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!
Flavor is amazing! Just be sure to let the rice cook longer than directions state
Hi Mariah, I wouldn’t advise that people cook the rice longer than stated or it can burn. Did you use white long-grain rice, or a different variety? Did you see the note at the beginning of the recipe to refer to your specific package of rice to verify the cooking time and liquid amount? And finally, did you let it rest in the pot, while still tightly covered? The only other explanation I can offer is that the liquid wasn’t simmering at a high enough temperature. It should be bubbling gently during cooking. Glad that you enjoyed the flavor, and wish you better luck with the rice next time:)
Hi Stephanie,
I just made this recipe for us for dinner tonight. As is my practice I tasted it to see what it needed. It didn’t need anything it is perfect as is.
We have enjoyed many of your recipes. I especially like the homemade soups and other recipes. I enjoy cooking from scratch and most of my meals are made this way. Bless you for your efforts to give us good healthy recipes.
Thanks so much for the great comments and review Kylee! I’m so happy you’re enjoying these recipes. I have extra love for my homemade soup recipes too!❤️
Excellent dinner for my picky kids, ages 10, 7, and 4. They loved it and that’s unusual (as they’d rather have junk food from you-know-where). Thank you for sharing this. We will be making it again!!
Sounds like you nailed it Lorrie! Such a win when the picky kids approve. Thanks so much for the great review!❤️
This was easy to make and very tasty. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
You’re very welcome Kate! I’m so happy you found this easy and yummy. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️
My family loved it.
This will be one of the Christmas dishes this year. Thank you
I am so happy to hear that Grace! Wahoo! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this review, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie
This recipe goes together so easily. I thought it would have an Italian taste to it but it does not it is very savory and filling one of my favorites to make.
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this! I love how my 5 year old gobbles this one up. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and leave a review!😍
Delish! I made the whole thing in a large cast iron pan and it turned out great. Thought I might need to cook longer than the 20 minute final cook, but it was fine all in one pan. Thanks for another recipe for the rotation! I used peas in place of mushrooms.
I’m so happy you enjoyed this one Kelly! I keep this one in the regular rotation too. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!😍
I made this as a before Trick or Treating meal. I added diced celery with the onion. My family loved it!
That’s so great to hear! Definitely a nice and easy way to feed the family before trick or treating🎃. Sounds like a fun night! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!❤️
I made it exactly as written it was delicious!
I’m so happy to hear that Andrea! Thanks so much for commenting and leaving a review!❤️
Very good! Will definitely be making again.
That’s great to hear Delaney! I had way too much ground beef in my freezer so I actually made this too the other night. Definitely a great family meal. Thanks so much for the great review!💖