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Our Easy One-Dish Tex-Mex Beef with Rice couldn’t be any easier to prepare. And, one-dish prep and cook means cleanup is easy too!
A Family Feast readers tell us time and time again, that you want recipes for delicious meals that are easy to prepare. With that in mind – we think you’ll love this Easy One-Dish Tex-Mex Beef with Rice!
This recipe has everything going for it – delicious Tex-Mex flavors, minimal effort, and easy cleanup.
My husband Jack came up with this recipe specifically so that no browning or precooking is needed. It’s truly a mix-everything-together-then-pour-into-a-casserole-dish and bake until everything is cooked through type of recipe. You’ll add a few toppings and bake some more – that’s it!
It doesn’t get any easier!
Key Ingredients
- Lean ground beef – Because the ground beef cooks right in the casserole and you won’t have the chance to pour off any excess fat, so you’ll want to select a lean ground beef mix – ideally 93/7.
- Long grain white rice – Don’t use instant rice. Choose the budget-friendly long grain white rice. You’ll add it raw and it will cook through as the casserole bakes.
- Canned diced tomatoes with chiles – We chose mild, Rotel diced tomatoes with chiles, but you can go spicier if you’d like.
- Canned chili beans in sauce – We used Bush’s mild red chili beans – but you can use any variety you’d like.
- Enchilada sauce – Canned sauce is fine, but if you’d prefer, make this easy homemade enchilada sauce recipe!
- Jack cheese – Monterey Jack cheese has great flavor and melts nicely in the oven. This cheese is used for the topping on our One-Dish Tex-Mex Beef with Rice.
- Spices – Don’t forget the spices! You’ll use a variety of dried spices including coriander, cumin, chili powder and Mexican oregano.
How do you make One-Dish Tex-Mex Beef with Rice?
- Spray a 9×13-inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Combine most of the ingredients in a bowl – then pour the mixture into the casserole dish.
- Cover and bake until the rice is almost cooked through.
- Top with enchilada sauce and cheese and bake some more until the cheese is melted.
Substitutions
As mentioned above, you can swap in spicier canned tomatoes and chili or select different varieties of beans for this easy casserole.
You can swap out Monterey Jack for a spicier Pepper Jack Cheese if you’d like.
You could even swap in ground chicken or turkey instead of ground beef if you prefer.
Serving Suggestions
Serve One-Dish Tex-Mex Beef with Rice with more enchilada sauce on the side. Then add other toppings including chopped fresh Roma tomatoes, a dollop of sour cream, and fresh cilantro.
Feel free to cut this recipe in half and bake in a 9×9-inch baking dish.
You may like these other Tex-Mex recipes:
- Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken Stew
- One Pot Tex-Mex Pasta
- Quesadillas
- Mexican Street Corn Bacon Pizza
- Cold Mexican Cucumber Soup
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Easy One-Dish Tex-Mex Beef with Rice
Ingredients
2 pounds lean ground beef (we used a 7% fat to beef ratio 93/7)
1 cup white onion diced, about half a large white onion
1 cup green bell pepper diced, about one medium bell pepper
1 medium jalapeno seeded and minced, about 2 tablespoons
1 tablespoon fresh garlic minced, about 2 cloves
1 small bunch fresh cilantro (1/4 cup fresh cilantro stems minced and save leaves for garnish)
1 10–ounce can Rotel diced tomatoes with chilies (we used mild heat)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dry ground coriander
1 teaspoon dry ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dry Mexican oregano
2 10–ounce cans red enchilada sauce, divided – or make homemade enchilada sauce
3 cups low sodium beef broth or stock
1 1/2 cups white rice, uncooked
1 15–ounce can chili beans in sauce (any brand)
12 ounces Jack cheese, shredded
3 Roma tomatoes, diced for garnish
Sour cream, for garnish
Cilantro leaves from above, chopped for garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Prepare a 9x13x3-inch casserole dish by spraying with kitchen pan spray.
In a large bowl, place uncooked ground beef, onion, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, garlic, cilantro stems, Rotel tomatoes with juice, salt, pepper, coriander, cumin, chili powder, oregano, ½ can of one of the red enchilada sauce cans, the beef stock and the uncooked rice.
Mix everything together, breaking up the uncooked beef. I used gloved hands to mix.
Mix in the chili beans in sauce and pour the entire contents into the prepared casserole dish.
Cover with a piece of parchment and then foil and bake for one hour.
Remove and stir the contents with a fork for even distribution. Cover again and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the rice is just shy of tender.
Remove and discard parchment and foil and drizzle on the open half can of enchilada sauce.
Top with the shredded jack cheese and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove and serve with the second can of enchilada sauce heated and on the side. Also serve with the diced tomatoes, sour cream and minced fresh cilantro.
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Marcia Spangler says
can you precook the beef and rice before mixing with other ingredients?
Martha says
Sure Marcia – Jack set out to make this recipe as a “dump and cook” type meal but you can certainly make it with precooked beef and rice.
Marcia says
Could you cook the ground beef and rice and then assemble and bake for a shorter time with the same result?
Martha says
Sure Marcia – Jack set out to make this recipe as a “dump and cook” type meal but you can certainly make it with precooked beef and rice.