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…):
Easy and simple recipe that produces a great meal for the family
yummy would definitely make again. I would like to try and reduce the calories if anyone has some great substitue suggestions.
Dear Nagi
I have made numerous of your recipes and yet to find one that doesn’t work!! Keep up with recipes they are brilliant!!
Thank You
Anne Griffiths
It was delicious.. I’m in Africa and it’s hard to get the Mexican spices right.. But it was delicious
This was SO GOOD! Everyone was very happy 😀
PS Made as per recipe, with white long grain rice, and cooked to perfection in time, maybe only had it in a minute or two longer.
I use a lot of your recipes but I must admit this one is the best one I’ve had! I do a meal plan and this dish is on rotation every fortnight. Absolutely delicious, I love to add culleys no.10 hot sauce and sour cream on mine 🤤
Hi, Nagi,
I’m a newbie at your site. i made the rice to compliment the Chili relleno that was for dinner. Tks, Nagi,
It’s a great recipe! I tweaked it a bit!! I added fresh cilantro instead of cumin or coriander. I also added chili powder and an old packet of taco seasoning! Just used what I had!! It’s delicious I also substituted ground Turkey for ground beef because it’s what I had
Amazing flavour. I did add extra few minutes at the end as rice was just aldente, but my goodness.. we locked our plates… Will make again. Thanks for the recipe Nagi
I wish I noticed the other comments saying the rice isn’t cooked in 15 minutes. I can never seem to get your rice dishes cooked properly except for the dump fried rice in the oven.
Made this two nights ago for dinner and it was absolutely delicious. We had it again last night and there was enough left over to freeze for another meal for the two of us. I meal plan so it’s going into my book where I hand write recipes to go on regular meal rotation.🥰
How can something so quick be so delicious!!!! This is one of my favourite recipes of yours, everybody loves it! And those spices – what an awesome combination!!! Thanks again Nagi – you’re a treasure! x
This recipe has great flavors, but like others have commented the rice is no where near done after 15 minutes. I used regular long grain rice and needed an extra cup of liquid after 20 minutes. I would say it took closer to 45 minutes for the rice to cook covered at a gentle simmer.
Hi Renee, not sure if this helps, however I cooked this as per the recipe however used Jasmine rice. After the 15 minutes I added the extra cheese and let it sit on the stove (without added heat) with the lid on to let the cheese melt for probably around 5-10 minutes (after 15 minutes cook time) and the rice was perfect 🙂
So easy and delicious!! Really enjoyed making and eating this. Obsessed with all of your recipes, recipe tin eats is my go to for meal ideas now. Thank you!
Nagi, I am trying to lose weight. Can I leave out the rice and still have it taste good, or does that change the body of the dish too much?
Made this last night and everyone loved it. I added the 2 cups of grated cheese at the table before serving (no extra melted on top) Everyone drooled at the sight of 2 cups and it melting as it went on their plate. A+
Thank you!
All that talk of cheese is making me HUNGRY!! N x
I’m always on the hunt for family friendly recipes. Everyone loved it including my 3 yr old who said she didn’t like it but ate it quickly (usually it takes her three times longer to eat and we end up having to help her)…so I’d say it’s a winner! I used 1/4 tsp chili because of the kids but could have used more (as you said) 🙂 and only had short grain white rice so cooked everything a bit longer. Thank you for being such a reliable resource for this busy mom!
I’m so glad the kids enjoyed it Katrina!! N x
I had a double pack of mince that needed to be cooked so I doubled the recipe. Realised once it was getting time to put in the rice and broth that there was no way it was all going to fit in my pot. Fortunately I had some cooked rice in the freezer so added that with just under half the broth. Turned out perfect. Wrapped in tortillas and crisped up the outside in a pan. Delicious. And we have enough for another meal in the freezer.
It’s hard to double the one pot rice meals sometimes – they expand!! N x
Is the calorie amount mentioned for the entire meal or per serving??
It’s per serving Tonia! N x
Delicious – and great for lunch the next day! This one is definitely becoming a regular in our house. I used smoked paprika and served with diced tomato, avocado, coriander and pickled jalapenos. Super quick and sooo tasty.