Cheesy French Onion Beef Casserole
This French onion beef casserole is creamy, cheesy, and packed with flavor. It’s a comfort food favorite ready in 40 minutes.
You may also love my French onion chicken casserole and beef noodle casserole.
Why You’ll Love It
If you like hearty casseroles, this one’s a keeper. It’s rich and creamy with a flavor that’s somewhere between French onion soup and classic Hamburger Helper. It’s total comfort food.
This beef casserole recipe reminds me a lot of our hamburger rice casserole with simple ingredients, easy prep, and always a hit with the family.
You only need a handful of pantry staples, a skillet, and a baking dish. The French onion dip makes it creamy, and the Gruyère cheese on top gives it that gooey, cheesy finish.
We top it with crispy fried onions right before the end of baking for some added crunch.
What You’ll Need
- Egg noodles: I use wide noodles and cook them al dente.
- Ground beef: We go with 93/7, but any kind works if you drain the grease.
- Worcestershire sauce: Deepens the flavor of the dish.
- French onion dip: Use the refrigerated kind for the best flavor.
- Cream of mushroom soup: Just one can to bring everything together.
- Gruyère cheese: Melts smooth and adds a nutty flavor.
- French fried onions: For a crispy, crunchy topping.
How to Make French Onion Beef Casserole
Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Boil the noodles in salted water until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Set them aside.
In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef with Worcestershire sauce. Cook until no pink remains, then drain the grease.
Stir in the French onion dip and cream of mushroom soup. Let the mixture simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the noodles to the skillet and stir to combine. Transfer everything to the prepared baking dish. Spread it out evenly and top with shredded Gruyère.
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, add the fried onions, and return to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes until the topping is golden brown and crispy. Let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
Quick Tip
If you don’t have Gruyère, try any cheese that melts well, like Swiss, cheddar, or mozzarella.
Substitutions and Variations
- Ground turkey or chicken can be used instead of beef.
- Use another short pasta like rotini or penne if you don t have egg noodles.
- Add sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, or a handful of spinach to the filling for more flavor and texture.
- If you’re out of fried onions, crushed Ritz crackers or buttered breadcrumbs will still give you a crunchy topping.
- A bit of Dijon mustard or a pinch of garlic powder can be added to the beef mixture for extra depth.
How to Store Leftovers
Store leftover casserole in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 to 5 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave or warm the entire dish in the oven at 325°F until heated through.
Freezing Instructions
Let the casserole cool completely. Wrap it tightly with foil or transfer to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 2 months.
To reheat, thaw in the fridge overnight and bake at 325°F until warmed through. Top with fresh fried onions before serving, if desired.
More Casserole Recipes
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Ingredients
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 16 ounces refrigerated French onion dip
- 10 ½ ounces cream of mushroom soup, 1 can
- 1 ½ cups shredded Gruyère cheese
- 2 cups French fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Cook the egg noodles in salted water until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.12 ounces wide egg noodles
- In a large skillet, cook the ground beef and Worcestershire sauce over medium heat. Drain the grease.1 pound ground beef1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- Add the French onion dip and cream of mushroom soup. Stir, and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the noodles to the skillet, stir to combine.16 ounces refrigerated French onion dip10 ½ ounces cream of mushroom soup
- Transfer the mixture to the baking dish, and top with the shredded Gruyère.1 ½ cups shredded Gruyère cheese
- Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes, and remove from the oven.
- Add the French fried onions, and return to the oven. Bake for another 5 to 10 more minutes, until the top is golden and crisp.2 cups French fried onions
- Let the casserole rest for a few minutes before serving.
Suggested Equipment
How to Video
Notes
Nutrition
Meet Kimberly
Hi, I’m Kimberly Vargo! Comfort food is at the heart of everything I make like easy dinners and sides to desserts, cocktails, and condiments. A lot of my inspiration comes from old family recipes, personal favorites, and vintage cookbooks.
Delicious and great for lunch the next day. One of the few dishes everyone in my family will eat.
Thank you for commenting and rating the recipe Patricia! Kim and I appreciate it. Have a wonderful day 🙂
can you suggest another kind of soup to use with this recipe? My family does not like cream of mushroom.
thanks!
Hi Nicole!
Cream of chicken soup works in place of cream of mushroom. If y’all don’t like store bought, we have a homemade cream of chicken that works well. Have a great day! 🙂
love this recipe. wondering what the best way to reheat is 🙂
Thank you for commenting and rating the recipe Kala! In regards to your question. I recommend reheating a serving size at a time in your microwave. Typically, I reheat casseroles on half-power for 2-4 minutes (depending on the serving size). Also, I stir the casserole about halfway through the reheating process. I don’t recommend reheating the casserole in an over or toaster oven. Those appliances will dry it out. Thank you again for sharing your experience and have a lovely day 🙂
Very interested in making this….but need cheese suggestions. I’ll never shred my own cheese. What would be a good substitute that come preshredded?
Hi Amanda!
Mozzarella or Monterey Jack would be good for pre-shredded options. Have a great day! 🙂
Shredded Swiss cheese is what I always use in place of Gruyère cheese! Or you can buy a block and shred it. The kind you shred yourself is always creamier and melts best.
Easy meal. Per a review, I did the 16oz noodles, bag frozen mixed veggies and added an extra can of soup. Hubby wished there were some of the fried onions in the actual mix (like green bean casserole). Next time will make a half of what I made this time, add some friend onions to the mix, and it will be perfect casserole (as made, it will easily feed a family of 6)
Those additions sound amazing, Tonya! We’re glad you and your family enjoyed the recipe. We love making this casserole with a couple of cups of French fried onions on top. They add the perfect amount of crunch and flavor. Making it half one way and half the other is a great idea! Have a wonderful afternoon! 🙂
Can you make this ahead of time and keep in refrigerator? If so, how long to heat up?
Hi Tammie!
Yes, you can make this casserole ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator. If you want to assemble it without baking, it will store for about a day. Then, bake it as written. If you’d prefer to bake it completely then store it, the casserole stays good in the fridge for 4-5 days. Reheat in the oven on 350°F until heated through, usually 20-30 minutes. It may need to be covered with foil so the crispy onions don’t burn. Have a great day! 🙂
This was really good. I did make some changes. I used ground pork (my son doesn’t eat beef)1# bowties, added an extra can soup and added a pound of mixed veggies. It was a complete meal and delicious. Thanks.
Thank you Jennifer! It sounds like those additions and substitutions created a filling, tasty meal. Thank you again and have a lovely day 🙂
This was delicious and will become a regular on our menu. My package of egg noodles was 16oz, so I added an extra can of soup and some sour cream to try to stretch the sauce, but it wasn’t enough. Next time I’ll double all the sauce ingredients, and probably add some chopped canned mushrooms too. And maybe some diced bell pepper.
Good morning Dawn, Kim and I are thrilled you enjoyed the casserole. It’s unfortunate the extra soup and sour cream wasn’t quite enough. Doubling all the sauce ingredients should fix everything. Thank you for commenting and rating the recipe. Have a lovely day!
This one is a keeper! I used golden mushroom soup instead of cream of mushroom (just don’t like it) and I added a generous 1/2 cup of half and half to the mixture so it wouldn’t be too dry. I used mozzarella cheese because that’s all I had on hand, but I’m definitely going to try a swiss/gruyere blend next time since I think it would blend best with the other flavors. Everyone loved it, even the picky kid!
Since the recipe is enough to fill a 13×9, I split it into two 8x8s…one for now, and one for the freezer.
We’re so glad everyone enjoyed the casserole! Separating it into 2 pans is a great idea. Thank you so much for coming back to comment and rate the recipe. Have a wonderful evening! 🙂
It was so yummy! Everything you want and everything you need on a cold winters night for Supper. The Men folk loved it! Thank you for sharing!
PS, I read the comments and added some heavy cream. This is a marriage proposal recipe!!!
Thank you Ms. Jimi, we’re glad everyone enjoyed the recipe. The sour cream is an awesome addition. Thanks again for commenting and rating the recipe! Have a lovely day 🙂
Can you make the French onion homemade dip using the French onion soup packets and then use that in the casserole?
Hi Danielle!
We haven’t tested that and can’t say for sure how it would work. My concern would be that it might separate as the casserole bakes since it’s not pre-mixed. However, it may work great! If you decide to try it, we’d love to know how it works out. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 🙂
Holy crap this was AMAZINGA. I honestly could have eaten the noodle mixture as a dish alone, but the cheese and those crispy onions took it to another level. 10/10
Is the initial bake period covered, or uncovered? I assume uncovered as it doesn’t say either way.
Hi Michelle!
It’s uncovered. Thanks for asking!
This recipe is ready, delicious, and full of flavor! (I did tweak it slightly) The only thing I would recommend doing differently, is I would use 2 cans of soup instead of one. Everything was prefect the body night we had it, but I feel like any leftovers could be dry. But overall= excellent
Didn’t even know there is such a thing as refrigerator dip. Why can’t I use the snack aisle variety?
Hi Shirley!
We haven’t tested that one out, so we can’t say how it will work. The recipe was developed using the refrigerated version. If you get a chance to try it using the snack aisle variety, we’d love to know how it turns out. Have a great weekend! 🙂
This casserole is so good! My family of picky eaters ate it all up. And so simple too!
I can not find Gruyere cheese, what may I supstitute, do you suggest?
Hi Kathy!
You could substitute regular Swiss cheese shredded off the block, not the pre-shredded variety. Mozzarella shredded off the block will also work in a pinch. Have a great weekend! 🙂
This was soooo good! It reheats good too, although I did add some sour cream to it(perfect). My husband just kept saying how good it was and I would DEFINITELY use the fried onions!!!
Hi! Thank you for the recipe. We enjoyed it. I have one question please. It was a little dry. Can I add a extra can of soup or maybe some milk?
Good Morning Allen, glad to hear you enjoyed it. Sorry it turned it out a little dry. Personally, I would start with 1/2 cup of heavy cream and see how it turns out. I would avoid adding more soup due to the salt content. In regards to using milk, it may water down the casserole if the fat content isn’t high enough (ex. 2%). We hope this information helps, have a lovely day 🙂
What brand French Onion dip do you recommend? Refrigerated like Dean’s or Kraft, or more like canned or jarred that are usually on the chip aisle at the grocery? Thanks
Hi Melissa! That’s a great question. We use whatever refrigerated brand is available or on sale. We don’t use the canned/jarred variety from the chip aisle. Hope that helps! Have a wonderful weekend!
Any suggestion for pasta substitute? I don’t eat pasta.
Good morning Charlotte, I would recommend mashed potatoes, skillet potatoes (precooked), or cubed hashbrown potatoes. I hope this information helps, have a lovely day 🙂
I don’t like cream of mushroom soup or mushrooms at all. What can I substitute for this? Cream of celery?
Good Morning Linda, sure, you can use cream of celery instead. Furthermore, you can use a canned cream of celery soup or our homemade version found here: https://www.berlyskitchen.com/cream-celery-soup-substitute/
Thank you for asking your question, have a great day 🙂
I love a good caserol and this looks like it would be great…although. with almost 800mg of sodium per serving it seem like a “wow” amount of sodium. Between the French onion dip, cream of mushroom soup, worstershire sauce and french fried onions it’s a salt packed recipe. Are there any suggested substitutions, for instance homemade mushroom gravy instead of cream of mushroom soup, use low sodium salt, like pink himalayan, etc? It sounds delicious, but the total sodium has me rethinking this recipe.
Hi Susan!
We’d recommend adding salt to taste, and pink Himalayan salt is a great option. The French fried onions and cheese amounts can be adjusted as needed. That will help reduce the sodium some. As far as substituting an entire ingredient, we have a ton of homemade “cream of soup” recipes here on our site. One of them is cream of mushroom substitute. It will work great in place of the canned version for this casserole, and you’re able to control how much salt in our version. Hope that helps. 🙂 Have a wonderful day!
Dont have Gruyere Cheese. Is there another cheese that would work well?
Good Morning Michelle, that’s a good question. You can use any kind of cheese you want or have on hand. Cheddar, mozzarella, Monterrey Jack, or even Parmesan will work for this recipe. Thanks for dropping by to ask a question. Have a lovely day 🙂
@John, can this be frozen?
Hi Rachel!
Yes, it can be frozen for about 2 months. Have a great day! 🙂