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Cattle Drive Casserole

Cattle drive casserole is a cowboy casserole style bake with a golden biscuit or crescent top over bubbling seasoned ground beef, beans, corn, and cheddar cheese. It’s layered, Tex-Mex flavored, and baked until the top is browned and the filling bubbles at the edges.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 710
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Ground beef
  • 1.5 lb ground beef
Kidney beans
  • 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained
Corn
  • 1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
Rotel tomatoes
  • 1 can (10 oz) Rotel tomatoes
Taco seasoning
  • 1 packet taco seasoning
Sour cream
  • 0.5 cup sour cream
Sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1.5 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
Crescent roll dough or biscuits
  • 1 crescent roll dough or biscuits Use 1 can of crescent roll dough or 1 tube biscuits.

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Preheat and brown the beef
  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Get a large oven-safe skillet ready for the casserole base.
  2. Brown ground beef in the oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat and drain fat. Stop when no pink remains and the beef looks crumbly.
  3. Add taco seasoning, kidney beans, corn, and Rotel tomatoes and stir to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes until thickened and the flavors are cohesive.
Build and bake the casserole
  1. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and 1 cup cheddar cheese. Mix until smooth and evenly coated.
  2. Unroll crescent dough or biscuits and lay over the top of the beef mixture, pressing edges to seal. Ensure the seams are pressed down so the filling stays contained.
  3. Sprinkle remaining cheddar over the dough. Bake for 18–22 minutes at 375°F until biscuits are golden and filling is bubbling at the edges.

Notes

For clean slices, let the casserole stand 5–10 minutes after baking so the cheesy filling sets. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container up to 3 days; freeze for up to 2 months if needed (reheat covered in a 350°F oven until hot). For a lighter option, use reduced-fat cheese and light sour cream—texture remains similar with slightly lower richness.