Nothing says comfort food like a Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole. Add this simple meal to your list of standby recipes for busy weeknights that even your kids will love – pickles and non-dairy cheese included. Whether or not you’re on a healing diet like the Whole30 or AIP diet, this gluten-free version of a childhood classic certainly belongs in your arsenal of easy dinners.
Is this Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole healthy?
Believe it or not, it is! Unlike its traditional counterpart, my version has a simple list of ingredients that avoids anything inflammatory, it fits easily into any diet. If you are following a low carb or keto diet, just leave out the sweet potato and substitute a non-starchy vegetable of your choice.
The ingredients in this Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole:
Not only are the ingredients in this recipe healthy, they are wallet-friendly too.
Ground beef
Opt for a grass-fed version of this affordable protein. You’ll get some healthy omega-3 fats to combat inflammation, and high-quality protein to keep you full and strong. Other ground meats will work too if beef isn’t your thing.
Sweet potatoes
To make this recipe AIP-compliant, I used sweet potatoes instead of traditional burger buns. Sweet potatoes add fiber, essential vitamins and nutrients, and taste great! Depending on your personal dietary needs, you can also substitute white potatoes (Whole 30 but not AIP), tater tots (not Whole 30 or AIP), plantains, and even yucca.
Bacon
Thank goodness the low-fat craze is over and we can finally recognize the nutrition (and taste) benefits of bacon. As long as it’s nitrate-free, bacon will add great flavor and satiating fat to this dish.
Nutritional yeast
Luckily, nutritional yeast is autoimmune paleo and Whole 30 compliant. Combined with coconut cream it brings not only a non-dairy cheesy flavor to your meals, but also adds B vitamins.
This recipe is perfect for busy families of any size. Leftovers taste great, and it’s easy to double the recipe and freeze a few portions.
How to Assemble Your Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole:
The prep time is short. Cook your bacon first either in a pan or in the oven, which gets it extra crispy. While your bacon is cooking, start steaming your sweet potatoes. Since both of those will take about 15-20 minutes to cook, brown the ground beef in a pan with coconut oil.
When the bacon and sweet potatoes are ready, add them to the ground beef. Next, combine the coconut cream, nutritional yeast, and ½ cup of sweet potato in a blender for the non-dairy cheese sauce.
For the big finale, transfer the ground beef to an oven-safe dish and pour the cheese sauce over it. Throw it in the oven, and your cook time will be completely hands-free!
Other recipes you’ll love:
- Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos (Whole30 & AIP)
- Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken (Whole30 & AIP)
- Bacon Chicken Ranch Casserole (Whole30 & AIP)
Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole (Whole30 & AIP)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
This recipe for bacon cheeseburger casserole transforms a childhood comfort food into an anti-inflammatory meal for the whole family. Make it the night of, save leftovers for later, or even freeze half of the batch for your newest gluten free weeknight favorite.
Ingredients
2 lb ground beef
3 cups sweet potato, chopped (about 1.5 medium sized sweet potatoes, reserve 1/2 cup for ‘Cheese’ Sauce)
8 slices nitrate free bacon, cooked and crumbled (use sugar free for Whole30)
1 cup green onion, chopped
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper (omit for AIP)
2 Tbsp coconut oil
‘Cheese’ Sauce
½ 13.5 oz can coconut cream
- .5 cups steamed sweet potato
1 tsp nutritional yeast
¼ tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Cook the bacon using your method of choice. I personally love to bake it – it gets nice and crispy in the oven. Here’s how you bake it: start by preheating your oven to 375°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, and lay bacon on top. Bake for 15-17 minutes depending on the thickness of your bacon. Remove from oven and let cool to crisp up more.
Meanwhile, steam your sweet potatoes. They should be fully cooked, but not mushy. I steam my potatoes on the stovetop using a steamer basket, but you can also put a bit of water into a large microwave safe bowl, add the chopped potato and microwave in 30 second increments until softened.
While you’re waiting for the bacon to cook and potatoes to steam, you can get started browning your beef. Melt coconut oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat, and add ground beef, sea salt, and black pepper. After 2-3 minutes cooking, add the green onion, and 2 ½ cups steamed sweet potato (reserve ½ a cup for the cheese sauce). Let cook until all the beef is browned and the sweet potatoes can caramelized a bit on the outside.
Crumble the cooked and cooled bacon and add to the beef mixture. Stir to combine.
Before opening your can of coconut cream, shake it well to combine the cream with any coconut water in the can. Pour half the can into a blender, add the remaining ½ cup sweet potato, nutritional yeast and sea salt. Blend to combine.
Pour sauce on top of the beef mixture in the skillet, and place the entire skillet into the oven. If you aren’t using a cast iron skillet, and your skillet isn’t safe to go in the oven, transfer the mixture to an oven safe baking dish before popping into the oven.
After about 5 minutes, carefully remove the skillet from the oven. Serve with pickles, red onions, cherry tomatoes, and even ketchup and mustard for a Whole30 compliant Bacon Cheeseburger fix!
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove top and oven
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: bacon cheeseburger casserole
I made this tonight! SO DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!
★★★★★
Yay! So glad you liked it!
Should we peel the sweet potatoes??
You don’t need to 🙂 Just scrub them before chopping.
It’s just in my house if make the recipe exactly how many servings will it be? I usually eat 4 oz meat portions!!
That would be 8 servings.