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…):
Fast, easy and delicious! I didn’t have any coriander so I left out and it was still fantastic. Plenty of leftovers for lunch tomorrow also. Thanks Nagi, love your recipes xx
My 9 year old went back for FIVE helpings, and her 3 siblings demolished their own without any issue. One of my 7 year olds helped me make it. A great family friendly meal!
Going to try this tonight! So you don’t use any chili powder for this Mexican dish?
I use cayenne for this one Meg. N x
This was delicious!!! Both kids and hubby loved it. Will definitely make again.
Fantastic meal!!! Hubby loved it;-)
Hi, I love the look of this recipe but I was wondering how to make it vegetarian? Would it be as simple as just removing the ground beef and changing to veg stock or would I need to adjust the veg amounts as well? Thanks
Hi Nicole, it’s not sorry – I’d need to test this as the amounts of all the ingredients would change. N x
Ah, I thought it would need adjusting. If you give it a go and it works as a vegetarian version I’d love to hear back about it. Thanks 😊
Made half with ground beef and the other half with veggie mixers (imposter ground beef) and both turned out great! I had to add extra broth to both pots and kept a close eye on them because the rice hadn’t cooked all the way at the 15-min mark (I used basmati rice, bc that’s all I had). Next time I’ll just regular ol’ long grain rice. Thanks so much!
YuuuummH!
I made this tonight and is definitely gonna go on my list of family favouites 1 pot dinners.
Oh wowzers! Wouldn’t change a thing. Perfect as written. Cooked a big batch of black beans in the instant pot and now have plenty to make this again. I used jasmin rice and stirred in some minced cilantro/coriander before the cheese. So easy.
I’m so happy you loved it Elaine!! N x
This looks so good! I was wondering if I could turn the leftovers into burritos the next day? Or is it too runny?
Yes 100% Nimah!!! N x
Hello. Hoping to try this recipe tonight. Looks delicious. Can you use brown rice here and add more stock?
Hi Roshani, I mention this in the recipe notes 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi, LOVE LOVE this recipe although i struggled to find born at my local store. But thats ok I decided Corn would go perfectly well 😉 xx
Just goes to show I’m only human Sarah and I too, make mistakes 😉 N x
Love this recipe! Typically add an extra cup water and cook longer (using Woolies brand long grain rice). It’s so tasty and makes heaps!
I’m about to cook this for the first time. Fingers crossed it tastes as good as it looks.
This is going to become a family favourite for sure. Great recipe. Like a one pot burrito bowl and so easy too.
Yes so easy!!! N x
I needed about 1/2 a cup more water/stock for half the recipe and I cooked for 6 extra minutes. Delicious though
Hi Hayley, sorry you had issues here – can you let me know which type of rice you used? N x
Absolutely delicious and easy!!! One of my quick go to meals during the week 🙂
O M G sooo delish – a new family fave! You’ve come through with the goods yet again… I have a folder filled with just your recipes!
Hi Nagi! Sorry for the clueless question. In the recipe, are you using dried coriander leaves, or ground coriander seeds?
I’m so glad you asked this because I wasn’t sure either! Thankyou
Hi there, It’s coriander powder. Hope this isn’t too late. Enjoy! Making it tonight again myself.
Made as directed, it was outstanding! Simple to make, wonderful to eat. This recipe impressed the little lady ,which is hard to do. I put the recipe in my rotation for quick meals and hungry children. Thank you.
Making this for the 2nd time after the kids asked me to make ‘that Mexican rice thing again’! So simple, but so tasty