Cornbread Cowboy Casserole
With tender ground beef, yummy vegetables, and a fluffy cornbread topping, this cornbread cowboy casserole is the perfect dish for your next potluck or dinner tonight. Your whole family will love this one pan meal!
This delicious and easy meal is a cross between a Jiffy cornbread casserole recipe and a Mexican shepherd’s pie recipe.
A budget friendly recipe using simple ingredients and super quick to put together.
You know those busy weeknights when you need a hearty dinner to feed your family or a crowd of teenage boys like I do. This is that easy dinner to make!
Serve it with these stuffed banana peppers as an appetizer for a fun meal along with some chips and salsa. Make it feel like your favorite Mexican restaurant.
It’s also the perfect make ahead meal that’s ready to pop in the oven when don’t feel like cooking. It freezes beautifully for 2-3 months. Thank goodness for freeze casseroles, am I right?
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See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and their quantities.
Ingredient Notes
- Ground beef – I prefer lean ground beef for this recipe, but you can use regular hamburger meat or ground sirloin. Substitute ground turkey if you want to lighten it up a bit.
- Baked beans – Use your favorite brand of baked beans or substitute pinto beans, black beans or undrained ranch style beans. After testing a few times, the ranch beans are my son’s favorite.
- BBQ sauce – Choose your favorite brand of barbecue sauce. I prefer a Carolina mustard sauce.
- Cornbread mix – I use 2 boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix, but you can use your favorite brand or homemade cornmeal mix.
- Cheese – Use your favorite Mexican cheese blend or just stick with sharp cheddar.
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How To Make Cornbread Cowboy Casserole
- Preheat the oven to 400F. In a large skillet, brown ground beef and onion over medium-high heat until the onion is soft and the ground beef is no longer pink. Remove from the heat.
- To the cooked ground beef, add the beans, corn, bbq sauce, mustard, brown sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cumin. Stir to combine.
- Spread the mixture into an even layer and then top with the bacon and shredded cheese.
- In a separate bowl, combine the ingredients for the cornbread. Stir to combine and pour over the cheese and bacon. Spread into an even layer.
- Bake in the preheated 400 degrees F oven for 20-25 minutes or until the cornbread is golden brown on top. Let the casserole rest 3-5 minutes before serving.
For the full recipe and detailed cooking instructions, please see the recipe card at the end of this post.
Let it cool to room temperature and then place in an airtight container or cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
You can make most of the cornbread cowboy casserole ahead of time by cooking the meat mixture and keeping it in the fridge for 1-2 days. Spread in the pan, top with cheese and bacon, and then spread with the cornbread batter right before you bake it.
Crockpot Version
After cooking the beef and onion, spread it in the bottom of a crockpot. Top with the rest of the ingredients, except the cheese and cornbread. Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours.
Mix cornbread ingredients together and sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of the ground beef mixture. Top with cornbread batter, cover again and cook on high for 30 minutes or until cornbread is cooked through.
My Favorite Cornbread Casseroles
If you love casseroles like me, check out my cowboy tater tot casserole! Hearty and topped with crispy tots. I know this isn’t a cornbread one but a different version of this recipe.
If you are more of a purist, check out my Jiffy corn bread casserole, my green chile corn casserole, this cream cheese corn casserole, and the loaded version of corn casserole too!
Tips For The Best Casserole
- Garnish your casserole with chopped parsley, green onions, sour cream, or cilantro. Add more cheddar cheese on top after it comes out of the oven.
- Instead of individual spices, try taco seasoning instead.
- Adding a can Rotel tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, or tomato sauce instead of the barbecue sauce can up the flavor.
- Add more heat with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper or a dash of chili powder.
- If you prefer to use a casserole dish, transfer the mixture from the skillet before adding the shredded cheese. Spray the bottom of the pan with nonstick spray before adding mixture.
- This makes a great freezer meal! Freeze your cooked casserole in a freezer safe dish for up to 3 months.
If you love this recipe as much as I do, pin this to your favorite casserole Pinterest board and share it on your favorite social media channels!
This Cowboy Cornbread Casserole is the Old West’s version of shepherd’s pie. It is an easy recipe that will bring rave reviews, and it is perfect for feeding a crowd.
Cornbread Cowboy Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon cooked and chopped
- 24 ounces ground beef lean
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 16 ounces baked beans not drained
- 1 cups frozen corn
- ½ cup bbq sauce
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 17 ounces Jiffy cornbread mix 2 8.5 ounce boxes
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese blend
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- In a large (oven safe) skillet cook the ground beef and onion over medium heat until the onion is soft and the ground beef is no longer pink. Drain excess fat.
- Add the baked beans, corn, bbq sauce, mustard, brown sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cumin. Stir to combine. Top with shredded cheese and bacon.
- In a medium bowl, combine the milk and eggs. Whisk to beat the eggs and mix with milk.
- Add in the cornbread mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
- Pour the cornbread mixture over the top of the meat mixture and spread into an even layer.
- Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the cornbread is done. (Check with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean)
- Let the casserole rest 3-5 minutes before slicing so the juices don’t run out.
- Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro if desired.
Notes
- Garnish with chopped parsley, green onions or cilantro.
- Cool it off with sour cream or pico de gallo
- Add in bell peppers or black beans if you prefer.
- Taco or fajita seasonings work well in this too.
- Make in a casserole dish instead of the skillet.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
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What about the 8 slices of bacon!?
Sorry you add them with the cheese under the cornbread. I have fixed it in the recipe card. Thanks for letting me know and I hope you like it!