bacon and switch out BBQ sauce for the tomato sauce. So good!!
★★★★★
So so glad!!
Made this tonight. It was so easy. I didn’t really look at the measurements & turned out AMAZING!
That is awesome!
This is absolutely delicious! I doctored it up a little different for our family (my hubby can’t have onions) but still tasted amazing. I never know how to use nutritional yeast so im excited about this find. My picky toddler devoured this dinner! Oh and it’s easy to make which is always a bonus! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
★★★★★
That is great!
Do you typically prebake the hash browns? I just made this (just had to put back in the oven) because the potatoes just don’t seem…cooked and crispy?
★★★★
They shouldn’t be crispy in an effort to make it a quick and easy meal. You can crisp them in a pan with oil before adding if you want them to be crispy though!
My whole family devoured this! So yummy and really does taste just like a cheeseburger! Super easy to make too.
★★★★★
Great!!
I really enjoyed this take on a cheeseburger. I’m not a fan of cashew cheese/sauce overall (love cashews, but never liked it as a sauce), so I just use a little ranch instead which works just fine. Also, frozen hash browns are a game changer!
★★★★★
Sounds great!
Hoping to try this again. It was super watery. Maybe the frozen hash browns? Too much tomato sauce? Help! I want to love it, but it was a flop tonight. Any advice is welcome!!! Fun idea and wanting to enjoy it!
★★★
Oh no! Maybe your ground beef had too much liquid? You might need to drain the meat before adding the rest of the ingredients!
We aren’t full whole30, so modified with the cheese sauce!! We liked the combo and will definitely make it again!
★★★★
Made this tonight. It was delicious – thank you for an awesome (and fairly easy) recipe!
★★★★★
That’s great!!
Put this on my meal plan for my first day of the Whole 30. I was hesitant about the cashew cheese as i’ve never had it before but this recipe was DELICIOUS. Tasted just like a hamburger in a deconstructed way. You didn’t even notice the cashew cheese except the way it made the dish “cheesy”.
Will definitely make this again and MANY of Kelsey’s recipes.
★★★★★
That’s great!!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was SO GOOD. It was one of the best meals I’ve made in a long time. I can’t wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow! Thanks for such a great recipe.
★★★★★
AH yes such a winner!!
Love how indulgent this casserole feels, especially in the Fall/Winter! I’ve also used the the meat mixture from this recipe and made it into stuffed peppers… holy yum!
★★★★★
Amazing!!
I was literally praying (chanting, really) “please be good, please be good” because I was *ready* to make this a staple for my upcoming whole30. AND MY GOODNESS THIS IS DELICIOUS. so easy, so “cheesy”, so good!
★★★★★
YES!!! It will get you through!
Ran out of bbq sauce and only added about half and this recipe was still freaking delish. Thank you Kelsey!
★★★★★
Awesome!
Wow! Amazing, amazing amazing. So much great flavor. Will definitely be making again.
★★★★★
Amazing!
The best casserole ever! My whole family loves it!
★★★★★
could you use roasted cashews in a pinch?
Yes, of course!
We love this recipe! Made this for my SIL who has been dairy free recently and it was a hit!
★★★★★
This was absolutely delicious! It was perfect for mid-whole30 new recipe. I will also keep this in my meal plan when whole30 is done and top with cheese because it really does taste like A cheese burger and fries in a bowl!
★★★★★
Yes, thats the best!
Delicious and easy recipe. My 8 yo daughter loves it: “I just want to inhale this!”
★★★★★
Best.Complement.Ever!
Just made this and HOLY WOW!! So, so good. I added mustard and raw onion to the top, under the lettuce. The iceberg makes it. 10/10 will def make again.
★★★★★
Great Adds!
I’ve been wanting to try this since I’ve seen it on Insta. This is wonderful and super easy to make. It only gets better with each day. My husband and I are plotting all the ways to use the “cheese sauce” on everything.
★★★★★
Wonderful
If you’re not doing a Whole30, I highly recommend doing shredded cheddar cheese instead of the cashew cheese and frozen tater tots on top instead of the hash browns. SO good!
★★★★★
Goodness is this delicious and easy! As a SAHM, I am often fatigued with deciding what to cook for our meals and burned out on the same ol’ same ol’ meals. Kelsey knocked it out of the park with this one and it will surely become a regular staple in our meal planning because it’s quick, easy, and delicious!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoy it!
So easy! So delicious! Fam favorite
★★★★★
Love a family favorite!
Awesome dish!! Made it tonight and the whole family loved it!!! Will for sure make again
Love when the whole family approves.
This looks a great idea for diner!
Soo good!
So so good and easy to make. This will be on the rotation!
★★★★★
So glad you love it!
So simple and so delicious!!!
★★★★
Only way to do it!