Cornbread Cowboy Casserole is a two-layered casserole with a seasoned baked bean and ground beef base, and a cheesy cornbread topping. The idea for this dish came from my cowboy beans, which so many readers have said is one of their favorite recipes!
Cornbread Cowboy Casserole
Yee-Haw! This Cornbread Cowboy Casserole really packs in the flavor! The base is my cowboy beans, which are a hearty blend of ground beef, bacon, onion, peppers, brown sugar, and baked beans. Because this is a casserole and meant to be a meal, I did add ground beef to make it heartier.
The top layer of this dish is a delicious, crumbly, cheesy cornbread. When paired together, these two layers are the perfect blend of savory and sweet that are sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Cowboy casserole is the perfect recipe to bring to a cookout, especially served with a side of homemade coleslaw and a pitcher of homemade lemonade!
Cornbread Cowboy Casserole Ingredients
Ground Beef: I prefer ground beef in this recipe. You could definitely try ground turkey as a substitute for a leaner protein.
Bacon: Cook and crumble the bacon before adding it to the skillet. To make this easy (with little clean-up), bake the bacon ahead of time on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet for 18-20 minutes at 415°F.
Baked Beans: Choose a 28-ounce can of your favorite brand of baked beans. I used Bush’s Original Baked Beans.
Barbecue Sauce: As with the baked beans, choose your favorite kind of barbecue sauce. Or, use this homemade BBQ sauce.
Cornbread: I made a homemade cornbread for topping my casserole. If you decide to try a box mix cornbread feel free to let me know how it turns out!
How to Serve Cornbread Cowboy Casserole
This dish is so filling and could be served a couple of ways. It is great on its own as a hearty dinner, but it also makes a great side dish to bring to any cookout to share with a crowd! We love it with ribs, brisket, and even burgers!
Can I Reduce the Sugar in this Recipe?
You can. I loved the slightly sweet flavor of the beans, but you can definitely reduce or omit the brown sugar in the cowboy beans layer if desired. You could also opt to leave in the sugar and add in a spicy element, such as cayenne or a hotter pepper should you want a stronger flavor contrast.
How to Store Cornbread Cowboy Casserole
Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. If you want to prepare the dish ahead of time, you can freeze the prepared cowboy beans. When ready to make, allow the mixture to come to room temperature, add to prepared skillet, then add the cornbread mixture on top. Bake as directed.
More Cowboy Grub
Cornbread Cowboy Casserole
Ingredients
COWBOY BEANS
- 1.5 pounds (680g) ground beef
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced (approximately 1 cup)
- 1 green bell pepper, diced (approximately 1 cup)
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- ¼ cup (50g) brown sugar,
- 1 can (28 ounces) baked beans, (I used Bush's Original Baked Beans)
- ½ cup (140g) barbecue sauce
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
CORNBREAD
- 1 cup (122g) cornmeal
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (245g) whole milk, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (113g) mild cheddar cheese, shredded
- parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
Cowboy Beans
- In a large (the skillet pictured is a 12-inch), oven-safe skillet* over medium-high heat, add the ground beef, onion, green pepper, garlic salt, and onion powder. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, or until the beef is no longer pink. Remove from heat. Drain grease.
- Add the cooked bacon crumbles, brown sugar, baked beans, barbecue sauce, and dijon mustard. Stir together until fully incorporated.
Cornbread
- In a large bowl whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until fully combined.
- In a separate large bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and butter.
- Add the cornmeal mixture to the milk mixture, stirring until just combined.
- Fold in the cheese.
- Carefully pour the cornbread batter over the beans, and spread to the edge of the skillet, making sure they are completely covered.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean.
- Garnish with parsley and serve hot.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
You can tag me at @iamhomesteader.
You Dont say how to make the cornbread ???
Yes, everything you need to know is in the recipe card.
This was delicious but just a tad too sweet for us. I’ll definitely make it again and just leave out the brown sugar. I also used Jiffy cornbread mix. So good!
I like the idea of this recipe but I unfortunately found it to be too sweet.
I think the bbq, brown sugar, baked beans is too much in this dish. If I try it again I’d leave out the brown sugar completely and add cayenne. I do love the idea of the cornbread topping and will be trying this concept with
Chilli! Thanks
I’m confused, please excuse me. Does the cornbread go in the meat or on top of the meat? I’m looking forward to making this
I think I will use black beans instead, cilantro, corn plus maybe diced carrots. I also like the Idea of chopped jalapeños in the corn bread and cayenne pepper. Not too much spice but just not overly sweet. Spicy/ sweet. Also what about half and half or can milk.
On top
This is the tastiest new recipe I’ve tried in ages. Everyone had seconds and they have asked for a repeat. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
I love making cowboy cornbread I actually make it a lot it’s really good with venison as well instead of the beef but in my corn bread I just use gif Box cornbread but I add cream corn into the corn bread mixture it keeps your corn bread moist and leaves 0 chances of it drying out even when you repeat it like the next day Or as leftovers at any point your corn bread won’t dry out
Do u omit anything from the boxed recipe when adding the creamed corn??
I was skeptical of this recipe, thinking it would be too sweet, but it turned out great. I only used 1 pound of ground beef (because that’s all I could afford at $7 a pound), and I used Krusteaz cornbread boxed mix instead of making the cornbread from scratch. Everything just barely fit in the skillet, but it didn’t overflow in the oven and everything came out great. Will make again.
A cowboy’s shepherd pie. Mix a can of creamed corn in with the cornbread batter and add a chopped jalapeno or two.
I used 1 cup of frozen corn with green chilis and one jalapeño. I also did one small can of pinto beans. Came out amazing and not too sweet! 🙌
looks great
must try.this
This sounds really good. I’m definitely making it
I wonder if anyone tried this with chedderbay biscuits instead of cornbread.
That sounds delicious
Just made it with cheddar bay biscuits ill let you know how it tastes
What do you think about adding drained canned corn or frozen corn to the base?
Sure! I actually do that often – I love corn in everything 😂
I made this with the bush’s brown sugar beans and hunny cornbread. It was savory and so filling.
This looks like a good recipe to try at camp in the old Dutch oven.
I made this on whim for my husband and I but used a boxed cornbread mix (Fleischman’s) and it turned out really good. I used diced green chilies and red bell pepper. I used the baked beans with brown sugar that were too sweet so next go round I will stick to the original baked beans. This was such a fun recipe to make and I even had a cast iron skillet to cook it in! Thank you!
Would it in a cast iron pan as well?
I made this in a large cast iron and it came out great!
I used a bit more ground beef than the recipe – we are carnivores! I used Splenda brown sugar and I also used Jiffy cornbread muffin mix and it worked just fine (2 boxes). Be sure to mix with real milk of some variety – almond milk, etc will not rise. For a household of two adults this makes enuf for 3 nights entrees with some frozen veggies on the side the second & third nights. Very filling!
I made this casserole tonight and it was a hit with everyone. I used two boxes of Jiffy Cornbread mix for the topping with 2/3 c.milk and 2 eggs, and sprinkled the cheddar cheese on top
Can you suggest something to use in place of the beef to make this a meatless dish, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
You can omit the meat.
Try cabbage in place of meat!
Looks great! I usually use an off brand baked beans and add onion, bacon, molasses, a dash of dried or prepared mustard, and yes brown sugar and sometimes a bit of ketchup too! I like to bake them till they are firm.
You could use meatless crumble you can find in frozen section or the vegan refrigerator case
Lentils would work great for this. I’ve used lentils and diced mushrooms instead of ground beef in cottage pie and it tastes great. We aren’t vegetarian but meat is expensive!
This was great! Quick and easy! I only made a couple changes. We don’t eat alot of beef but keep deer meat in the freezer year round. I used deer meat chunks, cut into small bites, in place of the beef. I had to cook it in the pan a few more minutes but it was delish! My husband kept eating the cowboy beans before I could get the cornbread on top.
Deer meat! Yummy! Boy I haven’t had that since I lived back east in NY state.
Yes! I bet the venison was delicious in this! My late husband used to keep us stocked up, I sure miss it! And him of course!