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This keto cheeseburger casserole with bacon is an easy ground beef dish to make, perfect for sharing with family and friends on a busy weeknight.
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Don’t you just love the ease of casseroles? They make the keto diet simple to stick with and meal planning becomes a breeze.
In the winter months especially, our family indulges in casseroles regularly. After all, what’s not to love about the heat of the oven warming the kitchen when it’s cold outside, putting out those tempting smells that call everyone to the table before you even say, “Dinner’s ready!”
Casseroles are one of my favorite dishes to make, especially for a cheap meal that doesn’t take a lot of work. This low carb cheeseburger casserole has quickly become a classic request at our table…even with picky eaters.
After all, you’ve got beef, bacon, and cheese in one spot – this is clearly cut out to be a winner!
Ingredients For Your Keto Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
- Ground beef
- Cheddar Cheese
- Bacon
- Garlic
- Onion powder
- Eggs
- Tomato paste
- Heavy cream
- Salt and pepper
With only 6 common ingredients and some seasoning you probably have in your kitchen already, this low carb hamburger casserole is one you can make over and over again.
Plus, with only 2 net carbs per serving, you don’t have to stress it. Serve it with some lettuce, tomato, and pickle (because hello, classic bacon cheeseburger accoutrement!) and you’ve got a delicious, comfort food dinner ready to roll.
Tips For Making Easy Keto Burger and Cheese Casserole
So how do you make keto cheeseburger casserole? Quickly and easily, that’s how!
Pre-Cooked Bacon
If you already have cooked bacon, it’s even faster.
Have you tried the baking bacon method yet? It’s so simple to cook it in the oven until it’s nice and crisp. You get picture perfect strips and it’s a lot easier than frying in a pan.
No more standing over a large skillet and dodging flying grease splatters!
Freshly Grated Cheese
It’s also good to use freshly grated cheddar in this recipe (and any of your cheesy keto recipes) to keep the carb impact and inflammatory ingredients to a minimum. Did you know there are hidden carbs in pre-shredded cheese?
It’s sadly true.They add potato starch or other fillers to keep the cheese shreds from clumping.
Those sneaky ingredients may be okay on occasion, but shredding your own cheese is a great habit to get into for those following this lifestyle.
Plus, if you happen to be sensitive to potatoes like I am, it’s worth staying away from any cheese that adds potato starch. It seems crazy, but all those extra carbs do add up.
What’s The Secret Sauce In This Amazing Recipe?
There’s a tangy sauce used in this bacon cheeseburger casserole that really makes it stand out.
A lot of keto friendly casserole recipes use cream cheese, but this one doesn’t. It relies on whipping cream, eggs, and cheddar cheese for it’s gooey, savory yumminess.
You can either stir the cheese into the meat or the sauce. I ended up stirring the cheese into the sauce, because it’s all going to melt together anyhow, so why not keep things nice and simple?
Making Your Hamburger Casserole
Once you’ve baked your bacon and made your cheese sauce, the rest is easy. The ground burger meat is baked right in with the saucey egg mixture and it comes out so good!
After spreading out the meat in the baking pan, the sauce is poured over and the cheese stirred in.
How easy is that?
And the slices are so filling, you can easily feed a crowd with this dish! That’s because you’ll get 12 servings from this keto casserole.
And, if that’s too much, you can either freeze half or only make a half batch. I used a regular 9×13-inch baking pan. If you’d like to cut the recipe in half, an 8×8-inch baking dish instead.
Or you can double the recipe and use a 10×15 pan and have deeper slices. It’s delish, no matter how you do it.
Cheeseburger Casserole Variations
Most low carbers love their bacon, but feel free to leave it out if that’s not you. Go ahead and add a veggie if you’d like. This basic low carb bacon cheeseburger casserole is very flexible.
Try a mix of Monterrey Jack and bleu cheese crumbles with some added mushrooms for an amazing Black and Bleu inspired casserole.
Or some jalapenos and pepper jack with some diced tomatoes for some south of the border heat.
Maybe you’d like to use swiss cheese and add in some Canadian bacon and a few lightly caramelized onions.
While I kept this keto cheeseburger casserole rather plain for my family, don’t be afraid to jazz it up for your own table and try the variations.
A Great Dish for Ground Venison
Another tip is that nearly any ground beef recipe will work quite well with ground venison.
In fact, when I make low carb ground beef recipes, I swap it out for venison at home.
It’s the same thing with bulk sausage meat. I often use the venison sausage. Because it’s wild game, deer meat tends to be better than beef. I use it in my keto cheeseburger soup too.
More Keto Casserole Recipe Ideas
Did you know you can easily make low carb casseroles in a casserole crock pot? They are good baked, but when you want to make life even easier, that’s a great alternative.
Want some more comforting casserole recipes? Here’s a few of family friendly classics:
- Sausage Casserole Recipe with Mock Potato
- Low Carb Zucchini Casserole
- Keto Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli
- Keto Sweet Potato Casserole
- Chicken Vegetable Casserole
And don’t miss these other easy low carb ground beef recipes.
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Keto Cheeseburger Casserole with Bacon
Recipe Video (Click on Image to Play)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 cloves large garlic
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 pound no sugar bacon cooked and chopped
- 8 eggs see note
- 1 can tomato paste 6 ounces
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- 12 ounces grated cheddar cheese divided
Instructions
- Brown ground beef with garlic and onion powder.
- Drain excess grease, then spread beef on bottom of 9×13-inch casserole pan.
- Stir bacon pieces into cooked beef.
- In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, tomato paste, heavy cream, salt, and pepper until well combined.
- Stir 8 ounces grated cheese into egg mixture.
- Pour egg mixture over beef and bacon.
- Top with remaining 4 ounces of grated cheese.
- Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Notes
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
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Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
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einhver gaur
I loved it, i have been full for 3 days. Next time i won’t eat the 12 servings in one sitting. But when you cook this do you mix the sauce and the meat or do you just the sauce ontop and let it mix during the cooking stages?
Lisa MarcAurele
I usually just pour the sauce on top, but you can mix the meat in the sauce too. Either way is fine.
Rachel
Can I make this with the exception of topping with cheese and freeze it. Then bake with fresh cheese when time to eat?
Lisa MarcAurele
The casserole can be frozen baked or unbaked. The cheese topping can be added right before baking.
Erica Smith
My family hated this. 🤷♀️
Lisa MarcAurele
I guess it’s not for everyone. My family loves anything cheesy.
Penny
Could this be made in a crockpot? If so, what modifications would be made?
Lisa MarcAurele
The issue with making this in the crockpot is that you’ll get condensation dripping down onto the cheese. I don’t recommend slow cooking for that reason. However, if you have one of those casserole slow cookers where the dish can go in the oven to brown, I’d slow cook, then place under the broiler to brown the cheese.
Joni
I made it last night. It was delicious! My husband loved it. It was so flavorful. I used 88% lean ground beef, but should have used one with more fat. It was still really great and definitely will make again and again!
Joni
This sounds so delicious! I’m going to make it tonight!
Adam
Made this last night for wife and I – it was excellent.
Cut recipe in half but only used 2 eggs.
Additions – to the bechamel/cheese I added diced pickles, diced onions, couple of shakes of hot sauce and worcestershire, a few squirts of mustard, webers burger seasoning.
Beef: Get as much surface area as possible to get a good crisp when browning. I broke my 1lb into 4 pieces and flattened each one a bit before tossing in the cast iron. Flip those patties after a couple of minutes to get a nice crust on the other side, then break up once it is nice and crusty.
That last step makes this really taste like a good flat top burger.
Subs: I didn’t have tomato paste so used about 2 ozs of tomato sauce. I probably could have used more.
Adam
I also added some yellow american torn into the top cheddar topping.
Nancy
Made this casserole for dinner. Everyone loved it. Only used 6 eggs. Added fresh mushrooms on top before the cheese. Will definitely make this again.
Rick O
I made this recipe last night for my family. My wife will try anything but is reasonably picky. Add to that a 17 year old boy who only eats meat, a 5 year old girl who will eat just about anything and a 2 year old boy who will eat just about anything. They ate it up. It was wonderful. Thank you.
Jill
Can u just cut that receipt in half totally to serve 6 instead of 12. ?
Lisa MarcAurele
You can cut it in half and bake in a square 8×8 or 9×9 inch pan. The baking time will just be a little less.
Nancy
There is no way that recipe feeds 12 people. We had 5 adults with very little leftover.
Laurie L, From Canada
You are a genius! Thanks for the recipe. I am SCD and just making the changes I need to fit my diet, and checking through many of the complimentary (only) responses you have already received. I am also subscribing to your eletter to receive more information and recipes. Thanks so very much for all your hard work and publishing efforts. I love that you seem to use a lot of flavour in your recipes.
Kristin
I don’t usually leave comments but I had to for this one. It is SO good. I was a little iffy making the egg mixture because it didn’t look super appetizing. But it was still so worth it! I can’t say enough good things about this recipe. I could eat it forever.
Danielle
I have to leave a comment because I have made this SO MANY TIMES that I can make it without looking at the recipe now lol this is amazing. I love it so much. Although I do think it’s perfect with 6 eggs only everytime, and an onion caramelized before the ground beef. Sometimes I add sugar free ketchup or some thousand island. It’s great. Thank you 🙂
Monica
Thank you !! I made this tonight and it’s amazing !!!
Sue M
I’ve been looking for a good hamburger casserole that is low carb ever since I was diagnosed as a diabetic. I’ve tried several and they were all just okay…this one is AMAZING!!! I LOVE IT and I have made it several times. THANK YOU so much for sharing this recipe and giving me back my “hamburger casserole” in a low-carb way!!!
PennyC
I made this casserole last night for my husband and me. I halved the recipe and used one egg less, (thinking it might be less quiche-like, as HE is anti-quiche. Well, we both loved it! He couldn’t stop talking about how much he loved it, and asked me to add it to my dinner rotation. Yummy magical food creation!
Nessa
Can leftover be refrigerated and ate over the week? I made too much. It’s good though 🙂
Lisa MarcAurele
Leftovers can be refrigerated or frozen.
Eric
Just to piggy back… how long would it be good for in the fridge or frozen?
Lisa MarcAurele
It’s keeps a good week for me in the fridge and at least 3 months in the freezer.
Chris
Im one to cook by measurement… how much mushrooms and onions should i add?
Lisa MarcAurele
I wouldn’t add more than a quarter cup of onions and half to full cup of mushrooms.
Kristen
Made this according to the recipe last week and everyone loved it, even my non-beef eating daughter! So cheesy and tasty! Making again tonight for friends and going to add more tomatoes, peppers and mushrooms. This is very filling and yummy for only being 4 carbs! I made it as directed in a 9×13 dish and cut into 12 pieces. Plenty of food, especially with a veggie on the side. Thanks!
Sandie Robinson
Can I use Lactose Free Milk instead of heavy cream?
Lisa MarcAurele
It can, but it’s much thinner than cream so it might effect texture.
Cat Peters
There is also lactose free whipping cream.