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Cowboy Casserole

Name: Cowboy Casserole
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 1/2 pound ground beef; 1 15.25- oz can whole kernel corn (drained); 1 10 3/4- oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup (undiluted); 1 1/4 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese (divided); 1/3 cup 2% milk; 1/4 cup sour cream; 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/2 teaspoon onion powder; 1/2 medium yellow onion (chopped); 2 cloves of garlic (minced); 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 2 cups frozen tator tots; 1/4 cup Rotel tomatoes; 1 tablespoon chives (we used freeze dried because that's what we had on hand but fresh would be best!); 1/4 cup olives (sliced *optional ingredient)

August 24, 2017 by Shauna 37 Comments

This Cowboy Casserole is easy to make and the whole family will love it! It's beefy, cheesy, corn-y tator tot goodness will leave your kids wanting more!

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When you hear casserole, you know it’s probably going to be something easy, cheesy, and comforting. But what images dance across that inner screen when you hear cowboy casserole?

Unless you’re a pioneer woman, you probably don’t have a gang of hard-working cowboys to feed. However, a passel of busy kids with hearty appetites is a different and very real possibility!

I reckon’ you and your family are going to love this ground beef and tater tots cowboy casserole—it’s delicious!

After a full day—and aren’t they all?!—I’m on the lookout for a quick and easy meal to fix. It’s got to be filling and something everyone will enjoy (no more multiple-choice dinners at my house) and it must be a dish that gets mama’s approval.

Baked cowboy casserole passes muster with everyone.

There are several versions of this dish so you also might hear this recipe called cowboy potatoes but since there is so much more than spuds in the ingredient list, I don’t think that moniker does it justice.

Ground beef, one of the cream soups, corn, cheese, and those favorite tater tots are the main ingredients here.

Onions, sour cream, tomatoes, garlic, and olives really bump the flavor up.

And as with most recipes, there’s room for experimentation. Substitute breakfast or Italian sausage for the beef, or double the recipe and include both.

And if your family likes ground turkey or venison, that will work too.

If one of your goals is to include more vegetables in your family’s diet, sneak in mixed veggies like carrots, corn, peas, bell peppers, and green beans.

You can also use almost any bean in this recipe. A can of pork and beans, northern, navy, or pinto beans pair well these ingredients.

Try adding barbecue sauce to a beef and bean combination. Include bacon and a topping of biscuits (the ready-made, tube version or a biscuit mix makes it quick) for another taste treat.

Take it south of the border by adding green chilies, salsa, or even a teaspoon of chili powder.

If you don’t have tater tots, thin slices of russet or Idaho potatoes work just fine but if you substitute the fresh potatoes you might want to sandwich some of them between layers of the beefy-soup mixture.

Since I’m such a fan of tater tots, I think it would be a shame to miss out on them but some days you just have to work with what’s in the pantry.

Although I haven’t tried it, I have seen pasta used in this recipe instead of potatoes.

Or you can top the whole thing with cornbread. A box of ready-made cornbread mix is a quick fix, too.

Which brings us to another possibility—swap out different soups for flavor variation. In addition to cream of mushroom soup you might want to try cream of celery, cream of potato, cream of chicken, or a cheddar cheese soup.

I love the taste sour cream and Colby Jack cheese bring to this dish, yet cream cheese or whatever cheese you have on hand can be substituted.

My recipe starts out stove top and finishes in the oven and that’s how I fix it most often but you can slightly adjust my directions and use a slow cooker, too.

If your crockpot is one of the stove top models used for browning, searing, and sautéing, you'll only have one pot to clean up afterword.

Something to consider, especially if you like to get dinner going first thing in the morning when time is really at a premium.

Getting hungry? I am! Fix this cowboy casserole and you won’t have to ring the dinner bell—they’ll be rounding up at the table before you can get there!