One Pot Mexican Rice Casserole is a super flavorful, quick and easy ground beef recipe!  Your whole family will love this tasty casserole full of beef, rice, corn, and tons of taco flavor!

mexican rice casserole

 

Mexican Rice Casserole:

This casserole tastes just like everyone’s favorite restaurant-style Mexican rice.  Except, that it is turned into a complete, hearty, meal in 30 minutes or less!  This rice casserole has always been a staple in my house because it’s something we can all agree upon.  It used to be something that I would put together and bake in the oven.  Until I realized I could just make this into a stovetop one pan dish.  The rice simmers in the pan right along with the cooked ground beef and onion, corn, salsa, tomato sauce, and seasonings for amazing flavor!  After your rice is tender you can stir in your favorite shredded cheese, and top with green onions if you’d like.  We also really enjoy this with an extra side of salsa and a dollop of sour cream!

rice casserole

Mexican Rice Casserole Notes and Tips:

 

  • You will want to use a fairly large and deep skillet with a lid for this recipe.
  • I personally happen to love this All-Clad skillet and find that it’s the perfect size for almost all of my one pan recipes!
  • Besides using a quality skillet, it is really important to make sure you cook your rice correctly for this recipe, otherwise, it will end up crunchy!
  • Be sure to add your rice to the skillet and have it come to a complete boil before you reduce the heat. Once the mixture is boiling, then you can reduce the heat.  But, make sure your mixture stays at a simmer.  You don’t want the rice to stop cooking.
  • I use long grain white rice (such as jasmine rice) for this recipe.  If you have instant rice on hand you can use that as well.  Just make sure to note that you will only need to simmer for about 5-7 minutes to soften the rice.

one pot mexican casserole

 

What to Make With Ground Beef:

This is a question that I get asked by my readers all the time!  Ground beef is a staple ingredient in most households, and we are always looking for new ways to use it up.  Aside from this one pot Mexican Rice Casserole, here as some of my other favorite dinner recipes to make with ground beef!  I love changing up taco Tuesday by making our Sheet Pan Nachos recipe, Dirty Rice is kind of a classic dish and we have it at least once per month!  We also really love Ground Beef Fried Rice when we want takeout made at home and my French Onion Salisbury Steak are a major favorite!

Enjoy!

~Nichole

4.98 from 88 votes

One Pot Mexican Rice Casserole

This One Pot Mexican Rice Casserole is a super flavorful, quick and easy ground beef recipe!  Your whole family will love this tasty casserole full of beef, rice, corn, and tons of taco flavor!
Prep 5 minutes
Cook 25 minutes
Total 30 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Cook the ground beef and onion together with salt and pepper to taste in a large skillet over medium high heat until beef is no longer pink. Drain grease if necessary.
  • Return the pan to the stove and sprinkle the beef with the garlic powder and taco seasoning.
  • Stir in the rice, broth, corn, tomato sauce, and salsa.
  • Bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 18-20 minutes until rice is tender.
  • Top with cheese and return the lid to the pan for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted.

Video

Notes

NOTE ON RICE:  I always use long grain white rice, but you can use instant rice if that's what you have on hand.  Keep in mind for instant rice you will only need to simmer the mixture for about 5-7 minutes to soften the rice.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Cup, Calories: 346kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Like this? Rate & review this recipe below!

Hey! Nice to meet you! I'm Nichole!

Welcome to The Salty Marshmallow! I'm a mom, animal lover, photographer, & kitchen mess-maker. Here you will find the result of my decades-long passion for chasing the best flavors in the kitchen, all meant to be cooked by regular people with busy lives just like you and me.

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68 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    My boyfriend loved it, I added half a can of beans and instea of regular corn I added a can of mexicorn with the bell peppers, I also used chicken stock instead of beef and it was just as tasty I will definitely be making this again!!

  2. 5 stars
    So. Good.

    I had to substitute a few things based on what I had and didn’t have, and it came out Ah-MAZING.

    Used orzo instead of rice
    Used half a jar of cowboy caviar instead of salsa
    Used 1/3 a jar of corn chili instead of corn

    Served with sour cream, guac and chips

  3. 5 stars
    I needed a quick dish with what I had on hand and this was a winner! I cheated and added a can of black beans to it. It was delicious, budget friendly and everyone loved it. It will be a repeat in my house.

  4. 5 stars
    This was an awesome dish! I’m dieting right now but also trying to find kid-friendly recipes that my picky child will eat lol so with this one I substituted lean ground turkey for the ground beef and used homemade taco seasoning, it was SOOOOO good! And my son finished his entire plate! ?

  5. 5 stars
    My only issue was – I doubled the recipe – added a few veg like carrot, celery and mushroom – and it became a 2 pot meal because I had to grab a larger pan!!

    My husband, 3 adult boys and one wife made sure there wasn’t a morsel left! I actually had to hide a take out container of this deliciousness so I could take it to work for my lunch!

    Can you say YUM?

  6. 5 stars
    I adapted this for the instant pot… followed directions through browning meat on sauté and adding ingredients. Then high pressure 6 mins with 10 min NPR. Amazing…. rice cooked perfectly in liquids.

  7. 5 stars
    Made this tonight for dinner. Ho. Lee. Hell. This recipe is going to become a staple at our place. Everyone L O V E D it! So hearty and easy (trust me, you have everything in your kitchen for this one) and it’s the perfect comfort food. Make this. Immediately.

  8. 5 stars
    I made this tonight, it was so good! I seasoned my beef with salt and pepper as it cooked and then seasoned with salt and pepper again when I added the rest of the ingredients. I didn’t add the cheese at the end but just added to individual plates as I dished it out (my daughter can’t have dairy). I also topped mine with avocado and chopped tomatoes. I used Jasmine rice too because that’s all I had. Mine cooked in 18 minutes. I’ll be making this again for meal prepping.