The rugged Western star John Wayne shaped the cinema screens of the 20th century like no other: The three-time Oscar winner was one of the most famous and highest-paid actors of his time. This fiery and hearty casserole is said to have been his favorite dish, thus the John Wayne Ground Beef Casserole. It’s a meal for rugged heroes and stars alike! We’ll tell you how to prepare this nutritious meal and how it got its name below.
John Wayne Casserole: Enough to Feed the Whole Family
At the beginning of the heartwarming story surrounding the John Wayne Casserole was a ten-year-old girl named Cara Connery. Though still so young, she had been dealt several hard blows in her short life. Several people in her family had died of cancer, and in a bout of resilience she decided to fight cancer and raise money for cancer research. All in the 1970s, when research was still relatively rudimentary! The young girl had a clever idea: a cookbook that featured the favorite dishes of famous personalities.
Together with her mother, she wrote to over 1400 personalities, including then-President Jimmy Carter, the famous news anchor Walter Cronkite, and film greats such as Robert Redford and John Wayne. It is Wayne’s casserole that remains the best-known recipe from the well-selling collection. His recipe began as a simple cheesy egg casserole, but has evolved and morphed considerably through time.
Today’s John Wayne Casserole consists of ground beef, fiery taco seasoning, jalapeños, corn, cheddar, and mozzarella, among other ingredients. Typical of cowboy cuisine, there is no skimping on cheese and meat. This will make your whole family’s mouths water! A piece of this casserole is especially enjoyable with a gritty Western movie. And John Wayne would surely have given a casual tip of his cowboy hat to the spicy evolution of his favorite dish. We’re sure you will love it too.
We love casseroles because they are so easy to make and your oven does most of the work. That’s why we have a few more recipes in store! How about our baked spaghetti with sausage, for example? Vegetarians can also dig into our cheesy cauliflower casserole. Our chicken parmesan casserole is also a hearty meal that will fill the whole family.
John Wayne Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 cup water
- 1 oz taco seasoning
- 1 onion
- ⅓ cup jalapeño
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 red bell pepper
- 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 7 oz can corn
- 1 cup cream cheese
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- salt to taste
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large skillet, brown the ground beef over medium heat. Add the water and taco seasoning. Mix and then let simmer, covered, over medium heat.
- Dice the onion and jalapeño. Cut the bell peppers into bite-sized pieces and add to the skillet along with the tomatoes and corn. Stir well and reduce heat.
- Pour the mixture to a casserole dish.
- In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, mayonnaise, and salt until smooth. Evenly spread over over the ground beef.
- Finally, sprinkle mozzarella and cheddar over the casserole and bake for 40 minutes.