A casserole made up of just four ingredients might sound like it’s either too good to be true or completely devoid of flavor, but this one is neither of those things. It does have just four ingredients, but it’s very very real and is as tasty as a cheeseburger but with all the comfort of a casserole. I find myself making this on busy weeknights because it’s just so easy to throw together, but unlike some other last-minute meals I’ve tried out, I never hear any whining about this one once we all sit down to dinner.

I was skeptical about this four-ingredient thing at first because I couldn’t imagine that it would actually deliver on flavor, but there was no need to worry. (And to be fair, I’m counting the two cheeses as one ingredient, so it’s really five if you’re being nit-picky.) But all you need is some shell pasta, a couple of cans of tomato soup, a pound of ground beef, and some grated cheese (cheddar and mozzarella, but the combo is really up to you).

You simply boil the pasta and brown up the ground beef with whatever seasonings you happen to like (seasoned salt or Italian seasoning are great!) and then add them to a baking dish with the cheese and tomato soup.

You give it a nice big stir…

… and top it with some more cheese and bake. That’s all. That’s it. Dinner is done. And it’s SO good.

See, the tomato soup (especially Campbell’s) is sweetened just enough that it mimics the taste of ketchup fairly well so when it mingles with the cheese and the ground beef and the carby comfort of the shells, you’re reminded of a really great cheeseburger. And I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty much always in the mood for a cheeseburger.

But I’m also pretty much always in the mood for pasta too, so it’s a really good thing this casserole gives you the best of both worlds. And in just four ingredients!