Slow Cooker Cowboy Casserole

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Slow Cooker Cowboy Casserole

This slow cooker cowboy casserole is hearty and completely delicious.

Slow Cooker John Wayne Casserole
Slow Cooker John Wayne Casserole

This recipe for Slow Cooker Cowboy Casserole is a cowboy casserole recipe that can't be missed! This delicious and easy slow cooker ground beef recipe is meaty, cheesy, and packed with flavor.

Sour cream and mayo make this casserole creamy, while ground beef, taco seasoning, and Cheddar cheese give this dish its savory flavor. Refrigerator biscuits hold the whole casserole together, and make it super satisfying! This is a terrific recipe to serve for a weeknight meal.

The wonderful thing about cooking a dish in your slow cooker is you can prepare the night before and turn on your slow cooker before you leave in the morning. When you return home a fabulous, hot dish is waiting to be served from your slow cooker. Your cowboys' tummies will be happy once they bite into this unforgettable Cowboy Casserole.

 

Serves4

Preparation Time30 min

Slow Cooker Time HIGH3 hr

Slow Cooker Time LOW6 hr

Cooking Vessel Size6-quart slow cooker

Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 (1.25-ounce) packet taco seasoning
  • 1 (1-pound) package refrigerated biscuits
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 (14-1/2-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, drained of excess liquid
  • 2 (4-ounce) cans diced green chiles
  • 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Instructions

Preparing the Ingredients

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

  2. While oven is preheating, Turn on stove to high and start heating a large frying pan. Crumble the ground beef into the heated pan. Use a wooden spoon to break up the ground beef. Let the beef cook for 2 minutes.

  3. While beef is cooking, prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper on it. Place biscuits on top of the parchment paper. Bake the biscuits for about 16 minutes in the preheated oven, or until nice and brown.

  4. Add the taco seasoning into the ground beef. Stir and continue using the wooden spoon to break up the beef chunks.

  5. While beef continues cooking, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, and flour in a medium bowl and whisk together until it's creamy and smooth.

  6. When beef is totally cooked through and nice and brown, drain off any excess grease.

Assembling the Casserole

  1. In a large 6-quart greased slow cooker place as many biscuits on the bottom of the crock that will fit in one layer. Cut any extra biscuits into quarters and fit them carefully into any gaps in the biscuit layer on the bottom of the slow cooker.

  2. Place ground beef evenly over the top of the biscuit layer.

  3. Then spoon diced tomatoes over the top of the ground beef evenly.

  4. Next, add the 2 cans of green chiles and spread over the tomatoes evenly.

  5. Next scrape the sour cream/mayo mixture out of the bowl and spread evenly over the top of the green chiles.

  6. Finally, sprinkle the cheese over the top.

Cooking and Serving

  1. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours or on LOW for 4 to 6 hours.

  2. Using a serving spoon scoop down deep to get all the layers and serve and enjoy!

Want to Make This in the Oven Instead?

If you're looking to adapt this slow cooker recipe into one that you can just pop into the oven, we took the time to convert the recipe for you (with a little help from our friends at RecipeLion). 

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Brown ground beef and add taco seasoning and water, according to packet instructions; set aside.

  2. Combine sour cream, mayonnaise, and flour in a medium bowl and whisk together until it's creamy and smooth.

  3. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish. Then layer as many biscuits that will fit onto the bottom of the dish. Place ground beef evenly over the top of the biscuit layer. Then spoon diced tomatoes and 2 cans of green chiles over the top of the ground beef evenly. Next scrape the sour cream/mayo mixture out of the bowl and spread evenly over the top of the green chiles. Sprinkle cheese on top. 

  4. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until edges of dough are lightly browned.

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The servings for this recipe is 4. Is that correct?? I'm thinking it should be at least 6-8. Making this now.

This slow cooker 'John Wayne Casserole' looks amazing and I can't wait to try it, especially since the nights have turned cold now. I am just curious how the casserole got it's name? It seems more like a Mexican dish, with the taco flavorings, and John Wayne always makes me think of All American things.

The photograph of this slow cooker John Wayne casserole is mouthwatering. I think surfing for a recipe is dangerous when you are hungry like going into the grocery store on an empty stomach and buy way more than you intended. I have located the dinner offering for tonight.

This is delicious, and so easy to prepare! Once the ingredients are layered in the slow cooker, you can clean up the kitchen and go on with other tasks. We like this with cornbread instead of biscuits, and with double sour cream and no mayo. I add a can or two of drained red or black beans and a diced sweet onion. The kids snack on leftovers on corn chips or in taco shells or burrito wraps.

This Slow Cooker John Wayne Casserole looks very satisfying. After a long day on the dairy farm completing daily chores I am sure this recipe will satisfy the manliest man. We have four of those working around these parts. Do you think this recipe will serve a family of six?

I am going to make this but would like another suggestion instead of green chiles?

Use sweet bell peppers anytime if you want a substitute for hot peppers.

Sounds like a great dish to satisfy all the kids in the family, for sure. It sounds delicious. I agree that it would be great with refried beans or black beans. Pinto beans as well. I'm willing to give this a try. I substitute ground turkey for the ground beef because we're not big red meat eaters.

I think I'd sub beans, black beans or fefried beans for the tomato

This sounds like it would be good, except I don't think I would put the biscuits on the bottom, maybe on the top instead, otherwise, I might use crushed tortilla chips to top it with since it calls for taco seasoning. I have made a similar casserole with a biscuit topping that I baked in the oven, not in a crock pot. It would be a fun recipe to try with a few modifications! What would you change or add?

Who could go wrong with a casserole named for The Duke? Nice hardy casserole with all the classic ingredients for a warming meal on a cold winter's night. I will add some onions to the skillet first to carmelize before adding the ground beef. And maybe a small amount of bell pepper.

I'm not exactly sure what a cowboy casserole entails, since I've never heard the term before, but this looks delicious and I am certainly willing to give it a try!

I feel very silly asking, but what is a refrigerator biscuit? As I haven't made the dish yet, the site is asking me for a rating. It sounds like a 5, but as I haven't tasted it, I'll give it a 4.

Canned biscuits like Pillsbury or what ever other brand is at your local store. Don't use flaky or layered one as they'll get soggy easier than plain old buttermilk.

I think I am going to try putting cornbread in the bottom. Anyone tried this?

That's a really good idea!! I haven't tried it with this recipe, but I have a cornbread pot pie that is similar with cornbread on top. I think it would work well on the bottom too! Let me know how it turns out )

Another tasty option is to use (canned or fresh) butter croissants. They're available in a store brand at your grocer's dairy case. Should you prefer to use fresh croissants, you can purchase them from your local membership warehouse bakery section. Enjoy!

Made this the other night. My husband liked it as did I, but the biscuits got burned and gummy. I cooked it for 3 hours on low. Any suggestions for the biscuit issue?

I often have this same problem with the burning even when cooking it for a shorter time on a lower setting. I've found the wetter ingredients usually do that, so see the reply below about draining the liquid from the other ingredients before adding it into the pot.

Do the biscuits get soggy?

The biscuits shouldn't get overly soggy, but if you're concerned about this, we suggest you drain as much excess liquid from the beef before adding it to the slow cooker with the biscuits. Also, make sure you drain the liquid from the canned, diced tomatoes and green chilies as well. This should help with any sogginess that might occur. Thanks for your comment! -Editor, AllFreeSlowCookerRecipes.com

how much onion is supposed to be used? (In step 4)

ginnyjenks 9225616 There isn't any onion used in this recipe, however, if you wanted to use onion, we'd suggest about a 1/2 cup. Hope that helps! -Editor, AFSCR.com

Update to my previous comment. The directions are to cook 4 to 6 hours if on low. Since cooking temperatures can vary from pot to pot, be certain you check your dish after a couple of hours on low. I turned mine off after 3 hours on low, and it was overcooked and almost inedible. I'll try this dish again, but will probably just bake it in a regular oven for about 25 minutes.

This dish is cooking in my crock pot as we speak and the aroma in the room is simply amazing. This is the first time I have made this recipe and I can't wait to taste it. I did want to mention something, however. Your ingredients list does not mention diced onion; yet, your instructions in Step 4 are to add diced onion and taco seasoning to the ground meat. You may want to modify the recipe as this may tend to confuse some of our more inexperienced cooks. Thanks

Olladywho 1135504 - Combining the ingredients and allowing them to cook together enriches the flavor and solidifies the mixture. It's a similar concept with any casserole. Hope this helps! Editor, AllFreeSlowCookerRecipes.com

On the John Wayne recipe. ,everything is cooked already ,why would you need to cook for 4 hrs.?

So that everything flavors through properly.

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