Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole
This Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole is always a hit. It’s a family favorite comfort meal, and a simple one dish recipe that can’t be beat!
A FILLING OOEY GOOEY CHEESY CASSEROLE
Are you in the mood for something hearty and delicious? Look no further because this Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole is just what you need! Filled with beef, cheese, rice and other tasty toppings, it’s a one-dish meal that is easy to make and everyone loves! This casserole has all the yumminess of a restaurant-quality dish with minimal effort from your kitchen!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
If you don’t have, or don’t want to use the mixed veggies, you can use any of the frozen vegetables that you have on hand. It’s important to note that you’ll need 12 ounces of whatever veggies you pick.
Not a fan of cream of celery? Not a problem, just use a different cream of anything soup. Try cream of mushroom, cream of potato, or cream of cheddar for this casserole. You’ll just need two cans of whatever you choose.
You bet! Try some mozzarella, pepper jack, or Monterey jack.
Trade up the flavor profile and use ground chicken, ground turkey, ground pork, or a combo of any of these instead of the ground beef.
I use instant rice because it’s fast and easy and I don’t have to make it first before adding it to this dish. You can’t do that with regular long grain rice since it won’t cook all the way like instant rice does in this recipe. You can, however, use leftover cooked rice you might have and then reduce the amount of beef stock to ¾ cup instead of 1 ½ cups for the recipe.
Need to trade out beef stock? Try water, beef broth (which is lighter in flavor than stock), chicken broth, chicken stock, or even vegetable stock. Ground beef pairs best with beef stock but you can use any of these replacements if necessary.
Yes and that’s one of the reasons this casserole is soooo incredible! I love that you can make it a day in advance, keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to make it and then stick it in the oven. If you do this, you’ll need to let it come to room temperature before baking or you’ll need to extend the baking time slightly.
Cover leftovers with plastic wrap tightly. They should keep up to 3 days and if kept in the freezer, up to 3 months.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- ground beef
- sweet onion
- cloves garlic
- cream of celery soup
- beef stock
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- Italian seasoning
- sweet paprika
- kosher salt and black pepper
- instant rice
- frozen mixed vegetables
- shredded sharp cheddar cheese
HOW TO MAKE CHEESY GROUND BEEF AND RICE CASSEROLE:
Preheat the oven to 350°F, spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. In a dutch oven or large skillet with deep sides over medium heat, add the ground beef and onions. Break up the beef into crumbles, stirring often until there is no pink left, and the onions have softened about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for 30 seconds until fragrant, and take off the heat.
Stir in the cream of celery soup, beef stock, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, and pepper.
Add the instant rice and mixed veggies and stir to combine. Add the mixture to the prepared baking dish.
Top with the cheese and cover with nonstick foil. Bake for 45 minutes until bubbly and the cheese is melted.
Optional: Uncover and place under the broiler to lightly brown the cheese.
Add fresh parsley if using for garnish and serve.
Serve and enjoy!
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Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole (+Video)
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small sweet onion, small diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 (10.5 ounce) cans cream of celery soup
- 1 ½ cups beef stock
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup instant rice
- 12 ounces frozen mixed vegetables
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a dutch oven or large skillet with deep sides over medium heat, add 1 pound ground beef and 1 small sweet onion, small diced. Break up the beef into crumbles, stirring often until there is no pink left, and the onions have softened – about 10 minutes. Drain any excess grease.
- Add 4 cloves garlic, minced, cook for 30 seconds until fragrant, and take off the heat.
- Stir in 2 (10.5 ounce) cans cream of celery soup, 1 ½ cups beef stock, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
- Add 1 cup instant rice and 12 ounces frozen mixed vegetables and stir to combine. Add the mixture to the prepared baking dish.
- Top with 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese and cover with nonstick foil. Bake for 45 minutes until bubbly and the cheese is melted.
- Uncover and place under the broiler to lightly brown the cheese. Top with some dried or fresh parsley (optional) and serve!
Video
Notes
- You can use any mix of frozen vegetables you like, just make sure you use 12 ounces.
- Broiling is optional so you can skip that step if you’d like.
- Use any 2 cans of cream of something soup that you like. Cream of mushroom, cream of potato, or cream of cheddar would all be good.
- Other cheese that would be good, is mozzarella, pepper jack, or Monterey jack.
- Use ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground pork in place of the beef.
- You can also use leftover cooked rice in place of instant. Reduce the beef stock to ¾ cup instead of 1 & ½ cups if using cooked rice.
- Use beef broth if you can’t find stock, or you can even use water, chicken broth/stock, or vegetable stock.
- Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days, freeze it for up to 3 months.
- You can even make it a day in advance and pop it in the oven, you may need to extend the baking time slightly if preparing the day before.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I followed the recipe exactly, even though I didn’t understand why it said to add garlic and onion powder in addition to the fresh chopped onion and garlic. It was very tasty, but way too garlicky imo. I will leave the onion and garlic powder out next time. Other than that, it was delicious!