Cheddar Bay Biscuit Casserole has a creamy, savory ground-beef filling under soft cheddar biscuits with a buttery, seasoned top. It’s the kind of hearty dinner you can make on a weeknight when you want biscuits and gravy in the same dish.
How to make Cheddar Bay Biscuit Casserole: Cook the beef filling, spoon biscuit dough over it, then bake at 375°F for 20 minutes and 425°F for 5 minutes. Check the center with a food thermometer; it must reach 165°F.
Why You’ll Love It
- Dinner in one baking dish: The beef, vegetables, gravy and biscuits come to the table together.
- Homemade gravy without canned soup: Flour, half-and-half and beef base turn the filling creamy in the pan.
- A topping with two textures: The biscuits stay soft where they meet the gravy and get a buttery finish on top.
- A clear plan for the packet: You save the included seasoning for the melted-butter brush, so it doesn’t get lost in the dough.
Ingredient Notes
Ground beef and onion: Buy lean ground beef, and dice the onion finely so it cooks alongside the beef. I drain the excess grease before adding the seasonings; otherwise, it stays in the filling when you spoon everything into the dish.
Vegetables and mushrooms: The mixed vegetables go in frozen, so you don’t need to plan a thawing step. Drain the sliced mushrooms before adding them. If you’ve opened the can and are wondering what to do with the liquid, leave it out of the pan.
Half-and-half: This is the liquid in the flour-thickened gravy. Evaporated milk is the listed swap if that’s what you have. I’d use one or the other rather than add both; the filling already has its measured amount of liquid.
Biscuit mix: Get a Cheddar Bay biscuit mix that includes its seasoning packet. The packet belongs with the melted butter after baking, not in the mixing bowl. I set it beside the pastry brush before making the dough so it’s ready when the casserole comes out.
Cheddar and butter: Shredded cheddar goes into the dough, while melted butter carries the seasoning over the baked biscuits. Keep those jobs separate: the dough only needs the mix, cold water and cheese.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces lean ground beef
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
- 1 can sliced mushrooms (7.4 ounces), drained
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 1/4 cups half-and-half, or evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon beef base
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 package Cheddar Bay biscuit mix, with its included seasoning packet
- 3/4 cup cold water
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
How to Make Cheddar Bay Biscuit Casserole
1. Heat the oven. Heat your oven to 375°F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray so it’s ready when the filling has thickened.
2. Brown the beef. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the beef and onion, breaking up the beef as they brown for 5 minutes. Drain excess grease, then use a food thermometer to check that the beef reaches 160°F; keep cooking if needed. Stir in the garlic, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, thyme and Worcestershire sauce.
3. Make the filling. Stir in the frozen vegetables, drained mushrooms, flour, half-and-half, beef base and tomato paste. Heat through for about 5 minutes, until the sauce starts to thicken, then transfer the filling to the prepared dish. I look for sauce that coats the vegetables rather than liquid sitting apart from them.
4. Add the biscuit topping. In a mixing bowl, stir the biscuit mix, cold water and cheddar just until combined. Set the seasoning packet aside. Scoop 1/4-cup dollops of dough evenly over the filling; you’re portioning the biscuits, not spreading dough into a solid lid.
5. Bake and check doneness. Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes, then increase the oven temperature to 425°F and bake for 5 more minutes. Put a food thermometer into the center of the casserole. If it hasn’t reached 165°F, continue baking until it does.
6. Finish the biscuits. Stir the reserved seasoning packet into the melted butter. Brush it over the biscuit topping after the casserole comes out of the oven.
Where the Biscuit Seasoning Goes
The soft cheddar dough and the seasoned butter have different jobs here. Mix the biscuit mix with cold water and shredded cheddar just until they come together, then portion it over the creamy beef filling. After baking, the butter carries the seasoning across the tops of the biscuits.
I like keeping the packet unopened until the dish is in the oven. That makes it harder to tip it into the dough by habit. Once the biscuits are baked, brush their tops while the butter is melted so you can cover the separate dollops, including the ones near the edge of the dish.
The stated oven times tell you when to check, not when to assume dinner is done. A browned-looking biscuit top cannot tell you the temperature at the center of the casserole. Use the thermometer there and wait for 165°F before serving.
Tips for Success
Why is there grease around my filling?
You may see a layer of grease in the pan after the beef browns. If it goes into the baking dish, it remains alongside the gravy. Drain the excess before you stir in the flour and half-and-half; if you notice it while the beef is still in the pan, you can correct it before making the sauce.
Why does my gravy still look thin?
Right after you pour in the half-and-half, the liquid may not look like a sauce yet. The filling needs to heat through until it starts to thicken before it goes into the baking dish. Give it that time in the pan rather than relying on the biscuits to hide a loose filling.
Why are my biscuit portions uneven?
If some dollops are much larger than others, the topping won’t look uniform across the dish. Use the measured scoop and spread the portions evenly over the filling. Don’t worry about covering every bit of gravy; the dough is meant to sit in separate dollops.
Variations
- Use evaporated milk: Swap it for the half-and-half in the gravy, keeping the same measured amount of liquid.
- Choose the biscuit dough’s texture: Stir just until the mix, cold water and cheddar are combined rather than working it into a smooth batter.
Storage & Reheating
USDA FSIS says to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers; keep them in the fridge for 3 to 4 days or in the freezer for 3 to 4 months. Cream sauces may separate after freezing. Thaw frozen leftovers in the refrigerator, cold water or microwave—not on the counter—and reheat to 165°F with a food thermometer; don’t use a slow cooker to reheat them.
What to Serve With It
This is a filling dinner on its own. If you’re planning another meal around biscuits, try cheddar biscuit bites, creamed chicken and biscuits casserole, or chicken and dumplings with biscuits. For a breakfast built around biscuits, save bacon, egg and cheese biscuit casserole. If ground beef is what you want another night, look at slow cooker ground beef noodle casserole or hobo casserole.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can you make with Cheddar Bay biscuit mix?
You can use it as the topping for this ground-beef-and-vegetable casserole. The dough sits in portions over the filling rather than baking as biscuits on a separate pan.
Do I need condensed soup for the filling?
No. The filling uses flour, half-and-half and beef base for its gravy, along with tomato paste and the seasoned beef. Watch for the sauce to start thickening in the pan before you move it to the baking dish.
Can I check doneness by looking at the biscuits?
The biscuits can show you how the topping looks, but they cannot give you the temperature in the middle of the dish. Check the center with a food thermometer and continue baking if it is below 165°F.
Can I use the seasoning packet before baking?
Save it for the melted butter you brush on after baking. That leaves the biscuit dough to come together with its measured water and cheddar, while the seasoned butter finishes the tops.
Final Notes
Keep your food thermometer handy when you put the dish in the oven so the final check doesn’t get skipped. If you have a question or make this for dinner, tell me how it turned out in the comments.
Cheddar Bay Biscuit Casserole
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Ingredients
- 16 ounces lean ground beef
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup mixed vegetables frozen
- 1 can sliced mushrooms 7.4 ounces; drained
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 1/4 cups half-and-half or evaporated milk
- 1 teaspoon beef base
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 package Cheddar Bay biscuit mix with included seasoning packet; reserve packet for brushing after baking
- 3/4 cup water cold
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 tablespoons butter melted; for the seasoning-packet finish
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and onion, breaking up the beef, and brown for 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Check the ground beef with a food thermometer and continue cooking if needed until it reaches 160°F. Stir in the garlic, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, thyme and Worcestershire sauce.
- Stir in the frozen mixed vegetables, drained mushrooms, flour, half-and-half, beef base and tomato paste. Heat through for about 5 minutes, until the sauce starts to thicken. Transfer to the prepared dish.
- In a mixing bowl, stir the biscuit mix, cold water and cheddar just until combined. Keep the included seasoning packet aside. Scoop 1/4-cup dollops of dough evenly over the filling.
- Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 425°F and bake for 5 more minutes. Check that the center of the casserole reaches 165°F with a food thermometer; if it has not, continue baking until it does.
- Stir the reserved seasoning packet into the melted butter and brush the mixture over the biscuit topping.
Notes
Nutrition
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