One dish dinners are my jam and this Mexican casserole is a family favorite! I love how simple our Spanish Beef and Rice Bake is to throw together for a quick and filling meal.
If you are anything like us, Mexican food is a weekly thing on our dinner menu.
If you have a busy night ahead of you, you could easily make this ahead of time. I will sometimes prepare it in the morning, then heat it up for dinner if I know I am going to be gone all day.
I can throw it together in the morning real quick, and have it all ready by the time everyone gets home. It is the perfect meal for reheating.
The flavors of this are delicious! I promise that your entire family will love it.
Ingredients in our favorite Mexican Casserole:
This Mexican Casserole is a simple and quick recipe. It doesn’t require any expensive or weird ingredients. It’s simple, basic, and delicious.
- lean ground beef (you can also use ground turkey)
- onion
- green bell pepper
- canned diced tomatoes
- salsa
- uncooked long grain rice
- chili sauce (you can find this next to the ketchup at the grocery store)
- salt
- brown sugar
- ground cumin
- Worcestershire sauce
- canned refried beans
- shredded cheddar cheese
- chopped fresh cilantro
- cherry tomatoes
How to make spanish beef and rice bake:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, lower heat to medium low heat. To brown ground beef, place it in a pan and use a spatula to cut it up and flip it. I do this until there is no pink color on the beef left and the meat is diced up into small bits.
- Stir in the onion, green bell pepper, tomatoes, water, salsa, rice, chili sauce, salt, brown sugar, cumin, Worcestershire sauce and ground black pepper.
- Let this simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, then transport this to a 9×13″ casserole dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Press the mixture down firmly into the pan, then spread refried beans on the top and sprinkle with the shredded Cheddar cheese.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro and chopped tomatoes.You can also garnish with your favorite taco garnishes. I love putting a little salsa, sour cream, and guacamole on mine. You can really add any of your favorite toppings to it, and it will taste delicious.
“I have so much time!” -No mom ever
Let us give you your time back. With the Six Sisters’ Meal Plans, we do the dinner planning, grocery ordering, and then all you have to do is decide whether to pick them up or have them delivered.
How could I make this recipe healthier?
This recipe for our Mexican Casserole is already pretty healthy, however there are a few things you could switch out, to make it even healthier.
–Switch the ground beef out for ground turkey. This is just a simple exchange, that is less greasy, and less fat. I use ground turkey in almost every recipe that calls for ground beef.
It does taste a little lighter, but it is also a little easier on tender stomachs.
Ground beef is definitely a cheaper alternative, but to me, a few dollars, is worth a happy stomach, and less meat grease.
-Substitute the Brown Sugar for Honey. This is an easy switch that won’t have much of a different taste in this recipe. You could even take out the brown sugar completely without replacing it.
It is only a small amount of brown sugar (1 teaspoon), so it won’t make much of a difference. Honey is still a sweetener, but it is a little more natural, so I feel better about it. Again, the brown sugar is totally optional.
-Use brown rice instead of white. Brown rice is also a little more natural than white rice. It contains all parts of the grain, while white rice has no grain, fiber, or much nutritional value at all.
What to serve with Spanish Beef and Rice Bake:
- Mexican Street Corn Salad
- 20 Minute Skillet Refried Beans
- Easy Baked Taco Fries
- Black Bean and Corn Salsa
- Easy Black Beans
- Copycat Chili’s Salsa
Did you know we have a You tube Channel?
We have hundreds of simple and delicious recipes, your family is going to love. We take you through each recipe, step by step, and show you how to make it.
Each recipe, is tried and true, so you know you can trust it.
Looking for more mexican inspired dishes?
Spanish Beef and Rice Bake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef, (can also use ground turkey)
- 1/2 onion, minced
- 1 green bell pepper, minced
- 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained, (14.5 ounces)
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice
- 1/2 cup chili sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 can refried beans, (15 ounce)
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/2 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, lower heat to medium low heat. Stir in the onion, green bell pepper, tomatoes, water, salsa, rice, chili sauce, salt, brown sugar, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper.
- Let simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour mixture into a 9×13-inch casserole dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
- Press down firmly into the pan, then spread refried beans on the top and sprinkle with the shredded cheddar cheese.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro and diced tomatoes.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.Be sure to not miss another recipe! Follow Six Sisters’ Stuff on Instagram|Facebook|Pinterest|YouTube
Have you heard about our newest cookbook, Copycat Cooking? We took over 100 of our favorite restaurant recipes and simplified them so that you can make them right at home!
Every recipe has a beautiful mouth-watering photo and has been picky-eater approved. The directions are simple, easy to follow, and do not require any strange ingredients.
This cookbook includes copycat recipes from Wingers, Texas Roadhouse, Starbucks, Panera, Cheesecake Factory, Kneaders, and so much more. We have you covered from drinks, to dessert and everything in-between.
We are so excited to share these recipes with you. Order your copy today!
Six Sisters’ Stuff COPYCAT COOKING <—– Click here to order!
Definitely needs higher temp for longer bake time. Made twice now & rice doesn’t cook
Definitely needs higher temp and longer bake time. Double cover with foil ,too. Rice needs steam to cook! Made twice now & rice doesn’t cook
We enjoyed this! I halved the chili sauce and it was plenty spicy and based on the previous comment I cooked the rice separately and added at the end before baking. I’m not certain this was necessary but wanted to be on the safe side. I topped with a bit of sour cream as well and added some spinach!
This sounds really good. Based on the comments, I will use the IP as well. I will cook everything above the refried beans in the IP, move rice and meat to a pan, add the remaining ingredients and put in the oven to heat beans and melt cheese.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit after reading some of the reviews and the problems with the rice not cooking I swapped minute rice for the long grain rice the recipe calls for and proceeded with the cooking instructions as written, and no issue with uncooked rice. I will make this again but will use minute rice instead of long grain rice. Thanks for a great recipe
I haven’t tried it yet. But it sounds
Yummy
Great recipes! Your recipes online have the nutritional information, but you also need to have how many portions per recipe, please! ❤️❤️❤️
Everyone said this recipe was a keeper! We are big meat eaters so my youngest asked if next time I could add a little more meat and mix in some jalapenos too, but otherwise between three people eating there was only a small bowl left!