Dolly Parton’s Famous 5 Layer Casserole is an old-fashioned comfort food dinner made with layers of sliced potatoes, seasoned ground beef, fire-roasted tomatoes and bell peppers, baked until tender and delicious in the oven or slow cooker.
Dolly Parton’s Famous 5 Layer Smoky Mountain Casserole
Greg and I visited the Smoky Mountains last week for our anniversary. We loved visiting Dollywood and seeing where Dolly grew up! We were inspired to make this casserole recipe when we got home. I love taking an old-fashioned recipe and giving it a little update to make it even better! Dolly Parton’s 5 layer casserole is about as simple as it gets with potatoes, ground beef, tomatoes and peppers all layered together in one pan. The original recipe didn’t have any seasonings listed and I’m sorry, Dolly, but I am not okay with that. My heart knows she probably added a dash of this and a pinch of that. I added some extra seasonings, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste to give the beef more flavor, and it worked beautifully. This seemingly simple casserole was a home run at our house! Greg and I took the whole pan down!
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Lean ground beef–or ground turkey
- Onion
- Tomato paste
- Worcestershire sauce
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Smoked paprika–or regular paprika (double it)
- Italian seasoning
- Yukon gold potatoes–or red potatoes
- Butter
- Fire-roasted tomatoes–or regular diced tomatoes
- Green bell pepper–or red, orange, yellow bell pepper
- Parmesan cheese–or shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
Steps
Heat oven to 350° F. Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onion. Brown for 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Stir in tomato paste, Worcestershire, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and Italian seasoning.
In a 9×13 inch pan layer the potato slices. They’ll overlap slightly. Sprinkle the potatoes with the remaining 1 tsp of salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Cut the tablespoon of butter into several tiny pieces and dot them over the top of the potatoes.
Add the meat mixture over the top of the potatoes, then the tomatoes and finally the green peppers.
Cover tightly with foil and bake for 75 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
Serve topped with parmesan cheese.
Notes/Tips
- Serve with a hunk of cornbread and honey butter and some steamed green beans.
- Aim for ⅛-inch-thick slices of the potatoes so they cook evenly. Cooking times can vary depending on how thickly the potatoes are sliced.
- Fire-roasted tomatoes give this casserole a little extra flavor. Don’t drain the tomatoes!
- I like the idea of topping this casserole with Parmesan cheese, but shredded cheddar or mozzarella would also be delicious. For a melted cheese topping, sprinkle cheese over the casserole during the last 5–10 minutes of oven baking. The original recipe doesn’t have cheese added and that’s how Greg ate his portion.
- This recipe can be gluten free if you use gluten free Worcestershire sauce.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for 4 days. Freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with green bell pepper are Instant Pot Southwestern Spaghetti and Instant Pot Midwest Pepper Steak.
- Tools:
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Dolly Parton’s Famous 5 Layer Smoky Mountain Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
An old-fashioned comfort food dinner made with layers of sliced potatoes, seasoned ground beef, fire-roasted tomatoes and bell peppers, baked until tender and delicious in the oven or slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 16 oz lean ground beef
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 3/4 tsp black pepper, divided
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 4 yukon gold potatoes, sliced 1/8 inch thick
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 green bell pepper, large dice
- Parmesan cheese, for topping (optional)
Instructions
Oven Instructions
- Heat oven to 350° F.
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onion. Brown for 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Stir in tomato paste, Worcestershire, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and Italian seasoning.
- In a 9×13 inch pan layer the potato slices. They’ll overlap slightly. Sprinkle the potatoes with the remaining 1 tsp of salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Cut the tablespoon of butter into several tiny pieces and dot them over the top of the potatoes.
- Add the meat mixture over the top of the potatoes, then the tomatoes and finally the green peppers.
- Cover tightly with foil and bake for 75 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
- Serve topped with parmesan cheese.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Add in the beef and break it up. Add in the onion. Brown for 5 minutes. Drain off excess grease. Stir in tomato paste, Worcestershire, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and Italian seasoning.
- Spray the slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Layer the potato slices on the bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle the potatoes with the remaining 1 tsp of salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Cut the tablespoon of butter into several tiny pieces and dot them over the top of the potatoes.
- Add the meat mixture over the top of the potatoes, then the tomatoes and finally the green peppers.
- Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 4-6 hours.
- Serve topped with parmesan cheese.
- Category: Beef
- Method: Baking, Slow Cooking
More “Dolly” recipes
Dolly Parton’s Famous 5 Ingredient Chicken Casserole
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Easy Dolly Parton Casserole
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Dolly’s Tennessee Mountain Stampede Soup
A creamy slow cooker vegetable soup made with mixed vegetables, herbs and chicken broth.
Dolly Parton’s Ground Beef Casserole
An easy Instant Pot or slow cooker dinner made with ground beef, potatoes, corn, tomatoes and melty mozzarella cheese.
Dolly Parton’s Creamy Beef Noodle Casserole
An easy one-pot dinner made with seasoned ground beef, tender egg noodles, vegetables, mushrooms, sour cream and cheddar cheese.
Dolly Parton’s Working 9 to 5 Casserole
An easy 4-ingredient dinner with tender shredded pork, enchilada sauce, soft tortillas and melty cheese.
Dolly Parton’s 3 Ingredient Special
An easy old-fashioned dessert made with canned fruit cocktail, yellow cake mix and butter for a warm, buttery dessert. Make it in the oven or slow cooker.
Dolly Parton’s Famous and Classic Lady’s Thighs
Tender, oval-shaped chicken or beef meatballs coated in buttery Ritz cracker crumbs and baked until golden brown and crispy. This easy dinner recipe is inspired by the traditional Turkish dish Kadınbudu Köfte.
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
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