"Famous" Amish Country Casserole

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This Famous Amish Country Casserole is "famous" because you find it in every Amish cookbook, every food website, etc.  I own a gazillion Amish cookbooks and most all of them have "Amish Country Casserole" in it. It's always a beefy casserole.

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• 🍲 Casserole Ingredients
• 📋 Amish Country Casserole Instructions
• 👩‍🍳 More Favorite Amish Casseroles
• 🖨️ Full Recipe

But what is Amish Country Casserole really?  I mean, I saw this "Amish Country Casserole" in Amish cookbooks as far back as 1991 when I first started chronicling Amish culture.  There are now so many different variations on it that the original recipe, if there ever was one, is probably lost to history.  But the versions are all very similar: pasta, veggies, ground beef, cheese, tomatoes, this is right up the wheelhouse of Amish cooks who want to make a hearty plate piler for their hard-working family.

So, if you are looking for something similar, give this a try.  Now, I will say that my parents enjoyed this when they fixed it, but they'd recommend adding fresh mushrooms. I'd probably add plump button mushrooms.  But I love mushrooms so as far as I'm concerned the more mushroomy, the merrier. But I know some people hate mushrooms, so, if that is the case, just make the recipe as posted below!

As many variations as there are on this Amish Country Casserole recipe online and in cookbooks, we hadn't posted this on Amish365, so I am excited to do so. Enjoy!

You can fry the ground beef in a stainless steel skill or a cast iron. I always prefer cast iron, but just use whatever you have on hand.

Penne pasta is what we used for this, but you wouldn't have to. Another super choice would be rotini. Both would give the casserole the bulk that you want. I mean, you could use any pasta you wanted, it won't impact the taste. You could even use spaghetti if it came down to it, but I think penne or rotini are best.

A lot of Amish homemakers would use their own homemade noodles or pasta for this casserole. But I think this Amish Country Casserole just got picked up by local restaurants, tourist boards, and cookbook authors and has sort of taken on a life of its own. Not sure how many Amish cooks actually make this, although casserole recipes like this are a dime a dozen (but no less delicious!) in Amish kitchens.

You can switch up the cheese to your taste. I like a shredded cheddar with this, but feel free to do Colby, American, Mozzerella, a mix of several...to me, you just can't go wrong with cheese. I love all types of cheese so, yeah, if you want the classic Amish Country Casserole, stick with the recipe, but if you want to add your own touches, experiment with the cheese!

You want to bake until the cheese is golden brown. I like mine a little crisper on top.

Now, there is this amazing recipe! Now, notice - true to Amish tradition - not a lot of spice in this. You could add oregano, Italian seasoning, black pepper, basil, anything like that to add a pop of additional flavor. Another thing fun to try is sprinkling bread crumbs over the casserole before baking just to give it an extra "crunch" on top. But, again, if you want famous Amish Country Casserole, just stick with the recipe.

🍲 Casserole Ingredients

• 16 ounces of your favorite pasta (penne, rotini, etc)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 onion, large, chopped
• 1 1 /2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 can tomato soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups sharp shredded Cheddar cheese.
• 1 /2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 /2 teaspoon dried parsley

📋 Amish Country Casserole Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and spray a 10 X 13 casserole with cooking spray.
2. Cook the pasta and while that is going, saute the onion in the olive oil until soft and then add the ground beef.
3. Cook until done.
4. As soon as the pasta is done, drain and return to the pot.
5. Add the cooked meat, soups, and milk to the pasta.
6. Transfer to the prepared oven dish.
7. Sprinkle with paprika and parsley and top with cheese.
8. Bake for 30 minutes.

👩‍🍳 More Favorite Amish Casseroles

Casseroles are popular in Amish kitchens, they are versatile and feed families, here are some of our favorites!

Grandma Graber's Quick and Easy Casserole

Classic!

The Bishop's Overnight Casserole

The flavors really meld in this one!

Penny Supper Casserole

This one has hot dogs!

Six-Ingredient Casserole

Delicious!

🖨️ Full Recipe