Turn barbecue into a supper that the whole family will love with this easy BBQ casserole recipe! Make sure you make enough for seconds…and thirds.
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Why we love this recipe
This BBQ casserole falls into the same category as my Chili Dog recipe…in other words, it is, um, a little light on the vegetables. Although there is a very healthy onion involved!
But as with the Chili Dogs, it is guiltily delicious, and as long as you only make it once in a blue moon, you are totally okay. 😁
And (bonus points!) it only takes five ingredients and about ten minutes to throw together and into your oven.
(Don’t actually throw it into the oven. HA.)
Ingredients you need
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Ground Beef: We recommend the 80/20% fat version for the best flavor.
- Biscuits: You can get whatever kind you want…buttermilk, regular, etc. Just look for about 12 ounces so you have enough to make the bottom layer of the casserole.
- Onion: We recommend a sweet onion for this recipe, but if you want a little extra kick you can use a white or yellow onion.
- Cheese: We like a sharp cheddar cheese but you can use monterey jack, Mexican blend cheese, pepper jack or any other kind of melty cheese that you like.
- Barbecue Sauce: This is the key to this whole recipe! Use your very favorite – mild, spicy, tomato-y, vinegar-based, etc. It will all work!
How to make this recipe
STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 375 and grease a 9×13 pan with cooking spray or vegetable oil.
STEP 2: Cook up some ground beef and onion over medium high heat until the beef is browned and the onion is tender.
STEP 3: Add your favorite barbecue sauce to the skillet and give it all a good stir.
PRO TIP: Want to give your casserole even more of a kick? Add a few dashes of Tabasco sauce when you add the BBQ sauce.
STEP 4: Take a can of refrigerated biscuits — you know the ones I mean? The ones in the exploding can that we all secretly could eat 10 of if nobody was looking? Smoosh them over the bottom of the casserole dish (don’t worry if there are little open spots here and there).
STEP 5: Cover the smooshed biscuits with the meat mixture…
…then top the whole thing with shredded cheddar cheese.
STEP 5: Bake until the biscuits are cooked through and golden brown, the cheese is melted and the kitchen smells like Bar-B-Q Paradise.
Recipe FAQs
I know, there are so many choices, but the easy answer is…your favorite kind! The sauce is going to be the main thing that influences the flavor of this dish, so be as spicy (or not spicy 🙋🏼♀️) or as inventive as you want to be.
Yep! Any shredded, meltable cheese will work. A Mexican blend, shredded mozzarella and shredded Jack cheese are all great alternatives.
It can! The best approach is to put everything together and then bake it right before you serve it, but you can also go ahead and bake it, pop it in the fridge, then bring it to room temperature and put it in a 350 degree oven for about 10 to 15 minutes to warm it up.
Pop your question (or comment, or suggestion) in the Comments section below and I will answer pronto!
Want to round out your meal?
We love some sweet and tangy coleslaw or some roasted green beans on the side of this casserole, and in the summer we also like a rustic tomato salad.
And for dessert, let’s have some no-bake chocolate haystack cookies!
Other easy casserole recipes we love
Looking for more casserole inspiration? Here is our complete collection of casserole recipes!
We want to know what you think!
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comment section. It will help both us and your fellow readers!
BBQ Casserole
Turn barbecue into a supper that the whole family will love with this easy BBQ casserole recipe! Make sure you make enough for seconds…and thirds.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 chopped onion
- 3/4 cup barbecue sauce
- Tabasco sauce (optional)
- 1 twelve ounce can refrigerated biscuits
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 and grease 9×13 baking dish.
- Cook ground beef in a large skillet until it begins to brown, and then add onion. Cook until beef is fully browned. Stir in barbecue sauce (and if you want to give your casserole even more of a kick, add a few shakes of Tabasco sauce too!)
- Lay biscuits in single layer in the baking dish and smoosh them down a little – it’s okay if they don’t cover every bit of the casserole. Top with beef mixture. Sprinkle cheddar cheese evenly over all.
- Bake until biscuits are cooked and cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes and then serve.
Notes
-
- Ground Beef: We recommend the 80/20% fat version for the best flavor
-
- Biscuits: You can get whatever kind you want…buttermilk, regular, etc. Just look for about 12 ounces so you have enough to make the bottom layer of the casserole.
-
- Onion: We recommend a very healthy sweet onion for this recipe, but if you want a little extra kick you can use a white or yellow onion.
-
- Barbecue Sauce: This is the key to this whole recipe! Use your very favorite – mild, spicy, tomato-y, vinegar-based, etc. It will all work!
Ariel says
Love this recipe as a week day meal! It’s simple and it makes a delicious leftover too!
It’s so wonderful when there are leftovers of a good dinner in your fridge, right? :)
Martha in KS says
About 45 years ago I used to make Beefed Up Biscuit Casserole that was very similar to this dish. Quick & delicious!
oooh, it sounds like I might need that recipe too! :)
Sherry says
I had this at my sons house this week. It was delicious. -the bisquites. Probably to make it low carb
But it was delicious
I plan on making myself. My daughter -in -law did a great job severed with a salad.
I’m so glad you and your family liked it!! :)
Patty says
Do I drain the hamburger, it doesn’t say?
Hi Patty! I don’t usually drain it, but I use lean ground beef. If there are LOTS of drippings, yes I would give it a little drain. :)
BARDUDE says
sorry for the misspellings. I didn’t proofread.
No worries – you should see some of my text messages. Yikes. Let me know how the crescent rolls work for you!
BARDUDE says
Gonna gie this a try. I’ll increase the ingrediance and use a can of cressant rolls rolled out in the pan. (less dough). This reciepe looks really good.
Haley says
Have you tried this with crescent rolls instead of biscuits? Just wondering how that would turn out! May try it tonight!
Hi Haley! I haven’t…I think you might need to roll them up the way you would if you were baking them on their own just to get the right thickness…but it could work! If you try it this way, can you let me know how it turns out? Thanks!!
Haley Green says
The crescent rolls turned out good! It’s definitely less doughy but still delicious. I’m going to try it with biscuits as well to see which one we like better!
I love it! Make sure you come back and tell us which ones won the taste test!
Joann says
Hi Kate, I just saw the recipe for this BB-Q Casserole and it looks delicious. I do have a question though, I was wandering if the biscuits get mushy or should I bake a little bit then add the beef mixture? Just curious, cause I do want to try this very soon :) Thanks so much.
Hi Joann! The biscuits actually cook nicely in this recipe – obviously they are crispier on the top than they are on the bottom, but the inside will be nicely cooked through. Have fun – this is one of our favorite recipes!
Chel says
What’s a good side dish with this?
Hi Chel! I think coleslaw would be a perfect side dish – it’s cool taste goes really well with any kind of barbecue. :)
Darlene says
Which biscuits did you use? The regular ones or the Grands?
Charles C says
Made this tonight for dinner. What more can I say than: AWESOME! I used 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef and increased all other ingredients, except refrigerated biscuits, accordingly. Combined 3 bottles of leftover BBQ sauce and got rid of those little dribs & drabs and the bottles. This recipe is a keeper for me and will make again. Thanks for sharing.
I totally LOVE the using up the ends of sauce approach – now I need to make this again too!
Aviva says
what are refrigerated biscuits?
The ones that come in a tube as uncooked dough – here’s a sample: http://www.pillsbury.com/products/biscuits/pillsbury-biscuits
Patty says
want to make this but it doesn’t say anywhere to drain hamburger meat, do I?