Ground Beef Spinach Casserole

Super simple recipe with serious Midwest “hot dish” vibes. I made a few changes to the methodology: first, I browned the meat solo with a pinch of salt to encourage the Maillard reaction, rather than including the onions and garlic (which would’ve created liquid that prevented proper browning). I didn’t have canned mushrooms on hand, so after browning the meat, I scooped it out and tossed in a pint of sliced cremini mushrooms with a small squirt of oil. Once the mushrooms were browned, I added the onion and about 10x as much garlic as called for. Once the onion began to turn translucent, I added the beef back to the pan with the squeezed-out spinach, canned soup, salt, and pepper. I used full-fat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, then bumped up the spices—I used oregano, Italian seasoning, cayenne powder, and about 2 tablespoons of Cholula. It still felt a little lacking, so I also added a tablespoon of fish sauce for umami. That was the ticket! I then topped with just 4 ounces of freshly shredded mozzarella and a few tablespoons of leftover shredded cheddar, then baked. Pretty yummy, even if it's not very pretty.

Yes, I added Basil and egg noodles. I made it for the first time using the added ingredient and everyone loved it. The only commitment I received from my husband was he thought it had too much spinach otherwise he loved it!

I used fresh mushrooms and after assembling it in my cast iron skillet, I popped the skillet in the oven. I also left it in the oven as it cooled for five minutes which gave the cheese a golden color.

Love the ingredients, not the method. This will be a skillet meal in my house. Cook the meat with the onions, drain, add remaining ingredients, heat through, add cheese on top. Lower the flame and cover for 5 minutes for the cheese to melt. Why mess up another dish?

I tried this with fresh spinach and I also added finely chopped red pepper, celery and carrot (for more veg). I also used reduced fat celery soup, light sour cream (25% less fat) and reduced fat mozzarrella. I did it on stovetop and it was so fast and delicious! Defo on my list of favourites now.

An easy, comforting casserole that lends itself to whatever adaptations you like. I made some minor modifications based on what I had on hand and personal preference (ground turkey, fresh mushrooms, extra seasoning, diced celery sauteed with the onion, Gruyere cheese for the topping) and then layered the final mixture with parboiled sliced potatoes (1/4") before baking. While it's a bit basic to become a household favorite, it's definitely worth repeating from time to time. Plus it will make great leftovers!

I usually follow a recipe closely the first time, but I used it mostly for inspiration based on what I had on hand. I used ground turkey, added some diced red Carmen pepper and since there's very little fat in the turkey I used a little bit of olive oil and didn't drain it. 3 big cloves of garlic, about 1/2 lb of fresh mushrooms, a big bundle of fresh spinach. It was still liquid-y when done so I added a heaping tablespoon of rice flour, which thickened it up nicely. I omitted the cream soup, and just used a cup of light sour cream - plenty of creamy goodness with that. Lastly, I added a tablespoon of za'atar instead of the oregano. It was delicious! I think I'm on to something here. I will add the mozzarella cheese when I serve it for real.

Loved it. I did make some changes. I added a teaspoon of dried basil, used 3 cloves of garlic and added that after cooking the beef and onions. If you saute garlic too long it gets bitter. I also cooked 1 cup of elbow macaroni and added that to give it a little more substance. My wife and I liked it a lot. Changes I would make in the future would be to use fresh mushrooms rather than canned and less hot sauce. (I added more than two dashes) It was flavorful enough and the Louisiana style hot sauce has a lot of vinegar which kind of made it more sour than I would like. Perhaps red pepper flakes instead of the hot sauce. This would also be good with cheddar instead of mozzarella cheese. I will make this again.

Like others, I needed a recipe that would work with what I had, and what me and my husband like. We didn't have any hot sauce, so I substituted 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, just enough to add interest. I didn't have sour cream, so added half a can of half & half with the cream of mushroom soup. Instead of frozen chopped spinach, I had a bag of frozen whole spinach, and I used half of that (8 oz). The finished dish had plenty of creaminess and a balanced spinach to mushroom to meat ratio. I served this over rice. We both liked it and will definitely have it again.

Absolutely loved it, no complaints from the kids which is always good. It was not as thick as I thought it would be and had to cook on the stove top a lot longer than 5 minutes. I did sub the canned mushrooms for fresh same as spinach, I also used cream of mushroom soup. I will definitely make this recipe again. The flavor was depot on. I also added extra hot sauce.

Very good. Made a 3 quart casserole. You really gotta love spinach.😁 Hint: I've found that if you place the thawed spinach in a clean kitchen towel, bring up the sides and wring it, the water drains well without making a mess. Faster than using a colander. Just make sure the spinach is completely thawed. I did add extra oregano, garlic and some basil.

I made with ground chicken. Too much spinach! I think 10 ounces would be the right amount. Needs at least 2 tsp of oregano, 10 shakes of the hot sauce, salt (not too much), and pepper. We had spaghetti the night before. I added some of the noodles, chopped up, as some reviewers suggested. May be what it needed extra seasoning. I eat it for lunch. Couldn’t see having this as a dinner.

We enjoyed this dish. Very easy to make.

Used only one package of spinach as that is all I had but just as well as 2 packages would have been too much. Used light sour cream. After cooking the ground beef and draining it, I added the remaining ingredients, thoroughly stirred, and heated through with the cheese on top. I did not bake this in the oven to avoid heating up the kitchen on such a hot day.

I used 16 oz. fresh sliced mushrooms 3 t. dried oregano 16 oz. fresh spinach, coarsely chopped cream of mushroom soup

Can’t wait to make it again soon.

Excellent casserole and easy to put together. I love Spinach and this recipe is perfect.

The recipe was great but I did make changes. I don't like using canned soups in recipes. I don't think they are healthy at all. So I made a substitute of 20 oz of organic beef broth thickened with 2-3 tablespoons of organic potato starch instead of canned soup. I mixed it all together as directed in the recipe. However, I found that the flavor was a little flat. So I added 2 teaspoons of sea salt and 3 very tiny pinches of Tarragon. I stirred it all in and the casserole was a little runny from the broth. So I added a small box of spaghetti noodles that were made from chickpeas, not flour. I topped it with the cheese and baked it. It turned out really well and the Tarragon was perfect. The recipe turned out to taste like Beef Stroganoff! I will make it again and maybe add rice next time.

Delicious. If people want a rice, potato etc that is fine. But this is a great casserole on its own. My husband loved it.

I thought it was good. Howevert I think it needs a little crunch, like sliced water chestnuts. It was easy and had ingredients I commonly keep in the kitchen. I'll definitely try again and may add a few things. Cathy