The few times this recipe has been made in our house, it went off with a hit, with very little leftovers! Tonight, was no different. Everyone had seconds or thirds and Tyler was also able to have a great portion for lunch the next day. One tip to make this recipe pop is to make your own cream of mushroom soup, trust me, when you make it from scratch you will not go back to pre-packaged! This recipe for French Onion Beef Casserole is simple and delicious and will soon be a quick favorite.
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Published November 11, 2021
Updated March 11, 2022
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When you have a mushroom hater
At first, when mentioning what was for dinner, the kids were not happy to have cream of mushroom soup. When it was time to eat, and let them know the mushrooms were minced, they tasted the dinner and found it fantastic. They were so glad to not have to pick small mushrooms out of their dinner. Typically, dicing the mushrooms is enough, but tonight I thought about using my Cuisinart Food Processor to mince the mushrooms. Instead of taking ten minutes to dice them, they were minced in less than one. Seriously, that was just the best time saver, and knowing our kids would eat dinner without picking through their food was just as reassuring.
For this French Onion Beef Casserole recipe, there are mushrooms in the sauce as it is made with cream of mushroom soup. Typically, I would have used cream of mushrooms soup from a can, however, the canned version has not been up to its typical standard and I decided to make this recipe using a homemade cream of mushroom soup. Typically, Matthew is not a fan of mushrooms and can get very particular about them in meals. Processing the mushrooms, before making the soup base, helped to break the mushrooms down to more of a puree than chunks. With the mushrooms in this form, Matthew then ate dinner with no complaints!
Cost breakdown for this bake dish
Before we had four kids, pricing meals was not part of my meal plan. However, with four kids with one income, Tyler and I really work towards cooking healthy meals at a great price. Some of the foods I make homemade are bread, bagels, granola bars, pasta, tortillas and sauces, please check out a few more recipes by clicking the links below. For example, they are separated into categories like Dessert, Dinner, DIY, Recipes and more.
Instead of paying a small fortune for food that is pre-made, the ingredients cost a fraction and they stretch further than just one meal. If you want to try saving money or start a budget, making food from scratch and learning how to cook on a budget while maintaining delicious and healthy meals is the way to go! Plus, food costs are just insanely high right now, so why pay $15 for a takeout pizza when you can make 3 for under $10?! For example, Crab Rangoon pizza is amazing and be sure to check out the recipe by clicking the link below.
With this meal, making cream of mushroom soup did not cut the cost, but increased it by a few dollars. Still, this meal was really reasonably priced, and we had leftovers!
2-pounds ground beef $7.38
1 package egg noodles $1.25
Cream of mushroom soup $2.59
Greek yogurt $1.00 (Or Sour Cream $0.50)
French Fried Onions $2.05
Chicken Stock $0.25
The total cost to make this dish was only $14.52 for a 9 X 13 baking dish!
Additionally, each serving cost only $1.21, with our kids wanting extra servings and Tyler having a great amount for lunch for the next day. Having a meal under $20 is literally my favorite thing! With six of us on one income, keeping our meals on average to under $20 is how we can keep our weekly budget at $170 for food.
Cream of mushroom soup
The above cost includes the homemade cream of mushroom soup. Making cream of mushroom soup is actually a really quick process. Additionally, it is concentrated and can be added to stock to make more of a soup. This recipe can use chopped mushrooms or process them in a Cuisinart Food Processor to then make the mushrooms more of a minced texture. Click the link for my full blog on how to exactly make your own from scratch!
French Onion Beef Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup sour cream OR Greek yogurt
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup Frenches Fried Onions
10-oz cream of mushroom soup
1 package egg noodles
1 Tbsp Beef soup base
Directions for French Onion Beef Casserole
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray a 9 X 13 baking dish with non-stick spray and then set aside.
3. Fill a 6-Quart pan with water 2/3 of the way up and then boil the water on the stove over medium-high heat.
4. When the water is boiling, cook the egg noodles as directed. Drain in a sink colander when finished and place into the baking dish, then set aside.
5. In a medium saucepan, cook ground beef until browned, making sure to break up any large clumps as you cook the beef.
6. When beef is cooked, drain any grease, and return to the stove.
7. Mix in 1 Tbsp beef soup base and 1 tsp minced onion to the ground beef, then stir to combine. Soup base is an amazing way to save money not buying those bulky boxes of stock.
8. Add sour cream OR Greek yogurt and blend into the cooked beef. Sour cream may be cheaper, but it has a lot of fat for one small Tablespoon, plus, Greek yogurt is fat free, and tastes literally the same.
9. Mix in homemade cream of mushroom soup to the cooked beef mixture, stir to blend well and cooking an additional 3-5 minutes.
10. Fold the beef mixture into the egg noodles with a spatula while in the baking dish.
11. Finally, sprinkle French Fried Onions on the top of the mixture. These add such a crunch and deep flavor to this bake dish, at a really reasonable price.
12. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Serve with a side of vegetables and enjoy!
~Monica
To steam and then bake vegetables in the oven, slice the broccoli into large slabs. Place them onto a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray, then sprinkle with salt and place 1/4 cup water on the pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. This not only cooks the vegetables but steams them by adding the water. This process works for raw broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green beans and more. Tonight, with French Onion Beef Casserole, we had broccoli and sweet peppers. It was magnificently delicious!
French Onion Beef Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup sour cream OR Greek yogurt
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup Frenches Fried Onions
10-oz cream of mushroom soup
1 package egg noodles
1 Tbsp Beef soup base
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray a 9 X 13 baking dish with non-stick spray, then set aside.
3. Fill a 6-Quart pan with water 2/3 of the way up and then set to boil on the stove.
4. When the water is boiling, cook the egg noodles as directed. Drain when finished and place into the baking dish. Set aside.
5. In a medium saucepan, cook ground beef until browned.
6. When beef is cooked, drain any grease, and return to the stove.
7. Add sour cream OR Greek yogurt and then blend into the cooked beef using a spatula.
8. Then mix in the homemade cream of mushroom soup to the cooked beef mixture.
9. Mix in 1 tsp minced onion and 1 Tbsp beef soup base. Blend well and cook an additional 3-5 minutes.
10. Fold the beef mixture into the egg noodles in the baking dish with a spatula.
11. Finally, sprinkle French Fried Onions on the top of the mixture.
12. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Serve with a side of vegetables and enjoy!
~Monica
A few of my favorite things
Having a good set of spatulas is a glorious thing, and these are one of my favorite things. They are dishwasher save, so strong and sturdy, and last forever. Additionally, these spatulas from Rachel Ray come in a variety of colors. For example, I have them in navy blue and orange, but they also come in red, aqua and more.
If you do not have an over the sink colander, but one that rests in the basin over your sink, you should really look into this strainer. Not only is it dishwasher safe, but it also extends to rest over most sink sizes. The best part, is that this sink colander keeps your food off of the sink basin, thus avoiding splashes and sitting in dirty sink juices.
If you are like me and used to buy stocks in those tall containers, try giving a soup base container a try. These soup bases from L.B. Jamison’s come in Ham, Beef and Chicken. Additionally, they can be used to make soup, gravy and more. Recently, I have seriously fallen in love with this brand because they have great flavor and help to reduce the amount of trash and packaging wasted. Plus, they are way less expensive than buying bouillon cubes. Check out L.B. Jamison’s soup bases by clicking the link below.
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