Growing up, my mom made something that we just called “casserole” because it was the only casserole we ever had in our house. I LOVED it. (Still do.) It was made up of pasta shells, cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, tomato sauce, ground beef, and sometimes some green onion if she was feeling fancy. I saw this and immediately thought of that beloved casserole — it has a lot of the same delicious stuff going on. My mom’s casserole is one that makes some people raise an eyebrow… Cottage cheese with pasta and red sauce? This Sour Cream Beef Noodle Casserole might raise the same concerns. But not for me! I know enough to know that this combo is just comfort food through and through.

You don’t need a lot here. Some ground beef, some egg noodles, a couple of cans of tomato sauce, some onion and garlic, some Italian seasoning, and then the best part — the sour cream, cottage cheese, and cheddar.

To start, you cook your egg noodles and then you mix the sour cream and cottage cheese right into them so that every bite of this will be a little creamy.

And you brown the ground beef, onion, and garlic and simmer it in some tomato sauce that’s only seasoned with a bit of Italian seasoning. Some people might wonder why you wouldn’t use an actual jarred marinara or even a more robust homemade marinara but in these types of ground beef-pasta casseroles, a simpler tomato sauce always tastes right to me.

Put half of the noodle mixture in a baking dish and top it with half of the meat sauce. Repeat.

Then, sprinkle that cheddar over the top and bake.

The cheese on top gets a little ooey-gooey, the cottage cheese melts enough that you’d never know it’s cottage cheese, and the onions and beef provide a little extra chew against the tender noodles.

It’s kind of basic, it’s kind of homely. But sometimes that’s just the kind of dinner you need.

The kind of dinner that no one ever complains about, the kind of dinner that everyone gobbles up… but one that’s all about comfort and convenience too.