Save This Recipe

Just drop your email here and We'll send it right away!

This Slow Cooker beef and corn Casserole is the kind of supper I reach for when the day gets away from me. Five ingredients, no browning the meat, no fuss — just layer everything in the Slow Cooker and let it do the work. It’s hearty, filling, and tastes like it took way more effort than it did.

Why You’ll Love It

Only 5 ingredients — all pantry and freezer staples you probably already have
No pre-browning required — the raw beef goes straight into the slow cooker, which saves a step and a pan
Completely hands-off — set it in the morning and walk away; dinner is ready when you are
Hearty and filling — thick, savory, stick-to-your-ribs comfort food
Great leftovers — reheats well the next day and works tucked into a tortilla for an easy second meal

A Few Notes on the Ingredients

The beef: I use 80/85% lean. I know some people go leaner to cut the fat, and you can, but I think it loses something. The fat renders into the sauce and gives it body. If you use 90% or higher, just be aware it’ll be a little different — still fine, but different.
The corn: I’ve made this with frozen corn when I didn’t have cans, and it works, but honestly I slightly prefer the cans. Something about the way canned corn holds up in the slow cooker. Drain them well, though. If you don’t drain them, you’ll end up with more liquid than you bargained for at the bottom.
Cream of mushroom soup: Don’t add water. The condensed soup goes in as-is. I made the mistake of diluting it once because I misread my own handwritten notes, and the whole thing was too thin and sad. Just use it straight from the can.
The onion soup mix packet: This is doing a lot of the flavor work. Don’t skip it. I’ve seen some people try to swap it for fresh onion and garlic and various seasonings, and look — you do you — but the packet has a particular flavor profile that I think makes this taste specifically like this and not like some other thing.
Cheddar cheese: Medium or sharp, either works. I usually buy a block and shred it myself because the pre-shredded kind has that coating on it that keeps it from melting as smoothly. But if that’s what you’ve got, it’s fine. It still melts. It’s cheese.

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef (80–85% lean)
2 cans (15 oz each) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (10.5 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup — not diluted
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 packet (1 oz) dry onion soup mix

How to Make It

Get your slow cooker out — 5 to 6 quart is what I use, anything smaller and it’s going to be crowded in there. You don’t need to grease it or spray it or preheat it. Just open it up and put it on the counter.
Crumble the raw ground beef into the bottom. I just use my hands to break it up — I know some people use a spoon, but I find hands faster. You want it in a loose, fairly even layer, not pressed down or packed. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Nothing about this recipe has to be perfect, which is sort of the point.
Sprinkle the whole onion soup packet right over the raw beef. Try to distribute it reasonably evenly, though if some of it clumps a little, it’ll work itself out during cooking.
Drain your corn and spread both cans over the beef. I usually just eyeball the spreading — it doesn’t need to be architectural.
In a small bowl, stir together the condensed soup and half a cup of the shredded cheese. It’ll be thick and a little clumpy. That’s fine. Spoon this mixture over the corn and spread it as best you can — it’ll cover most of the top, and it’ll thin out as everything heats up.
Put the lid on. Walk away. Cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours or HIGH for 3 to 4. I almost always do LOW because I start it around ten or eleven in the morning, and I want it ready around five, not four. But HIGH works when you’ve got a shorter runway.
Near the end, give it a stir down through the layers — the beef will have cooked through by then and you want to break up any bigger clumps and get everything sort of combined. Then smooth the top back out, scatter the remaining half cup of cheese over the surface, and put the lid back on for another ten or fifteen minutes on LOW or WARM just to melt the cheese. Don’t rush this part. Melted cheese on top is not optional in my opinion.
Taste before you serve. I usually don’t need much — sometimes a pinch of black pepper, sometimes nothing at all.

Variations

Cream of chicken soup works in place of mushroom — it’s a little lighter in flavor, maybe a little sweeter. I switch between the two depending on what’s in my pantry. Cream of celery also works, though I think that one’s the mildest of the three.
If you want to stretch it further — and this is a move I make when I know there are going to be a lot of people at the table — stir in a cup or two of cooked egg noodles in the last half hour. They soak up the sauce beautifully without turning to mush. I tried adding uncooked noodles once. Don’t do that.
Frozen peas and carrots added on top of the corn before the soup mixture adds color and a little sweetness and makes it feel more like a complete meal in one pot. I just usually don’t have peas in the freezer for some reason.
Ground turkey works as a substitute, but I’d add a little garlic powder if you go that route. It can taste a bit flat otherwise.

Leftovers

This reheats well. I usually pack it into a container the same night and it keeps in the fridge for three or four days, though it’s usually gone by day two. It reheats fine in the microwave — I add a small splash of water or broth if it seems dry, which sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.
The leftovers wrapped in a tortilla with a little extra cheese make an easy next-day lunch.

Serve it scooped into bowls, or over mashed potatoes if you want to make it really feel like a farmhouse supper. Egg noodles are good too. A side of green beans or a plain salad makes the whole thing feel a little more balanced, and some bread to mop up the sauce is never a wrong idea.