Hamburger Mushroom Casserole for Full GAPS

This hamburger mushroom casserole has browned beef, tender mushrooms and a melted cheddar top. Underneath, eggs and thick homemade yogurt cheese hold the filling together without canned soup or flour. Fry the bacon first, then cook the mushrooms in its fat before the whole mixture goes into the oven.

The mushroom step is what deserves a little patience. Let their released liquid cook away, rather than sending a watery pan into the casserole. After baking, give the dish its twenty-minute rest so the filling has time to settle before you scoop it.

Jump to the Recipe

Lunch and dinner usually have to be made before I leave for second-shift work, with homeschooling happening earlier in that same day. I look at a recipe’s resting time as part of the meal plan. Twenty minutes is useful time for putting the kitchen back together, but it still belongs on the clock before dinner.

A casserole also gives you one finished dish to portion and put away. For a family of six children, I still plan the amount around what else is being served and who is eating. This batch has eight servings; a second dish is a separate decision, not something I assume one pan will cover.

What Goes Into The Casserole

Two pounds ground beef: Use plain fresh ground beef. Break it into smaller pieces as it browns, so the finished filling has crumbles throughout rather than large meat clumps. Two teaspoons natural salt season the beef, with one teaspoon black pepper if you are using it.

Twelve ounces homemade yogurt cheese: Use the thick cheese left after draining homemade twenty-four-hour GAPS yogurt. Weigh twelve ounces of the finished drained cheese, not twelve ounces of yogurt before straining. It should be thick and scoopable, without a pool of whey around it.

Six eggs: These are mixed into the yogurt cheese one at a time. They bind the casserole as it bakes. The cheese needs to be soft enough to whisk smoothly before you begin adding them.

Four slices prepared salt-only bacon: Make the home-cured bacon ahead, then use four uncooked slices here. Its curing time is a separate preparation. Cook the slices during the skillet steps and save their fat for the mushrooms.

One pound mushrooms: Slice or quarter them. Keep the pieces reasonably similar in size so they soften together. They will shrink as their water cooks out, leaving enough mushroom pieces to notice in the beef filling.

Parsley, optional garlic and cheddar: Use one tablespoon plain parsley, four crushed garlic cloves if wanted, and two cups grated natural cheddar. Grate cheddar from a block without added starch. Have a little cooking fat ready to grease the dish too.

Prepare The Homemade Ingredients First

The yogurt must finish its full ferment before you drain it for cheese. My go-to for making yogurt is the Luvele Pure Plus. Follow the separate twenty-four-hour yogurt recipe, then drain it until thick and weigh what this casserole needs.

The draining recipe also collects whey. Keep that liquid for its own uses; it is not part of the twelve-ounce cheese measure. There is no fixed amount of yogurt promised to produce exactly twelve ounces because the final weight changes with how much liquid drains away.

Likewise, the bacon needs to be fully prepared before casserole day. If those foods are already in the refrigerator, the thirty-minute preparation and skillet work can start with measuring, chopping and browning. Culturing, draining and curing are additional time.

How To Make Hamburger Mushroom Casserole

Heat The Oven And Grease The Dish

Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a nine-by-thirteen-inch casserole dish. A little homemade ghee, reserved bacon fat or introduced homemade butter can be used for greasing. Coat the corners as well as the flat bottom, where the cheese mixture can catch.

Have a rimmed baking sheet ready underneath the casserole dish. It will catch any bubbling drips. Use oven mitts when moving the hot dish and its supporting sheet.

Brown The Beef And Fry The Bacon

Brown the beef over medium heat in a roomy pan, breaking it up as it cooks. Add the measured salt and optional pepper. If the meat is crowded into a thick layer, work in batches so you can turn and brown the crumbles properly.

In a second pan, fry the bacon over medium heat. Remove it when mostly cooked and keep it for the topping. Leave the rendered fat in that pan for the mushrooms. The bacon finishes cooking on the casserole in the oven.

Cook The Water Out Of The Mushrooms

Rinse the mushrooms, slice or quarter them, and add them to the bacon fat over medium-low heat. Stir and turn them as they soften. At first, the pan may look wetter as the mushrooms release liquid.

Keep cooking until the mushrooms are soft and stop releasing water, about fifteen minutes. You are looking for tender pieces and a pan without a watery puddle. Do not turn the heat high just to hurry the last liquid away and scorch the smaller pieces.

Mix the cooked mushrooms with the browned beef. This keeps them distributed before the egg-and-cheese mixture is added. If batch cooking took longer than expected, let the mushroom texture guide you rather than stopping with a wet pan.

Whisk The Yogurt Cheese And Eggs

Put the softened, well-drained yogurt cheese in a mixing bowl. Whisk in one egg, working through the thick cheese until the mixture loosens, then continue with the remaining eggs one at a time. Add the optional crushed garlic.

A whisk works here, although it takes some steady mixing. Scrape the sides and bottom as you go. The mixture should become smooth enough to distribute through the beef, without dry lumps of unmixed cheese.

Combine, Top And Bake

Stir the beef, mushrooms, parsley and egg-and-cheese mixture together. Transfer to the greased dish and press the surface gently until even. Sprinkle the grated cheddar over the top, then chop or crumble the reserved bacon over the cheese.

Set the casserole on its baking sheet on the lowest oven rack. Bake for about thirty-five minutes, until hot and bubbling with melted cheddar. Check the center with a food thermometer; the minimum temperature for a meat casserole is 165°F. Allow longer if the center has not reached that point.

Rest For Twenty Minutes

Set the hot dish on a sturdy trivet and leave it for twenty minutes before serving. The filling is still settling when it first comes out of the oven. Cutting straight into it can give you a looser scoop.

Serve in eight portions after that rest. Expect browned beef and tender mushroom pieces in a rich, cheesy filling. It is a casserole to scoop, rather than a loaf that needs to turn out of the pan.

Where It Fits On GAPS

Use this recipe on Full GAPS after the eggs, mushrooms, seasonings and both dairy ingredients have been introduced. Homemade drained yogurt cheese replaces ordinary commercial cream cheese. The cheddar is a separate dairy food, so tolerating yogurt alone does not make this whole casserole the next introduction.

The GAPS dairy introduction guide explains that progression. This is not a first small taste of dairy or an early Intro preparation. For the earlier food progression, follow the Intro stages guide and keep those meals to their own preparations.

You can leave out the optional black pepper or garlic for a milder filling. The mushrooms, parsley and dairy are still part of this recipe, so leaving out those seasonings does not make it a No-Plant or dairy-free casserole.

If you need a version without eggs, use the separate egg-free hamburger mushroom casserole. Its measured gelatin-and-water mixture replaces the eggs, and its warm filling is soft and scoopable. It still contains dairy. Follow that card for the complete preparation.

Serving And Keeping Leftovers

Serve the casserole warm after its rest. If you like a different burger-style dinner, the separate bacon cheeseburger casserole uses ketchup, mustard and a different egg-and-cheese mixture. Its card has the amounts for that dish.

Divide leftovers into shallow containers and refrigerate promptly at 40°F or below, within two hours of cooking, or one hour above 90°F. Use within three to four days. For longer storage, freeze portions for up to three months, then thaw in the refrigerator. Reheat the center to 165°F. Use a room-temperature oven-safe dish for reheating rather than putting cold stoneware straight into a hot oven.

For help planning the preparations around meals, my upcoming Large-Family Batch Plan covers prep-day cooking and portioning through the week. Find the collection through the WFLI shop as it becomes available.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Use Another Ground Meat?

The original preparation allows two pounds of ground elk, turkey, chicken, pork or lamb in place of the beef, or a mixture totaling two pounds. Brown the chosen meat before assembling and check the finished casserole’s center temperature. Its flavor and rendered fat will vary with the meat.

Can I Skip The Rest?

Keep the twenty-minute rest. It is part of the eighty-five-minute plan: thirty minutes of preparation and skillet work, thirty-five minutes baking and twenty minutes resting. It gives the filling time to settle before serving.

Can I Double It?

Double all measured ingredients and divide between two appropriately sized dishes. Do not crowd a double batch into one pan. Check each dish separately for the same hot center and allow its rest; the oven time does not automatically double.

Recommended Equipment

Use two skillets, a mixing bowl, whisk, measuring spoons, kitchen scale, knife and board, cheese grater, food thermometer, baking sheet and trivet. My Le Creuset Artichaut skillets can be used for the stovetop work, browning in batches when needed. The Le Creuset Heritage four-quart rectangular dish in Artichaut has the roughly nine-by-thirteen-inch footprint for this bake.