eaty, cheesy, savory little “open face” sandwiches are always a family favorite. After baking, slice the loaves into easy to hold individual mini sandwiches. Stuffed french bread is an easy appetizer or main meal!
Welcome to My Kitchen Serenity! I hope you enjoy this home-cooked meal as much as we have over the years. The kids will think this ground beef and cheese stuffed french bread is fun to eat and the grown-ups will love a delicious, quick and easy comfort meal.
Stuffed french bread is an excellent meal choice for a busy family. It’s a meaty cheesy meal inside a loaf of bread, like a giant sandwich.
I love these kinds of make-ahead meals because you can prepare the beef filling a day or two in advance; then stuff the french bread right before baking.
For a change of pace, you could use cooked chuck roast instead of the ground hamburger meat. Just cook and shred the roast; then proceed with the rest of the recipe instructions.
What is Stuffed French Bread
Cooked hamburger meat, seasonings, and cheese are combined with evaporated milk and oatmeal. Then stuffed inside a loaf of french bread and baked in the oven. This easy family dinner is ready in 30 minutes. In a short amount of time, you’ll have a delicious hot homemade meal with easy cleanup.
Let’s take a quick glance at what’s needed:
Ingredients
see printable recipe card for details
Ground Beef. Substitute ground turkey if desired.
Onion.
Evaporated Milk. Evaporated milk is real milk that has had about 60% of its water removed by an evaporation process. This process creates a much more creamy, rich, savory milk than regular milk.
Egg. An egg is “binder” and makes all the ingredients blend together better.
Oatmeal. The oatmeal is simply used as a binder and thickener. Use quick oats or old fashioned.
Steak Sauce. A1 is my top choice.
Cheddar Cheese. Mild or Sharp both taste great.
Yellow Mustard. Mustard adds a little bit of a “twang” to the flavor, so please don’t leave it out!
French Bread. Instead of french bread, you can stuff small crusty rolls such as pistolets.
What is Evaporated Milk?
There are so many excellent ways to use evaporated milk instead of regular milk or cream in your recipes and even in your coffee! From creamy desserts to savory main dishes, evaporated milk is an excellent replacement for regular milk.
Oatmeal Varieties
It really doesn’t matter whether you use quick oats or old-fashioned oats for this recipe. But I would NOT recommend using instant oatmeal or steel oats. And trust me, your kids won’t even know they’re eating oatmeal. Ha!
Instructions
Step 1: Slice the french bread in half lengthwise and scoop some of the bread out of the middle. Set aside.
Step 2: Brown the hamburger meat with the onion and drain. Mix with remaining ingredients and spoon into the french bread halves. Top with cheese and bake.
Step 3: After baking, slice into hand-held size serving pieces.
These little open-faced “cheeseburgers” are creamy, cheesy, and delicious all by themselves. But you can drizzle some mustard or ketchup on top, or dip them into whatever condiment suits your fancy. A vinegar-based hot sauce really adds extra flavor so put a few drops on top. And don’t forget pickles on the side!
Possible Side Dish Options
This all-in-one meal is filling and satisfying all by itself. However, if you have a large crowd coming over, you could serve these sandwiches with a fresh vegetable platter. A green salad is always a great choice, too. Fresh fruit such as strawberries, kiwi, and pineapple are delicious sides!
Family Favorite Stuffed French Bread
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground beef, cooked and drained
- 1 ea 5 oz can Evaporated milk
- 1 Egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup Onion, diced
- 1/2 cup Oatmeal, uncooked, quick or regular
- 1 tbsp Yellow mustard
- 1 tbsp Steak sauce (such as A-1)
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 3 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups for beef mixture, 1 cup for topping)
- 1 Loaf of French Bread
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Slice the french bread in half lengthwise. Press down the inside of each half with your fingers, (or remove some of the bread) creating an indention to hold the meat mixture. Place each half onto a baking sheet.
- Brown the ground beef with the onion until the beef is done, remove from heat, and drain off the fat. Mix in the remaining ingredients. Stuff equally into each half, top with remaining cheese, and bake for about 20 minutes. Midway through cooking, check to see if the edges of the bread are browning too quickly. If so, loosely cover the loaves with foil and continue baking.
- After baking, slice into hand-held size serving pieces.
Notes
Here are some other recipes you may like. By the way, the chocolate chess pie recipe is super crazy good.
Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Pasta
One Pan Yogurt Marinated Chicken and Potatoes
Quick and Easy Red Beans and Rice with Sausage
Southern Shrimp and Rice Casserole
Side dishes to try are:
Please leave me a comment if you make this recipe. I’d love to hear from you. Let’s keep in touch!
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