A ground venison recipe that will have all your family rejoicing! Layers of golden potatoes, green chilis, lots of garlic and a savory blend of soft cheeses make this hunters casserole a big win!
If you didn’t already know, my husband is an avid hunter. We pray every Fall for a deer to fill our freezer with roasts, tenderloins, steaks and ground meat. I enjoy making and creating recipes that use organic ground venison meat. Recently, I made Instant Pot Venison Steak and today, I’m going to make a version of shepherds pie with ground venison that is out of this world! We call it hunters casserole because it has two pounds of hearty venison. There are some great supporting characters in this recipe too – golden potatoes, green chilis (like this venison tamale pie), lots of garlic and a savory blend of soft cheeses for the top.
How to Make Ground Venison Recipe
I originally created this ground venison recipe for a 13×9 pan, but today I am making two smaller casseroles using square roasting pans. We will eat one tonight for dinner (with no leftovers!) and I will freeze the other pan for later. However you do it, this hunters casserole made with venison meat is simple, balanced and FULL of flavor.
Are you ready to make a deer meat recipe called hunter’s casserole with me? Come on in to my kitchen!
Using a large pot, boil two pounds of skin-on golden potatoes in lightly salted water until fork tender. Drain the potatoes and mash them well with ½ cup (1 stick) of butter.
Spread your mashed potatoes into the bottom of a 13×9 pan or two smaller square roasting pan(s) and set aside.
Meanwhile, brown two pounds of ground venison in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil (to prevent sticking) and drain the cooked venison meat if necessary.
Do You Need to Drain Ground Venison
Venison is so lean that you can usually skip the draining, but if you are using ground beef as a substitute, you will want to drain out the excess fat. Remove the meat and set aside, but do not clean your pan yet.
Chop up 1 cup of white onion, yellow bell pepper and garlic. You could use any bell pepper you have on hand, but I am partial to the yellow ones. My pepper picky kids think the yellow pepper is extra cheese. 😉 Saute the vegetables for 3 minutes in the same pan you cooked the meat. Next, add the undrained can of green chilis, Worcestershire sauce, salt and cracked black pepper. Saute for another 2 minutes and remove from heat.
Stir your cooked vegetables into your bowl of deer meat and spread it on top of the mashed potatoes to make the second layer.
In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, ricotta cheese, cottage cheese and remaining ½ tsp. of salt. Pour the cheese mixture on top of the meat layer and top with shredded cheese.
If you are going to freeze any or all of your casserole, cover it with heavy duty foil and freeze it up to 3 months. Be sure to thaw the casserole completely before baking. When ready to eat, bake the casserole in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Your kitchen will smell amazing.
Serve it with a fresh salad and some crusty buttered bread for a complete meal. This is the only ground venison recipe casserole where my children are silent during dinner because they love it so much… Then we thank daddy (and the good Lord!) for his hunting abilities. More deer meat recipes means more hunters casserole and that makes us very, very happy 🙂
Enjoy!
More Venison Recipes
- Instant Pot Venison Steak Recipe
- Simple Savory Pie Recipe (Make with hamburger or venison!)
- Venison Roast Recipe
Hunters Casserole with Ground Venison Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds potatoes unpeeled
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 pounds ground venison
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup white onion chopped
- 1/2 cup bell pepper chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 4 oz green chilies chopped
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt divided
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 2 eggs beaten
- 16 oz cottage cheese
- 14 oz ricotta cheese
- 8 oz sharp cheddar or Monterey jack cheese
Instructions
- Using a large pot, boil two pounds of skin-on golden potatoes in lightly salted water until fork tender.
- Drain the potatoes and mash them well with ½ cup of butter.
- Spread your mashed potatoes into the bottom of a 13x9 pan or two smaller square roasting pan(s) and set aside.
- Brown two pounds of ground venison in 1 Tbsp. of olive oil and drain the cooked meat if necessary. Remove the meat, but do not clean the pan.
- In the same pan that you cooked the meat, sauté 1 cup of chopped white onion, ½ cup of chopped yellow bell pepper and three minced cloves of garlic for three minutes. Add the undrained can of green chilis, 1 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce, 1 tsp. Hungarian paprika, 1 tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. cracked black pepper and sauté for an additional 2 minutes.
- Stir your cooked vegetables into your bowl of meat and spread it on top of the mashed potatoes to make the second layer.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, ricotta cheese, cottage cheese and remaining ½ tsp. of salt.
- Pour the cheese mixture on top of the meat layer and top with 8 oz. of shredded cheese.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Notes
Don't have venison? You can easily make this recipe with ground beef.
Nutrition
Comments & Reviews
What do you think of adding a can of diced tomatoes
Hi Misty! Go for it! Just drain the tomatoes before adding so that it’s not too wet.
I have never made anything with venison before. A friend gave us some ground venison. It was already flavored with some seasoning. I used this recipe minus the cottage cheese and ricotta layer (didn’t have on hand and with Covid restrictions didn’t want to run to store). It was delicious. Definitely will make again using the ricotta layer and try it with ground beef too. Recipe did not say to cover while baking but I think I will next time, and maybe uncover the last 5 minutes. The top was a little too brown and cheese was a little hard. Thanks for helping use my venison and enjoy eating it.
Thanks for the feedback, Dawn!
Yes, covering it for a bit is a good idea! I wonder if the cheese got done faster because there was no ricotta layer. Good thought!
Can you freeze the leftovers?
Ellen,
I have not done that, but I don’t see why you couldn’t freeze the leftovers 🙂
I froze the leftovers and they were wonderful the second time around! I thawed the casserole and put it on 425 for about 20 min covered with foil. Perfect!
My family loved this dish! So happy to find another ground venison dish to put in the rotation!
Great to hear! Thank you Gina 🙂
I made this recipe to put in a 9×13 glass pan and it was wayyy to much meat. So I halved the meat and froze it. I am now making this recipe again and using the meat I froze. I would say you can deff freeze it!
This recipe turned out AMAZING!! I adjusted the measurements to about half of this because I didn’t need a lot and used a 9×9 pan. I have to say I was slightly skeptical when adding the Chile’s and things but it is absolutely one of my favs now!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Tiffany! Thanks for the feedback 🙂
Delicious! Comfort food. Perfect for this gluten-free, dairy-free family with a few omitted steps. Thank you!
Thanks for the feedback, Leah! So glad it worked for your family!
Do you have more venison recipes? I am new to eating it and we have a freezer full of it.
Hi Cherie!
Click on this link :https://www.cleverlysimple.com/venison-recipes/ for more great venison recipes on Cleverly Simple! 🙂
Cherie Wisdom, Meredith has wonderful, easy recipes for venison. Follow her on Pinterest & sign up for her email. Remember you are cooking w/a lean, healthy meat. It does cook & taste different, but the results are amazing when we cook it correctly. It takes practice, so keep at it until it suits your taste. Good luck!
Very good! I accidentally forgot to use but a couple pats of butter for the potatoes the first time making it, and I now that I’ve tried it with and without I may stick to little to no butter on the first layer.
My second time, I used bison instead of venison. A more expensive choice if you don’t have much access to it, but I was out of venison for the season and I just can’t possibly give up the taste game meats adds to it! Thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks for the comment, Freddie! Will have to try it with bison. Game meats are the best 🙂
I didn’t realize the recipe calls for golden potatoes. Does it make much of a difference if I use white? I already have them.
Hi Sharon!
White potatoes would work just fine 😉
Do you do anything to your venison to reduce the gaminess?
Hi Sophia!
With this recipe, I cook the venison as is. I don’t notice the gaminess of the meat at all, but we also live in a part of the country where deer eat a mostly corn fed diet. This article explains why some deer taste more gamey than others: https://www.farmanddairy.com/top-stories/how-to-avoid-gamey-venison-in-the-field/379124.html
In the meantime, adding more spice and acidic flavors to the dish could help mask a gamey taste. Hope this helps!
When you grind your venison do you add any fat to it? If so what kind and how much
Hi Rayna!
Nope, just pure venison! 🙂
It was really good!
Thank you! So glad you liked it 🙂
I live in Alaska and we always have plenty of moose meat, a very healthy and less gamey tasting meat. I look forward to trying this recipe. Thank you.
Love Alaska! Hubby has two uncles there. Enjoy the recipe!