Easy John Wayne Casserole

This easy recipe combines layers of ground beef, sour cream, cheese and tomatoes on top of a simple Bisquick crust. The perfect delicious, quick weeknight dinner!  

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While our family doesn’t mind tomato soup and recipes that use cooked tomatoes, oddly enough, none of us are big fans of tomatoes when they are fresh.

But I love to garden and since tomatoes grow well and are easy to take care of, I always end up planting some. But then, of course, I find myself looking for ways to use up all those tomatoes that we harvest! Which is how I discovered this recipe.

Why We Love John Wayne Casserole

A comfort food type of recipe, this John Wayne Casserole is….hearty, creamy, flavorful and just plain delicious.

Our children all love it, even the pickiest eater. And I love that it helps to get them eating more tomatoes.

It is quick to prep and is ready to eat in just 45 minutes, which in my opinion is great for a weeknight dinner.

Plus, it’s also budget-friendly. And with grocery prices rising, that’s more of a help than ever!

Watch Video: Learn How to Make This Recipe

Ingredients Needed for John Wayne Casserole with Bisquick

• Ground Beef – You can easily swap for ground turkey if you prefer.
• Onion – This is my favorite handy gadget to make chopping the onions a cinch!
• Sour Cream – Greek yogurt works too, although I do think the sour cream gives it a slightly better taste overall.
• Mayonnaise
• Cheddar Cheese
• Garlic Powder – You can use granulated garlic or jarred minced garlic instead.  See the recipe notes for more details on this!
• Bisquick – I personally like to use my homemade Bisquick Mix. It’s cheaper and I know exactly what ingredients are in it! But any variety of plain Bisquick should work fine, even gluten-free.
• Cold Water 
• Tomatoes – If you don’t want to use fresh tomatoes, you can swap these for one (15 ounce) can instead. Or if you are like me and can diced tomatoes, you can substitute with a pint of those.
• Paprika 

How to Make this Recipe

STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease an 8×8 baking pan, then set aside.

STEP 2: In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and diced onion (drain when fully cooked).

STEP 3: While that’s cooking, in a separate bowl combine the sour cream, mayo, cheese, and garlic powder, then set aside.

STEP 4: In another bowl, combine the cold water with the Bisquick mix and stir together until the dough forms.  Then transfer the dough into the greased baking dish, and press to cover the bottoms and slightly up the sides of the pan. (You may want to keep your hands damp while you do this so the dough doesn’t get too sticky where you can’t work with it.)

STEP 5: Layer the cooked ground beef, onions and tomatoes on top of the dough.

STEP 6:  Then pour on the sour cream mixture; smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle with paprika.

STEP 7: Bake for 25 to 30 minutes and serve!

What Should I Serve with a Bisquick Beef Casserole?

This simple dinner recipe is perfect like it is, but if you want to serve it with a side here are some suggestions.

• Instant Pot Refried Beans
• An easy dinner salad
• Tortilla chips and salsa
• Cooked vegetables like peas, corn, green beans or broccoli
• Seasoned black beans
• Spanish or Mexican rice

You May Also Enjoy These Easy Dinner Recipes:

• Bisquick Chicken Alfredo Bake
• Crockpot Tamale Pie
• Herb Roasted Chicken and Potatoes
• Easy Bisquick Chicken Pot Pie
• Oven Ready Lasagna (no boil!)

12/28/21: This recipe was originally published on my site under the name Deep Dish Taco Squares.  I updated the article with new photos and changed the name of the recipe to better reflect what this casserole actually is.