This 4-Ingredient Crescent Roll Ground Beef Casserole comes together in just minutes for an easy weeknight dinner! It's a simple one dish meal that you will turn to again and again when you need to feed your family...fast!
Along with chicken breasts, ground beef is one of those staples that makes its way onto our meal plan just about every week. It's easy to buy the meat in bulk and then save it in the freezer for nights when you don't want to make a separate trip to the store, and the versatile protein works in so many different types of recipes.
Since I'm always looking for new ways to keep dinnertime interesting, you can imagine how happy I was when a reader named Stephanie shared this ground beef casserole recipe with me! One look at the list of ingredients and I instantly knew that it would be a winner in my house, too!
I originally "met" Stephanie when she participated in the free 5-Day Meal Planning Challenge that I hosted earlier this fall. We were swapping recipe ideas, and Stephanie mentioned this dish that her family always called "That Pizza Casserole." Here's what Stephanie had to say:
One of our favorite "quick" dinners is one that we had when both our children were growing up, and now my husband and I still enjoy it! The bonus now is that there are more pieces leftover for lunch the next day!
What You Need To Make This Ground Beef Casserole;
- Beef
- Crescent rolls
- Salsa
- Cheddar cheese
Although I called this recipe a Ground Beef Casserole, it's also a lot like a Taco Pizza (as Stephanie said). The crescent rolls form the crust, which is filled with salsa (or barbecue sauce), ground beef, and cheese. Who knew that 4 simple ingredients could taste so darn good!?
In fact, the first time I served this ground beef casserole, Keith spent the entire meal raving about it. No, I didn't tell him just how easy it was (I'll let him think that I spent a long day slaving over a hot stove)! The dish is now on my go-to list of "quick dinners" as well -- thanks to the tip from Stephanie!
More Ground Beef Casserole Recipes You Might Like:
- 5-Ingredient Dump-and-Bake Beefaroni
- 5-Ingredient Cabbage Casserole
- Johnny Marzetti Casserole
- Taco Pasta Casserole
4-Ingredient Ground Beef Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 8 ounce can Pillsbury crescent roll dough (I like to use the Crescent Dough Sheets, which don’t have any perforations)
- 1 lb. extra lean ground beef can substitute with ground turkey or chicken as well
- 1 cup salsa can substitute with barbecue sauce
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I used 2% cheese, but any variety will work)
- Optional garnish: sliced green onions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (180C).
- Spray an 11 x 7-inch baking dish with cooking spray. You can also use a 9 x 13-inch dish -- it will just yield a slightly thinner crust and beef layer. Either works well, though!
- Unroll crescent roll dough and press into the bottom of the prepared dish to form a crust. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, cook ground beef over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Drain any fat from the skillet.
- Stir in 1 cup of salsa.
- Spoon beef mixture over the crescent roll dough. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Cut into squares and serve.
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice
Easy dishes like this were made for me! I make a similar dish, except with taco flavors. I've got to try your version next time! Thanks to Stephanie for sharing! 🙂 Love the simplicity of this and the fact that it's easy to jazz up, too. Sounds like a winner for dinner! 🙂
Blair
Thanks, Gayle! Yep -- easy dishes like this were made for me, too! SO good!
Leslie Cipriani
Blair,
I have tried so many of your recipes from your blog and have loved every single one of them. Thank you so much for sharing and God bless. By the way, I live in Richmond Virginia and envy that you live in the mountains. The Blue Ridge Mountains are so beautiful and I make it up there every year for my birthday. Luckily, my birthday is in October so I get to hit the mountains at the perfect time.
Blair
Hi, Leslie! Thank you so much for your note! We're practically neighbors! 🙂
I do love the mountains, but I also think Richmond is a really great little city. I used to spend quite a bit of time there when I was working as a lawyer, and you can't beat the Jefferson Hotel! The kids and I also love the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. It's such an easy city to navigate and get around, which I appreciate -- not too overwhelming!
Thanks so much for reading the blog and for saying, "hi!" Enjoy the holidays!
Trisha Brandhorst
I just tried this recipe wth the bbq sauce variation, & let me tell you what!!! It was absolutely amazing, my husband loved it!! Thank you!!
Cass Andersen
I've made a similar dish for the past few years except I'll pour about a cup and a half of mexican white cheese dip over the top and then put another layer of crescent rolls on top. I'll sprinkle taco seasoning on the top and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the rolls are done.
Blair
Yum! Your version sounds delicious, too! Thanks, Cass!
Jerry
Savory barbecue sauce mixed with ground beef and topped with a buttery crescent roll crust is sure to impress your family and guests. With just a handful of ingredients, what’s not to love?
Blair
Exactly! So, so good!
Yvonne
Hi, what can I use in England to substitute crescent rolls please?
Blair
Hi, Yvonne! If you don't have anything like refrigerated biscuit or pastry dough, I would use regular refrigerated pizza dough! 🙂
Alice Field
I'm in the UK... Read recently that "crescent roll dough" is essentially croissant dough, and sold in tubes in Tesco freezer aisles.
Blair
OH!!!! Yes, I didn't realize that you can purchase croissant dough in the UK. That's definitely what you would want to use, since crescent rolls are basically just little croissants! Thanks for that tip, Alice!
Leslie Cipriani
Blair,
I have tried so many of your recipes from your blog and have loved every single one of them. Thank you so much for sharing and God bless. By the way, I live in Richmond Virginia and envy that you live in the mountains. The Blue Ridge Mountains are so beautiful and I make it up there every year for my birthday. Luckily, my birthday is in October so I get to hit the mountains at the perfect time.
David McKethan
Hi Blair,
Do I need to bake the bottom croissant till it's half baked and then add the hamburger mixture so that it's not soggy?
Blair
Hi, David! No, I have never pre-baked the crust. It's not going to be a crispy crust like you would find on a brick-oven pizza, but I never found it to be soggy. You could certainly pre-bake it if you want to try it that way, though. If the edges start to get too brown when it's in the oven for the second time, just lightly cover the edges with foil (like you would do with a pie crust). Hope that helps!
Sam M
how do you adjust this for chicken breast?
Blair
Hi, Sam! You can use ground chicken breast in exactly the same way that the recipe calls for ground beef. It's an equal swap.
If you want to replace the beef with cooked, diced chicken breast, you will need about 1 1/2 - 2 cups of the cooked chicken. All other instructions remain the same. Enjoy!
Tim
Tasted great and indeed simple to make. I added seasoned black beans which worked well.
Blair
Thank you, Tim!
Jackie Aszman
I made this recipe last night. It was super easy and delicious. I always know if it was liked when my picky eater significant other takes three helpings. The only thing I changed was I put a layer of the crescent rolls on top as well.
Thanks sharing recipes that are quick, easy, AND delicious!
Marisa
Do you think it is too spicy for a toddler if the salsa is used?
Blair
Hi, Marisa! That totally depends on the type of salsa that you use. If you can find a mild salsa, it should be totally fine. Medium or hot salsas will probably be too spicy, but every kid is different! 🙂
Alicia
Tried the recipe - it was delicious and very easy to make!. Perfect dinner for busy nights
Thank you!
Blair
Great! Thanks so much, Alicia!
Merri B
Awesome dish, as a new empty nester making full meals are a thing of the past! So when the girls came down for the weekend, this dish was truly right on time....WE LOVED IT!!!!!!! TY so much
Blair
Awesome! Thanks, Merri!
Christie Gillispie
Want to try this tonight. Can I subsitute with biscuits and thin them some like crossiant rolls?
Blair
That might work, but you want to be sure that you create a crust without any seams or holes in the bottom. If you can press the biscuit dough together enough to create that crust, then I think it would be fine. 🙂
Christina
Thanks for the recipe! I've made it several times now and my family loves it. I've added black beans and corn a couple of times along with diced tomatoes when I was out of salsa, which is really good too. I also bake them in muffin tins, using one crescent triangle per hole, which the kids love!
Blair
I love that idea to make individual portions in the muffin tin. So fun!
Tonya
A few months ago I had 2 major surgeries and discovered during my time off I LOVE TO COOK! Several times a week I "Google" for recipes using ingreduents I have on hand and while doing this I found your site. While I've found some really good recipes, Ive never been impressed enough before to sign up or even make a comment till now. I love the way you interact with your followers and the food I have tried so far is on point! Thank you for sharing your food and your time!!
Blair
Oh, thank you so much, Tonya! I love hearing that, and I appreciate your kind words!!
Ginny
We used the bbq sauce one and added onion and it was awesome! We will try the salsa one next. Thanks lots for this wonderful recipe.
Blair
That's great, Ginny! I'm so glad that you liked it! If you want a taco version, this is a newer post and it's my kids' favorite: https://www.theseasonedmom.com/lightened-up-taco-crescent-casserole/
Have a good week!
Regina
I used refrigerated peach mango salsa mixed with a little barbecue sauce, waiting to taste it.
Blair
Sounds good! I hope you enjoy, Regina!
Regina
It is delicious, thank you for sharing , I made cole slaw on the side next time I will try regular salsa, or just barbecue sauce.
Blair
Great! Thank you!
Lindsay
This was delicious and so easy! I used a 9x9 pan (that’s the closest I had), and that worked well. I used the BBQ sauce substitute and threw in some tomatoes, spinach, and onion. It was great and I will definitely make it again!
Blair
Thanks, Lindsay! I'm so glad that it worked well for you! 🙂
Faye Bozeman
I made this using sloppy joe sauce and it was delicious. Family licked the pan clean. Thanks so much for the easy recipes.
Blair
Thanks, Faye!
Nicole
Great easy recipe! I have several teenage boys so I added a can of refried beans to make the hamburger mixture go further. It was a hit! Thanks for sharing!!!!
Blair
Thanks, Nicole! I'll have to remember that tip for when my 3 boys are all teenagers! 🙂
Kathy Mood
This looks & sounds really good & quite easy..my husband just requested tacos, so I think I'll give this a try..I know I'll love it & hopefully so will he! TY for your recipe.
Blair
Great! Enjoy, Kathy!
Home cook
Add some doritos on top and it will be even better!
Blair
Yes, Doritos make everything better, right?! 🙂
Katie
This was delicious. My family ate it all up! I didn’t have salsa so I added taco seasoning and 1/2 cup tomato sauce to the meat and cooked it a couple minutes before adding to the crescent layer. It was delicious! Fed 6 people just fine! I will definitely make it again! Very quick and easy!
Katie
I forgot to add that chopping up some taco toppings would also go great with this. Lettuce, olives, sour cream, etc. Yum!
Blair Lonergan
Awesome! Thanks, Katie. I appreciate you taking the time to come back here and leave a note. 🙂