My cattle drive casserole is a ground beef dish with a Tex-Mex influence. Topped with melty cheeses and a creamy sauce over a smoky meat and bean taco-spiced mixture all over a Cheddar Bay biscuit bottom. Pure yum.
This hearty dish comes out of the oven hot and bubbly, ready to be devoured by your hungry family. Serve with a green salad and you have a complete meal that will become a favorite. Yee-Haw!
My family loves beefy casseroles. My son’s favorite is hamburger casserole. We also love our taco casserole, hamburger potato casserole, and tater-tot-topped cowboy casserole.
CATTLE DRIVE CASSEROLE INGREDIENTS
- Red Lobster Cheddar-Bay Biscuit Mix: This tasty biscuit mix is savory and has cheddar and spices in the mix. It has a little more umph compared to regular biscuit mixes. As an alternative, use cornbread mix instead!
- 80/20 Ground Beef: The perfect amount of fat to lean meat.
- Yellow Onion: I use yellow onion (also known as brown) for a sweet nutty flavor.
- Poblano Chiles: These mild chiles add a nice flavor with slight heat to the meat mixture. Remove seeds and ribs.
- Red Bell Pepper: This sweet pepper adds nice color and flavor to the meat mixture. You can use green instead if you like.
- Can Corn: Corn adds color and a little sweet pop.
- Envelop Taco Seasoning: A must, taco seasoning has a mildly spicy Mexican flavor, the foundational flavor of the dish.
- Salt: Table salt for balance.
- Mayonnaise: This creamy item stabilizes the sauce and keeps it from splitting.
- Sour Cream: This adds smooth tanginess to the sauce.
- Smoked Paprika: A perfect spice for the sauce.
- Pepper Jack Cheese: I love Pepper Jack but you can use Monterey Jack or Mozzarella too.
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese: This sharp cheese adds dimension to the melty topping.
- Ranch Beans: I like a little more kick than ordinary pinto or kidney beans.
- Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes: This canned good has more flavor bringing out a natural smoky sweetness from the fire roasting.
- Diced Green Chiles: These mild chiles add a Mexican taste to the dish. You can choose fire-roasted diced green chiles or diced green chiles.
TIPS
- Layering: When making the meat mixture, you may layer the tomatoes and beans on top or go ahead and mix everything together – your choice.
- Lighten Up: For a healthier alternative, use ground turkey instead of beef. There is so much flavor in the meat mixture, no one will even notice the switch.
- Add More! Add more veggies such as green and red peppers or add and/or substitute jalapeños for the poblanos if you like spicier (just remember the seeds and ribs contain almost all of the heat in the peppers, so add or remove, per your tolerance for spicy heat!).
- Switch It UP: Use a box of Jiffy Corn Bread or use Bisquick for a different base if you like. Just follow the box instructions and pat at the bottom of the baking dish and bake.
STORING + FREEZING + MAKE-AHEAD
- How Long Can You Keep This in The Fridge? Once cooked and cooled, your cattle drive casserole will last up to four days in the fridge. But be sure you store your leftovers in airtight containers! This dish warms up nicely in the microwave oven.
- Can You Freeze This? Yes! The best way to freeze this cattle drive casserole is to prepare and assemble. Do not bake it. Make sure the casserole dish is freezer-safe and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap then foil. It will last for several months.
- The day before, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake as directed. The time to bake will be about 15-20 minutes longer since the dish will be cold at the beginning of the bake.
- Make-Ahead: My cattle drive casserole recipe is best right out of the oven but can be made ahead of time. Assemble but do not bake. You can keep it chilled until you are ready to bake.
- Heat as directed and it may take about 15-20 minutes longer to cook since the dish will be cold.
- Food Safety: Here’s an article by the USDA on food safety and storage.
SERVING RECOMMENDATIONS
This hearty casserole is wonderful served with something fresh and crisp! We love this with our KFC coleslaw or sweet pineapple coleslaw (kids of all ages will devour this salad!), cucumber tomato salad, 1905 salad, broccoli salad, carrot salad, strawberry salad, or southwest salad.
HOW TO MAKE CATTLE DRIVE CASSEROLE WITH RED LOBSTER BISCUIT MIX
- Mix together the biscuit mix, seasoning packet, and water.
- Spread it in the prepared baking dish and bake.
- In a skillet, brown the beef and set aside.
- Saute the veggies.
- Add the corn, taco seasoning, and salt. Add the browned beef and mix.
- Add the ranch beans, drained tomatoes, and green chilis.
- In a bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, and paprika. Fold in the cheese.
- Arrange the beef and vegetable mixture over the baked biscuit base.
- Spread the mayo mixture over the beef-vegetable mixture.
- Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake.
- Serve.
***See the full instructions below.
MORE GROUND BEEF CASSEROLES
- Beef Noodle Casserole
- Sloppy Joe Casserole
- Johnny Marzetti Casserole
- Bisquick Taco Bake
- Mexican Casserole
- Dorito Casserole
- Shredded Beef Enchiladas
- Hamburger Rice Casserole
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Cattle Drive Casserole
My cattle drive casserole is topped with melty cheeses and a creamy sauce over a smoky meat and bean taco-spiced mixture all over a Cheddar Bay biscuit bottom.
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
- butter or cooking spray
- 1 (11.36-ounce) package Red Lobster Cheddar-Bay Biscuit mix
- 3/4 cup tap water
- 2 pounds 80/20 ground beef round
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup poblano chile, 1/4 inch chopped
- 1/2 medium red bell pepper, 1/4 inch chopped
- 1 (15.25-ounce) can corn, drained
- 1 (1-ounce) envelop taco seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 cups pepper Jack cheese shredded + divided
- 2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese shredded + divided
- 1 (15-ounce) can ranch beans, drained
- 1 (15-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles, drained
Instructions
- Arrange an oven shelf to the middle position of the oven. Preheat oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Butter a 9X13 inch baking dish, or spray with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together Cheddar-Bay Biscuit mix (1 package), seasoning packet, and water (3/4 cup). Spread it in the buttered baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes; set aside.
- In a 12-inch skillet, brown the beef (2 pounds) in 2 batches until cooked through. Transfer the first batch to a plate and continue with the second batch. Transfer the second batch to a plate; set aside. Leave dripping in skillet.
- Add onion (1/2 cup), poblano pepper (1/2 cup), and red bell pepper (1/2 medium) to skillet with dripping and sauté until vegetables are just soft, 5-6 minutes.
- Stir in drained canned corn (1 can), taco seasoning (1 envelope), and salt (1 teaspoon) then stir until evenly combined. Add the browned beef and evenly combine.
- Stir in the drained ranch beans (1 can), drained tomatoes (1 can), and green chiles (1 can) and combine evenly.
- In another medium bowl, stir together mayonnaise (3/4 cup), sour cream (3/4 cup), and smoked paprika (1/2 teaspoon). Fold in 1 cup of the pepper Jack and 1 cup of Cheddar.
- Arrange beef and vegetable mixture over baked biscuit base.
- Spoon the mayonnaise mixture over beef, bean, and vegetables then use an offset spatula to gently spread to cover.
- Sprinkle the top of the casserole with the remaining cheeses. Bake, uncovered, until the top starts to brown in spots, and the casserole is bubbling around the edges about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before serving.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Layering: When making the meat mixture, you may layer the tomatoes and beans on top or go ahead and mix everything together – your choice.
- Lighten Up: For a healthier alternative, use ground turkey instead of beef. There is so much flavor in the meat mixture, no one will even notice the switch.
- Add More! Add more veggies such as green and red peppers or add and/or substitute jalapeños for the poblanos if you like spicier (just remember the seeds and ribs contain almost all of the heat in the peppers, so add or remove, per your tolerance for spicy heat!).
- Switch It UP: Use a box of Jiffy Corn Bread or use Bisquick for a different base if you like. Just follow the box instructions and pat at the bottom of the baking dish and bake.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 1004kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 71g | Saturated Fat: 28g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 159mg | Sodium: 2118mg | Potassium: 721mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1565IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 560mg | Iron: 6mg
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My father-in-law loved this so much, I gave him half to take home so he can just reheat it anytime. Thanks for this recipe!
This is my favorite comment for today, Karla! That’s so awesome. I’m glad your father-in-law liked this casserole. Thanks for the positive feedback and 5 star rating!!