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.
John Wayne Casserole
Ingredients
- ½ lb. ground beef
- 2 Tbsp. onion, chopped
- ½ c. sour cream
- ¼ c. mayonnaise
- ½ c. shredded cheddar cheese
- ¼ tsp. garlic powder (see recipe notes)
- 1 c. Bisquick (link to homemade Bisquick in recipe notes below)
- ¼ c. cold water
- 2 tomatoes, diced- more if preferred (see recipe notes)
- paprika optional
Instructions
- Brown ground beef and onion.
- Mix sour cream, mayonnaise, cheese and garlic powder. Set aside.
- Combine Bisquick and water to form soft dough. Press into the bottom of a greased 8×8 baking dish. (It helps to make your hands slightly damp to do this!)
- Top with cooked ground beef then the tomatoes, then the sour cream mixture. Sprinkle with paprika if desired.
- Bake at 375° for 25 to 30 minutes.
Notes
- Tomatoes: 1 (15 oz.) can of drained diced tomatoes can be subbed for the tomatoes- just be sure to drain them really well!
- I love using my Homemade Bisquick Mix recipe.
- Garlic Powder: can substitute with 1 tsp. jarred minced garlic or 1/2 tsp. granulated garlic.
- Doubling Recipe: You can easily double this and make it in a 9 x 13 baking dish instead.
- Additions: feel free to add in corn, green chilis or peppers. If adding peppers, fry them up with the ground beef and onion
Sam @ PancakeWarriors
Oh this is super creative! I love taco nights!!
Wendy
I have a friend who hates fresh tomatoes but loves them canned, so your family’s tastes were familiar to me.:) I never have understood how my friend can’t enjoy a fresh, ripe, summer tomato (sliced and sprinkled with salt or balsamic), but we all have different tastes! 🙂 Its good to have a recipe like this one that can use fresh or canned tomatoes. Your taco squares look delicious!
ThriftyFrugalMom
I know, most people think we are kind of odd when they hear about our tomato preferences. 🙂 I’ve learned to like a lot of things that I used to not like so maybe one day tomatoes will be added to that list. 🙂
Jann
This looks really good! We love casseroles, so we’ll have to try it.
Jennifer
it’s been rainy here all week and I could use this type of comfort meal today! looks wonderful!
Carlee
Oooh, yum! I have been really into Mexican style food lately, and this looks great!
Joanne
Yum!!! You posted one of our favorite recipes! I haven’t made it for awhile, this reminded me that I should once again. We also like it with salsa in place of the fresh tomatoes. So delicious!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Oh, I can totally see salsa working in this! Great idea!