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Cowboy Cornbread Casserole is a flavorful, comforting meal that’s so easy to make. Seasoned ground beef, corn, pinto beans, and Rotel tomatoes are layered with shredded cheddar cheese and a cornbread topping for a winning dinner!
My family loves a good hearty casserole, and I love making them because they are so easy to throw together. If you’re looking for other recipes to try, you’re sure to love this crowd-pleasing John Wayne Casserole, this family-favorite Chicken Tetrazzini Casserole, and this delicious Philly Cheesesteak Casserole.
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Family-Friendly: If you’re looking for a comforting meal that you know your family will be excited to eat, this cornbread casserole is it!
- So tasty: The combination of bold spices with Mexican-style ingredients, plenty of cheese, and the sweet, moist cornbread topping will be an absolute party in your mouth!
- Easy: Only about 15 minutes of prep time is needed, and with cooking time included, you’ll have this on the dinner table in less than an hour.
Cowboy Cornbread Casserole Recipe
This casserole has become a family favorite because it’s loaded with all the traditional Tex-Mex flavors and that wonderful texture everyone loves. It’s definitely hearty enough to serve on its own, but it’s also great served with sides like Mexican rice, a fresh, crisp salad, or refried beans. And don’t forget the toppings! We love to top it with sour cream, salsa, sliced avocado or guacamole, and fresh cilantro.
Ingredients in Cornbread Casserole
This cowboy cornbread casserole recipe is super filling and makes six servings, which is probably enough to feed your whole family! See the recipe card below for exact measurements.
Beef Filling
- Beef: I like to use lean ground beef or ground turkey for the filling.
- Onion: Adds flavor and texture.
- Salt and Pepper: Enhances all of the flavors.
- Garlic Powder: For a hint of garlic taste.
- Chili Powder: Adds Mexican flavor without too much heat.
- Cumin: Adds a touch of earthiness and warmth to the flavor profile.
- Corn: Gives the meat mixture plenty of texture and a bit of sweetness.
- Rotel tomatoes: If you’re serving someone who might be sensitive to spice, be sure to grab the can that says “mild.”
- Chili beans: Add these in undrained for delicious sauciness.
- Cheese: Provides wonderful cheesiness. Use shredded Colby-Jack cheese or another favorite variety.
Cornbread
- Cornbread: I like to use two boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix, which is really convenient to mix up.
- Creamed Corn: Adds a creamy richness to the cornbread.
- Sour Cream: I love adding sour cream to cornbread batter for added moisture.
Let’s Make Cornbread Cowboy Casserole!
With just one bite of this easy casserole recipe, you’ll be hooked! In fact, it’s definitely one of those dinners you’ll find yourself craving on repeat. So, here’s how it all comes together:
Beef Filling
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Brown the Beef: Cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Add the diced onion and cook until tender.
- Combine: Add the corn, pinto beans, Rotel tomatoes, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder to the ground beef mixture. Stir to combine.
- Layer in Pan with Cheese: Pour the beef mixture into the prepared pan then top with shredded cheese.
Cornbread
- Make the Cornbread Batter: Combine the corn muffin mix, creamed corn, and sour cream in a medium bowl and mix until you have a thick batter.
- Add the Cornbread Topping and Bake: Spoon the mixture evenly over the casserole. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cornbread is golden brown.
Baking Tip
If the top of the cornbread is getting too dark then cover the casserole with aluminum foil. This allows the cornbread mixture to continue to cook but prevents the top from browning too fast!
Variations
One of the best things about this cowboy cornbread casserole is that you can switch things up to suit your taste. You can easily change out the ingredients to make this something your family will gladly devour!
- Ground Beef: I prefer lean ground beef, but ground turkey or chicken works well too.
- Beans: You can use any beans you prefer. Kidney, pinto, or black beans are great options. Be sure to drain and rinse the beans.
- Seasonings: Swap out the seasonings for a packet of taco seasoning.
- Corn: Frozen or fresh corn can be used with great results.
- Rotel Tomatoes: If you don’t have Rotel, use canned diced tomatoes and a small can of diced green chilies. You can also use one cup of salsa.
- Add-in Ideas: The filling is so versatile. You can add jalapeños, bell peppers, green onions, olives, or any other add-ins you like.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
If you have leftover cowboy cornbread casserole, store it for an easy lunch the next day! This tastes even better the next day!
- In the Refrigerator: Once your pie has cooled, store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- In the Freezer: Baked casseroles freeze well if properly wrapped and stored for up to 3 months. To enjoy them after freezing, let them defrost overnight in the fridge.
- To Reheat: To reheat your refrigerated casserole, place individual servings in the microwave on high for 1 minute or until heated through. To reheat from frozen, thaw it completely in your refrigerator overnight. Then, microwave individual servings or bake the entire dish at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes.
More Casserole Recipes
If you love casseroles as much as I do, here are a few more satisfying and incredibly tasty dishes that your family will gobble up! They come together easily with simple ingredients. For more dinner inspiration, find my full list of casseroles here!
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Cowboy Cornbread Casserole
Ingredients
Beef Filling
- 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef, or ground turkey
- ½ cup onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 15 ounces corn, drained
- 10 ounces Rotel tomatoes
- 15 ounces chili beans, undrained
- 2 cups Colby-Jack cheese, shredded
Cornbread
- 2-8.5 ounce boxes Jiffy corn muffin mix
- 15 ounces creamed corn, canned
- ½ cup sour cream
Instructions
Beef Filling
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Add the diced onion and cook until tender.
- Add the corn, pinto beans, Rotel tomatoes, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder. Stir to combine.
- Pour the beef mixture into the prepared pan, then top it with shredded cheese.
Cornbread
- Combine the corn muffin mix, creamed corn, and sour cream in a medium bowl and mix until you have a thick batter.
- Spoon the mixture evenly over the casserole.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cornbread is golden brown.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
tried this recipe, ( cowboy casserole) last evening, We had company, wanted something new and different, so gathered the ingredients, and everyone had two helpings !!! A bit of heat, not a lot, just enough to say there was something in there. Anyway it was good!! Will be keeping the ingredients on hand in the pantry from now on, thank you very much.
I made this tonight, and it was great! I didn’t have Jiffy mix, but I made a homemade mix to top the casserole. I’ve made similar casseroles that have been mushy, but the texture of the cornbread was perfect!
Definitely NO milk. Added 2/3 cup of milk and cooked and additional ten minutes. Was still good, but can’t wait to try it again without the milk.
Wow, this looks amazing and love the flavors and spices used here. Will make
soon. Looks like something the whole family will love!
Beef filling step 1 has a typo, “SPAY a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray.”
Milk missing as an ingredient in the cornbread topping.
Hi Michael, thank you for catching those mistakes and pointing them out to me. There is actually no milk in the recipe, so I took it out of the instructions! Thank you for being patient with me!
The picture shows te casserole being served in a cat iron pan. Do I really need to transfer it to a baking dish?
If your pan is oven safe then you are fine to leave it in that to bake!
Can’t wait to try this! What size cast iron is this cooked in?
Hi Alex, thank you for your question. I made mine in a 12 inch skillet. I hope this helped!
Is there milk in this recipe per the instructions, and if yes how much?
Hi, thank you for the question. There is actually no milk in this recipe. I removed in from the post! Thank you for pointing that out to me!
This sounds delicious! How much milk for this recipe?
There is no milk in this recipe