Impossible Cheeseburger Pie is impossibly easy because it forms its own crust as it bakes! This savory, crustless dinner pie is filled with ground beef, savory onions and an easy homemade version of Bisquick biscuit mix and topped with melty cheddar cheese.

A slice of Impossible Cheeseburger Pie on a plate with a fork and a side of ketchup — An easy weeknight dinner that my kids love

What is an Impossible Pie?

The "Impossible Pies" were a trend popularized by Bisquick in the 1970s. They were pies that were "impossibly easy" because they don't require a crust to be made. You mix together all the ingredients and bake them in a pie plate and a crust forms during the cooking process.

Betty Crocker has since changed the name to Impossibly Easy Pies to eliminate confusion, but die hards still refer to these as Impossible Pies.

No need to make a pie crust for a pie? Impossible!

The Impossible Cheeseburger Pie cooked and out of the oven with a slice missing and a slice on a plate with ketchup — Impossible Cheeseburger Pie or Pac Man?

What's in Impossible Cheeseburger Pie?

I like to lay out all of my ingredients before I start cooking. This recipe contains ground beef, all purpose flour, shredded cheddar cheese, eggs, fresh diced onion, garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce, baking powder, butter and milk. Easy so far!

an overhead view of the ingredients to make Impossible Cheeseburger Pie — Everything you need to make Impossible Cheeseburger Pie

I like to select a 90% or leaner ground beef for this recipe. I don't drain off the fat because that means I'd be draining off the extra flavors. Selecting 90% lean or more (this was a 93% lean beef when I shot these photos) is my go-to for casseroles like this.

overhead view of a pan of browned ground beef and onions as a part of the recipe process — Cook the meat with the onions until nicely browned

How to make Impossible Cheeseburger Pie without Bisquick

The original version of this recipe obviously called for Bisquick. But, you know me, I prefer to put in a little bit of effort in the name of better flavor and less processed ingredients.

Bisquick is essentially a simple biscuit mix made into a shelf-stable product. To make my own Bisquick, I combine flour, baking powder and salt. Then I add butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in with a pastry cutter.

When I say "cutting it in" I mean, taking the pastry cutter and busting up the butter until it's in a ton of little gravely pearl-sized pieces. Making the butter small like that helps create a tender but slightly crisped crust.

If you want to skip the pastry cutter and make things even easier, just toss the dry ingredients and butter into your food processor and let it whirl a few times until the butter comes to that same gravely pearl-sized consistency.

Next, I add in the wet ingredients and stir until it's all fully combined. It's okay if it's a little lumpy.

If you're not into the DIY biscuit mix method, just skip the ½ cup of flour and 1 teaspoon baking powder and salt and substitute in ½ cup of Bisquick and follow the rest of the recipe as written.

Mixing together the homemade biscuit mix for Impossible Cheeseburger Pie — It's easy to make your own biscuit mix

Add the prepared biscuit mixture to the ground beef in the pie plate and then top it with cheese.

Sprinkling fresh grated cheddar cheese onto the Impossible Cheeseburger Pie before its baked — Sprinkle on the cheese!

One important note about cheese. I highly recommend grating your own for this situation. You'll get the best melty factor when you grate the cheese at home. The pre-grated / pre-shredded stuff is convenient, but it's treated with potato starch to prevent clumping in the package. That starch messes with the melting and turns what could be a beautiful cheese topping into a less appetizing stringy topping.

What to Serve with Impossible Cheeseburger Pie

A non-negotiable condiment for Impossible Cheeseburger Pie is ketchup. That certainly helps make this recipe a winner with my kids. Pickles are also appropriate to add. I have seen other people top their pie with fresh avocado slices, tomatoes and even bacon.

Remember, it's Cheeseburger Pie, so what you put on a cheeseburger will work on Impossible Cheeseburger Pie.

A slice of Impossible Cheeseburger Pie on a plate with a fork and a side of ketchup with other plates in the background — Impossible Cheeseburger Pie

Other Impossible Pies and Casseroles

Many of the Impossible pies are sweet, but this one is savory. Check out these other awesome Impossible Pies.