I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad thing when I make a recipe that is so good that I want to keep eating past the point of full. On one hand, if it’s that good I can eat the leftovers for days in a row without ever getting tired of it. On the other hand it’s SO hard not to go back for seconds or thirds when I know I don’t need them. What a problem to have, right? ;) Well, this Beef Burrito Casserole is definitely one of those recipes. So simple, yet startlingly good.
Rice, Beans, and Salsa Always Wins
This casserole is another version of my favorite combo: beans, rice, salsa, and cheese. What makes it a little extraordinary is the secret layer of cream cheese in the middle. I didn’t use a lot, but just a few dollops give every couple of bites an extra tangy and creamy flavor. Best idea EVER.
Customize Your Beef Burrito Casserole
As per my style, I made my Beef Burrito Casserole very basic, but there are tons of options for customization or upgrades.
Just think about the toppings bar at Chipotle or your favorite burrito place. Anything you like in your burrito or on your nachos can be incorporated into this casserole.
You can use any type of cooked meat you have on hand (rotisserie chicken, pulled pork) or even go meatless. You can add in corn kernels, jalapeños, a drizzle of taco sauce, black olives, or maybe some hatch chiles.
I happened to have some guacamole in my fridge today, so I added a dollop to my leftovers and almost died and went to heaven. Sour cream, crushed tortilla strips, or even some shredded ice berg wouldn’t even be a bad idea (okay fine, they’d be a GREAT idea).
It’s excellent as written below, but have a little fun with it! The leftovers reheat well, so you can eat well all week. And, if for some reason you don’t devour it all within a few days, you can freeze a couple portions for later. ;)
Beef Burrito Casserole
Servings 6 1.33 cups eachIngredients
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 1/2 lb. ground beef ($1.99)
- 1 clove garlic, minced ($0.08)
- 1 pinch salt ($0.02)
- 4 cups cooked rice* ($0.75)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ( $0.89)
- 1 16oz. jar salsa ($1.00)
- 4 green onions, divided ($0.44)
- 1/2 Tbsp chili powder ( $0.15)
- 4 oz. cream cheese ($1.00)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar** ($0.75)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Add the cooking oil, beef, garlic, and a pinch of salt to a skillet. Cook the beef over medium heat until fully browned. Drain the excess fat, if necessary.
- Rinse and drain the canned beans in a colander. Slice the green onions. Add the beans, half of the green onions, cooked rice, browned beef, salsa, and chili powder to a large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Coat a 3 quart casserole dish with non-stick spray. Spread half of the rice and beef mixture into the bottom of the casserole dish. Add small dollops of the cream cheese evenly across the surface, then cover with the remaining rice and beef mixture.
- Cover the dish with foil to prevent the rice from drying out while baking, and bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven. After 25 minutes, remove the foil and top with the shredded cheddar cheese. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Top with the remaining sliced green onions just before serving.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Interested in more ways to combine salsa, rice, and beans? Check out Southwest Chicken Skillet, Easiest Burrito Bowl Meal Prep, Creamy Salsa Chicken Skillet, or Poor Man’s Burrito Bowls.
How to Make Beef Burrito Casserole – Step by Step Photos
Begin by preheating the oven to 350ºF. Add 1 Tbsp cooking oil, 1/2 lb. ground beef, 1 clove of garlic (minced), and a pinch of salt to a skillet. Cook over medium heat until the beef is fully browned. Drain the excess fat, if needed (this depends on the percent fat in your beef. Usually 90% lean or higher doesn’t need draining.)
Rinse and drain a 15oz. can of black beans. Slice four green onions. Add 4 cups cooked rice (it’s in the bottom of the bowl), the cooked beef, drained beens, a 16oz. jar of salsa, half of the green onions, and 1/2 Tbsp chili powder (mild) to a large bowl. This recipe works best with day-old, or cooked rice that has been chilled. Just like with fried rice, chilling it after cooking it helps the rice grains stay separate and non-sticky when you mix them in with the other ingredients.
Stir the ingredients until they’re evenly combined.
Coat the inside of a 3 quart casserole dish with non-stick spray. Add half of the rice and beef mixture to the bottom of the dish. Add the cream cheese, in small dollops, evenly over the surface of the rice mixture.
Then add the rest of the rice and beef mixture to the top. Cover the dish with foil to keep the rice moist while it bakes. Bake the covered casserole for 25 minutes in the preheated oven.
After 25 minutes of baking, add 1 cups shredded cheddar to the top and bake for 5-10 minutes more, or until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle the remaining sliced green onions over top just before serving.
Gah! I can’t wait until I’m hungry again! 😂
Love casseroles? Check out these other canned-soup-free casseroles: King Ranch Chicken Casserole, Creamiest Green Bean Casserole, Cheesy Chicken Vegetable and Rice Casserole, Wild Rice and Vegetable Casserole, and Cheesy Cottage Pie.
Ok, I am eating this now as I type! I had leftover taco meat in the fridge about to go bad. Made some rice, opened a can of black beans, and bam! Instant dinner! Thank you for another winner!
Oh man. Would this work in a slow cooker??
I think it actually would! :) You still need to cook the beef first, but then I bet you could just pop it all in the slow cooker and set it on low for 8 hours.
I made this last night to serve tonight (serviced your African Peanut Stew last night – family fave!). We couldn’t help sneaking some nibbles, it’s so yummy! We used diced rotisserie chicken, Better Than Cream Cheese inside, and Daiya vegan cheddar cheese so that our dairy allergic kid could enjoy. This was so easy and is going to be in our regular rotation.
Do you have any salsa recommendations? The choices are so varied! Thanks — recipe looks awesome.
Honestly, I usually just use the generic store brand. :)
As a Texan, I have to recommend Pace :) It comes in three heat levels so you can get whatever you can tolerate. It’s very chunky and doesn’t have the added-sugar taste of some other brands.
I made this last night and then ate some of the leftovers for lunch today. It was so good! The cream cheese really adds a little special something.
Quick question. I’m just getting started subbing in meatless crumbles for meat in recipes like this, only those are generally measured in cups. Do you know approximately how many cups of beef you had once it was browned? Thanks!
Hello Gwyn! I use the beefy crumbles for Beth’s Chili Beef n’ Mac. For one lb. of beef, I use the whole bag of crumbles (a bit under a lb.), so for this, I would just use half a bag.
Just to note if it’s important to you – I was using Beyond Meat brand crumbles but recently, the big meat giant, Tyson Foods bought a 5% stake in Beyond Meat which sucks if you’re trying to “vote” with your dollars. (I personally don’t want Tyson to profit from my purchase of vegetarian products.) Unfortunately, I bet this is more common than I’m aware of.
Hmmm, maybe 1.5 cups?
When I use reconstituted TVP in a recipe, I use one cup for dry TVP +7/8 cup liquid to substitute for 1 lb of ground beef.
I am so making this next week. (I already have this week’s menu planned/shopped for)
What kind of rice do you think this would be best with? Looks great, can’t wait to make it!
Regular long grain white rice is probably best. I used my long grain jasmine (the brand I use cooks up just like regular white rice) only because that’s what I had on hand. The flavor doesn’t come through much in this recipe because there is so much going on. :)
Could you assemble this the day before or do you think the rice would soak up too much liquid and dry out?
It probably would be a little more dry, yes, and it will also probably take longer to bake since it’s starting out chilled. The longer bake time might also dry it out a bit more.
My whole family would go crazy over this!
I think I’d personally use kidney beans, and some sliced chili or other peppers, but this should be good!
And if you have leftovers of this and still have some wraps left, roll the wraps, put them in the oven dish and cover with cheese again before putting it in the oven to reheat.
Nice try, but you can’t call this a casserole if it doesn’t contain tater tots and cream of mushroom soup.
Ha! :)
I’m thinking wet burrito casserole. Enchilada sauce on top!
It’s in the oven! I sliced some green pepper and onion real thin, got em nice and browned in the oven with a little oil and sugar. Made a batch of the easy enchilada sauce. Half in the middle (with the sour cream on top of it) and the other half on the top right beneath the foil. I ended up doubling the recipe and putting it in a 9×13 pan. Gonna let it go for 35 minutes with the foil, then 10 with the cheese on top.
Looking through the comments for a variation I’d like (because its so hard to make a recipe as written!) and I think yours is a winner. I’m going to try this.
Just pinned this. Can’t wait to try it!
Looks great, can you use any other shredded cheese besides the sharp cheddar? Just curious. Thanks
Yes, pepper jack or Monterey jack would also be good. The cheddar doesn’t have to be sharp, either. :)