Cowboy Casserole (One-Pan + Customizable)
Cowboy Casserole is a hearty, one-pan dinner recipe featuring creamy ground beef and black beans topped with a layer of cheesy, crispy tater tots! Customize it to your liking with your favorite veggies or add-ins.
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If you enjoy comforting ground beef dinners, you'll also love Chili Cornbread Casserole, Cheeseburger Pie without Bisquick, or Easy Shepherd's Pie!
With our first cold front of fall finally on the horizon, I'm beyond ready to celebrate with a cozy casserole or five! And there's no dinner more comforting than Cowboy Casserole, with its creamy, saucy ground beef topped with cheese and a topping of golden tater tots!
I already have a tater tot casserole on my site that uses my famous homemade sloppy joe recipe as its base. But today's recipe is puts a new spin on the concept, with lean ground beef enveloped in a cheesy, sour cream-based sauce that's studded with black beans.
Ingredients
Cowboy Casserole is made with basic ingredients in just one pan or skillet!
- Lean ground beef. Or feel free to substitute ground turkey.
- Garlic. Minced.
- Salt + freshly ground black pepper. To taste.
- All-purpose flour. To thicken the sauce.
- Sour cream. Regular or low-fat. Or you can use Greek yogurt (whole milk or fat-free). I tested this recipe with both sour cream and Greek yogurt. Both of these options work equally well, but the flavor is obviously slightly altered depending on which you choose to use. Alternatively, you can use half sour cream and half Greek yogurt.
- Beef broth. Since this recipe doesn't call for much broth, I typically use water + Beef Better Than Bouillon if I don't already have a carton of beef broth open in the fridge.
- Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, + onion powder. For depth of flavor.
- Canned black beans. Drained. You could sub pinto beans instead, if you like. Or you can opt to omit the beans altogether.
- Sharp cheddar cheese. Shredded.
- Frozen tater tots. The crowning glory of this Cowboy Casserole recipe! Ha. I try to use organic tater tots if I can find them because they tend to have more straightforward ingredients.
How to Make Cowboy Casserole
(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)
One of my favorite things about this recipe is that it only dirties one pan!
- Preheat your oven and set a deep, oven-safe, 12-inch pan or skillet over medium-high heat.
- Brown and drain the ground beef. Stir in the minced garlic for a minute or so until fragrant. Turn off the heat, drain the grease from the meat, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Sprinkle the flour over the cooked ground beef and stir to combine. Add the seasonings, Worcestershire sauce, and beef broth.
- Stir in the sour cream.
- Stir in the drained black beans.
- Adjust the seasonings, to taste. I usually end up adding about ½ teaspoon salt at this point when making this Cowboy Casserole recipe, but you can add more or less depending on your preferences. Fold 1 cup of the shredded cheese into the mixture.
- Using a spatula, scrape the edges of the skillet clean (to make clean-up easier later) and smooth the mixture into an even layer. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and arrange the frozen tater tots in a single layer on top.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the tater tots are browned.
I'm telling you, the contrast of the creamy, beefy layer and the crispy, cheesy tater tots is comfort food bliss!
Customizations
This Cowboy Casserole recipe is intended to be very simple. Think of it as a blank slate! But it's endlessly customizable by incorporating your family's favorite veggies or add-ins. A few ideas...
✓ Sauté diced onions and/or bell peppers, sliced mushrooms, grated/matchstick/diced carrots, shredded zucchini, or other veggies in some olive oil until tender. Push them to the edges of the skillet (or temporarily transfer to another plate) before adding the ground beef and browning as directed.
✓ Options to stir in at the same time as the canned beans: 1 cup frozen corn, 1 (14.5-ounce) drained can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes, 1 (10-ounce) can of diced tomatoes with green chiles (AKA, Rotel), 1 (4-ounce) can of diced green chiles, 1 (4-ounce) can of drained sliced black olives.
✓ You can opt to change the type of beans you use or omit them altogether.
✓ Feel free to switch the type of shredded cheese that you use. A Mexican blend, Monterey jack, or pepper jack are a few ideas.
✓ For a taco twist on this Cowboy Casserole, stir 3 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning (or 1 store-bought packet) into the sour cream/Greek yogurt in place of the Worcestershire, beef bouillon, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Alternative Baking Dish
If you wish, you can bake your Cowboy Casserole in a baking dish instead of the original skillet.
Simply transfer the ground beef/sour cream/cheese mixture into a greased 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Top with tater tots and cheese, and then bake as directed.
So whether you're looking for an easy weeknight recipe, a kid-friendly dinner, or a cozy meal for a chilly night, Cowboy Casserole qualifies as all of the above!
Dress it up or leave it simple. I hope you love it either way!
More Comforting Casseroles
- Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole (Dump + Bake)
- Loaded Mexican Cornbread Casserole
- Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Tuna Noodle Casserole from Scratch
Cowboy Casserole (One-Pan + Customizable)
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef, OR ground turkey
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sour cream, OR plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
- 1 ½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, DIVIDED
- 1 (16-ounce) bag frozen tater tots
Instructions
- Arrange rack in center position and preheat oven to 425°F.
- Set a deep, oven-safe, 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink, breaking apart and stirring as the meat cooks. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for another minute or two until fragrant. Turn off the heat, drain the grease from the meat, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Sprinkle the flour over the cooked ground beef and stir to combine. Add the sour cream/Greek yogurt, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, and beans. Stir to combine and simmer over medium-low heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust the seasonings, to taste, and fold in 1 cup of the cheese.
- Using a spatula, scrape the edges of the skillet clean and smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup cheese. Arrange the frozen tater tots in a single layer on top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the tater tots are browned.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- I end up adding about ½ teaspoon salt to this recipe, but you may add more or less depending on your preferences.
- I tested this recipe with both sour cream and Greek yogurt (whole milk and fat-free). All of these options worked equally well, but the flavor is obviously slightly altered depending on which you choose to use. Alternatively, you can use a combo of half sour cream and half Greek yogurt.
- I typically use water + Organic Beef Better Than Bouillon rather than opening up a carton of beef broth, since it's such a small amount.
- The reason for scraping the edges of the skillet clean before putting it in the oven is because any residue will end up getting baked onto the skillet, so removing as much of it as possible ahead of time makes clean-up easier later.
- If you wish, you can transfer the ground beef mixture into a greased 9- by 13-inch baking dish, top with tater tots and cheese, and then bake as directed (instead of baking directly in the skillet).
- Sauté diced onions and/or bell peppers, sliced mushrooms, grated/matchstick/diced carrots, shredded zucchini, or other veggies in some olive oil until tender. Push them to the edges of the skillet (or temporarily transfer to another plate) before adding the ground beef and cooking as directed.
- Ideas to stir in at the same time as the canned beans: 1 cup frozen corn, 1 (14.5-ounce) drained can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes, 1 (10-ounce) can of diced tomatoes with green chiles (AKA, Rotel), 1 (4-ounce) can of diced green chiles, 1 (4-ounce) can of drained sliced black olives.
- You can opt to change the types of beans you use or omit them altogether.
- Feel free to change up the type of shredded cheese that you use. A Mexican blend, Monterey jack, or pepper jack are a few ideas.
- For a taco twist on this Cowboy Casserole, stir 3 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning (or 1 store-bought packet) into the sour cream/Greek yogurt in place of the Worcestershire, beef bouillon, garlic powder, and onion powder.
