Ground Beef & Vegetable Casserole

This is a true dump-and-go crockpot supper. Sliced potatoes, carrots, peas, onions, and celery layer up in the slow cooker with browned ground beef on top, and a thinned can of tomato soup pours over it all to braise everything tender over 6 to 8 hours on low.

The layering order matters more than you’d think. Hardest vegetables go on the bottom near the heat source so they fully cook through, with the softer canned peas and the beef higher up where the temperature is gentler. This is what keeps you from ending up with mushy peas and undercooked potatoes.

Lightly browning the ground beef before it goes in is the small step that makes a big flavor difference. Raw beef in a slow cooker comes out grey and bland, while browned beef carries Maillard depth that flavors the whole pot. Pour the soup-and-water mixture over the top, season each layer along the way, and let the slow cooker do the rest.

Pro Tips

• Slice potatoes evenly about ¼ inch thick so they cook through in the same time as the carrots
• Brown the beef well before adding, this is the single biggest flavor improvement
• Drain the canned peas thoroughly so they don’t add extra liquid to the pot
• Stir gently every couple of hours if you’re around, to keep the soup distributed

Variations

• Swap tomato soup for cream of mushroom for a richer, more gravy-like sauce
• Add 1 teaspoon Italian herbs or a bay leaf to the layers for more depth
• Use diced sweet potatoes in place of regular for a slightly sweeter twist