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…):
This was so flavorful with just the right amount of kick to it. My husband told me to feel free to make it again. That being said, next time I’ll cook the rice separately and then add as, as others said, it took forever for the rice to cook and left a horrible mess in my ceramic cast iron Dutch oven.
This is our favorite dish
Really tasty and not too spicy with quantity of Cayenne pepper listed. Kids topped it with sour cream and some crushed up corn chips. With definitely make again!
This was so good and easy. I could eat it every day. I halved the cheese and used 93% ground beef. It was still amazing and fit my calorie budget better. Lots of fiber and protein!
This is amazing and so easy. I used jasmine rice and 2.5c broth. The rice cooked fine. I did wash it first, but I don’t think that would affect things much. For spices I used 3 tbsp homemade taco seasoning as I always have a lot on hand. This is definitely going in my meal prep rotation!
This was delicious and so easy to make. Followed the recipe to the tee. Wouldn’t change a thing. Used a Dutch oven. Rice cooked perfectly in 15 minutes. Definitely going to become a staple in our household.
Very delicious. Rice does cook in 15 minutes as long as you use boil in bag rice and double the chicken broth to 5 cups. I used 4 tablespoons of homemade taco seasoning instead of the seasonings in recipe. Turned out super delicious.
This recipe was a winner for everyone in the family, even the pickiest eaters! The taste was phenomenal and the recipe was easy to follow 😆
Fantastic meal! I was running short on time and didn’t add the rice and 1 1/2 cups water and had a delicious, hearty dip for corn chips. The picky eater cohort in my family had seconds before running off to their evening activities. Thank you!
Family love this, I always make double. I also cook the rice in chicken stock in my rice cooker, then add
Not a pretty meal, but absolutely delicious. And works out to be cheap as well, about $3.70/serve (because it absolutely makes 6 FULL servings!)
My family loved this dinner…Some of us had it on a tortilla as a burrito. I replaced spices with Taco seasonning as I was missing some…And also only did one cup of rice and added more broth as rice was not cooked. Will definitely make this again,
OMG another amazing dish!!! Hubby and I absolutely love it and bonus is that there is enough left for tomorrow night’s dinner!!! Nagi, you make me look/feel like I’m a professional chef!!! Thank you yet again!!! xoxox
I just cooked this
fabulous flavorsome meal in 1 pot
I used a tin of plum tomatoes instead of paste and reduced the stock by 100 ml also used a tin of green lentils instead of black beans
for Cheese, Mature Cheddar and grand Padano
All in all- Great success
keep up the good work
Even better than I expected! Soooo full of flavour, makes a good amount for leftovers. I’m not much of a spicy person and as she noted, the cayenne pepper gets quite diluted and I agree with that, it’s only a very mild spice. Also the rice definitely cooked in the 15 min time frame so not sure what went wrong with some of the other commenters saying it took much longer. Anyway, definitely going to make it again!
Another brilliant recipe from Nagi! Delicious and great mix of flavours. Plenty of fibre and protein. Being able to make this in one pot is the icing on the cake. Served it up with corn chips, sour cream, extra cheese and guacamole. Even my fussy 11yr old enjoyed it! 🙂
My family really enjoyed this recipe. I used black pepper instead of cayenne because my husband can’t handle spiciness. It was just on the edge for him, even so, so that is perfect for us. I found a need to cook the mix with the rice added for about 20 minutes instead of 15, as the rice was not fully cooked. I used cheddar, which we enjoyed and did not have green onions or shallots on hand, but we didn’t find it lacking. Thank you!
Absolutely delicious. I made this recipe as beef, pork and meat free dishes. They were all very quick and easy to make. My family loved them all.
Thanks Nagi & Dozer xx
Absolutely delicious. My family has varied dietary requirements so I made this recipe as beef, pork and meat free dishes. Very easy to make. All very very enthusiastically eaten.
Thanks Nagi & Dozer.
Hi Nagi, could you please add a pressure cooker version of this please? I have tried many times to convert it but not having much success.
My whole family loves this meal. I’ve swapped the paprika for sweet paprika because I have small children, and it’s a regular go-to. Thank you, Nagi, for your delicious recipes.