Colossal Cheeseburger. Likely, originally a Pillsbury-produced recipe to highlight the versatility of their crescent roll dough, Colossal Cheeseburger is a recipe my mom has committed to memory – no longer needing to look at a written recipe. She emailed the ingredients to me a long time ago, and I have finally made it on my own.
It’s easy to find that other families also have their own versions of the Colossal Cheeseburger – Google it. It’s basically an easy meat pie with a sloppy joe-esque filling. Filling, yummy, and comforting. You can make it in just about any flavor profile you want – Tex Mex, Italian, Irish Shepherd’s Pie, Indian Keema, etc. Below is my mom’s recipe with a few adjustments (garlic, Rotel, milk wash).

Delicious Recipe For Colossal Cheeseburger
Ingredients
3 tablespoons cooking oil
¼ large green pepper (green capsicum) - small dice (any color you have on hand)
½ cup yellow onion - small dice
1 clove garlic - minced
1 pound ground beef (minced beef)
8 ounce ketchup (tomato sauce Australia and UK) - (low Na++ preferred)
½ can passata or crushed tomatoes (tomato puree with seeds removed) - (drained)
1 teaspoon chili powder (chilli powder in British English)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¾ cup cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons milk - whatever you have on hand
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Saute bell pepper and onion in cooking oil until soft. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Increase heat to medium-high and brown ground beef. Drain.
- Lower heat, add tomato sauce, Rotel, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Simmer until the sauce thickens – you don’t want it soupy.
- Arrange crescent rolls into starfish-like shape on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
- Spoon meat into the middle of crescent rolls (you will likely have some meat that cannot fit – mom encourages you to save it for a taco or sloppy joe sandwich).
- Top meat with grated cheese – however much you think will fit (1/2 – 3/4 cup).
- Fold crescent roll triangles over the pile-o-cheese-topped meat – making sure to seal all edges. Just pinch them together as needed.
- Baste the outside of Colossal Cheeseburger with milk, followed by sprinkling it with sesame seeds. Bake for 20-25minutes – till lightly browned, and the pastry is cooked through. Let cool for a few minutes before cutting it into pie pieces.
Notes
Feel free to try the technique using my Sloppy Joe Recipe as the filling. I’m going to.