Missouri Casserole is an easy and budget-friendly vintage casserole that combines layers of ground beef, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, cheese, and seasonings for a delicious dinner!
Here's an oldie-but-goodie dish that my mom made often when I was a kid. It may not win any awards for looks, but it's comforting, hearty and one of our family's favorites!
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So, why is it called Missouri? My mom didn't know. Did it come from the state of the same name? I can't say for sure. I've looked around quite a bit and haven't yet been able to figure it out.
What I do know is that, back in the day, it was a common recipe in the part of Northeastern Pennsylvania where I grew up (the Wyoming Valley to be exact). You can find recipes for it in many of the older local church/community cookbooks. In fact, I'm not even sure if it's known outside of the area.
Every family probably had their own Missouri recipe, with ingredients and methods varying slightly. For example, some call for cheese while some don't, and some call for using raw ground beef instead of pre-cooking it.
The recipe I'm sharing today is how my Mom made Missouri...with just a few minor changes. I swapped out the American cheese for a Cheddar-Jack blend, added some Italian seasoning for extra flavor, and I bake it in a casserole dish instead of a Dutch oven.
It's really easy to put together, and then the oven does the rest of the work for you. And since there are only a few simple relatively inexpensive ingredients, it's easy on your wallet too.
The smell of this while it's cooking and the flavor of that combination of ground beef, potatoes, onions, and tomatoes transports me right back to my childhood every time. And it makes me really happy. Give it a try!
Ingredients You Need
Note: Ingredient amounts are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Potatoes (any kind; I use golden or russet potatoes)
- Onion (any kind; I like to use a sweeter onion like Vidalia or Walla Walla)
- Ground beef (I use 80/20)
- Salt and pepper
- Italian seasoning (I use my Homemade Italian Seasoning)
- Cheddar-Jack cheese (shredded)
- Tomato sauce
- Water
- Diced tomatoes (canned; I use petite-diced tomatoes)
- Fresh parsley (for garnish; optional)
How to Make Missouri Casserole
Note: This is just a brief overview of the steps. For the full printable recipe with ingredient amounts and detailed instructions, please go to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Peel and thinly slice the potatoes and onions; set aside.
Cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat until no longer pink; drain off any excess grease.
Place half of the cooked ground beef in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Top with half of the sliced onions.
Place half of the sliced potatoes over the onions. Season with salt, pepper and half of the Italian seasoning.
Sprinkle half of the cheese over the potato layer.
Repeat the layers with the remaining cooked ground beef, onions and potatoes. Season with salt, pepper and the remaining Italian seasoning.
Pour the tomato sauce over the potatoes. Fill the can with water and pour it over the tomato sauce.
Pour the diced tomatoes evenly over the top of the casserole. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 1 hour. Then remove the foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the casserole; return to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes or just until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and let the casserole rest for 20 minutes before serving.
If desired, sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Different types of potatoes will cook up a little differently. Waxier potatoes like white, red or golden will be a bit more firm and will hold their shape better. Starchier potatoes like russets will be softer and may fall apart more easily. Use whatever kind of potato you prefer.
- You want the potatoes to be very thinly sliced, about 1/16 of an inch. The thicker the slices, the longer they will take to cook. I slice my potatoes with a knife, but if you have a mandolin slicer, this would be a great time to use it!
- Proper seasoning is key to making this dish taste really good. You don't want it to be salty, but if it's under-seasoned, it will be disappointingly bland. In the recipe, I give the amounts of salt and pepper that I use to give you a guideline, but you can adjust those amounts to suit your own personal taste.
- The cooking time of 30 minutes after you uncover the casserole is just a guideline. You want to be sure to cook it as long as is needed for the potatoes to become fork-tender (because no one wants to bite into a piece of undercooked potato).
- There will be quite a bit of juice in the pan after the casserole is done cooking, so I recommend using a slotted spoon or slotted spatula to serve the Missouri. You can then spoon some of the juice onto anyone's serving who would like it. I always add a little (there's lots of flavor in there).
Substitutions & Variations
- You can use a different kind of cheese, such as cheddar, mozzarella or parmesan (or a combination). My mom always used American cheese; she just tore each slice into pieces.
- Try a different seasonings.
- Some Missouri recipes don't call for any cheese, and most don't call for any seasoning besides salt and pepper. You can omit the cheese and/or the Italian seasoning if you prefer.
Leftover Storage & Reheating
Once cooled, store leftovers tightly covered or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days. Missouri reheats very well and is just as good, if not better, the next day!
To reheat leftovers in the oven, put them in a baking dish (be sure to include the juice), cover the dish with aluminum foil, and bake in a preheated 325°F oven until heated through.
Don't put an ice-cold baking dish in a hot oven, as the dish could shatter or crack due to the extreme temerature change. If the baking dish has been in the fridge, take it out and let it sit at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes to take the chill off before putting it in the oven.
You can also reheat leftovers in the microwave oven on a microwave-safe plate.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve Missouri with either a green salad or a vegetable (steamed or roasted green beans are my favorite veggie to pair with this dish). And a warm buttered dinner roll on the side makes it complete!
I hope you try this Missouri Casserole recipe and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
More Casserole Recipes to Try
If you make this recipe, I'd love to know how it went. Please leave a star rating and comment below. Thanks!
📋Recipe
Missouri Casserole
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds potatoes, See Note below
- 1 large onion, See Note below
- 1½ pounds ground beef, I use 80/20
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, or to taste
- 2 cups shredded Cheddar-Jack cheese
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- water, enough to fill the 8-ounce tomato sauce can
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained; I use petite-diced tomatoes
- freshly chopped parsley, for garnish; optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Peel the onion, halve it, and then slice it into ⅛ to ¼-inch thick slices; set aside.
- Peel the potatoes and slice them very thinly into 1/16-inch rounds; set aside.
- Place the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat; season with salt and pepper (I use ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper here). Cook, breaking it up into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon, until the meat is no longer pink; drain off any excess grease.
- Place half of the cooked ground beef in a 9x13-inch baking dish; spread it out to cover the bottom of the dish.
- Evenly top the ground beef with half of the sliced onions.
- Evenly top the onions with half of the sliced potatoes.
- Season the potatoes with salt, pepper and half of the Italian seasoning (I use ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt and ⅛ teaspoon of pepper here).
- Evenly sprinkle half of the shredded cheese over the seasoned potatoes.
- Repeat the layers once again with the remaining cooked ground beef, onions and potatoes.
- Season the potoatoes with salt, pepper and half of the Italian seasoning (I use ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt and ⅛ teaspoon of pepper here).
- Evenly pour the tomato sauce over the potatoes. Fill the can with water and pour it evenly over the tomato sauce.
- Evenly pour the diced tomatoes over the top of the casserole.
- Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake, covered, for 1 hour.
- Remove the foil and bake, uncovered, for an additional 30 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Evenly sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the casserole. Bake for an additional 5 minutes or just until the cheese melts.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 20 minutes before serving.
- If desired, sprinkle the entire casserole or each individual serving with freshly chopped parsley. Enjoy!
Notes
- There will be quite a bit of juice in the pan after the casserole is done cooking, so I recommend using a slotted spoon or slotted spatula to serve the Missouri. You can then spoon some of the juice onto anyone's serving who would like it. I always add a little (there's lots of flavor in there).
- I use either golden or russet potatoes. Golden or other waxier potatoes will be more firm and will hold their shape better, while russets will be softer and may fall apart more easily. Use whatever kind of potato you prefer.
- You can use any kind of onion. I like to use a sweeter onion like Vidalia or Walla Walla. Aim for about 2 cups of sliced onions.
- Proper seasoning is key to making this dish taste really good. You don't want it to be salty, but if it's under-seasoned, it will be disappointingly bland. I have given the amounts of salt and pepper that I use as a guideline, but you can always adjust those amounts to suit your own personal taste (keep in mind that kosher salt, which I use, is not as salty as regular table salt).
tony demo says
can I eliminate the water, I prefer not to have a watery sauce. thank you
Michelle says
I've never tried it that way, but you can if you'd like.