Missouri Casserole
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!
Servings: 6
Estimated Calories: 556
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!
Recipe 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).
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