Beef & Bean Barbecue Bake

This is the kind of dinner that gets dog-eared on a Betty Crocker cookbook page for a reason. Browned ground beef, canned beans, a splash of barbecue sauce, and cubed Velveeta simmer into a saucy filling, then get ringed with buttermilk biscuits that bake into golden half-moon handles around the edge.

The biscuit border is the clever move. Placing them around the perimeter instead of covering the whole top lets the filling bubble and crisp in the center while the biscuits absorb some of that saucy beef mixture on the bottom. You end up with handles for scooping built right in.

Velveeta melts cleaner than natural cheddar in a saucy dish like this. It doesn’t break or grease out, which is why it’s stayed in so many retro casseroles decades after better cheeses became available. For this application, it’s the right tool.

Kitchen Tips

• Drain the beef well after browning. Greasy filling seeps into the biscuits and turns their bottoms soggy instead of golden.
• Cut the biscuits in half before arranging them. The half-circle shape nestles tight against the dish edge, which stops filling from bubbling over.
• Add the top cheese in the last 5 minutes only. Any sooner and it’s scorched by the time the biscuits finish.

Variations

• Use shredded cheddar or a Mexican blend in place of the final topping for a sharper finish.
• Stir in a can of diced green chilies or chopped jalapeños for a southwestern spin.
• Swap buttermilk biscuits for cornbread batter spooned around the edge for a tamale-pie-adjacent variation.