This family-friendly, old-fashioned ground beef casserole is easy to make and completely adaptable. A weeknight dinner idea perfect for picky eaters.
Why your family will love this ground meat casserole
This rice and burger casserole is a beginner-friendly comfort food dinner idea that can be eaten as is or modified to suit your family’s tastes.
Quick preparation. This recipe contains minimal ingredients and takes only a few minutes to prepare. It’s perfect for busy nights because you can prepare it in advance and bake it when it’s time for dinner. Customizable flavors. This is a pretty basic recipe, and as great as I’ve written it is, I love it because it’s such an easy recipe to “make your own.” Below are some adaptation ideas. Family friendly. It’s helpful to have recipes that you can make yourself and that you know the whole family will enjoy. Due to its simple taste, it can be enjoyed not only by children but also by adults who prefer simple home-cooked meals. It’s cheap. This budget-friendly recipe feeds the whole family for less than $15 total. We will introduce the total below!
More options for ground meat casserole
If you have ground meat to use and want a few more options, here are some options:
dinner on a budget
This recipe includes some (or all) of the everyday ingredients you might have in your fridge or pantry right now. Let’s take a look at the prices of the items and the price per meal! Of course, prices vary depending on where and where you shop, but here’s the closest estimate based on what I spent:
Ground beef: $7.50 Steak seasoning: $0.10 Carrot or vegetable mix: $0.50 Cream of mushroom soup: $1.50 Chicken soup: $2.00 Rice: $0.30 Colby Jack cheese: $2.00
Total dinner estimate = $13.90
Serves 6: $2.32
Ground Beef Casserole Required Ingredients/Options
Here are the simple ingredients! Sometimes you just want a dinner recipe that you can make with things you already have in your kitchen, without having to make any special purchases. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the full ingredient list including measurements.
Ground Beef: Use lean ground beef for this recipe. Steak Seasoning: I like Montreal Steak Seasoning, but you can use your favorite seasoning blend. If you don’t have a seasoning blend, you can use a combination of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Carrot. My family loves cooked carrots, so I just slice baby carrots when I make this, but you could also use peas, a bag of mixed vegetables, or corn as some optional ideas. Cream of mushroom soup. Make sure to use plenty of chicken cream here too! You can also give it an Italian twist by using tomato sauce instead of soup. chicken soup. You can use any type of stock you have on hand, or if you don’t have stock, you can also use water! Rice. This recipe uses long-grain white rice, so it will cook up depending on how long you bake it and how much liquid you add. If you adjust the type of rice, you will need to adjust the amount of liquid and the cooking time may vary. colby jack cheese. As a shortcut, use packaged slices that can be used in sandwiches. You can of course adjust the type of cheese, and if you want to slice it yourself, just slice it thinly!
Step-by-step instructions
This is easy to prepare and is a great recipe for college students and teens to learn the basics. There is no need to boil the rice first, you can just put it in the dish and cook!
Stir-fry the ground beef in a large frying pan and season to taste! Drain the meat if necessary.
In a large bowl, combine vegetables, soup, stock, rice, and cooked meat.
Pour this into a greased 9×9 casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake for 60 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and remove the foil. Return to the oven and cook for another 15 minutes until the rice is cooked and the liquid is absorbed.
Customization suggestions based on personal preferences
As I mentioned earlier, this recipe is very adaptable. Here are some ideas:
Replace ground beef with ground turkey, ground pork, ground chicken, or Italian sausage. Use the types of vegetables you and your family prefer! Try changing the seasonings. Some options include Italian seasoning, taco seasoning, and Greek or Cajun seasoning. Add a little Worcestershire sauce, soy, or coconut aminos as a flavor enhancer. Replace the cheese. Colby Jack is milder, but if you want to use taco seasoning, Pepper Jack is the way to go! Cheddar cheese is easily swapped out, and you can also use grated cheese in place of the slices. Let’s think of all possibilities!
How to store ground beef casserole
This is a perfect dish to reheat the next day. Just cover and store in the refrigerator for 5 days. You can easily heat it up in the microwave for lunch the next day!
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explanation
This family-friendly, old-fashioned ground beef casserole is easy to make and completely adaptable. A weeknight dinner idea perfect for picky eaters.
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon steak seasoning
1 cup carrot slices (or mixed vegetables)
1 Canned cream of mushroom soup
2 cups chicken soup
1 cup long grain white rice, raw rice
9 Sandwich Style Slices Colby Jack Cheese *Optional – Parsley (dried or fresh) for garnish
Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9×9 pan with nonstick spray and set aside. In a large frying pan, fry the ground beef until no longer pink. Add steak seasoning and mix. In a large bowl, combine cooked meat, carrots, cream of mushroom soup, soup, and rice. Stir to combine and pour this mixture into the prepared saucepan. Cover the bread with foil and bake for 60 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and cook for another 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven again and place the cheese slices on top of the casserole. Return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes until cheese is melted. Garnish with sprinkles of parsley if desired.
Precautions
Store tightly closed in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave.
