Ground Beef Chow Mein casserole is a popular classic Midwestern hot dish combining ground beef, rice, creamy soup, and seasonings, that is topped with Chow Mein noodles.
It is easy to put together and a perfect comfort food to add to your dinner rotation for the family.
This is my grandmother's recipe. She actually called it Chop Suey Casserole, but it is more popularly known as Beef Chow Mein Casserole or Chow Mein Hot Dish.
My grandmother lives in Wisconsin and this was one of our favorite family meals we looked forward to on the dinner table when we came to visit.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients for this easy Chop Suey casserole.
- Ground Beef
- Cream of Chicken Soup
- Cream of Mushroom Soup-you can substitute Cream of Celery
- Diced Onion-yellow or white
- Chopped Celery-really small pieces
- Chopped Water Chestnuts
- Uncooked Rice
- Water
- Soy Sauce-you can substitute with liquid aminos
- Chow Mein Noodles-you find these in the Asian isle in grocery store
Want to use Homemade Cream Soup?
If you want to make your cream soups from scratch, try Cream of Chicken Soup from Pinch of Yum and Cream of Mushroom Soup from Damn Delicious.
Watch video to make chow mein casserole
Steps to make Beef Chow Mein
Follow these easy steps to make Beef Chow Mein:
- Cook ground beef. Drain any excess grease. (photo 1)
- In a mixing bowl, mix ground beef, cream of chicken soup, cream of chicken mushroom soup, diced onion, chopped celery, chopped water chestnuts, uncooked rice, water, and soy sauce. (photo 2)
- Add mixture to a greased 9x13 baking dish. (photo 3)
- Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 for 1 ½ hours. (photo 4)
- Remove from oven and remove tinfoil.
- Top with Chow Mein noodles and bake an additional 10 minutes. (photo 5)
Tips
Tip: The soy sauce seasons this dish with a light flavor. If you want a more intense flavor, you can add a table spoon or two more. I prefer to cook it as it as-is and allow each person to add a little more if they wish once served.
Tip: You can also add a can of La Choy chop suey vegetables for additional veggies. Just drain the liquid and add to the casserole with the other ingredients when you bake it.
Please leave me a comment below if you make this Ground Beef Chow Mein casserole, and tell me what you thought about it. I would love to hear back, and so would my readers.
Also post your picture of your Midwestern Hot Dish on Instagram or Facebook, and tag @aforkstale with #aforkstale hashtags! I will share with my followers! xoxo!
For more of my favorite family recipes, try:
- Homemade Pimento Cheese
- Homemade Sloppy Joes
- Dill Cucumber Salad
- Peanut Butter Bon Bons
- Hash Brown Casserole
- Instant Pot Chili Mac
- Baked Calico Beans
- Beer Cheese Dip
- Taco Dip
Ground Beef Chow Mein Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 10.5 oz cream of chicken soup
- 10.5 oz cream of mushroom soup
- 1 onion diced
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 8 oz water chestnuts drained
- 1 cup rice uncooked
- 1 ½ cup water
- 3 tbs soy sauce
- 5 oz chow mein noodles
Instructions
- Cook 1 lb of ground beef. Drain any excess grease.
- In a mixing bowl, mix ground beef, 10.5 oz cream of chicken soup, 10.5 oz cream of chicken mushroom soup,1 diced onion, 1 cup chopped celery, 8 oz chopped water chestnuts (drained), 1 cup uncooked rice, 1 ½ cup water, and 3 tbs soy sauce.
- Add mixture to a greased 9×13 baking dish.
- Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 for 1 ½ hours.
- Remove from oven and remove tinfoil.
- Top with Chow Mein noodles and bake uncovered an additional 10 minutes.
Garlande
I’ve made this casserole since the 1970’s. Always loved it. I never used water chestnuts but will from now on. Add soy sauce at the table. Green onions on top before serving.
Deb Lebo
I have been searching for this recipe called hamburger chow mein. Yours here is very similar but we also used 1 c onion, q1-2 cups celery leaves and tender stalks. Chinese veggies, mushrooms.
Katie
Grew up eating this. loved it.. I still enjoy making and eating it..
Kat
Is there a reason that you’re advising people to drain the more flavorful (than plain water) liquid out of the vegetables and discard that rather than use it in place of the plain water??
James A Oteri
I love this recipe. I do use more soy sauce (1/4 cup of lower sodium) and also add the noodles at the table.
Colleen
My mom always made this when we were growing up. It’s still one of my favorites. When I was a kid you could find mini egg rolls - they looked like pizza rolls and my mom put them on top like you do for tater tot hot dish. I wish they still made them. Also I serve the noodles on the side so they don’t get soggy for leftovers. Awesome recipe
Carolyn Mcpheron
It was ok. But it really just tasted like hamburger and rice. It didn't taste bad, just not what I expected.
Katie Crenshaw
Hi Sara, you would use regular rice for this recipe.
Sara
Hi there- looks great. Is this with instant or regular rice?
Kathy
Looks good going to make it
Katie Crenshaw
It takes 1 1/2 hours to bake to allow the rice to soak up the liquid and fully cook. Some recipes are a little shorter, but the texture comes out "soupy." Hope you enjoy the recipe. I am so glad you found it!
Susan
I used to make this but lost the recipe! I couldn't remember which soups I used to use in it. One question though, it seems like 1 1/2 hours is a long time to bake a casserole where the ground beef is already cooked. Is this correct? I make tator tot casserole with raw ground beef and it wouldn't even take this long. This is a great casserole and the noodles give great crunch and are interesting for kids!
Jenn
My family and I love casseroles but we get tired of the same ones. I tried this one, and it is our new favorite! It was easy, affordable, and delicious, and those water chestnuts gave it a great crunch!
Jen
Loved how easy this was to get on the table. My kids loved the noodles and ate it up! Thanks for sharing such a family-friendly dinner.
Danielle Wolter
What a great quick and easy weeknight meal! The flavors were great and I loved the crunchy chow mein noodles.
Kacey Perez
This is amazing! I have never seen an Asian flavored casserole before so I am excited to try this one out for one of our weekday meals!
Safira
This was so delicious. Heart warming, hearty, food for the soul. Definitely going to become a regular meal in our home.