John Wayne Casserole

John Wayne Casserole is a hearty casserole with ground beef, veggies, biscuit crust, creamy gravy, and cheesy topping to feed a whole family.

It is a biscuit casserole dish that has been around since the 70s, and you’ve probably heard about it at least once.

A classic family dinner casserole, that feeds a crowd and is an easy meal to make even on weekdays. Many recipes have the same name now but all share the same hearty rich flavor and simple ingredients.

I love this casserole simply because I don’t need to think of any complex sides, the dish already has a protein, veggies, starchy part, and light cream sauce.

Here is my take on the iconic casserole that you should try!

Why Is It Called John Wayne Casserole?

John Wayne casserole is named after John Wayne, the American actor – the Cowboy from Westerns, who contributed a casserole recipe to 10 y.o. Cara Connery’s cookbook “Cooking with Love from Cara and Her Friends” in 1979.

It’s interesting though, that the original recipe he used didn’t have biscuit crust or meat, it was more of a simple breakfast casserole with eggs, green chiles, and cheese.

Only 3 ingredients are still the same in the modern version: cheese, tomatoes, and jalapenos.

Reasons You’ll Love This Casserole Recipe

• Easy steps and only basic, affordable, and readily available ingredients.
• Perfect to make ahead for up to 3 months. Simply defrost and bake one more time and you have a comforting dinner for a small gathering.
• It is a real crowd-pleaser and my recipe makes 12 good portions, so you can make it for a potluck.
• Easy to customize by swapping ground beef, or making it a vegetarian dish.
• Delicious, cheesy, and saucy food with Southern and Tex-Mex inspiration.

John Wayne Casserole Main Ingredients

• Biscuits – I use canned refrigerated biscuits but bisquick mix or canned dough work too. It will extend a little bit your prep time, follow the package instructions.
• Meat: I use lean ground beef, but ground turkey or a mix of ground meat is a good option too.
• Taco seasoning mix to make the dish a bit Tex-Mex. Storebought or homemade. Here is my recipe to make taco seasoning.
• Vegetables: halved and sliced onions, halved and sliced red bell pepper, tomatoes, sliced jalapeños, drained (optional). I use fresh tomatoes but you can replace them with Rotel diced tomatoes. I add only red bell peppers, but green pepper is also a great option to add colors.

For The Sour Cream Sauce

• For our sour cream mixture, we will combine sour cream (full fat), mayonnaise (to balance the tart flavor), and shredded cheddar cheese. Cream cheese is an easy substitute for sour cream. I don’t season the cream cheese mixture or its sour cream version but you can add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and/or onion powder.

These are not set in stone. I will share my substitute list below.

Kitchen Equipment

• 9×13-inch baking dish or a casserole dish
• Large skillet to brown the ground beef.
• Mixing bowls

How To Make John Wayne Casserole

1 – Make The Biscuit Base

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Press the biscuit dough into the bottom of the prepared dish, extending it halfway up the sides.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the dough is lightly browned. Keep the oven on.

2 – Cook The Meat Mixture

1. While the biscuit base is baking in the oven, brown the ground beef in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until browned and crumbly, about 5-10 minutes. Once fully cooked, drain the excess fat.
2. Stir in the taco seasoning and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the meat to a bowl.
3. Using the same skillet, cook the onion and red bell pepper over medium heat until slightly tender, about 5 minutes.

3 – Prepare The Sour Cream And Cheese Mixture

1. Mix together the sour cream, mayonnaise, half of the Cheddar cheese, and half of the cooked onion and bell pepper mixture in a separate bowl.

4 – Assemble And Bake

1. Layer over the pre-baked biscuit crust in this exact order: the cooked ground beef mixture, tomato slices, remaining onion and bell pepper mixture, jalapeño peppers (if using), and the sour cream mixture.
2. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
3. Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. Let it cool for 10 minutes.
4. Slice and serve with guacamole, sour cream, red onions, diced tomatoes, cilantro, more grated cheese, or homemade salsa.

Making Ahead And Storing

Store any leftover casserole in an airtight container or the casserole dish with a lid or wrapped with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Just like any casserole, John Wayne casserole freezes fine and can stay in the freezer for 3 months. Wrap it in aluminum foil and freeze.

Before reheating it again, let the casserole defrost overnight in the fridge. Then reheat for 40 minutes in the oven.

Tips & Variations Of John Wayne Casserole Recipe

• The veggie layer can also contain green chilies (milder than jalapeno peppers), green peppers (less sweet than red bell peppers), sweet bell peppers, green beans, and corn. To bulk up the recipe cook John Wayne casserole with potatoes. Regarding using fresh tomatoes – Roma is the best!
• For vegetarian casserole, replace meat with black beans. In fact, the original recipe was vegetarian and had no meat or cheese in it.
• You can use cornbread as a crust or as a topping. It won’t be called a John Wayne casserole anymore but it will be delicious. Almost reminds me of the Cowboy casserole.
• If you don’t like spicy, skip the jalapenos and green chilies, but also make your own taco seasoning since almost every boxed version will have red pepper flakes. Also, check the Rotel label (if using this brand), it can be spicy too.
• This biscuit casserole is easy to oversalt if you use taco seasoning in a package. Taste the mix while cooking and adjust.
• Ground beef can be replaced with any other ground meat mixture or Italian sausages.
• Cheeses. I always use Cheddar, but Monterey Jack, mozzarella cheese, Colby Jack, and Pepper Jack cheese, or a blend of cheeses are amazing choices too.
• If the sauce is not thick enough, stir in some flour and keep cooking.

Can I Make Original John Wayne Sauce?

The original sauce for John Wayne casserole is made with egg yolks and egg whites.

It takes a few extra minutes of mixing some ingredients but it’s not complicated.

1. First whisk egg yolks, heavy cream, flour, cayenne, and salt in one bowl.
2. Then, beat the egg whites to form soft peaks.
3. Finally, gently fold the egg white into the egg yolk mixture. Done! Spread over the casserole.

Popular Questions About This Recipe

Can I Make John Wayne Casserole In Slow Cooker?

John Wayne casserole makes a great dump-and-go dish to make in a slow cooker that needs around 4 hours of cooking time.

You still need to pre-cook the ground meat before layering everything in the slow cooker. A really fun recipe to make for dinner.

Is John Wayne Casserole Gluten-Free?

This version of John Wayne casserole uses biscuits and has gluten. But you can use gluten-free Bisquick baking mix or potato crust to turn the recipe into a gluten-free casserole.

What Is The History Of John Wayne Casserole?

This easy recipe for a casserole dish first appeared in the cookbook “Cooking with Love from Cara and Her Friends” in 1979 and was submitted by John Wayne.

The book was a collection of recipes from celebrities and had a good cause – it was published and sold to raise money for the American Cancer Society (John Wayne died of stomach cancer).

He was an actor but also loved cooking and grilling, especially grilling meat and seafood.

The recipe he contributed was a vegetarian casserole dish without crust or meat.

Can I make John Wayne Casserole Without Biscuits?

For this John Wayne casserole, you can use tater tots, cornbread, and crescent rolls instead of biscuits or biscuit mix. The original John Wayne casserole recipe didn’t use biscuits either, it was a crustless recipe.

If you love this casserole dinner recipe, you’re going to love these other quick dinners too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Great Casserole Recipes

Ritz Cracker Chicken Casserole

Chicken and Rice Casserole

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

Chicken and Brown Rice Casserole

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