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 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!
Try These Next!
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- American Chop Suey
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- Chicken Parmesan
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- Ground Beef Casserole
-
- Caprese Pasta
-
- Baked Chicken Thighs
-
- Lemon Garlic Chicken
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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!
Love this recipe. I did add cream cheese to it and it came out perfect. My husband loves rice with anything and he said he loved this and to keep the recipe. 😋 ☺️
Nice work Robin! I’m so happy it was a hit with the hubby, thanks so much for the great review💖
Very good. We like casseroles but I typically use pasta. My husband LOVES rice, so he was really excited about this dish!
That’s funny, it’s kind of like that in my house too, my husband prefers rice in his casseroles. I’m so happy you both enjoyed this one, thanks so much for the great review!💖
Wow this is great! You can do about anything you want with it too. I have added peppers and it was good that way too. So easy and affordable. Will make again for sure!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Nicole! I agree, it’s so easy to customize, thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!😃
Is the nutrition info with can cream of mushroom or your recipe for cream of mushroom? When I put all info in using homemade recipe the calories are higher.
The estimated nutritional information for this recipe is based on using a can of cream of mushroom.
I made this a while back and forgot to rate, comment, and say thank you, again, for yet another wonderful, Cozy Cook recipe! My husband doesn’t especially like casseroles (this is still a mysterious wonder), but he said to keep this in the rotation. 🙂 I added frozen peas and carrots instead of mushrooms and it was delicious!
You’re amazing! Keep the recipes coming please!
Thanks so much for your support and for taking the time to leave a review Carrie!💓 It’s funny my husband is the same way with casseroles lol but he always ends up liking them. Thanks again!
I made this and used your recipe for homemade cream of chicken soup. It’s fantastic! The rice itself was delicious and the finished casserole was amazing! I will definitely make this again (and again!).
I’m so happy it was such a hit Danielle! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!💖
Ok stupid question is the placed in uncooked
Hi Elsa, is what put in uncooked? I see that you wrote this question out twice but neither question specifies what ingredient you’re asking about. Sorry! Let me know and I’ll help you out!
So awesome!. I make alot of casseroles and this one is in the top 5 if not the 1st! I didn’t have sour cream, so I doubled the milk.
Thanks so much for the great review Audrey, I’m so happy you’re enjoying this one! I love casseroles too, they make great weekday meals!💗
My kids really liked this one!!
That’s so great to hear Rachel, this is definitely a great one for the kiddos! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💖
Super good made the recipe as is except just used garlic powder. Made this a few times. Just very delicious and feels very comfort food. Whole family including toddlers loved it.
I’m so happy this has been such a hit Amie, especially with the toddlers! Thanks so much for the great comments!💗
Ok. I am circling back to give you all feedback on what I did. I now know there is a definite reason for rice, and not the cauliflower kind. It was not the consistency meant for this dish. I would say to definitely squeeze out as much moisture in the cauliflower rice as possible if you need to go keto or low carb. I did zero squeezing sadly. But next time I will. Flavor was great and this is a great quick week night dinner for sure. And I am just a rule breaker and love to experiment in the kitchen!
Thank you for circling back and providing this info Christal, I’m sure readers will find it very helpful!! 🙂