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…):
We all really loved this one! I didn’t have black beans on hand, but added a can of diced tomatoes instead. Yum! Thanks! Kathy, Denver, USA
Great tip Kathy! I’m glad you liked them!! N x
Good receipe
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Lemeax! N x
Hi Nagi, totally love this recipe and have made it earlier. Thought I’ll cook the black bean from scratch instead of canned. How much of the bean would I have to use in this case?
Hi Jeen – dried beans triple when you cook them so you would need to cook about 135 grams of dried beans. N x
Thank you Nagi, you’re awesome! X
Love this recipe. By itself, stuffed in peppers or wrapped in a tortilla. So versatile!
There are soooo many ways to eat it Candace – yum! N x
Any recommendations for substitutions for beans?
Tastes fine but the rice has not fully cooked even after 25min and I unfortunately assumed it was fine at 15min and added the cheese. The texture with uncooked rice is rather unpleasant so hopefully it fully cooks.
I would use precooked rice if I was going to attempt this again.
Flavorful but could’ve used more spice. I added a couple of dashes of Tajin brand seasoning to my bowl that made it perfect. Also, recommend turning the heat way down after adding the rice – I burnt the bottom of my pot.
I was skeptical about this – then thought ‘Nagi’
Made it, loved it; thanks my friend!!!
Woo hoo!! That’s great Alimak!! N x
Hi! Love so many of your recipes! I am on a bit of a brown rice kick, so made this, but tripled the stock and baked it at 375F for 30 mins. What’s your suggestion for adjusting the spices? Thanks!!!
Im back again for the recipe because this is my 2nd time making this recipe! My family loves it! I made it as it states last time. Today I plan to precook my rice a little bit before throwing it in and adding a can of mild chilis. It would be fine for minute rice but im using jasmine because thats what I have on deck. I recommend this recipe.
I am glad you enjoyed it Angie! N x
Yummy dish and I shared the recipe to extended family, to find that it was a favourite already. It does freeze and reheat extremely well.
My picky 6 year old and 1 year old both loved this. And so easy to make. Thanks!
I am happy that you both enjoyed it Stephanie! N x
Hello Nagi, I made this recipe tonight and it was delicious. It is definitely a great way to use ground beef and make supper a little more lively. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. It will be a repeat one for sure!
You’ve gotta love ground beef!! N x
A definite hit with my family. They all requested me to make this again. I reduced the cayenne but not by much and the kids didn’t complain about it being too spicy. Great recipe.
Hi making this tonight for the first time. Hope mine turns out like yours. Wonder if you could convert cups to metric .The English don’t know cups!😄
Hi Jane – almost all of my recipes have a button that swaps between metric and cups – you just happened to find one of the few that doesn’t yet! N x
Is that the proper amounts of seasoning?
Yes it is correct as written! Which ones were you concerned about? N x
I have made this recipe every week since I found it, about a month ago. Absolutely love it! Thank you, Nagi😍
Gotta love that ground beef!! N x
YUMMMMM. That is all x
Cooked this tonight- super easy. Didn’t have corn- didn’t matter. A tiny bit salty (might have been the tasty cheese I used that tipped it over) Definitely took loner than 15 minutes to cook and I had to add at least another cup of stock/water. I thought it was tasty- the family rated it BIG TIME. One said put it in the Top Ten rotation and another said it could even be on her Birthday Dinner wish list- that’s BIG. Thanks Nagi for ANOTHER great recipe xx
Gotta love the ground beef!! N x
I made this tonight and it was delicious. The only thing is the rice does not cook in 15 minutes. It took nearly an hour. It was worth the wait but next time I’ll consider pre-cooking the rice or using minute rice.
Thanks for that feedback Bev – I will check it out! N x