Description
Grandma’s ground beef chow mein casserole brings back memories of family dinners that always brought smiles around the table. Packed with simple ingredients and nostalgic comfort, this hearty dish delivers tasty noodles and savory beef that make your dinner feel like a warm hug.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup uncooked white rice
- 5 oz chow mein noodles
Protein and Liquid Additions:
- 1 10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup
- 1 10.5 oz can cream of mushroom soup
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 ½ cups water
Vegetable and Texture Components:
- 1 onion
- 1 cup celery
- 8 oz can water chestnuts
Instructions
- Warm your oven to 350°F and coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Combine 1 pound browned ground beef, two 10.5 oz cans of soups, 1 diced onion, 1 cup chopped celery, and 8 oz chopped water chestnuts in a large mixing bowl.
- Stir in 1 cup white rice, 1 ½ cups water, and 3 tablespoons soy sauce until ingredients are thoroughly blended.
- Pour the entire mixture into your prepared baking dish and seal tightly with aluminum foil.
- Slide the covered dish into the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, ensuring the casserole becomes hot and bubbly.
- Remove the foil and sprinkle 5 oz of chow mein noodles evenly across the top of the casserole.
- Return the uncovered dish to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes, allowing the noodles to turn golden and crisp.
- After removing from the oven, let your casserole rest for 5 minutes to settle and make serving easier.
Notes
- Swap ground beef for ground turkey or plant-based crumbles to make the casserole lighter and more diet-friendly.
- Chop vegetables finely to ensure even distribution and consistent texture throughout the dish.
- Add extra soy sauce or a splash of sesame oil for deeper flavor complexity if the base recipe seems bland.
- Consider using low-sodium soups and soy sauce to control salt content for those watching their sodium intake.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Category: Casseroles
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Chinese-American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 353 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 767 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11 g
- Trans Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 21 g
- Cholesterol: 60 mg