No more boring beef mince recipes….. Kick off the week with THIS flavour packed Mexican Ground Beef Casserole!! With corn, capsicum/bell peppers and black beans, this rice casserole is juicy, cheesy, and packed with big Mexican flavours.
One pot, quick dinner idea that’s on the table in 30 minutes!
Mexican Ground Beef Casserole with rice
This is essentially the filling for the Mexican Stuffed Peppers I shared a few weeks ago. Why am I bothering?
Because when I share a pork chop recipe on Instagram, people always ask if it can be made with chicken.
When I share a chicken thigh recipe, people always ask if it can be made with breast.
And when I share Mexican Stuffed Peppers, people ask if it can be made without the peppers…… 😂😂😂
Which actually, as strange as it sounds, I thought was a very valid question because I can imagine how irritating it would be to watch that stuffed peppers video and drool when the juicy beef rice filling comes oozing out, knowing full well you have no peppers in your fridge.
So – here’s the filling recipe which is a Mexican flavoured ground beef casserole made with rice. It’s mouth-wateringly delish!!!
What you need for Mexican Ground Beef Casserole
Here’s what you need. Feel free to substitute the capsicum, born and beans with other vegetables of choice – you need about 5 to 6 cups of diced veggies in total.
How to make this Mexican Rice Casserole
This is a one pot quick dinner that will be on your table in 30 minutes!
Essentially, it starts by browning the beef with onion and garlic, then you add a ton of Mexican spices, rice and liquids then you give it a big stir and let it simmer away on the stove until the rice is tender.
To give it a good slug of extra flavour, I like to stir in cheese as well as green onion for freshness (I also like doing this because I get a kick out of watching the cheese melt into the rice 😇), top with a bit more cheese, clamp the lid on and leave it for a minute to let the residual heat to melt the cheese.
The texture of this rice casserole is like a creamy risotto – except it tastes like juicy Enchiladas.
I love the pops of flavour and texture from the corn and beans – adds extra interest!
Another quick beef mince recipe!
Regular readers know I’m a big fan of beef mince. It’s just so easy – no chopping required, highly versatile. A great flavour absorber, quick to cook.
And this Mexican Rice Casserole is the latest addition to my ground beef recipe collection. Other than Bolognese (which is, without a doubt, the recipe I make most often!), a few of my other favourites include:
Quick Asian Beef Bowls – there’s a lot of fans of this recipe!!
Salisbury Steaks – juicy seasoned beef patties smothered in mushroom gravy
Juicy Italian Meatballs – well, actually, all meatballs!
Chilli Con Carne, Beef Tacos, Baked Ziti, Baked Spaghetti, Moussaka, Meatloaf, Homemade Hamburger Helper….
I have to stop. I love them all! Of course I do. Otherwise I wouldn’t have shared the recipe!! ~ Nagi x
Watch how to make it
More easy, cosy casseroles
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Mexican Ground Beef Casserole with Rice (Beef mince!)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 500g (1 lb) ground beef (mince), lean
- 1/3 cup tomato paste
- 1 1/4 cup long grain white rice , uncooked (Note 1)
- 2.5 cups (625 ml) chicken broth/stock , low sodium
- 400g (14oz) can corn kernels , drained (Note 2)
- 400g (14oz) can black beans , drained (or other beans)
- 1 capsicum/bell pepper , diced
- 1 cup green onions/shallots
- 2 cups (200g) cheese , shredded (anything that melts! Note 3)
MEXICAN SPICES:
- 0.5 tsp cayenne pepper (Note 4)
- 1.5 tbsp dried oregano
- 3 tsp cumin
- 3 tsp coriander
- 3 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1.5 tsp salt
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot over high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook 1 1/2 minutes until onion is translucent.
- Add beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, until you no longer see raw meat (about 2 minutes).
- Add Mexican Spices and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add capsicum and cook for 1 minute.
- Add tomato paste and broth, stir to mix in.
- Add rice, corn and black beans.
- Stir, bring to simmer then cover and lower heat to medium low (simmering gently). Cook 15 minutes.
- Remove lid, quickly stir through green onion and HALF the cheese.
- Smooth top then sprinkle on remaining cheese. Cover and leave for 1 minute just to melt cheese.
- Remove from stove and serve immediately, garnished with more green onion if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
This is where he is as I’m writing this post (ie licking his lips at the sight of the photos…):
Does anyone know if this can be done in a crockpot, and if so, how?
This is my go to dish when I don’t have the energy or time to cook. Everything in this recipe is either in my freezer or pantry & it comes together so so simply & quickly. I can have a tasty dinner on the table so easily…love it!
What a fantastic recipe and so easy. I used this recipe as a buritto filling. I put this in a wrap and added coriander, sour cream, salsa and hot sauce for those that like it spicier. Tucked the wrap in a buritto shape and grilled in my sandwich press. My husband and 4 young adult kids loved them. The only down side was there were no leftovers for tomorrow. Thank you Nagi for another tasty recipe.
Hi is the coriander fresh or powdered?
Hi Aj, it’s ground coriander, you can see this in the ingredients shot for reference too 🙂 N x
So Tasty!
Made this last night – delicious.
I did have to cook it a little longer and add more stock as the rice didn’t cook enough.
Otherwise we loved it – thank you
I made this last night it was really tasty. It took longer than expected as the rice was still crunchy so I added more water and popped it back. Was my temperature too high?
Anyway, result!
Hi Jan, sorry you had issues here, can I ask what type of rice you used? N x
Hi Nagi, I used Earthly Grains white rice that I bought from Aldi. It says extra fancy, enriched long grain. It cooks in 15-20 minutes usually. I’m thinking my stove top temperature was too high as the bottom of my pan was a layer of blackened rice! I’ll try again though as it was so tasty.
I’m making this, can’t wait!! 😋
I was wondering, the quantities look similar to your jambalaya recipe (which is a favourite in our house), so could I do this in the oven for half an hour? Thanks in advance!
I loved this! It was economical and easy to make with a wonderful flavour! Can’t beat one pot and the two cups of cheese!
Thus recipe is really good and makes lots for leftovers! Is tomato puree the same as tomato paste?
Hi Emma, I’m so glad you love it! Tomato paste is concentrate, whereas tomato puree is exactly like Passata 🙂 N x
Ah, well that does clear it up, in England tomato puree comes in a squeezy tube and is concentrated! 😊
This recipe is so easy to make and absolutely delicious. I even had all the ingredients in my pantry.
Thanks Nagi. What would I do without you… and Dozer too of course!
We had this for dinner last night, with a dollop of sour cream. It was delicious, with everyone going back for seconds. Definitely a new family favourite!
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Fairouz! N x
Cooked this tonight. Absolutely delicious. Will increase cayenne next time as I like it spicy. Did add a handful of extra cheese (couldn’t help myself)
Another winner, thx Nagi
This was absolutely delicious with turkey mince, and I sautéed the onion and capsicum for 10 minutes on low first, to avoid capsicum protests (which worked!). Will be a regular meal for us for sure.
I looove this recipe!! But for some reason my rice is waaaay undercooked I find I need to add heaps more stock and cook for a lot longer. Unsure why!
Rated 10 out of 5 by one of the kids. 5 out of 5 by the other. Delicious! Will be a regular.
This looks great but my husband hates beans! Anything I can substitute? Or just leave them out?
Hi Kate, you can just leave them out if you prefer 🙂 N x
Made this tonight without the beans and it was delicious! I am tossing out my old standby ground beef/rice casserole recipe. This one is way better and much easier too!
Made for dinner tonight and had a sneaky taste before everyone else. OMG, this tastes so good and makes more than needed, so leftovers it will be. Recipes on this website never disappoint 💕
Delicious. Making it for the second time tonight. Very flexible and works with many substitutions. Thank you!
Made this over a week ago but kept forgetting to rate, obviously a 5 star again, love one pan meals on busy days and was enough left over for dinner the next day and a little extra for a friend x
Made this yesterday for my Sunday meal prep and it’s a total winner! Will be happily chowing down for the next few work lunches!