Vintage Ground Beef Casserole

Shipwreck Stew is one of those wonderfully quirky vintage recipes that gets your attention with the name alone. There are no shipwrecks involved—just a cozy, dump-and-bake casserole that layers ground beef, potatoes, rice, and beans under a tangy tomato topping. This recipe comes straight from a mid-century community cookbook and is the exact kind of hearty, budget-friendly comfort food families relied on for generations.

Shipwreck Stew

Print Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1 30

Total Time 2

Course: Dinner

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
¾ cup onion, chopped
¼ cup rice
3 cups potatoes
1 15 oz can kidney beans, drain
1 8 oz can tomato paste
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp each chili powder
¼ tsp pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a skillet, brown the ground beef and onion stirring until no more pink in showing. Drain.
In a greased casserole dish, layer ground beef mixture, rice, potatoes and beans in a large casserole dish.
In a bowl mix ¾ cup water, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, garlic, salt and pepper. Then pour mixture over the layered ingredients.
Cover and bake for 90 minutes.

Notes

Add shredded cheddar cheese (or whatever cheese you have on hand) on top during the last 10 minutes for a 1970s-style finish.
Ground turkey, or pork would work well as a substitution.

Adapted from Ground Beef Cookbook (Favorite Recipes of Home Economics Teachers, Favorite Recipes Press, 1983.

Fork Fact

Casseroles were made back in the Medieval period, often being made with rice, meats and spices. Similar to what they are today 31 Facts About Casserole – Facts.net

Another odd named recipe to try Railroad Pie