This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy.
This 15-minute cheesy Beef and Noodles recipe is perfect for those busy nights when you need dinner quickly. Ground beef and noodles with a creamy, cheesy sauce.
Featured with this Recipe
- Ingredients in Creamy Ground Beef and Noodles Skillet
- Additions and Substitutions
- Suggestions for Beef and Noodles Skillet
- What to Serve with Beef and Noodles
- Storing the Leftovers
- More Recipes Using Beef and Noodles
- How to Make Creamy Ground Beef and Noodles Skillet
- Creamy Beef and Noodles Skillet (15 minute recipe) Recipe
15-Minute Beef and Noodles Skillet is a fresher, faster, and cheaper alternative to Hamburger Helper. Actually, Hamburger Helper gives me flashbacks to early days in my marriage when that and a can of green beans was considered a balanced meal. Luckily, I remembered this delicious recipe and it soon took the place of the boxed dinner stuff. This is a recipe that our grandma made when her kids were growing up and it is the ultimate comfort food.
Ingredients in Creamy Ground Beef and Noodles Skillet
- Macaroni Noodles
- Ground Beef
- Onion
- Condensed Tomato Soup
- Cream of Mushroom Soup
- Cheddar Cheese
- Salt and Pepper
Additions and Substitutions
Want to add a little more? Try adding any of these ingredients to add a flavor twist to this easy recipe:
- Other pastas – use other pasta shapes such as penne, shells, rotini, or bowties for a fun new look. You can even use egg noodles if that’s what you have on hand.
- Garlic – add some minced garlic cloves when softening the onion to enhance the flavor
- Ground chicken – use ground chicken or ground turkey to make a lighter version of this dish
- Beef tips – sauté beef tips instead of ground beef for a fancier dish
- Cream cheese – Melt in 4-8oz of cream cheese when adding the shredded cheese to add even more creaminess.
- Beef broth – add beef broth or milk to thin out the sauce if needed
- Veggies – stir in your favorite veggie like peas, corn, green beans, zucchini, etc… to make in a complete meal
Suggestions for Beef and Noodles Skillet
- If you are wary of using canned condensed cream of mushroom soup, try our delicious (and easy!) homemade Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe!
- You can use macaroni, rotini, bowtie, penne, or any kind of pasta for this recipe. You can use whole wheat pasta to make it healthier, or even Gluten Free pasta. Cook the pasta until al dente or until just tender.
- Sometimes, if we are looking to add more to this Beef and Noodles Skillet, we will stir in corn, peas, a can of diced tomatoes (drained), extra sautéed mushrooms, steamed broccoli, cauliflower, or spinach.
- Many times when we make this, we try to hide in extra veggies, so we add shredded zucchini and carrots to the ground beef mixture. Really, our kids never know there are any added vegetables. We use a lot too. We have used 1-2 of EACH vegetable added in and they don’t ever catch on.
What to Serve with Beef and Noodles
This can be served as a meal on its own or you can serve it with a simple side dish. We have served it with corn, peas, green beans, or even just a simple side salad. When serving with peas or corn, my kids will oftentimes just mix it all in together, which is also delicious.
Storing the Leftovers
To store leftover beef and noodles, allow the dish to cool to room temperature before transferring it to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to three to four days. When ready to enjoy the leftovers, reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until heated through. You may want to add a little beef broth or milk to thin out the sauce while re-heating. If freezing, place in a freezer safe container and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw in the fridge overnight before re-heating.
More Recipes Using Beef and Noodles
How to Make Creamy Ground Beef and Noodles Skillet
Creamy Beef and Noodles Skillet (15 minute recipe)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound macaroni noodles or similar, like Cavatappi or Cellentani
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion diced
- 10.5 ounces tomato soup condensed , not prepared
- 10.5 ounces cream of mushroom soup condensed, not prepared (see note above for substitutes)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Prepare noodles according to package directions.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef and onion together until beef is browned and onions are clear.
- Add condensed soups and salt and pepper.
- When noodles are done, drain well and add to skillet.
- Gently stir in cheese and serve!
Notes
-
- If you are wary of using canned condensed cream of mushroom soup, try our delicious (and easy!) homemade Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe!
-
- You can use macaroni, rotini, bowtie, penne, or any kind of pasta for this recipe. You can use whole wheat pasta to make it healthier, or even Gluten Free pasta.
-
- Sometimes, if we are looking to add more to this Beef and Noodles Skillet, we will stir in corn, peas, a can of diced tomatoes (drained), extra sautéed mushrooms, steamed broccoli, cauliflower, or spinach.
-
- Many times when we make this, we try to hide in extra veggies, so we add shredded zucchini and carrots to the ground beef mixture. Really, our kids NEVER know there are any added vegetables. We use a LOT too. We have used 1-2 of EACH vegetable added in and they don’t ever catch on.
- Monterey Jack or Mozzarella cheese can be used in place of, or in combination with, the cheddar cheese.
My daughter loves this (and she is a reformed picky eater – lol)! Instead of the tomato soup, I use pasta sauce (Rao’s, Prego, etc.). Delicious! This has been added to the rotation a few months ago, but wanted to share because we love this dish. Thanks!
It’s ok. It reminds me of canned pasta. The tomato soup makes it a tad sweet, and you can’t really taste the mushroom soup. I used granulated garlic and onion, paprika, salt, pepper, 2 cups sharp white cheddar and 2 cups medium orange cheddar. My picky autistic son liked it though, so I’ll probably make it again for him. He gives it a 7.5 out of 10.
where are the directions for this recipe
In the recipe card at the bottom of the page!
Si need to try this and use it in my cooking class.
My boyfriend and I really enjoyed this recipe! I added some fresh shredded yellow squash (which I had on hand and wanted to use up) to the ground beef mixture. Plus I added red pepper flakes, oregano, and a bit of garlic powder to add some flavor and it turned out great! Thank you for this recipe!
This was delicious!! My husband is quite a picky eater so I hade to switch up the cream of mushroom with cream of potato. It did seem a bit dry for our taste so I threw in a can of diced tomatoes.
I made this last night. My husband and I loved it. My 8-yr. old. granddaughter didn’t finish it because it had the “brown stuff” in it. She doesn’t like ground hamburger. She did like the rest of the dish, however. She actually picked around the “brown stuff” and ate the other. Kids… I did omit the tomato soup because I didn’t have any AND granddaughter will not eat red sauce. Again…kids… It still turned out well. I will serve it up again! I do want to try it with all the ingredients though. I added mushrooms because we simply love mushrooms.
Very tasty
All I have is cream of celery. I don’t have cream of mushroom. Will that work?
It will definitely change the flavor profile, but it should work consistency-wise.
Could I cook it without the tomato sauce and just use cream of mushroom??
I haven’t tried it that way before so I can’t say, but let us know how it turns out if you do try it!
Quick, easy and delicious!
SO GUD!
Thank you so much for this easy yet oh so yummy recipe! My whole family enjoyed it. The only thing I did was added minced garlic and seasoned the ground beef!. This recipe is a win.
Hi Jacki! So glad you like this dish! Thanks so much for the 5 stars!
Can I use cream of chicken or cream of celery? I’m out of cream of mushroom:(
You can probably use cream of chicken and it will be fine. Hope this helps!
Kids loved it! Super fast to make. I added minced garlic to the ground beef. Thank you for sharing!
Made this last night and it tasted really good! My husband liked it a lot too. I used Monterey Jack cheese.
Has anyone tried making this in an instant pot?
I just made this and it came out great! I sautéed my ground beef added garlic salt, then added the onion, some minced garlic and a full container of baby portabella mushroom sliced, I also added one knorr beef bouillon cube, then I added my pasta, I used tri colored rotini, 1 1/4 boxes barilla, and let that cook together for a bit, then added the soup cans, and two cans of water from each. I let that cook till the noodles were done and then we added our own shredded cheese. (Triple cheddar)
Oooh yum! I love the idea of adding sliced mushrooms! Thanks for sharing how you made this a success for you and your family!
I bought everything I needed, except the tomato soup, which I forgot, I realized it when I got home from the store, I didn’t feel like going back, so, I substituted salsa in place of the tomato soup, omg, my family loved it!
I love it when a substitution works out! This is great to know. Thank you!
Can I use tomatoe sauce instead of tomato soup?
Yes, you can but it won’t be as creamy– you can add some cream cheese to correct this if you would like. You may need to adjust the seasoning as well. I would say taste as you go and make adjustments based on your liking. Hope this helps!
Just made this for the kids and it was definitely NOT a hit with them. I tried it as well and was not at all impressed. This recipe is a no-go for us.
Oh no! What was the problem? How come it was a fail for you?
This was DELICIOUS!! So simple to make, and I even made the cream of mushroom soup which was also super easy! Thank you so much for sharing!!!
I’m so glad you liked it! This recipe is requested often by my family. It’s such a great comfort food. 🙂
I made this last night and it was surpringly delicious!! I had leftovers for lunch today. Yum!
So glad you liked it! Thank you so much for coming back to let us know!
Thanks for the recipe! I made this last night but instead of boiling the noodles separately, I added about 2 cups of water and the uncooked noodles after stirring in the soups. Cooked over medium-low heat until the noodles were done. Turned out perfectly. I just had to share in case anyone else despised boiling noodles like me! 😉
Just wondering if you use milk or water to water down the soups like directed on can or just empty them in with no add fluids?
Just the contents of the can– no added water or milk. Hope this helps!
If tomato soup is the only thing I can’t find in my overly crowded pantry, could I use canned tomatoes and maybe purée them? Or do you have any suggestions for a substitute?
Yes, absolutely! You can use what you have on hand 🙂 You can use canned tomatoes and maybe mix with a little cream to get the creamy texture.
How about pasta sauce? That’s the only tomato I have in the house right now.
I haven’t tried it that way, so I can’t speak to how it would affect the taste or texture. Sorry!
Thanks for such a great dinner!
Made this 3 days ago. Followed it exactly, it was absolutely wounderful!! Everyone gobbled it down and licked the bowl clean. Definitely a keeper!
Why can’t I pin the receipe? The links don’t work.
It should be working now… our site was having issues the other day
I made this tonight for dinner, everyone loved it! This is so going to be on the rotation. My son says it’s a keeper!
So glad you (and your son) liked it! 😀
Can you use spaghetti sauce and cream of chicken instead of tomato sauce. I have everything else just not the tomato sauce. I’m out of that.
We haven’t tried it that way before, so I can’t definitively say how it will affect the recipe. Let us know how it turns out if you do try it, though!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I made a couple small changes. I sautéed garlic and spinach with meat and onions (adding the extra stuff after the meat/onions were almost entirely cooked). Then after mixing in the pasta and cheese. I transfered the mix to a casserole dish and sprinkled panko breadcrumbs on top. Finally a quick broil to brown the top. My boyfriend and I loved it! This is a family sized meal and a great value.
Thank you, Caitlin! So glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing your adaptations of the recipe. It is always so helpful to our readers.
Would this freeze well?
Hmmm… I’m not so sure that it would but we haven’t done it before so I can’t tell you for certain. If you try it let us know how it goes!
I am going to be trying this dish tonight, but was saddened to see there is no nutritional or serving size information.
It serves 4-6 but we don’t provide nutritional information, sorry! You will have to input the recipe on a nutritional calculator like FitBit or Livestrong.
Do you drain the fat from the meat?
It depends on what fat content of meat I use. If there is excess fat, then yes I will drain it off. If there is only a little, I usually don’t worry about it.
I’m now 57 years old and have been making this since my teen years – with 2 differences: I omit the cheese and use spaghetti pasta. Absolutely delish and filling as a real quick dinner! 😀
You use the spaghetti sauce as well as both soups??
Shirleen
I’m super excited to make this! Question, though…When I go to print out the recipe, why do I get ads instead of a photo of the dish?
That definitely shouldn’t be happening. I will look into that…
We made this Monday night and it was so yummy! Finishing off the leftovers today for lunch.
So glad you liked it! It re-heats great, too!
do you heat up the soup?
Nope, just add it in straight from the can!