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Crockpot Cowboy Casserole (Slow Cooker Meal)

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Beef, potatoes, onions, kidney beans and CHEESE feature in this Crockpot Cowboy Casserole! Quick to prep, this is a real family pleaser!

Very little prep time, you can get this in your pot, and get on with your day – coming home to a fully cooked, ready to eat meal.

Ever have a day where you just want dinner to be DONE and not worry too much about it? Yeah. Me too. Except that’s EVERY day… enter, the Crock-Pot Cowboy Casserole. We love this recipe, it’s become a solid family favorite over the years.  Coming home to a big crock of slow-cooked deliciousness just makes me so happy! 

Having some good slow cooker ground beef recipes in the inventory is fantastic! One of my favorites is my Poor Man’s Stew. This casserole has a very different flavor. Both are awesome!

PLAN AHEAD: When I know I have a super long day planned, I will often put this in the crockpot the night before, and let it cook while we sleep. Since I’m sometimes gone for more than 8 hours, I don’t want things to dry out, so putting it on overnight, and packaging it for lunch, or for reheating later than evening is a great way to still eat well. I just put it all in a baking dish and refrigerate.  When I get home, I just put in the oven and let it reheat while I do other things. Dinner is done in about 30 minutes. Makes you rethink ALL of the slow cooker recipes you don’t make because they have too short a cooking time, right?

CANNED SOUP: This delicious recipe DOES contain a cardinal sin of the foodie world – cream of xxx soup. Which, honestly, I do tend to avoid if I can. However, in this case, simplicity and “get ‘er done” was the goal. If you really cannot handle the idea of canned soup, you can make your own Cream of Chicken Soup. You can always use Cream of Mushroom soup if your family prefers that.

FAMILY FRIENDLY & CAN STRETCH TO FEED A CROWD

This is a hit with the family. It makes enough that there is plenty for everyone, including seconds and even a little leftover. Got a bigger crowd to feed? No problem! Add another can of beans, and another can of tomatoes to stretch this meal! (adjust the seasonings).  As this recipe stands, this recipe feeds my entire family (2 adults, 2 kids) with a bowl of leftovers.

Feel super free to mix it up, and add different beans, vegetables, cheese etc (suggestions below in the Top Tips section).

Ingredients:

  • ONION – sliced pretty thickly
  • GROUND BEEF – I use a 97/3 beef, but 80/20 is fine too, but I would brown it first, and be sure and drain the fat
  • POTATOES – I like Russet or Yukon golds for this.
  • GARLIC – Don’t skimp on the garlic. Ever. This is actual life advice.
  • KIDNEY BEANS – you can sub any kind of bean, pintos, black or cannellini all go just fine in this.
  • CANNED DICED TOMATOES – undrained, you’ll need all the juices for the sauce. For a smokier flavor, grab the fire-roasted ones.
  • CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP – Make your own cream of chicken soup, or pick up a can at the store (go for a low sodium one)
  • DRIED OREGANO – you can use fresh if you wish, or just add more Italian herbs.
  • ITALIAN SEASONING – Available at the store. I like my Homemade Tuscan Seasoning in this, but you do you!
  • CHEDDAR CHEESE – I prefer to grate my own for this, it melts so much better than using storebought

How to make Crockpot Cowboy Casserole:

Full, printable recipe below – just scroll down to the recipe card!

  1. Brown the ground beef, and drain well.
  2. Place the browned beef, and the remaining ingredients except the cheese in a crock pot (slow cooker) and combine well.
  3. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.
  4. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top, cover.
  5. Serve when cheese is melted (about 10 minutes).

FAQs and Top Tips

  • Add a can of black beans, stretch out the meal, or make sure there are more leftovers.
  • Add a can of sweet corn and/or a can of green chiles – make it your own recipe!
  • Use red potatoes (don’t peel!)
  • Instead of Italian Seasoning, use my DIY recipe for Tuscan Seasoning
  • Use Cream of Mushroom soup for a different kind of flavor.
  • A little chili powder goes VERY well in this dish, with beans and beef it’s a no brainer, right?
  • More Crock Pot Recipes:

Want to see something fun? Here’s the original picture from when I published this many moons ago! eek.

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5 from 32 votes

Cowboy Casserole (Crockpot)

Beef, potatoes, onions, kidney beans and CHEESE feature in this slow cooked Cowboy Casserole! Quick to prep, this is a real family pleaser!
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 4 hours
Total : 4 hours 5 minutes
yield: 6

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Brown the ground beef, and drain well.
  • Place the browned beef, and the remaining ingredients except the cheese in a crock pot (slow cooker) and combine well.
  • Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.
  • Sprinkle cheese on top, cover.
  • Serve when cheese is melted (about 10 minutes).

Tips & Notes:

  • Add a can of black beans, stretch out the meal, or make sure there are more leftovers.
  • Add a can of sweet corn and/or a can of green chiles – make it your own recipe!
  • Use red potatoes (don’t peel!)
  • Instead of Italian Seasoning, use my DIY recipe for Tuscan Seasoning
  • Use Cream of Mushroom soup for a different kind of flavor.
  • A little chili powder goes VERY well in this dish, with beans and beef it’s a no brainer, right?

nutrition facts

Calories: 646kcal (32%) Carbohydrates: 66g (22%) Protein: 39g (78%) Fat: 26g (40%) Saturated Fat: 12g (75%) Cholesterol: 86mg (29%) Sodium: 915mg (40%) Potassium: 1870mg (53%) Fiber: 17g (71%) Sugar: 4g (4%) Vitamin A: 580IU (12%) Vitamin C: 31mg (38%) Calcium: 353mg (35%) Iron: 13mg (72%)
Nutritional Disclaimer

Recipes written and produced on Kylee Cooks are for informational purposes only. Kylee is not a certified nutritionist. Nutritional data provided on Kylee Cooks has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration.

Author: Kylee Cooks
Course:Crockpot, Dinner
Cuisine:American
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About Kylee

I am a born and raised New Zealander (a Kiwi), now living in Phoenix, Arizona. I’m happily married to the love of my life – a hot American boy I met while traveling the world. I’m a mama to 2 awesome little boys and love red things, rugby, cheesecake, and bacon. Mmmmm. Bacon. Read More

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Comments

  4. Danielle Wolter says

    I feel that way every day too. And I don’t really have a problem using cream of xxx soup. Sometimes it just makes things easier, which is great when you’re busy. Anyways, this is like ultimate comfort food!!

    Reply

  8. michele says

    This is the kind of food I grew up with. I made this for my brother who came to dinner and he and I DEVOURED it all! So so good!

    Reply

    • Kylee says

      Depends on how big your kids are!! I use the rule of thumb – would 1lb of ground beef typically feed my family? If no, then I’d double it. If you have leftovers, I promise, no one will complain.

  13. Catalina says

    This Cowboy Casserole has all the ingredients that my family loves! This is a winner! I am sure my family will go crazy over this dish!

    Reply

  15. Byron Thomas says

    You kinda had me at cowboy! 😉 Seriously though, Kylee, this sounds and looks delicious! I love a good casserole, but I very rarely find one that includes steps to cook and drain the ground beef first. I bet this step eliminates that unwanted excess grease. Speaking of grease, if the ground beef is being drained, can I not substitute the ground beef for vegetarian crumbles to make this casserole a vegetarian dish?

    Reply

  25. Donna says

    I’m making this tomorrow morning you bring to a pot luck at work. I’m adding 1 lb ground chicken, 1 can of black beans and an additional can of diced tomatoes. Depending on how all that looks once it’s all in the crockpot I may add an additional can of cream of *** soup. I’m looking forward to serving this to my coworkers.

    Reply

  27. Cha says

    Love the name! I have now made it twice, each time a little different but definitely comfort food and easy! Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  30. Kayla D says

    This was super good! It even passed the test of my picky husband lol! I used pinto beans and fire roasted diced tomatoes. The only change I would make next time is reducing the Italian seasoning by just a bit.
    Don’t forget the cheese on top before serving ! Will make this again for sure. Thanks Kylee !!!!

    Reply

  31. Theresa Ann Beneda says

    I just made it and was very happy how it came out since I am not a super good cook. Very tasty. I used chili powder to spice it up. Only had 1 potato since the other potato was no good.

    Reply

  33. Kelly Whitaker says

    Assume the potatoes are sliced thick so they stay firm? Making this for the first time tonight for my very picky husband!

    Reply

  34. Anne says

    Thanks, Kylee. I tried this recipe over the weekend and it was a big hit. I appreciate your “Notes” so that I can use variations. I rinsed and drained my beans, but added 1/2 – 1 cup of water. I left out the cheese for each person to add to their individual serving. Wow! This one is a keeper! It will be a frequently served meal at our house.

    Reply

  35. BERNARD GROSS says

    Fantastic recipe that has become a house favorite! Adding the can of corn also a great idea. Chili powder with some green and red peppers also a good add. Basically feel free to use your imagination. Thanks for posting!!

    Reply
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