The Pioneer Woman’s Sour Cream Noodle Bake Is a Comforting Winter Recipe That Uses up Pantry Staples

It’s the time of year when all you want to do is hunker down with your favorite warm and hearty dishes to wait out the cold weather. And Ree Drummond has one that you need to add to your winter menu. It’s her Sour Cream Noodle Bake, which she promises even the pickiest of eaters will love — plus, it’s one of those dishes that makes great use of some of your old faithful pantry staples.

To make the noodle bake, start by preheating your oven and browning ground chuck (or ground beef) in your skillet. You could sub in whatever ground meat you have in your freezer, but Drummond notes on her website that ground chuck will give you the most flavor.

Drain the fat from your skillet after your meat has browned and add in a can of tomato sauce, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. And while all the flavors are mingling in the skillet, cook a package of egg noodles in boiling water until just al dente.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine cottage cheese and sour cream. Add your cooked egg noodles to this mixture along with some diced green onions and more black pepper.

It’s finally time to assemble the casserole. First, add half your noodle mixture to a baking dish, then top it with your tomato sauce mixture, and sprinkle shredded cheddar on top. Then repeat these layers once more. Bake until the cheese has fully melted and you’re ready to dig in!

This is one of those recipes you can tweak to best fit what you have in the fridge. For example, you can sub out cottage cheese for ricotta, add in some leftover alfredo sauce, top with any shredded cheese you have on hand, or add in onion, garlic, or other herbs for more depth of flavor. It’s so simple, you can change it up every time you make it!

Grab the full recipe for Drummond’s Sour Cream Noodle Bake here and get your winter casserole on.

Before you go, check out Garten’s best dinner recipes below: