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Easy John Wayne Casserole

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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!  

John Wayne Casserole being served out of a white casserole dish

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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

 

John Wayne Casserole ingredients arranged on a white table

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.

Fried ground beef with onion in a skillet

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

Sour cream, mayonnaise, shredded cheese and garlic powder in a glass bowl

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

a wooden bowl holding a soft dough made with Bisquick and water

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.)

a collage of pictures showing John Wayne casserole being assembled

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

two photos showing sour cream, shredded cheese and paprika being added to a John Wayne Casserole

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!

a serving of John Wayne Casserole on a white plate with tomatoes in the background

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.

Print Recipe
5 from 10 votes

John Wayne Casserole

This easy recipe combines layers of sour cream, cheese, tomatoes and ground beef on top of a tasty Bisquick crust for a delicious kid friendly dinner!  
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Total Time45 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 5 people
Author: Lydia @ ThriftyFrugalMom.com
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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

John Wayne Casserole on a white plate with a fork and text overlay

 
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Filed Under: Main Dishes, Recipes

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. KaDee

    January 29, 2021 at 3:59 PM

    Hey! I’m here from your recent Aldi Meal Plan! I was wondering if there would be a good substitution for the mayo in this recipe. I’m the one in my family who gags at the thought of mayo coming anywhere near me lol but I’d love to try your shopping list and stick to it as close as I can! Thanks from a new reader!

    Reply
    • Lydia Beiler

      January 29, 2021 at 4:21 PM

      Hey, glad to hear you are using the meal plan! I think that you could sub plain Greek yogurt or maybe even just plain regular yogurt for the mayo in this recipe. It will change it just a bit, but it should still provide the tangy/tart flavor that mayo gives and I’m pretty sure it will still be quite tasty. I hope that helps!

      Reply
      • Katy

        May 5, 2022 at 6:30 PM

        Hello! Does the baking time need to be increased for doubling the recipe? Can’t wait to try this!

        Reply
        • Lydia Beiler

          May 6, 2022 at 6:28 AM

          I regularly double this recipe, but I usually bake it in two smaller dishes and it’s been a while since I used a 9×13 pan. My memory says that I didn’t increase the baking time at all, but I could be wrong. If I did, it would have only been by 5 to 10 minutes. Basically, it needs to be hot throughout and the bottom crust part needs to be fully baked so it’s not doughy (if you are using a clear baking dish, you can usually fairly easily tell this by looking at the bottom). You could check those things to be sure that you don’t need to add more time. I hope you enjoy it, Katy!

          Reply
  2. Wendi

    July 30, 2020 at 5:05 PM

    Could I freeze this before or after baking?

    Reply
    • Lydia Beiler

      July 30, 2020 at 6:46 PM

      Unfortunately, I don’t think this would freeze very well either way because I think it would make the crust soggy. If you decide to give it a try though, I’d love to know how it worked out.

      Reply
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Welcome! I’m Lydia. I want to help you find ways to live well and enjoy life on a budget! Read more…

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