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 Method
- 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 for 24 hours until thawed.
To Bake:
- Let it sit out for 30 minutes prior to baking, or bake it for an extra 10 minutes. Then 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!
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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 tbsp 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 cooked ground beef back along with the 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!
Ok! I really changed it up because I accidentally opened cream of chicken!!! Oops. I also used cauliflower rice because my husband is diabetic and carbs are the enemy! Can’t wait to let you know how it tastes! It’s cooking right now and I love how easy it was to make!
LOL, I bet you’ll still love it Crhistal, good luck! 😀
This is excellent! Very easy to make and loved by all (husband and very picky children). Thank you!
You’re very welcome Vanessa! Thanks so much for the great review, I’m so happy even the picky kids approved!💖
I want to add fresh broccoli to this. Should I cook it before I add it?
Hi Deb! Yes, I would cook it first. Enjoy! 🙂
I wish I could post a picture of it right here. I added fresh broccoli and it was AMAZING!! Definitely a keeper recipe!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed the casserole so much Deg, this one is a big hit in my family! Thanks so much for the great comments and review!💖
How big of a serving for 480 cal?
Hi Kristy, the nutrition information is an estimate and is per serving. There are 6 servings in this recipe, so one serving is 1/6 of the casserole.
The family loved this! Which includes a 3 yr old and 9 mo old twins. Although, my husband did rename it “Cheesey Beef Nibbies.” Lol
I’m so happy your family loved this one Letha! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💗
I couldn’t stop eating this! It was delicious!
That makes me so happy Katie! Thanks so much for the great review!💖
What are SEPARATED cheese and SEPARATED butter? Thank-you!
It means that you don’t use all of it at once. Divided is another way of saying it.
Ah, got it!! I thought it was a cooking term I wasn’t familiar with – some other form of butter or cheese. Thank-you for clarifying for me!
No problem! I also updated it to say “divided” as that’s really the more proper term!! 🙂
Could you use Jasmine Rice? That’s all I have in my pantry.
Jasmine rice should be fine!
Perfection!!! I made this tonight on a whim, it was delicious. I followed the directions exact but did add about 1/2 cup whipped cream cheese (just because I wanted to use it up) and instead of putting some of the cheese on top, I used French fried onions for a crispy top. Everything else was done by the book. So far, every recipe I’ve tried from you has been a huge hit, this one was also hubby approved, he loved it. I took my leftovers down the street to my sisters house, her kids loved it as well!
I’m so happy you’ve been enjoying all the recipes Julie, Thanks so much for your support! I love that you gave the leftovers to your sister!❤️
Even though I didn’t follow directions right (didn’t remove the ground beef when cooking the rice oops!) it came out sooooo good! Perfect casserole with a side of green beans.
I’m so happy it was a success Sarah, Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💗