BBQ Beef Cornbread Casserole

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

16 Comments

4.67 from 6 votes
6 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
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BBQ Beef Cornbread Casserole is an easy weeknight dinner recipe the whole family will love! Double it and it’s ready for next time too!

You can’t go wrong with easy Dinner Recipes like Tater Tot Casserole or Cheeseburger Casserole that can be made ahead and baked from frozen for a quick and delicious meal the whole family enjoys!

Sabrina’s BBQ Beef Cornbread Casserole Recipe

What do you get when you top BBQ Beef Sloppy Joes with Homemade Cornbread? An amazing southern tamale pie, that’s easy to throw together and pop in the oven, ready in just one hour.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

BBQ Beef Cornbread Casserole Recipe

BBQ Beef Cornbread Casserole is an easy weeknight dinner recipe the whole family will love! Double it and it's ready for next time too!
Yield 6 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
BBQ Beef Cornbread Casserole square on spatula
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Ingredients
 

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/2 yellow onion , chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper , chopped
  • 1 cup barbecue sauce
  • 15 ounces tomato sauce
  • 2 cups cheddar cheese , shredded
  • 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter , melted

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9×9 baking dish with cooking spray.
  • Combine the beef, onion and bell pepper in a large dutch oven on medium heat and cook for 5-6 minutes until browned and cooked through and drain any fat.
  • Add in the barbecue sauce and tomato sauce and bring to a boil before reducing to a simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Meanwhile mix the cornbread topping. Add the cornmeal, milk, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, egg and butter to a bowl and whisk well together.
  • In the baking dish layer beef mixture then the shredded cheese and top with the cornbread mixture. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 644kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 141mg | Sodium: 1264mg | Potassium: 811mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 1173IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 370mg | Iron: 4mg

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About this Recipe

BBQ Beef Cornbread Casserole is an easy, kid-friendly casserole dinner that’s perfect for busy weeknights or taking to potlucks. You can easily double the recipe and make two casseroles at once, freezing one for later with our make ahead instructions.

Chef’s Note

Make casserole even easier and bake it in the Dutch oven instead of transferring to baking dish. You won’t be able to store it as easy in the pot, but it’s so delicious you may not have leftovers!

Can this be made ahead of time?

Brown ground beef with onions and bell peppers, cooking until no pink remains. Drain fat, add barbecue sauce and tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes. Spread beef mixture in an oven and freezer safe casserole dish. Cool completely. Top with cheese and cornbread mixture. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and cover with foil or lid, and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to cook, remove plastic wrap, re-cover with foil, and bake from frozen at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

What to Pair With

For a quick, weeknight dinner, serve casserole with Roasted Broccoli or Sautéed Green Beans. Garnish with toppings like sour cream, Ranch Dressing, more BBQ sauce, and green onions.

How to Store

  • Serve: Casserole can be at room temperature for up to 2 hours before it should be stored in the refrigerator.
  • Store: Wrap casserole dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Bake in the oven to reheat all at once or microwave individual portions.
  • Freeze: Cover casserole with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil, then freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat from frozen, or thaw in the refrigerator overnight first, in the oven at 325 degrees until hot.

Alternative Cooking Techniques

Slow Cooker

  • Cook beef, onions, and bell peppers in a skillet until no pink left and veggies are soft.
  • Drain fat and add beef mixture to the slow cooker.
  • Stir in barbecue sauce and diced tomatoes.
  • Top with shredded cheese.
  • Prepare cornbread mixture and spread evenly over cheese layer.
  • Cover slow cooker with lid and cook on low for 5-6 hours, until toothpick inserted into cornbread comes out clean.

Variations

  • Cornbread Topping: Add ingredients like cooked bacon, diced jalapeños or green chiles, or cheese to the cornbread topping. For a Southern BBQ Beef Cornbread Casserole, use this Martha White Cornbread recipe!
  • Filling: You can add frozen veggies or canned beans to your BBQ Beef filling to make it more hearty or for a Tex-Mex flavor. Try corn, green beans, carrots, black beans, or kidney beans. Rinse and drain canned beans before adding.
  • BBQ Sauce: Use store bought BBQ sauce or try our any of our tasty, easy homemade BBQ sauces like Memphis BBQ Sauce, Kansas City BBQ, Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce, or Root Beer BBQ Sauce.
  • Meat: Swap ground beef for ground pork, ground turkey, or ground chicken, adding a tablespoon of oil with leaner meats. Use our leftover Roast Turkey, Beef Brisket or Roasted Chicken too!
  • Cornbread Mix: Use a box of cornbread mix instead of the dry ingredients. Prepare to package instructions or use egg and butter. You can also use refrigerated cornbread muffins! Bake as usual until topping is cooked and golden brown.

More Yummy Casserole Dishes

BBQ Beef Cornbread Casserole collage

Photos used in previous post

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. This would have been amazing with the exception of the BBQ sauce, it was too much, which made the dish really sweet. I would recommend only using 1/2 cup. I will try this again, but decrease the amount of BBQ sauce.

    Reply

    1. Totally understand. Taste preferences are always a deciding factor on how to create a dish! Next time, please decrease the amount of BBQ sauce and let us know what you think!

      Reply

  2. I have made this BBQ beef several times and really enjoy it. As it’s so good, I recently made three big pans to serve dinner to a large group. It was a hit! I served it with coleslaw and brownies for dessert. I made the meat portion in advance, rewarmed it the next day then added the cornbread topping and baked until serving time. Perfect. Thank you for a tasty combination.

    Reply

  3. My kids loved it and so did I. I like easy dinners, its hard by yourself. hats off to all the single moms! Great meal..

    Reply

  4. I have celiac so I took a shortcut and used a gluten free cornbread mix. It was absolutely delicious. It was easy to make. Hubby isn’t home yet so I hope he likes it as much as I did!! Definitely will make again! Thank you for sharing ?

    Reply

  6. This looks so delicious and tasty! My family is going to love this recipe especially my daughter and her boyfriend! Can’t wait to make this!

    Reply

  7. My family really enjoyed this casserole! I loved how easy it was to get on the table. No fuss comfort food is my favorite!

    Reply

    1. I substituted diced tomato in the slow cooker version since they’ll have the opportunity to breakdown in the longer cooking process. Hope this clears up any confusion.

      Reply