John Wayne Casserole: 1 Cheesy Green Chile Bake the Duke Shared for a Little Girl’s Charity Cookbook
The John Wayne Casserole you find on most recipe sites today is a layered bake of ground beef, biscuits and taco seasoning. It is tasty, but it is not what the Duke actually sent in. His version was a simple, crustless bake of eggs, cheese, green chiles and tomatoes, and the story of how it got into print is one of the sweetest in American cookbook history. It starts with a 10-year-old girl, a mailbox full of letters to movie stars, and a cancer charity..
The 10-Year-Old Behind a Famous Charity Cookbook
In January 1978, a Beverly Hills girl named Cara Connery decided to make a cookbook to raise money for the American Cancer Society. She was 10 years old. With help from her mother, who looked up addresses at the library, she wrote to about 1,400 famous people and asked each one for a favorite recipe.
Many of them wrote back. John Wayne sent an egg and cheese casserole. The book, called Cooking with Love from Cara and Her Friends, is dated 1979, the same year the actor died. It was not an easy road. A house fire destroyed some of the material, and a finished manuscript was later lost and had to be redone. The family self-published the book, and the first printed copies finally arrived in December 1980, with about $4 from each copy going to the Cancer Society.
Nobody knows where John Wayne first got the recipe, and the book does not say he invented it. What we do know is that it was the dish he chose to share for a good cause, and that is a big reason people still make it today. Cara went on to publish a second volume in 1981.
What Was in the Original John Wayne Casserole?
Newspapers reprinted the recipe for years, and those printings describe a rich, souffle-like bake. Canned chopped green chiles and a generous amount of Monterey Jack and sharp cheddar go into a baking dish. Eggs are whisked with evaporated milk or cream, a spoon of flour and a little salt and cayenne, then poured over the top. Sliced fresh tomatoes go on near the end so they stay bright and juicy. There is no crust and no meat, which makes it a great vegetarian main or brunch dish.
The exact amounts in the 1979 book are not something we could confirm, so the recipe below is our own version inspired by the original. It uses a little less cheese than the old newspaper versions but keeps the same spirit: soft eggs, melty cheese, mild green chile heat and fresh tomato. If you love stars’ home cooking, see our Old Hollywood recipes the stars really loved.
How to Make Our John Wayne Casserole (Original Style)
Serves 8. Prep 15 minutes. Bake 40 to 45 minutes.
- 2 cans (4 oz each) chopped mild green chiles, drained
- 3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 8 large eggs
- 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk, or 1 1/2 cups half and half
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper or a pinch of smoked paprika
- 2 ripe Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
- Chopped green onions or cilantro to serve
- Heat the oven to 350 F and butter a 9×13 inch baking dish.
- Scatter half the green chiles in the dish, then half of each cheese. Repeat with the rest of the chiles and cheese.
- Whisk the eggs, evaporated milk, flour, salt, pepper and cayenne until smooth, with no lumps of flour.
- Pour the egg mixture slowly over the cheese so it soaks in evenly.
- Bake 30 minutes, then lay the tomato slices on top and bake 10 to 15 minutes more, until puffed and golden and the center is just set.
- Rest 10 minutes, cut into squares and top with green onions or cilantro.
How to tell it is done: the edges should be puffed and golden, and the center should wiggle only slightly when you shake the dish. A knife pushed into the middle should come out clean, and eggs should reach 160 F. It will settle a little as it cools, which is normal for a souffle-style bake.
Make It Ahead for Christmas Morning
This John Wayne Casserole is a natural for holiday mornings. Layer the chiles and cheese in the dish, whisk the egg mixture in a separate container, cover both and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, pour, bake and add the tomatoes as above, giving it 5 to 10 extra minutes because everything starts cold. Serve it with fruit, warm tortillas or biscuits and a pot of coffee. For more ideas, browse our overnight Christmas breakfast casseroles.
Easy swaps: use pepper jack for more heat, add a cup of cooked crumbled breakfast sausage, or stir in roasted red peppers. Leftovers keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge, and squares reheat well in the microwave in about a minute.
Where the Beefy John Wayne Casserole Came From
The ground beef version that rules social media has a different story. It became a favorite in the cafeteria of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, where staff nicknamed it The Duke, and its recipe was printed in Mississippi Magazine in March 2011. It layers a biscuit crust, beef cooked with taco seasoning, tomatoes, green peppers and jalapenos, a creamy sour cream topping and cheddar. It keeps the cheese, tomato and chile flavors but drops the eggs completely.
Both are worth making: the beefy one for a hungry family on a weeknight, and the original egg bake for brunch or a meatless dinner. For the full history and the old newspaper versions, see this CooksInfo history of the dish. Which John Wayne Casserole would win at your table, the Duke’s egg bake or the beefy cafeteria favorite?
