The Cozy Cookbook is here! This Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole is easy to make with pantry ingredients like cream of mushroom soup. Your family will LOVE this quick dinner recipe!
Be sure to try my other rice casserole recipes that use chicken and broccoli, sausage and peppers, ham and broccoli, or chicken cordon bleu next!
Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole
On occasion, I’ll make a recipe where I know that I need to freeze any leftovers right away to keep myself away from them. This, is one such recipe.
This beefy, cheesy rice casserole is the ultimate way to use up the ground beef you have tucked away in your fridge or freezer. The ingredients are super simple. You’ll likely already have them all on hand, and there are tons of substitution options.
You can make this beef casserole days ahead of time and it makes a great freezer meal. You are going to love having this in your rotation.
How to Make it
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Brown the ground beef in a large pot over medium high heat.
Mix in salt, pepper, & Italian seasonings as the beef cooks. Drain any excess grease if needed. Set the beef aside and cover with foil.
Add butter to the pot along with diced onions, cook until softened. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add beef broth, butter, and rice. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover tightly.
Simmer for 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and replace cover. Do not stir. Steam for 5-10 more minutes. (Refer to rice package for cooking time.)
Turn off heat, leave the cover on and let the rice stand for 10 minutes, any rice on the bottom of the pot will release.
Add the ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, milk, and cheese.
Use a silicone spatula and gently stir to combine.
Don’t Use Minute Rice
I highly recommend you use regular long grain rice instead of minute rice:
- Long grain rice = creamier consistency. Short grain rice tends to be stickier.
- Regular rice has higher nutritional value and better flavor.
Make-Ahead Beef and Rice Casserole
- This casserole can be assembled ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 2 days prior to baking.
- You can also freeze the unbaked casserole for another day. To reheat, let it defrost in the fridge overnight.
To Bake:
- Let it sit out for 30 minutes prior to baking. Cover and bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes.
Storage
- Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- Frozen leftovers can be microwaved for a quick lunch.
- You can defrost in the fridge overnight, cover and bake in a 350° oven until heated through, the amount of time depends on portion size.
Love This Recipe?
Try my other rice casserole recipes that use chicken or ham! And check out all of my casserole recipes.
And don’t forget to leave a review below this post!
Try These Next!
-
- Spinach Chicken
-
- American Chop Suey
-
- Ground Beef Stir Fry
-
- Caprese Pasta
-
- Beef Noodle Soup
-
- Chicken Parmesan
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Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef, 85% lean
- 1.5 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- Salt/Pepper
- 3 Tablespoons butter, divided
- ¾ cup onions, diced
- 1 Tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2 ½ cups beef broth
- 1 ¼ cups uncooked white long grain rice, (not instant rice)
- 8 oz. sliced button mushrooms, washed
- 10.5 oz. cream of mushroom soup
- ½ cup milk, any kind
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, divided
Instructions
- Note: This recipe is designed to allow you to prepare all of the casserole ingredients in one pot before transferring to a casserole dish for baking. Before you begin, refer to your rice package for the amount of liquid (beef broth) and cooking time. If preferred, cook the rice separately and skip the beef broth ingredient. You'll need 3 + 3/4 cups of cooked rice to combine with the other casserole ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Brown the ground beef in a large pot over medium-high heat. Mix in salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings as the beef cooks.
- Drain grease, transfer to a plate, and cover with foil.
- Melt 2 TBS butter in the same pot. Add the diced onions and cook for 5 minutes, until softened.
- Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add beef broth, butter, and rice. Stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer.
- Cover tightly and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms, replace the cover, and cook for 5-10 more minutes. (Refer to rice package for exact cooking time.) Do not stir the rice at any point.
- Turn heat off, leave the cover on, and let it stand for 10 minutes without stirring. Any rice on the bottom of the pot will release.
- Add the ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, milk, sour cream, and HALF of the cheese. Stir to combine.
- Transfer to a lightly greased 9 x 13 casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.
- Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Serve!
Notes
• Instead of mushrooms, you may choose to use frozen peas, carrots, and/or corn.
• Leftovers freeze very well!
If you prefer to avoid condensed canned soup, you can make this with my homemade Cream of Chicken Soup!
Holy smokes! I did about everything wrong but it’s a forgiving recipe! I browned the ground beef with the onions and garlic. Then I added the rice, broth, butter and frozen green beans to the ground beef mix. Read the directions and figured why stop now? So I added some seasoned salt and Worcestershire because I love that stuff. Simmered 10 minutes, stirred, simmered for 5 more minutes and let sit. I added the soup and cheese and some cream cheese, because that’s all I had and baked. And surprise, a whole different dish practically! But this is the foundation and it’s delicious. I’m sorry for screwing up so much but figured other home cooks might go astray like me but still be happy with the results! 5 stars because it’s all my fault and definitely not your recipe!
Hi Debi!! I’m really happy to hear that you were able to navigate your way to success even though things didn’t initially go as planned! You know how to cook and I’m glad that you shared your experience!! Thank you so much for taking the time to do that and to leave a review, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie
Thoughts on possible substitutions for the mushrooms and mushroom soup? I would love it but I have picky eaters?
Hi Linda! You can definitely use cream of chicken soup instead of cream of mushroom. As far as veggies go, you could do steamed broccoli, steamed green beans, corn, or peas! 🙂
Hi, I used a quart of home canned beef because that is what I had. It turned out great, that was my only change. It fed a crowd and everyone enjoyed it. Thanks!
I love making this for hungry crowds, I’m so happy it didn’t disappoint! Thanks so much for the great comments and review!💜
My family enjoyed this but i had to make some alterations, i only had yellow rice and instead of gravy i used beefy onion mix and my son doesn’t eat mushrooms so i left them out but did use the soup it was delicious
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it Katrina! 🙂
So good! Also you can make this with minute rice just follow the box directions instead! Super easy and super tasty
Yes, minute rice is a great time saver Janna! I’m so happy you enjoyed this one, thanks for the great comments and review!❤️
This will be my 3rd time making this for my family (2 which are toddlers) and everyone absolutely loved it! Thank you for the quick easy dinner idea I will keep making this one!!
It’s my pleasure Mishell, I’m so happy it’s been such a hit! Thanks so much for the great review💖