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!
This was YUMMY! I added most of a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, and I think it added a nice umph.
I love that you added fire roasted diced tomatoes, such a great way to add that umph! Nice work Lisa, thanks so much for taking the time to leave such a great review!❤️
Enjoyed this casserole. Had all ingredients except mushrooms. Also, I decided to cook the rice separately and therefore not needing the beef broth. Added garlic salt and lots of Italian spices- especially dried basil.
I would make this again. Thank you.
Happy to hear you enjoyed this one Claudia, thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!❤️
Holy yum! As I was making this, I thought it seemed a little high maintenance for a rice casserole. But man, was it worth it. All of your tricks worked perfectly and it was SOOOOOOOO good! My man and house full of college kids devoured it. I followed the recipe exactly except for using ground turkey instead of beef and there is nothing I will change when I make it next time, which will probably be next week! It made plenty for 6 very hungry people and there is still enough for lunch leftovers tomorrow. Keeper!!!!
This makes me so happy Janita! Sounds like such a victory, I love that you enjoyed it with ground turkey! Enjoy the leftovers, thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💗
If I make this again I will add a can of petite diced tomatoes for more moisture.
I liked the recipe but I thought it was dry.
My husband claims he doesn’t like cream of mushroom. Do you think he’ll taste that flavor? Will it change the dynamics of this recipe if I use cream of chicken instead? Thanks!!
Hi Kristy! Cream of Chicken should be just fine!! 🙂
Hi Kristy,
I just read your comment and although you posted last August, I want to add that I HATE mushrooms, but LOVE the cream of mushroom in this recipe. It adds a really unique flavor that cream of chicken doesn’t. I absolutely cannot taste a hint of mushrooms. So if your hubby claims he doesn’t like cream of mushroom, try it again with it and see if he even notices! 😉
Just wanted to add my 2 cents.
Carrie
My family and I loved it! It was a really simple recipe using ingredients I had on hand. Definite comfort food. This will be added to our dinner rotation. Thanks for sharing!!
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe Cleo!! Rice casseroles are my fav! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie
This was really delicious. Since I doubled the meat I don’t really have a pot big enough so I had to use a large fry pan. Next time I will start with the rice and forego sautéing the onions and garlic in the remnant of the beef. By the time I drained the grease off there was little left to contribute, IMHO. The rice preparation takes thirty minutes. Usually the browning of the meat takes the longest time. Still, it was very good.
Happy to hear you enjoyed this one Peter, thanks so much for taking the time to comment and leave a review!😃
Can I use Brown rice instead
You can, but the amount of liquid (chicken broth), and the simmering time, needs to be confirmed on the package of rice as it is likely different than the white long grain rice used in this recipe.
Definitely will make this again 😁
Yayyy! I’m so happy to hear that Danielle, it’s one of my favorite family dinners since my picky daughter loves it! Thanks so much for the great comments and review!💗
Thank you so much! When is the best time to add the frozen carrots and peas instead of mushrooms? Rice, broth, onions and garlic are cooking now 🙂
I would add frozen vegetables when you add the cooked ground beef (and other ingredients in the same step) back, let them defrost and heat through, then proceed!