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.
Love bold “cowboy” flavors but need something in a hurry? Try my Steak Bites with Cowboy Butter, which tosses tender steak pieces in a garlicky, herb-infused butter for a quick appetizer or weeknight bite.
Check out these other easy crockpot meals! Try my Hearty Beef Chili, Smothered Pork Chops or Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala.
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?
About using 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 Tips section).
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Key Recipe Ingredients
Note: This highlights some ingredients. Full list is in the recipe card.
- 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 store bought.
How to make Crockpot Cowboy Casserole
This is a step-by-step photo guide. Full ingredients and instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
Jump- 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 shredded cheese on top, cover.
- Serve when cheese is melted (about 10 minutes).
Kylee’s 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?
- For a little extra flavor, use fire-roasted diced tomatoes.
- You can substitute ground turkey for ground beef if you want a leaner option.
- Make sure to slice the potatoes evenly so they cook consistently.
Freezing instructions
Allow to cool completely, then place in a freezer safe container. Freeze. Thaw and reheat until piping hot.
More recipes to love
Looking for more crockpot recipes?
- 15 Bean Soup. Packed with flavor and goodness – this meal is a great one to set and forget!
- Crock Pot Pork Loin. Comfort food that cooks all day, ready to eat when you get home!
- Hamburger Stew. A deliciously easy to prep crockpot recipe, using basic ingredients, this hamburger stew is a family favorite and budget-friendly!
- ALL SLOW COOKER/CROCKPOT RECIPES
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Want to see something fun? Here are some of the the original pictures from when I published this many moons ago! eek.
Cowboy Casserole (Crockpot)
Ingredients
- 1 large onion
- 1 pound ground beef
- 3 large potatoes
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 cans kidney beans do not drain
- 15 ounce diced tomatoes do not drain
- 10.5 ounce cream of chicken soup
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked pepper
- 1.5 cups cheddar cheese grated
Instructions
Get prepped
- Slice 1 large onion into half moons, peel and slice 3 large potatoes. Mince 1 clove garlic. Brown 1 pound ground beef and drain the excess fat.
Cook
- Place the browned ground beef, sliced potatoes, onion, garlic, 2 cans kidney beans, 15 ounce diced tomatoes, 10.5 ounce cream of chicken soup, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon cracked pepper in a crockpot. Stir to combine everything.
- Cover the crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.
Finish
- Sprinkle 1.5 cups cheddar cheese on top and cover the crockpot. Let the cheese melt for about 10 minutes before serving.
Video
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?
- For a little extra flavor, use fire-roasted diced tomatoes.
- You can substitute ground turkey for ground beef if you want a leaner option.
- Make sure to slice the potatoes evenly so they cook consistently.
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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About Kylee Ayotte
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. Meet Kylee
This is NOT a casserole. This is soup or chili. I am glad I drained the beans because it would have been soupier. We had one serving and decided to give it away…or I might just throw it.
Thanks for your feedback. I disagree, but that’s okay 🙂
The starch from the liquid in the beans actually thickens it up. Draining them makes for a soupier consistency.
Hi, I followed your recipe to the T, it’s in the crock pot cooking now. Question, can I freeze cowboy casserole. If so, for how long & how to reheat ? Looking forward to dinner. Looks yummy 🤤 Thank you!
Was looking for a fast crock pot meal with items I already had and this was the one I chose. Glad I did!! Didn’t have cream of chicken so I made it with French onion soup can. Because of that I added 1/4 heavy whipping cream. I also added red pepper flake. At the end instead of shredded cheddar I did Gouda. This was amazing and will definitely make again. It also sounds so transformable which I love!!! So easy!!!
I’ve made this a few times before as the recipe is written (except with ground turkey), and it was delicious!
I made it again today – but I need to watch my sodium intake these days, so I used unsalted cream of chicken soup and tomatoes, and drained and rinsed the kidney beans (couldn’t find reduced sodium this shopping trip). I added about a can full of unsalted chicken broth to make up for it.
I also added a green pepper because I had one to use before it went bad. I cooked the onion, pepper, and garlic with the turkey.
I made some biscuits to go with it and it was delicious!
This was delicious. I have two picky toddlers and even they had seconds. My husband loved it so much he took leftovers to work for TWO days!