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.
Made the recipe exactly as is and also had a hard time stopping myself from eating more. 😳 SO. GOOD.
This recipe is a great base — as you mention, it’s very customizable. I had some leftover cilantro, onion, and green pepper that I tossed in, and I added some additional spices as well. Very tasty!
I find this recipe to be much easier and quicker on the stove top. After cooking the beef, you can just add the remainder of ingredients (including cream cheese) straight onto the pan. Once they’re al mixed and warmed up, I added shredded cheese on top and covered it with a lid. Takes about 2~3 minutes for cheese to melt and it’s done!
As with almost everything I try from Beth, this was excellent! My only modification next time will be to omit the cream cheese. Kids and I agreed that we didn’t care for it. Had it been softened and mixed with the other ingredients before baking it would have been better, but I don’t think you lose anything by leaving it out. If you want extra cheesey-ness you could add a layer of grated cheddar or pepperjack in between the two layers of the rice mixture.
This was delicious. At 25 minutes I stirred in the cream cheese, then added the cheese. MMMMMM
Made this using the Easy Taco Rice recipe and made it vegetarian with 2 cans of black beans and sautéed chopped bell peppers and corn. I also added some chopped jalapeños to the cream cheese. SO GOOD! Makes awesome leftovers and freezes great too. Thanks for the delicious recipes Beth!
Love this! I make it low carb by using cauliflower rice and it is just as delicious.
Another winner! I made this for my husband for Father’s Day while he was watching golf. He LOVED it. He said it was a top ten dish. I love it when he says that. We’re looking forward to having the leftovers in flour tortillas tomorrow- burrito casserole in a burrito!
Yep, could not stop eating this. Even without adding other ingredients, I think you could change it up quite a bit just by trying out some different salsas.
I’m a bread gal all the way, but Beth has yet to do me wrong with any of her recipes so I went with it as instructed. I didn’t even miss the bread! Soooo flavorful and super easy to make. I love that I can have it 90% ready just shy of dinner time when the kids are napping, and then can finish it off with the last step-oven time-as my husband tells me he’s on his way home. Try it!!!
I made this tonight and it was delicious!
After I had melted the cheddar cheese on top, I noticed that the dollops of cream cheese had only partially melted, so I stirred them into the rest of the casserole to even them out before serving. I threw in all 8 oz of the cream cheese package since I had increased the recipe to 8 servings, but maybe it was too much? Regardless, I will have delicious leftovers all week long and I will definitely make this recipe again in the future!
Made this tonight, I swapped white for black beans and diced tomatoes with extra seasoning for the salsa based on what I had on hand. It was still really good, will be adding into the rotation!
I made this last night for my family and it was absolutely delicious! I substituted 2 poached and shredded chicken breasts as well as onion and garlic powder (1/2 tsp each) because it was what I had on hand.
This is delicious, simple comfort food! The best part about a good casserole… it tastes even better re-heated the next day! I add a little bit more cream cheese than the recipe calls for, just because. :)
I made this for my boyfriend last night and we both loved it! To give it some more flavor, I substituted the beef for chorizo, added some taco sauce and tossed some corn into the mix. Very easy and satisfying. We will be keeping this recipe for sure.