Now, for the fun part! If I’m using the same oven-safe skillet, I simply turn off the heat and sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese evenly over the meat mixture. If I transferred to a baking dish, I do the same thing there. Then, I take my quartered biscuit pieces and scatter them all over the top in a somewhat even layer. They will look crowded and that’s perfect—they’ll expand as they bake. I don’t press them down or arrange them neatly; a haphazard, rustic look is what we want.
I pop the whole thing into the preheated oven and bake for 18-22 minutes. I start checking at 18 minutes. You’re looking for the biscuits to be deeply golden brown on top and cooked through. The sauce will be bubbling around the edges beautifully. The smell at this point is absolutely torture in the best way. I pull it out and let it sit for 5 minutes before serving. This rest time is non-negotiable in my book—it lets the sauce settle so you get perfect, neat-ish servings instead of a lava-hot landslide on the plate.
Pro Tips for Best Results
I tested the biscuit placement three different ways: whole on top, halved, and quartered. Quartering them is the absolute winner. It creates more edges that get golden and crispy, and it ensures every bite has the perfect meat-to-biscuit ratio. Whole biscuits often ended up doughy in the middle where they sat on the hot filling.
Here’s what I learned the hard way about the filling: don’t make it too wet. If your sauce seems a bit runny after simmering, let it cook down for another few minutes. A soupy base will steam the biscuit bottoms and make them gummy instead of letting them bake up fluffy. You want a thick, hearty base to support those biscuit pieces.
For the best cheesy experience, layer it right. I add half the cheese stirred into the meat mixture right at the end of simmering, and the other half sprinkled on top before the biscuits. This gives you melted cheese throughout and that gorgeous, bubbly cheese layer clinging to the biscuit bottoms. It’s a game-changer for texture and flavor.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
My first time making this, I was in a rush and didn’t drain the beef grease. Big mistake. The final casserole was overly greasy, and the fat pooled in the dish. It made the biscuit bottoms soggy. Always take that extra 30 seconds to drain the cooked beef and veggies well. It makes a huge difference in the final texture.
Don’t skip the step of letting the casserole rest after baking. I made this mistake once, diving in immediately because it looked so good. The result was a delicious but messy puddle on the plate—the filling just wasn’t set enough. Letting it sit for 5-7 minutes allows everything to firm up just enough for clean serving.(See the next page below to continue…)