Make the “impossible” possible with my Cheeseburger Pie with Bisquick recipe! You’ll be setting the table for a beautiful, beefy pie molded into a perfect pie crust without having to touch a rolling pin!
Impossible Cheeseburger Pie with Bisquick makes dinner on one of those impossibly busy weeknights doable on a tasty scale. While “impossible pie” to me means one that materializes in thin air right when the hunger bug strikes, this recipe is pretty darn close to being just that easy.
WHAT IS CHEESEBURGER PIE?
A savory, beefy cheesy masterpiece that produces a tender crust, without all the temperamental mixing and measuring you need to do for traditional pastry, can be yours with just a few kitchen staples, a happy thought or two, and a sprinkling of a pixie, I mean, Bisquick dust.
Bisquick, that ubiquitous baking mix that makes biscuits and Saturday morning pancakes a snap, introduced the “impossible pie” on the back of its boxes sometime in the 1970s. The premise was making an “impossibly easy” dessert where the Bisquick settled to the bottom during the baking process and built its own crust without any need to fuss and fight with an actual pate brisee (French makes “pie crust” sound better, non?).
SAVE THIS IMPOSSIBLE CHEESEBURGER PIE
TO YOUR DINNER BOARD FOR LATER
LET’S BE FRIENDS ON PINTEREST! WE’RE ALWAYS PINNING TASTY RECIPES!
Needless to say, that first impossible coconut pie was a hit, and Bisquick ran with it, introducing other desserts and savory recipes that would be adopted and adapted by home cooks everywhere looking for another way to simplify supper time. One of those recipes is this Bisquick Impossible Cheeseburger Pie, and it’s a favorite at my house!
The dish really is simple, practically “impossible.” My version is similar to Betty Crocker’s impossibly easy cheeseburger pie, but mine has the extra seasoning to make the filling even more rich and flavorful, plus mine has a nice cheesy topping.
The “meat” of the dish really is just that – a flavorful ground beef, seasoned with onions, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce (a requisite ingredient anytime I’m cooking with beef). This waits patiently in your pie plate to be covered with the “impossible” solution, which is simply a little Bisquick mixed with milk and eggs. It’s like a dense pancake batter that will slowly find its way past all the flavorful beef and make a nice cut-able crust. Yes, seriously.
If you’ve ever made your own pie crust, you know just how finicky the dough can be. The amount of water can vary by state, by the city, and even by the amount of moisture floating around in your house. Unless you have some crazy monitor for that sort of thing, you’re basically at the mercy of some minute amount of water that could very easily send your pie crust into the soggy zone.
Why serve this in a crust at all? Well, it’s easier to serve for one reason, and the Bisquick impossible crust reminds me of a cross between an actual pie pastry and a shorter, almost biscuit-like product. This works really well with the beefy filling since it retains its structure but still absorbs some of the beefy goodness from the filling. Truly, nothing works like the Bisquick does, so if you want to make cheeseburger pie without Bisquick, you’ll have to pull out your flour, butter, and ice water and make a cheeseburger pie with pie crust.
HOW DO YOU MAKE CHEESEBURGER PIE?
Start it off by preheating your oven, and combining the ground beef, onions, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Cook the beef through, until no longer pink. Remove any excess fat and poof! You’ve got yourself a filling. In a bowl, whisk together your topping crust ingredients, and pour over the filling. Sprinkle (or cover completely your choice) with cheese. Bake until golden (about 35 minutes)!
Be sure to follow all food safety freeze guidelines.
Pillsbury offers some interesting alternatives for changing up the recipe a bit (and incorporating a few Pillsbury products). The Pillsbury cheeseburger pie recipe puts an actual pie crust on top of the beef before baking, sort of like a beef pot pie. There’s also a version of cheeseburger pie with crescent rolls, either on top or lining the dish as a makeshift crust. I love crescent rolls, but the bottom crust in particular just isn’t as substantial as the filling needs. There’s also cheeseburger pie with biscuits, where canned biscuits serve similar duty, but again they don’t have that cakey crumb that works so well in this pie.
(If you need a gluten-free version, skip the impossible batter and try this cheeseburger pie with mashed potatoes on top – basically a shepherd’s pie, or make the cheeseburger pie low carb by melting 4 tablespoons of cream cheese into the warm beef mixture and substituting 4 eggs and ¼ cup of heavy whipping cream for the impossible batter.)
Ain’t nothing like the real thing, though, so definitely try my version of the Bisquick cheeseburger pie before you go off making this recipe your own. I think the flavors and textures work perfectly in this dish and will help you work a little “impossible” magic in your own kitchen!
Bisquick Impossible Cheeseburger Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Pound Ground Beef 80/20
- 1 Large Onion Chopped
- 2 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
Crust:
- 1/2 Cup Bisquick
- 1 Cup Whole Milk
- 2 Large Eggs
Topping:
- 1 Cup Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese Grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large skillet, cook the ground beef, onions, garlic, Worcestershire Sauce, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper over medium heat, until beef is brown and there is no longer any pink, about 10 minutes. Remove excess fat. Pour cooked beef into prepared pie plate.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together topping ingredients. Pour over beef mixture. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake in preheated oven until top is golden, about 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
RECIPE NOTES FOR CHEESEBURGER PIE:
Beef – 80/20 beef is the typical ratio for ground chuck (80% lean and 20% fat). You don’t want to mess too much with the fat content in this dish so it stays nice and juicy, but you can substitute something close, like ground round.
Feed a crowd – If you want to stretch out the meal a bit, you can double the impossible concoction (Bisquick, milk, and eggs), and fill up a 9” x 13” pan instead. You can also make cute little individual pies by baking this in muffin tins! Mix all the ingredients, then fill a lightly greased pan with a scant tablespoon of the Bisquick batter, ¼ c. of the beef filling, then another tablespoon of the batter. They’ll need to bake about 30 minutes, cool for 5, then be taken out to cool another 10 minutes to avoid any impatient mouth burning.
Fillings/Toppings – Make this a bacon cheeseburger pie by adding about 6 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon to the beef before adding the Bisquick batter. Some impossible cheeseburger pie recipes add ketchup, mustard, or even dill pickle relish to the filling to emulate an actual cheeseburger. I like to save those things for garnish since no two guests are exactly alike when it comes to hamburger fixin’s. Some toppings I CAN get behind are sliced tomatoes (either added after baking or before that sprinkle of cheese). You can also top the pie with French fries or Tater Tot Crowns, baked on top of the pie (under the cheese) or cooked separately and sprinkled on top before serving.
CAN YOU MAKE CHEESEBURGER PIE AHEAD OF TIME?
Yes, you can and it’s quite tasty! Making this dish ahead of time gives all the flavors a chance to marry and create an extra boost for your taste buds. All you have to do to make cheeseburger pie in advance is to follow the instructions right up to baking. Cover it tightly and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake it. Don’t’ wait too long! Twenty-four hours will do.
HOW DO YOU FREEZE CHEESEBURGER PIE?
Why, yes, and it’s quite simple! You can do this in two ways.
- Put together all the ingredients (except cheese), and toss it into gallon ziploc bags. Freeze it until you’re ready to cook it up. Take it out, thaw, cover with cheese and bake.
- Leftovers – portion out accordingly and freeze! Take out to thaw and maybe add a little more cheese, then heat it up!
MORE BURGER INSPIRED MEALS AND EASY FAMILY FAVORITE DINNERS:
Easy Hamburger Soup Recipes -Home-style meal sure to satisfy healthy appetites!
Cheeseburger Soup -Loaded with chunks of meat, veggies, and cheesy broth.
Turkey Burgers – Moist and flavorful burger, quick and easy to put together!
Dorito Casserole – Dive into a delicious, Dorito-studded casserole layered with a zesty beef filling– This Dorito Casserole has all the flavor of our favorite orange chips.
Mary Heidt says
August 5, 2019 at 12:50 amI made this for the first time tonight. It is not bad and I do not rate recipes that I change. I can see this would be great for kids. I will make it again and bump up seasonings. It needs ketchup and mustard just to mimic the cheeseburger taste. It was very easy, I baked mine in a convection toaster oven and it turned out beautifully brown. I lowered the temp and baked for a little less time.
Kathleen says
August 16, 2019 at 6:21 pmHi Mary!
Thanks for the input. Yes, this is a great recipe for kids and the beauty of it is that its so easy to tweak to suit your family’s taste.
Gary burk says
June 30, 2019 at 4:28 pmMade it last night and I it turned out well and tasted even better, and is really easy, even have some left for today.
Kathleen says
July 2, 2019 at 5:04 pmHi Gary! So happy you enjoyed the cheeseburger pie. It’s one of my favorite, easy, go-to dinners. You also might like my hamburger hash. Another really yummy easy favorite.
Jules says
April 4, 2019 at 5:19 amDelicious!! And so easy!!!
Kathleen says
April 4, 2019 at 5:40 amI totally agree <3
Margie says
August 12, 2019 at 9:00 pmDoes anyone know how you make this for serving 75 to 100 people?
Gao says
November 20, 2018 at 5:17 pmI want to double this. Would there be a problem with doubling everything (including meat) and bake in a 9×13 pan?
Kathleen says
November 21, 2018 at 6:35 pmHi Gao. I think that should work out just fine 🙂
Kate says
September 6, 2018 at 7:51 pmI have made these for years, BUT, I always called them “Impossible ___________ Pie.” My husband just pointed out that Betty Crocker calls them all “IMpossibly Easy ___________ Pie.” I *cannot* believe I’ve had it wrong all of my life!
DID BETTY CHANGE IT TO IMPOSSIBLY from IMPOSSIBLE????
Kathleen says
September 7, 2018 at 12:54 amWell, whatever it’s called it’s delicious!!
Sharon says
May 8, 2018 at 10:26 pmBeen making this for YEARS but since I had some cooked pasta shells with beef and tomato sauce, I put that in, too.
Wow, really nice.
Kathleen Smith says
May 19, 2018 at 4:07 pmThat sounds delicious Sharon! I’ve been making it forever too! It’s always such a hit with everyone around the dinner table. My kids were always excited when this was for supper <3
Melodie says
May 1, 2018 at 3:42 amThinking about using fried onion things ( frenches sells them in a can.). Would you add them after the topping and before the cheese or after the cheese?
Kathleen Smith says
May 19, 2018 at 4:56 pmHey Melodie. I LOVE those little fried onions. I think its a genius idea!! I’d add them after the pie is done baking and just pop it back in the oven 5ish minutes, just to heat them up. Just keep and eye on it because the onion burn fairly easily. <3
Kathy Kreicker says
August 10, 2017 at 11:26 pmMade this tonight and it was quite good. My oven runs hot so I cooked for only 30 minutes. Do let it rest for the full 10 minutes although that is tough because it smells so damn good!
Patricia conklin says
August 9, 2017 at 9:42 pmA geat recipe, took to a family reunion, they enjoyed it. thanks.
Kathleen Smith says
August 10, 2017 at 6:00 pmSo happy to hear you liked the Cheeseburger Pie! Thanks for sharing!