This layered ground beef noodle casserole is a healthy and unique recipe! It’s easy, creamy, and cheesy, and makes a great dinner recipe or freezer meal!
Man, do I love a good casserole recipe. Even more so, I love a good casserole recipe that’s healthy, easy, and delicious. This recipe is all of those things, and I’m so excited to share it with you!
Healthy Beef Noodle Casserole
This beef casserole is full of veggies, but also full of flavor. Lean ground beef, whole wheat noodles, Greek yogurt, tomatoes, bell pepper, mushrooms, and A TON of spinach make this casserole super healthy.
The cream cheese noodles also make this recipe unique. And did I mention delicious? Although cream cheese isn’t a health food by any means, you CANNOT skip it. It’s too good!
RELATED: Vegetarian Southwest Quinoa Casserole
Budget Friendly
Although this isn’t the cheapest recipe, you get 6, really filling servings out of it. This beef casserole comes together for about $17.48 or $2.91/serving.
The more expensive ingredient is the lean ground beef ($4.96). If you wanted to make this recipe a little cheaper, you could use ground beef that isn’t as lean, because it is typically cheaper than really lean beef.
Pro Tip: If you use a fattier ground beef, simply brown it, then rinse it off most of the fat with warm water. That will make it leaner and healthier, while saving you a little bit of money. Just make sure you drain the water off really well.
Freezer Friendly
Freezer meals are where it’s at. Especially when you have kids. You cannot underplay the convenience of a freezer meal at the end of a long day.
To make this beef noodle casserole a freezer meal, completely assemble the casserole, then cover, label and freeze it for up to 3 months in an air tight container.
When you’re ready to bake, thaw overnight. Bake at 350 degrees, covered for 45-50 minutes, or until the casserole is heated through. Uncover and bake about 5 minutes more, to slightly brown the cheese. Boom! Dinner is served!
RELATED: Freezer Meatballs w/Chimichurri Sauce
Recipe
Layered Beef Noodle Casserole
Ingredients
Noodle Layer:
- 3 cups dry rotini pasta
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ tsp dry basil
- ½ tsp onion powder
Beef & Veggie Layer:
- 1 tbsp avocado or olive oil
- ¼ cup shallots finely chopped
- 2 green bell pepper chopped
- 2 cups mushrooms sliced
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- ¼ cup red wine
- 14.5 oz canned diced tomatoes
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 4 oz sliced olives
- 2 tsp fresh thyme chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 6 cups spinach chopped
Top Layer:
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- fresh basil for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain.
- Combine cooked pasta, cream cheese, Greek yogurt, oregano, basil, and onion powder in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a large skillet. Cook shallot, bell pepper, mushroom, and garlic for 5 minutes, or until veggies soften. Set aside.
- In the same skillet, cook beef until browned.
- Add wine, tomatoes, tomato paste, olives, thyme, salt, and pepper to the beef. Cook for 2-3 minutes more.
- Add bell pepper/mushroom mixture back to the skillet. Add spinach and stir until wilted, about 1-2 minutes.
- In a greased 9×13 baking dish, spread noodle mixture evenly across the bottom of the pan. Top with beef mixture, spreading evenly to cover the noodles. Sprinkle cheeses evenly over the top.
- Bake @ 350° for 30 minutes, covered. After 30 minutes, uncover, and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh basil if desired, and serve!
To Make It A Freezer Meal:
- Follow instructions 1-7, using an aluminum pan instead of glass or metal baking pan.
- Cover with aluminum foil and allow to cool completely in the fridge before freezing. Label and date, and freeze for up to 3 months.
- When ready to bake from the freezer, thaw overnight in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and baked the thawed casserole, covered, for 45-50 minutes or until heated through.
Pin me for later!
If you end up making this and loving it, take a photo and tag me on Instagram! I’d love to see your versions of my recipes! And feel free to rate it down below in the comment section. I would really appreciate it!
There you have it. A healthy freezer meal the whole family can enjoy! I can’t wait to hear what you think of this beef noodle casserole in the comments below!
xoxo Megan
Judy Sellers says
The recipe for no salt Italian seasoning says this is a good recipe for the seasoning but I don’t see it as one of the ingredients???
Megan Byrd, RD says
You can use the no salt Italian seasoning in place of the seasonings in the noodle layer. Sorry that isn’t super clear!
Katerina says
This is such a good idea, Megan – I can tell this would be so popular at our house! Bookmarking this for the weekend, thank you!
Megan Byrd, RD says
Oh thank you so much! I hope the whole family loves it Katerina! 🙂