Jalapeño Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
This Jalapeño Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole has all of the rich flavors of a classic cheeseburger and it's made with nourishing ingredients.
Ingredients
Creamy Cashew "Cheese" Sauce:
- 1.5 cups raw cashews
- 3/4 cup beef broth
- Juice of two lemons
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
Hamburger Filling:
- 10 oz bacon sliced thinly
- 1 cup red onion minced
- ½ cup red bell pepper minced
- 2 Tablespoons fresh jalapeno ribbed seeded and minced, plus more sliced in rounds for garnish
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 3 cloves fresh garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 20 turns freshly-cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup unsweetened ketchup I use Primal Kitchen brand
- 1/4 cup yellow mustard
- ¾ cup beef broth
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Add your cashews to a bowl and cover them with hot water to soak while you fry the bacon.
- In a large skillet, add your sliced bacon to the pan and turn the pan to medium-high heat. Fry your bacon bits until crisp then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Remove all of the bacon grease leaving behind two tablespoons in your skillet.
- Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the red onion, red bell pepper and jalapeño. Saute 1-2 minutes until veggies begin to soften. Push veggies to outer portion of the pan and add your ground beef in the middle. Break up quickly, then leave undisturbed in the pan for 1-2 minutes to begin browning.
- Stir in minced garlic, spices, salt and pepper and let saute until beef is all broken up and cooked through.
- Stir in ketchup, mustard and beef broth and let mixture come to a simmer. Let hamburger filling simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10-15 minutes.
- While hamburger filling is simmering, make your "cheese sauce."
- Drain cashews and add to a high-speed blender with the remaining cheese sauce ingredients. Blend on high speed until completely smooth, scraping down sides midway with a spatula. It should be the consistency of a normal cheese sauce. Pourable, but thick. If mixture is too thick, just add more beef broth.
- Transfer your hamburger filling to an 8x8 casserole dish and spread evenly. Top evenly with cashew cheese sauce, smoothing the top. Finish by adding the reserved crumbled bacon and sliced jalapeños.
- Bake on the upper rack of the oven for 10-15 minutes until bubbling and golden yellow colored.
- Serve casserole topped with your favorite cheeseburger vegetables. I like using diced roma tomatoes, shredded lettuce and pickles.