BEST Beef Noodle Casserole EVER! Our favorite recipe from my grandmother is this casserole with ground beef, egg noodles, onions, bell pepper, garlic, mushrooms, tomato, corn, olives, egg noodles and grated cheddar cheese.
One of my favorite recipes from my childhood is this ground beef noodle casserole that my grandmother used to make for us when we came for a visit. It has ground beef, egg noodles, black olives, corn, mushrooms, and shredded cheddar cheese.
It may sound like an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink kind of recipe, or a midwestern version of tamale pie (corn, olives, mushrooms?), but wow is it good!
It also feeds a crowd, which was perfect for out big family (6 kids), and is relatively budget friendly.
I have no idea where my grandmother got the recipe, but I did find her old hand written notes for it, including its name—Talerine. Doing a quick Google search for “talerine” reveals several similar recipes that many people coincidentally got from their grandmothers.
It’s a great casserole—tasty, easy to make, hearty, and makes for great leftovers too. Do you have a similar casserole in your family history? Let us know about it in the comments!
This recipe has been updated. First published July, 2006.
Beef Noodle Casserole Recipe
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 1 hour
- Yield: Serves 8
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium white onion, peeled and chopped, about 1 1/2 cups
- 1 bell pepper, seeded, ribs removed, finely chopped, about 1 cup
- 3 cloves garlic, minced, about 1 tablespoon
- 1 28-ounce can whole peeled or crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- Salt
- 4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 12 ounces egg noodles
- 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, defrosted
- 1 15-ounce can of black olives, strained and chopped
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
Method
1 Preheat oven and start heating water: Pre-heat the oven to 350°F and start to heat a large pot of salted water (1 Tbsp salt, 2 quarts water) for cooking the egg noodles.
2 Make tomato sauce base: Heat 1 Tbsp of oil on medium high heat in a large, heavy bottomed pot or skillet. Add the onions and bell pepper and sauté until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for a minute more.
Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with your fingers or a knife if you are using whole canned tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to warm.
3 Brown the ground beef: In a separate skillet, add 1 Tbsp of oil and heat to medium-high. Working in batches, so you do not crowd the pan, add the ground beef, breaking it up with your fingers as you add it to the pan.
Do not stir the ground beef, but let it sit and cook for a minute or two until it browns on one side.
Sprinkle a little salt over the meat while cooking.
Once browned on one side, turn the pieces over to get the other side browned. Once the meat is mostly browned (can still be rare in the center), remove the beef from the pan and add to the tomato onion mixture.
4 Sauté the mushrooms: Add the mushrooms to the same pan that you had used for browning the beef, and sauté the mushrooms in the remaining oil and beef drippings. Once browned, add the mushrooms to the beef and tomato mixture.
5 Cook the egg noodles: While the mushrooms are cooking, add the egg noodle pasta to the boiling water. Cook as directed, about 4-5 minutes. Strain when cooked, but still a little firm (al dente).
6 Add everything to casserole dish: Add the cooked egg noodles to a large (3 quart) casserole dish. (If your casserole dish isn’t big enough, you may need to use 2 casserole dishes.)
Stir in the tomato beef mixture. Stir in the corn, chopped olives, and about two thirds of the cheese.
7 Bake: Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of casserole. Place in the oven. Bake uncovered at 350°F for 30 minutes.
