This is the BEST cheesy keto cheeseburger casserole you'll ever make, with a secret cheat's cheese sauce.
It's delicious healthy comfort food that tastes just like a cheeseburger, just without the hamburger bun and the french fries.
This easy keto cheeseburger casserole recipe is quick to make with plenty of shredded cheddar cheese, bacon, cream cheese, and ground beef.
Every bite has flavored meat, fried bacon pieces, garlic, and a creamy cheese sauce that you can't get enough of.
Jump to:
- What is a cheeseburger casserole?
- What are the layers in a keto hamburger casserole?
- What is a cheat's cheese sauce?
- Ingredients
- How to make keto cheeseburger casserole
- How to store cheeseburger casserole
- How to defrost
- Substitutions
- How to make low-fat cheeseburger
- Expert recipe tips
- Keto beef recipe FAQs
- Best keto side dishes to serve with beef
- More keto ground beef recipes
- 📖 Recipe
- People also ask
- 💬 Comments
Top tip: This recipe also inspired me to make a cheat's Big Mac salad too. So if you are craving your regular take out or fast food, save your time and save your money and make a homemade burger salad instead.
What is a cheeseburger casserole?
A keto cheeseburger casserole has all your favorite flavors of a regular cheeseburger but without the traditional carbs, hamburger buns, and fries.
So you can enjoy the traditional cheeseburger taste but stay within your macros and stay on track with your low-carb diet or keto diet.
It is a family-friendly dinner that is also keto-friendly and perfect for meal prep. It can be frozen and can be made ahead.
What are the layers in a keto hamburger casserole?
There are only two simple layers to your low-carb burger casserole and they can both be made in under 10 minutes and then baked in a casserole dish.
The first is a layer of ground beef, onion, garlic, and cream cheese.
The second layer is my secret cheat's cheese sauce poured over the top.
You can add regular cheeseburger toppings such as yellow mustard, gherkins, and pickles, all topped off with a shredded cheese crust.
What is a cheat's cheese sauce?
This is known as the cheat's version of the cheeseburger casserole because there is no complicated cheese sauce to make.
In fact, my secret cheat's cheese sauce is such a simple recipe, you throw everything together in a small mixing bowl and pour it over the cooked ground beef. It couldn't get any easier.
What I love about cheesy keto bacon cheeseburger casserole, is that you can prepare the quick and easy family dinner while you are waiting for your oven to heat to the required temperature.
Sprinkle with shredded cheese, then pop the delicious family casserole in the preheated oven.
Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients to make the keto cheeseburger casserole recipe. Everything can be found in most local grocery stores.
All quantities, ingredients, and detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
Ground Beef Layer
- Onion - quartered and sliced. You can use onion powder or dried onion flakes also.
- Crushed garlic - minced garlic, or even garlic powder will do.
- Ground beef - or another meat (see below). Lower fat ground beef (lean beef) is best.
- Cream cheese
- Bacon - chopped bacon, sliced, cubed, crumbled bacon,or cooked bacon
- Salt and pepper - add seasoning to taste
Cheat's Cheese Sauce
- Eggs - medium-size is best but you can use the egg conversion charts if you have different sized eggs on hand
- Heavy cream - heavy whipping cream, pouring cream
- Cheese - use any variety of cheese below
- Mustard - choose mustard without any added sugars. Dijon mustard is nice in a low-carb cheeseburger casserole.
- Gherkins or chopped pickles - sliced, cubed, chopped.
- Salt and pepper - add seasoning to taste
- Extra cheese - to sprinkle over and make a crunchy cheese topping.
How to make keto cheeseburger casserole
There are two easy layers to the easy cheeseburger casserole recipe. In between each layer is where you can go crazy adding all the favorite fillings you like to eat in a regular cheeseburger. Gherkins? Bacon? More cheese?
STEP 1: The ground beef layer
Fry the bacon pieces in your frying pan or cast iron skillet with a little olive oil until cooked then remove and set aside.
With the bacon grease left in the frying pan, fry (saute) the chopped onion, crushed garlic, and ground beef until thoroughly cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste, and stir through the cream cheese.
Pour the cooked ground beef layer into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the cooked bacon pieces over.
Add some sliced pickles/gherkins (pickled in vinegar, check for added sugars). You can omit these if you are a gherkin hater, or only place them on half the low-carb bacon cheeseburger casserole if your children don't like pickles/gherkins.
STEP 2: The cheese sauce layer
Now it's time to make the easy cheese sauce. Mix together the fresh eggs, heavy cream, shredded cheese, and spices together in a medium bowl.
Pour the cheat's cheese sauce over the hearty beef layer, then add plenty of grated/shredded cheese to make a super cheesy crust. This is what makes the low-carb cheeseburger casserole taste so amazing.
STEP 3: Bake
Place the cheeseburger casserole into the preheated oven at 180C/350F on the middle shelf (wire rack).
Bake for 15 minutes until the shredded cheese is golden, crunchy, and crispy.
How to store cheeseburger casserole
This is the perfect keto dinner for meal prep. You can make a double batch and freeze it in individual portions for a quick and easy keto freezer meal.
Once cooked, remove the casserole dish from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool down.
Using a sharp knife, cut the keto hamburger casserole into squares then place each individual portion into a meal prep container (airtight container). Label with the date.
To store the whole casserole, wrap the baking dish in plastic wrap, then wrap it in aluminum foil, before storing it in the freezer.
Place the airtight food storage container (or plastic food storage bag) in the refrigerator for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
How to defrost
Remove the keto cheeseburger casserole from the freezer and leave it covered on the kitchen bench for 2-4 hours, or microwave using the defrost setting.
To reheat, place in the oven for 20 minutes, or in the microwave using the reheat function.
Make sure there are no cold spots and it is thoroughly heated.
Substitutions
There are quite a few different ingredients you can substitute in this keto cheeseburger casserole if you need to.
You can use ground turkey or ground chicken instead of beef in the ground beef mixture. I'm a huge fan of bacon, but you can leave it out or use turkey bacon instead.
For the sauce, you can add a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce or chili sauce (such as tobacco) for a little more flavor. It's safe to enjoy these sauces on the keto diet.
How to make low-fat cheeseburger
- Use 90% lean ground beef.
- Drain any excess fat from the ground beef mixture before pouring it into the casserole dish to bake.
- Use low-fat cream cheese.
- You can add some cauliflower rice to one of the layers of this lean ground beef casserole. Cauliflower rice is a low-carb vegetable that will bulk up your dinner but without any added carbs.
Expert recipe tips
This recipe is so simple, it has to be seen to be believed.
You make the two easy layers and throw them into your baking dish then bake in the oven.
But if you're running out of time, you can simply throw the keto cheeseburger casserole recipe all together and omit the first step of browning and cooking the beef.
Yes, that's right. I sometimes mix the raw ground beef, diced onion, crushed garlic, and cream cheese together in a large mixing bowl.
Place it all into the prepared casserole dish, add your favourite burger fillings then cover the ground meat layer with my cheat's cheese sauce and extra cheddar cheese.
If you do have time to cook the beef first, the bacon cheeseburger casserole only requires 15 minutes of cooking time for the sauce and cheese to bake and create a crunchy cheesy topping.
If you are using raw beef, cook for 40 minutes to ensure all the meat is thoroughly cooked through the centre of the casserole dish.
Keto beef recipe FAQs
If you don’t see your question in this list, please leave it in the comments.
There are only 3.4 grams net carbs in each serving of this easy keto cheeseburger casserole.
A typical cheeseburger with a bun is not keto-friendly because of the bread. Bunless cheeseburgers can be both gluten-free recipes and low-carb.
Missing the bun? Simply make this delicious keto hamburger bun (it won't fall apart on you!)
This depends on the type of pickles you are talking about. Always read the ingredients and do not eat pickles that have sugar listed. Dill pickles are usually keto-friendly, but sweet ones or bread and butter ones are not.
Yes, you can use ground chicken, ground pork, ground turkey, and even ground lamb, depending on which meat you prefer, instead of ground beef.
The heavy cream makes the sauce creamy and easy to pour.
The best cheese for a cheeseburger is cheddar cheese, American cheese, Swiss cheese, Jack cheese, Monterrey Jack, and even vegan cheese can be used (as long as the cheese melts).
You can cook bacon in the air fryer or on a large skillet on medium-high heat with a little olive oil until crispy. Drain on kitchen paper to stop soggy bacon.
You can use sour cream instead of cream cheese, and here are the 10 best swaps for cream cheese.
Best keto side dishes to serve with beef
Forget French fries with your keto cheeseburger casserole, try these low-carb and keto side dishes instead. Spaghetti squash is a light and buttery side dish the whole family will love alongside any keto casserole.
There are so many delicious low-carb and keto side dishes to serve with keto ground beef recipes. Beef is a family-friendly dinner and so you need to choose easy healthy side dishes that the whole family will love.
Here are some of my favorite keto beef side dishes.
- Cheesy keto garlic bread
- Easy mashed cauliflower
- The best low-carb bread, pasta, and potato substitutes
- Low-carb keto almond flour bread
- Baked cheesy broccoli and cauliflower
In addition to the side dishes above, I love to serve this dish with a huge side salad and homemade 1-minute mayo or the Big Mac salad dressing.
More keto ground beef recipes
For more healthy recipes the whole family will love, these keto recipes are a few ideas for tonight.
Each recipe is gluten-free and perfect for a low-carb diet or keto diet.
- Keto cheeseburger pizza (mozzarella pizza crust)
- Sloppy Joes (1-minute muffins)
- 15 Best keto ground beef recipes
- Keto Instant Pot chili (with ground beef)
📖 Recipe
Please rate this recipe.
Keto Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole Recipe
Recipe Video
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Ingredients
Ground Beef Layer
- 1 onion quartered and sliced
- 1 clove garlic minced crushed
- 750 g (1.65 lb) ground/minced beef
- 60 g (2 oz) cream cheese full fat
- 3 slices bacon diced
- +/- salt and pepper to taste
Cheats Cheese Sauce
- 3 eggs - medium
- 125 ml (½ cup) heavy whipping cream
- 100 g (1 cup) shredded/grated cheese
- 2 tablespoon mustard
- 2 dill gherkin pickles sliced
- +/- salt and pepper to taste
- 50 g (½ cup) shredded/grated cheese to sprinkle over
Equipment
Instructions
Ground Beef Layer
- Fry the bacon pieces until cooked then remove and set aside.
- Fry the onion, garlic and beef until thoroughly cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste, stir through the cream cheese.
- Pour the beef layer into the baking dish. Sprinkle the bacon pieces over.
Cheats Cheese Sauce
- Mix the eggs, cream, shredded/grated cheese, mustard, salt and pepper together. Pour the cheese sauce over the beef and bacon.
- Place slices of gherkins/pickles all over the top then cover with the remaining shredded/grated cheese.
- Bake at 180C/350F for 15 minutes until the cheese is golden and crispy. Serve with salad and 1-minute mayonnaise.
5-INGREDIENTS COOKBOOK
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Approximate nutrition information is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. For the most accurate nutritional data, use the actual ingredients and brands you used in your preferred nutrition calculator.
People also ask
Can you have tomato ketchup on the keto diet?
Regular ketchup (tomato sauce) has too much sugar for the ketogenic diet. Instead you can buy (or make) sugar-free ketchup which is fewer grams of net carbs.
What is keto taco casserole?
A taco casserole has layers of tortilla chips, refried beans, ground beef, and plenty of cheese. It's a great meal prep recipe the entire family loves (and even picky eaters eat).
The best thing about a juicy bacon cheeseburger casserole is that with a few simple swaps, you can make a keto taco casserole. Add some tomato paste, chili powder, taco seasoning, and cover with the remaining cheese.
What are the best low-carb casseroles for a busy weeknight?
When you want to enjoy delicious recipes but don't have time to cook mid-week, a frozen low-carb casserole is perfect for meal planning. You can freeze a whole casserole or individual portions.
Easy chili keto casserole (chili dog casserole), zucchini and bacon casserole, and keto breakfast casserole with bacon are a great way to get a delicious meal on the table when life gets busy.
Marilyn
What is a serving size please
Rachel Groff
Hello, a serving size is 1/6th of the casserole. I just cut the casserole into 6 even pieces and serve.
Anne
I thought the fats were to be kept very low this seems high.
Libby Jenkinson
Which ratio of macros you choose depends on which diet you follow. If you are on a low-carb diet or keto diet, then fats are usually quite high, but not to excess, this is one of the biggest mistakes I see in Ditch The Carbs PRO members when we do our tracking challenges. However, if you are on a low-fat diet, then you may want to buy lean beef and a little less cheese. You can use my keto calculator. But remember, fat is a LIMIT, not a GOAL.
Zoe
Hi just have a question before I make this. What can I sub the bacon with?
Thanks in advance
Best Regards
Libby Jenkinson
Are you crazy? Remove bacon? Only kidding, you can omit the bacon entirely or add something that you can tolerate or prefer such as turkey bacon or another cheeseburger staple.
Jo Harwood
We love this quick and simple to make but sooo tasty. Tastes even better the next day. A real favourite
Tobius
This was great, I did change one or two things but mostly kept it as is, I used vegan cheese as I can't eat regular cheese, and I used minced/ground chicken as I can't eat beef too often, other than that I kept it as it, and I drained the chicken as well as I didn't want any grease happening.
I am the only person here so I froze the rest for meals during the week, when I want it I take out a portion zap it in the microwave for about 4 minutes or so and wala dinner 🙂
Thank you for a great recipe
Anna Funnell
Made this last night and served with salad and mayo, and my non-keto burger-loving husband and teenage son LOVED it and didn't even notice that they'd eaten an entirely keto meal! They even asked me to make it again! Win! 🙂
C.J.
Thank you. My dad loved this. We are totally going to do this again. But I did make a few changes. Instead, we use two cups of ground beef, Natures Seasoning instead of salt and pepper, and only half an onion. We don't like mustard or pickles so we didn't use those. But thank you very much for this recipe. He really liked it. Thanks again! ; - )
Lynds
I made this tonight and it was really good. Thanks!!!
john harding
This recipe will not print, and if saved the page will not open. If that is characteristic of the site, it's practically useless.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Hey there John, I wonder if your printer settings have anything that is messing up the print function? Here is the direct link to print the recipe. However, the button from the top of any recipe page (Jump To Recipe, Print recipe) or inside the recipe card itself should take you to the printing page too. I hope this works for you.
Rod
Wow John, learn how to use a computer. Click, drag, copy, print. How hard is that? They did a great job on the recipe with US or metric measurements, and adjustable servings! Just go away.
Emily
I make this all of the time for my family. I add fresh tomatoes into the cheese sauce and fresh jalapeños in with the onions. Perfect every time!
Ismael Lopez
Are the nutrition facts per serving or for the whole recipe?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Per serving as per recipe 🙂
ALEX
Well, you have to think during prep ingredients as well while cooking.... Don'd blame people because of your stupidity Kimberly
T.
I follow this recipe exact and it is always amazing! This is one of my go to recipes! I have to make it at least two to three times a month. I made it for my in laws and they loved it as well! Thank you so much!
Ann
Very delicious! I took the advice and used 2 eggs instead of 3 and drained the fat off the beef. I drizzled sugar free ketchup on it before baking and also placed under the broiler for a few minutes. This is a keeper!! Taste just like a cheeseburger!
Kimberly
I was very disappointed. To start I followed the instructions exactly and it was greasy. I wasnt sure if I should strain my meat. I assumed that since you're adding cream cheese that you leave it because no where in the instructions does it say to strain. Bad idea. I feel sick to my stomach from all the grease. Also the cheesy sauce ended up way too eggy and just overall didnt look appealing. I do not think I will be making this again.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I'm sorry to read you didn't enjoy this, it is one of the most loved and enjoyed recipes here, especially for families. As per the recipe, try not to choose super fatty ground beef, otherwise, as you have discovered, too much fat will render out.
Jill
I made this tonight. I decided to cook a whole lb. Of bacon in my free pan. Then I browned my ground beef. It was a lot of grease at that point so I drained off most of it then added the onion, garlic and eventually the cream cheese. I am not a person to use exact measurements because I'm used to cooking for a big family. I probably had 2lbs of ground beef. I used 3 eggs. Little more of the whipping cream. Anyway this was amazing.
You should definitely try it again, but drain your meat. 10 stars from my family.
Thanks for sharing!
Janny
I absolutely love this recipe, made it many times over, sometimes with tomato purée, today I’ve used Italian herb seasoning. I make enough for a few meals, and have it cold with salad or with the garlic bread....I use 5%fat beef, and usually fry the bacon with it..xxx
Kara
I was overall really impressed with this! But IMO 3 eggs was too many (would use 2 next time), and 1 clove of garlic was definitely NOT enough! I will definitely make this again.
Kathy
looking for low carb meals for me that my guys will like and this was a real hit. It tastes great.They ate theirs on Hamburger buns while I stuck to eating it plain.One question though, it came out more like a fritatta especially around the edges. Did I do something wrong? I read it several times and I didn't see where the sauce should be heated and the cheese melted-just mixed cold and pored over the meat mixture.I'd appreciate your opinion on why it was like that
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I'm chuffed that you and your kiddos loved this recipe, it's my 12-year old's favourite recipe when it's his night to cook dinner. I wonder if your dish too small so there was a large amount of cheat's cheese sauce on the top to create a frittata crust? The genius about the cheats cheese sauce is that no prior cooking is required. Just pour it over and voila. I'm sure it will improve the next time you give it a go. Has anyone else here had this problem? How did you solve it so we can help Kathy?
TLE
I didn't see anywhere where it said what size dish to use.
Debbie
What size dish is recommended?
Libby Jenkinson
It depends on how deep you like your cheeseburger casserole. I tend to use a medium-sized casserole dish so I can layer it up and still have plenty of room for a thick cheesy baked crust.
J
Delicious! I used more bacon and incorporated some pickles.
Stacey Nieuwenhoff
When I made this I thought it would taste really good with a little bit of ranch dressing. This would probably add about 1 net carb per serving I think.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Great idea!
Iwanna Shoptaugh
Great and wonderful dish
Justine
Has anyone tried this in the slow cooker with a tea towel on the lid?
Sammie
Well, I modified this a bit, but it turned out fantastic! I completely forgot to add the mustard, but I have a recipe for keto cheeseburger stromboli that includes sugar free ketchup so I added some to the "sauce " . Didn't add the pickles as I don't like them when they're cooked, and I put my bacon on top of the cheese topping instead of underneath so it would stay crispy. Had to bake it almost an hour but I think that was because of the additional moisture from my ketchup. My BF has been taking it for lunches with a side salad for the last few days and can't stop raving about this recipe so thank you so much for sharing it, I'll be making this many times in the future, it's great comfort food!!!!
Scott Haggins
I see the nutrition but it doesn’t say serving size??? Anyone know
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
The recipe states it serves 6.
Jane
AHHHMAZING
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
WOW, thank you!! My 12 yr old agrees. Hands down this is his favourite recipe.
BexG
This turned out great with some minor modifications based on what I had on hand and my picky husband not liking things that are "too eggy". He and everyone else loved it and ig.
- used 2 eggs instead of 3
- drained the ground beef before adding in the cream cheese
- used some club house garlic plus seasoning and tossed in a cubed up green pepper with the onions
- used 4 cloves of garlic (what can I say, we love our garlic)
- used bacons bits and no pickles in the bake
_ used fresh lettuce, tomatoes, chopped red onions and pickles as garnish (added another crunchy, fresh texture)
Adam
We have a new baby so my brain is kinda mush. I made this last night ’cause I figured it would be delicious (it was) and easy (which is also was). Anyway, we were eating it in a zoned out exhausted state and I said to my wife “you know what would be good? If you took a piece of this casserole and put to between 2 pieces of bread” She looked at me like I was dropped as a baby. I then realized what I had said and we both had a good laugh. Then the baby laughed.
Thanks for putting it together.
I added some liquid smoke and Worcestershire sauce to the gr beef to give it a little pep.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Haha you made me laugh too. Isn't it funny how old habits die hard. Even your baby found it funny, too cute!
Glynis
This is definitely one to try. I don’t like mustard so don’t have it in my cupboard. What could I use instead?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Maybe add some additional garlic?
Missy
I know the serving size is 6, but can anyone tell me how much that ends up being? I made a batch and some was eaten and now I can’t divide up properly.
Thanks!
Alice
Yum! This actually tastes like a cheeseburger.
Reading the comments, I think people need to realise that the 'cheese sauce' isn't trying to be bechamel.. Its replicating the mayo-melted-cheese flavours you'd get in a cheeseburger.
This made me one for dinner and one for the freezer (feeding two people). We served it with cauliflower mash.
Thanks for creating a recipe and sharing it, I appreciate how simple to follow they are!
Liileey
I made mine (for the first time) yesterday with ground turkey. Really delicious. Thank you!!!
Jim
I made some changes to make this more Keto friendly.
First I brought this up to 9 servings for my family
Replace the onion with dehydrated onion (1 Tbsp) dehd. has less carbs than fresh
Add Worcestershire sauce (1 Tbsp) for a more meaty (umami) flavor
No one uses medium eggs. Change to 4 large eggs
Change mustard to 3 tsp dry mustard to keep the cheesy flavor, but takes the mustardy flavor out
Remove pickles and have people add them to their own serving
Remember... these are based on changing the recipe to 9 servings.
This brought the carbs down to 1g per serving.
GINNY
I made this to nite with half and half. Combine cream cheese with sour cream and green onion. I did six slices of bacon. One pound of ground round. And 1 and 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar. Put sugar free ketchup on top by Heinz. delicipus!