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You don’t even have to boil the rice or brown the meat! Let the oven do the work, and just stir together the raw ingredients for this Dump-and-Bake Ground Beef Casserole with Rice. It’s an easy and healthy dinner recipe with just 10 minutes of prep!
For those days when you just don’t have the time or energy to pull together another meal!
When you need a cozy, hearty and nourishing supper to serve your family, this beef and rice casserole comes to the rescue. It’s loaded with vegetables, lean protein and rice — for a complete dinner that only requires a few minutes of hands-on time. The dump-and-bake method is your weeknight savior!
How to make Ground Beef Casserole:
First, place the raw ground beef in a large baking dish. Use your fingers to break up the meat into small pieces (just like you would use a wooden spoon to break up the meat in a skillet).
Add the remaining ingredients (except for the cheese), cover tightly, and bake at 375 degrees F for 60-75 minutes.
During the final 5 minutes of baking, remove the cover, stir the casserole, sprinkle cheese over top, and return the dish to the oven for about 5-10 more minutes so that the cheese can melt.
The casserole is done when the rice is tender and the cheese has melted on top. Garnish with fresh herbs, if desired, and serve!
What to serve with Ground Beef Casserole:
Since this casserole includes protein, veggies and a starch, you really don’t need anything else on the side. Convenient, right? However, if you’d like to round out the meal with a couple of other options, here are some great sides that go well with the casserole:
- A simple green salad dressed in Italian Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Garlic bread or 3-Ingredient Homemade Breadsticks
- Garlic Roasted Broccoli
- Simple Italian Green Bean Salad
Cook’s Tips and Recipe Variations:
- I recommend using 96% or 97% extra lean ground beef for this recipe, because you are not browning and draining the meat before it goes into the dish. The extra lean meat will not make your casserole greasy. That said, if you prefer to use ground meat with a higher fat content, that’s fine — just cook the meat in a skillet and drain off the fat before stirring the beef into the casserole.
- Cooking time can vary, depending on the type of dish that you’re using. For instance, rice will cook faster in a dark, metal pan than it will in a ceramic dish. Just keep your eye on it starting at the 55 minute mark (when you may need to add the cheese), because you don’t want your rice to be over-cooked and mushy.
- Substitute ground chicken breast or ground white meat turkey breast for the ground beef.
- Make sure that you break up the raw meat as you place it in the dish. This is similar to using a wooden spoon to break up ground beef as you brown it in a skillet. Since the meat bakes in the oven, you don’t want it to cook in one big lump. By breaking it into smaller pieces, it will evenly distribute throughout the casserole!
- Brown rice or instant rice are not equal swaps for the long grain white rice called for here. Brown rice requires a much longer cooking time (so the casserole would need to bake for at least 90 minutes), while instant rice cooks faster and will not absorb as much liquid. I have only tested the recipe with long grain white rice, so I cannot recommend using other grain substitutes.
- For a creamier casserole, omit the can of condensed tomato soup and replace it with a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup (or other creamy condensed soup).
More ground beef casserole recipe ideas that you might enjoy:
- 4-Ingredient Ground Beef Casserole
- Ground Beef Casserole with Egg Noodles {Amish Hamburger Casserole}
- Ground Beef Casserole with Cornbread Topping {Taco Pie}
- Ground Beef Casserole with Pasta {5-Ingredient Dump-and-Bake Beefaroni}
- Mexican Ground Beef Casserole
Dump-and-Bake Ground Beef Casserole with Rice
5 from 8 votes
Prep: 10 minutes minutes
Cook: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes
0 minutes minutes
Total: 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes
Let the oven do the work, and just stir together the raw ingredients for this Dump-and-Bake Ground Beef Casserole with Rice — an easy and healthy dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. extra lean ground beef (at least 96% or 97% lean)*
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup, NOT diluted
- 1 ½ cups beef broth
- 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- Salt and pepper, to taste (about 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper)
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Optional garnish: fresh chopped parsley or basil
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a large baking dish (about 9 x 13 inches) with cooking spray.
In the prepared dish (or in a large bowl), use your fingers to crumble uncooked ground beef into small pieces. Add tomatoes, tomato soup, beef broth, uncooked rice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, Italian seasoning, onion powder, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 60-75 minutes (or until the rice is tender). During the final 5 minutes of cooking, remove dish from oven, uncover, and sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Place back in the oven (uncovered) for the final 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Garnish with fresh herbs, if desired.
Notes
- I recommend using 96% or 97% extra lean ground beef for this recipe, because you are not browning and draining the meat before it goes into the dish. The extra lean meat will not make your casserole greasy. That said, if you prefer to use ground meat with a higher fat content, that’s fine — just cook the meat in a skillet and drain off the fat before stirring the beef into the casserole.
- Cooking time can vary, depending on the type of dish that you’re using. For instance, rice will cook faster in a dark, metal pan than it will in a ceramic dish. Just keep your eye on it starting at the 55 minute mark (when you may need to add the cheese), because you don’t want your rice to be over-cooked and mushy.
- Substitute ground chicken breast or ground white meat turkey breast for the ground beef.
- Make sure that you break up the raw meat as you place it in the dish. This is similar to using a wooden spoon to break up ground beef as you brown it in a skillet. Since the meat bakes in the oven, you don’t want it to cook in one big lump. By breaking it into smaller pieces, it will evenly distribute throughout the casserole!
- Brown rice or instant rice are not equal swaps for the long grain white rice called for here. Brown rice requires a much longer cooking time (so the casserole would need to bake for at least 90 minutes), while instant rice cooks faster and will not absorb as much liquid. I have only tested the recipe with long grain white rice, so I cannot recommend using other grain substitutes.
- For a creamier casserole, omit the can of condensed tomato soup and replace it with a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup (or other creamy condensed soup).
Nutrition
Serving: 1/6 of the casseroleCalories: 330.2kcalCarbohydrates: 37.9gProtein: 26.8gFat: 6.7gSaturated Fat: 2.5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1.1gCholesterol: 13.6mgSodium: 1231.3mgPotassium: 266.5mgFiber: 1.6gSugar: 9.2g
Keyword: easy ground beef recipe, ground beef casserole, Ground Beef Recipe
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Author: Blair Lonergan
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