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)
Ingredients
- 2 lb ground beef
- 2.5 cups sweet potato, chopped (about 1.5 medium sized sweet potatoes)
- 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
- 1 batch Dairy Free Cheese Sauce
Instructions
- Start by steaming your sweet potatoes. They should be fully cooked, but not mushy.
- 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. Let cook until all the beef is browned.
- Add crumbled bacon to the beef mixture. Stir to combine.
- Pour the dairy free cheese sauce on top of the beef mixture in the skillet, and place the entire skillet into the oven. This is optional, to heat the cheese sauce all the way through.
- After about 5 minutes, carefully remove the skillet from the oven. Serve with pickles, red onions, cherry tomatoes, and even Whole30 approved ketchup and mustard for a Whole30 compliant Bacon Cheeseburger fix!
Notes
For the bacon:
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. Keep oven set to 375° for the final step.For the steamed sweet potatoes:
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.To heat the cheese sauce:
You can heat the cheese sauce prior to pouring on the dish if you prefer. If you aren’t using a cast iron skillet, and your skillet isn’t safe to go in the oven, you can heat the cheese sauce on the stovetop or in the microwave (be sure to cover!) before adding to the skillet, then you can skip heating through in the oven.Nutrition
This recipe is one of our favorites!! It tastes just like Bacon Cheeseburgers, without all the guilt!
Delicious! I made this exactly as written. I would not change a thing. The flavor is so good. I was afraid that the coconut cream in the sauce and the sweet potatoes in both sauce and casserole would make it sweet. I tasted the sauce and there was a distinct coconut flavor. But after pouring over the casserole, it was great. The hamburger and bacon even out the flavor and it isn’t sweet at all. I love spinach and mushrooms so I might add those next time. Thank you for such an easy and delicious meal!
Wait I don’t see the coconut cream in the recipe? What do I need that for?
Is the 718 cal for the whole recipe or per serving?? If per serving that’s a lot!
Thanks
Why are you promoting impossible burgers? This is not paleo and definitely not AIP. Toxic soup is what they are.
How can you substitute the coconut cream? My daughter has an autoimmune disease and also has food allergy to tree nuts coconut included.
I’m sorry, I’m not sure what else would be a good replacement. If she tolerates regular milk, soy milk, or tigernut (not actually a nut) milk you could try that. I’ve tried making with almond milk and it definitely changed the flavor, so be aware that it may taste different.
What are the nutritional numbers for this recipe? Tracking fat and carbs
Great question, I don’t currently calculate nutritional information for my recipes, but it’s something I will be adding in the near future. For now, I would suggest putting the ingredients and servings into a nutrition calculator so you can see if this fits into your macro guidelines.
Oh my gosh this is sooo delicious! Even my boys loved it! Do post the nutritional info please! I gotta are what other yummy recipes you have! Thanks.
Do you bake it in the oven on 375? (Just keep it on after cooking the bacon in it?)
I just updated the recipe – yes! The final bake it just to warm the cheese sauce a bit more without dirtying another dish to heat on the stove or in the microwave.
whoaaaa this was so good
Thank you, I’m so happy you liked it!
Is canned coconut cream the same as canned coconut milk?
Yes and no. Canned coconut milk has the coconut cream and water in the can. Canned coconut cream just has the water. If you don’t purchased coconut cream, you can leave a can of coconut milk in the refrigerator overnight and the cream will separate from the water. When you open the can (be very careful not to shake), the coconut cream will be at the top of the can and you can scoop it off.
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.
Should we peel the sweet potatoes??
You don’t need to 🙂 Just scrub them before chopping.
I made this tonight! SO DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!
Yay! So glad you liked it!