5/07/18

Hamburger & Rice Casserole

Ground beef and rice baked together in a classic casserole recipe that's easy to make your own. 

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The Sausage & Rice Casserole is one of my all-time favorite recipes. We have it for supper regularly (especially now that AB is old enough to help with some of the cooking) and it’s one of my go-to recipes to make when I need to bring a covered dish.

Because we love it so much I decided to change things up a bit and try it with ground beef (plus a few other changes) and I was so happy that I did!

Hamburger & Rice Casserole! Ground beef and rice baked together in a classic casserole recipe that's easy to make your own.

I’m sure Husband will like this version better (he doesn’t love sausage like I do).

If my crew would eat mushrooms (Lord, how did I land a family who won’t eat mushrooms?) I would 100% use cream of mushroom soup in this (instead of cream of celery) then add a can of sliced mushrooms before baking.

Hamburger & Rice Casserole! Ground beef and rice baked together in a classic casserole recipe that's easy to make your own.

I might make it like that next time and tell them to go eat a ham sammich for supper. 

I honestly can’t decide which version of this recipe I like best (this one or the sausage version). It’s amazing to me how different they taste considering how similar they are.

If you try them, I’d love to hear which one’s your favorite!

Hamburger & Rice Casserole! Ground beef and rice baked together in a classic casserole recipe that's easy to make your own.

If you love comfort food casseroles like this one, check out a few of these recipes too!

  • Chicken & Stuffing Casserole - An addictive casserole recipe with Pepperidge Farm stuffing, sour cream and chicken.
  • Chicken & Rice Casserole - An easy casserole recipe for creamy rice and fork-tender chicken that cooks in one dish.
  • Smothered Chicken Casserole - Layers of creamy potatoes (think Potatoes Au Gratin) topped with chicken, smothered with cheese and bacon!
  • Sausage & Rice Casserole - a simple recipe perfect for supper, side dishes, potlucks and Thanksgiving (sometimes called Rice Dressing).
  • Pork Chop Casserole - An easy pork chop bake made with rice and French onion soup.
  • Chicken Tetrazzini - Classic tetrazzini made with pasta, mushrooms, wine (optional) and cheese. Super easy AND super delicious!

Recipe for Hamburger Rice Casserole

Hamburger & Rice Casserole! Ground beef and rice baked together in a classic casserole recipe that's easy to make your own.

Hamburger & Rice Casserole

Hamburger & Rice Casserole
Yield: 8 Servings
Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 15 M
Ground beef and rice baked together in a classic casserole recipe that's easy to make your own.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 1 1/2 cups finely diced celery
  • 1 14.5-oz can beef broth
  • 1 10.5-oz can cream of celery soup
  • 1 cup long-grain white rice

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
  2. Add ground beef, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder to a large skillet then brown and crumble over medium-high heat.
  3. When beef is about half cooked, add onion and celery then continue cooking until meat is cooked through and veggies are tender. Do not drain.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together broth and soup until smooth. Pour soup mixture into skillet, stir then continue cooking until everything starts to bubble.
  5. Gently stir in rice then pour everything into prepared baking dish dish. Cover tightly with aluminum foil then bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. If mixture cools before baking, allow up to 15 additional minutes of cooking time.
  6. Remove casserole from oven and let rest, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove foil then fluff rice with a fork before serving.

Notes

  • Use uncooked rice.
  • Use the condensed soup straight from the can - do not prepare first.
  • I don't know if this can be made with Minute rice or brown rice because I've never cooked either type of rice.
  • I don't know how this could be converted to a slow cooker recipe. 
  • You must cover the dish TIGHTLY with foil to ensure the moisture stays inside to cook the rice through.
ground beef, hamburger, rice, cream of, onion, celery, covered dish, soup, jailhouse, jail, best, recipe, easy, casserole, southern, dressing, jimmy dean, dirty rice
main dish, main course, potluck
american, southern
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68 comments:

  1. Can't wait to make this! Thanks for giving up a Saturday for new recipes! And I married a man who doesn't like tomatoes.

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    1. You are welcome! It's a lot of work but I LOVE sharing recipes with y'all!

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    2. I have made this and would like to freeze for future use ??????

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  2. I'm with you on the mushrooms the more the better :) but I do like hamburger better than sausage. I make a recipe similar to this but I use instant rice. Cook hamburger & rice add a can of cream of mushroom, a can of sliced mushrooms and a can of drained green beans put in a 9x13 greased pan and top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 until heated through and cheese is melted. Delicious!!

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    1. Thank you, My mother use to make this similar recipe when I was growing up and I always regretted not asking her how she made it. It's so simple and easy to fix and is a comfort food to me. I like how you bake it in the oven, got to try it.

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  3. Can this be frozen? If so would I cook it first and then freeze?

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    1. why not? no potatoes in it,,so Yes I bet it would freeze well..potatoes get nasty when froze IMHO

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  4. My mom has been making this casserole for as long as I can remember. I love hamburger and rice casserole! We also add a few dashes of soy sauce on top on our plates it's super yummy!

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  5. I made this with the mushrooms and cream of mushrooms.(because I'm cooking so you eat what I serve or you make your own food) It was... words fail me on how good it was. I think I'll be dreaming of it.

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  6. Curiously, can you use brown rice?

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    1. No you can’t brown rice ruins every meal

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    2. All I ever use is brown rice.

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    3. Have made with brown rice many times (cook rice separately since it takes longer than white rice). Have also made it with ground turkey for a more healthy altertnative.

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    4. I used brown rice!! But anytime I'm using brown rice where it calls for white I cook the rice and broth together in the oven for an hour at 400 and then mix everything else in last and make sure it's all hot.

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  7. Made this last night. Flavor was excellent but the rice was crunchy even after an extra 30 min and extra liquid. Had double layer of neavy duty foil. Wonder how it would work in the Instant Pot.

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    1. I would love to hear from anyone who made this in the InstaPot!
      I love cooking in my InstaPot.

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    2. I do not know about the Insta Pot but you can make it on top of the stove in a large pot with a tight lid. Way too hot to have the oven on this time of year and the grandkids love this.

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  8. Beware. 1.5 quarts is not enough. I measured all ingredients and it goes to the very top of the casserole dish. I'm not sure how I'll get it in the oven.

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    1. I agree it should be bigger. Clear to the top on mine. I added broccoli instead of so much celery and beef broth and french onion soup. i hope i didnt ruin it.

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    2. How did it turn out with broccoli? I may add broccoli and cheese to my leftovers bc I have A LOT and need to save it. I already knew to double it so it wouldn't be too small. Now I'm stuck with to much lol

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    3. How did it turn out with broccoli? I may add broccoli and cheese to my leftovers bc I have A LOT and need to save it. I already knew to double it so it wouldn't be too small. Now I'm stuck with to much lol

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  9. We had this last night and it was great. I'm not into spicy so I used a quarter spoon of the red pepper. It added just the right zing. But I will use more than a 1.5 quart container next time. It was too small. I used the brown rice so I cooked it longer. Thanks!

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  10. My Hubby is not a big fan of sausage so I added 1/2 sausage 1/2 ground beef. I also used Cr.of Mushroom soup. HE LOVED IT!! Thank you for the New Meal🥂

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  11. I thought I was the only one who made dinners that my family passed on! This is delicious! Hubby loved it too. Super easy. Super Versatile! This is definitely a keeper! Thanks!

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  12. We love this recipe. We make it dairy free by using Campbell’s condensed golden mushroom soup instead of any of the cream of soups. Turns out great and is a new favorite here!

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  13. Could this be done on the stovetop?

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    1. Yes. You have to cook the rice first on the stove top, fry the burger and any veggies, add the soup/ liquid to the burger then mix it with the rice. It Tastes a bit different then the baked though.

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  14. Just made this on the stove top. Followed directions exactly. THEN, I brought to boil,covered tightly with a lid for 20 minutes.

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  15. Made this because I needed to use up celery. Used cream of mushroom. Couldn't use red pepper flakes because of toddler and husband. My daughter wouldn't eat it. My husband ate a little bit. In my opinion it was bland and missing something. It needed more flavor.
    This could be because we make a similar recipe with meatballs and cream of mushroom in the Crock-Pot, then make rice and top it with the meatballs & white sauce. It's kind of like swedish meatballs. That is their favorite meal! So I guess I can't come close with anything else.

    **Currently trying to figure out what I can add or put on top of this recipe bc I don't want to throw away the rest and waste so much food. Any recommendations would be helpful!!

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    1. Put in some soy sauce. My mother passed down a similar recipe and it’s the best

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  16. I made this last night and it was a hit!. I didn't tweak it too much. My only difference was I did not have beef broth so used water with 1 TBS of Worcestershire sauce and used Basmati rice. It's long grain but cooks a little quicker than regular rice. I also had some dried mushrooms I added for my husband so used a bit more water. I don't care for mushrooms. I left the celery out as I did not have it either but just had some veggies on the side. This made enough for my family of 4 (with a teenage boy) and still had enough I could take for lunch today. will make this again! oh, after it came out of the oven I sprinkled some dill over the top as my son said he smelled dill and I thought, hey dill would be good in this.

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  17. I also used cream of mushroom soup and baked in a 13x9 dish.

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  18. I didn't have cream of celery soup so I made a cream of beef soup using butter, flour, milk, and beef stock. I put onion, zucchini, and celery in the casserole. I saw one reader's comment about adding soy sauce at the table so instead of adding salt, I added Worcestershire sauce. I topped it with cheddar cheese when it was almost done. There were only 3 of us at dinner tonight, and there were no leftovers. I didn't serve anything on the side.

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  19. It was bland because you didn't add the red pepper flakes

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    1. Where does it mention red pepper flakes in the recipe? I don't see it anywhere

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  20. This is too late, but for anyone else reading now.... use it for the stuffing of stuffed peppers. Hollow out 4 green peppers, add hamburger/rice mix, top with a little spaghetti sauce and mozzerella cheese. Put some spaghetti sauce in bottom of an 8x8 dish. Stand up peppers in pan, cover w/ foil and bake til peppers are tender and cheese is bubbly.

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  21. I divided this recipe into two regular size aluminum loaf pans and I will bake one tonight and fries one for another meal I am not sure how much the rice will swell so I put it on a sheet tray just in case

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  22. What does it mean when you ask I am not a robot what does that mean I don't really know except I know I'm not a robot

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  23. Mandy,you are my go-to for quick and easy meals. Got this saved, and ready for the next meal.

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  24. Can I use uncle Ben's ready rice in place of uncooked?

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    1. I've made this and have always used brown minute rice. I never thought about the difference with the uncooked being more healthy for you. Minute rice is much less time although now I'm going to try the uncooked. It's a family favorite!

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  25. Complete winner! Easy for me to put together and family pleasing because we love all the components. Smelled great from the oven, and tasted even better. Soul satisfying. Thanks, Mandy.

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  26. I use a can of cream of mushroom and a can of french onion soup in mine and top with provolone cheese and french fried onions it don't last long around here. Kinda taste like a french dip sandwich.

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  27. I found your recipe by Googling hamburger and rice casserole. One thing I did change was I did not have any celery so I use celery seed an added chopped up green beans. To give some color.

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  28. When you say put it in a skillet to mix. Do you mean on heat?

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    1. By then you'd be done cooking in the skillet but it doesn't really matter because it would only be in there long enough to mix.

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  29. I've been making this recipe for nearly 30 years, tho instead of uncooked rice, we used leftover cooked rice, and didn't add the broth to the mixture. Just the cream of soup (we always used crm of mushroom.) I guess this is a depression era food, because its something my mother taught me. Its flavorful, goes a long way, and also freezes well to be made later. (Mom topped hers with crushed cornflakes, but I add panko, instead, for some crunch.) I may try this recipe direction cooking the rice in the casserole instead of it pre-cooked to see if it's any different in flavor to me.

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  30. Love this dish! Made it with ground lamb. Wondering if I can use basmati rice.

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    1. Can this be made ahead? I need to prep and cook 3 hours later.

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    2. Yes to basmati and yes to make-ahead prep!

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  31. Wonderful casserole. I was impressed at how tasty it was and so simple to make. Usually my "hamburger cream of's" dinners are rather boring. I will definitely be making this again.

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  32. A slight modification that's delicious using Cream of Chicken Soup, plus 1/2 Cup Sour Cream (Daisy), 1/4 Cup Water, and use Cooked Rice, No Broth or Pepper Flakes. 8" x 12" pan or 2 Quart. Bake covered.

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    1. I followed the recipe exactly, except........😂😂

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  33. My Mom made this when I was growing up:) I make it with cream of mushrooms soup and I add canned mushrooms, drained and rinsed, to the casserole. This is a favorite and reminds me of my late,dear Mother.

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  34. I use a tsp or so of curry powder and slivered almonds. We love it. I've always cooked it on the stove top in a cast iron skillet with a lid.

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  35. Good basic recipe. I refuse to use canned soups when it's so easy and better tasting to make your own cream sauce. I add broccoli and cheese to this dish and basil,time onion,garlic and marjoram for added flavor. I also make my own broth and had some beef broth in the freezer that I added. Turned out great.

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    1. Well, when cooking rice in a pressure cooker, you use one cup white rice and one cup water. Cook for five minutes. Replace the water with the beef broth.

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    2. I was thinking the same thing!! Totally doable.

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  36. has this been tried in an instant pot? If so how do I convert it to instant pot?

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    1. I made this in my 12 inch frying pan I didn't use a separate owl to mix the broth..... Why dirty an extra utensil? I didn't pour this recipe into a casserole dish, again why dirty another dish? I covered the pan with its lid. Its in the oven now, I know it tastes great because I sampled it before I put it in the oven. The only thing I wish I'd thought of adding was mushrooms because I love them. Need to remember for next time. I also used Cream of mushroom soup because I just thought that with the celery already in the dish Cream of Celery would be too mych.

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  37. This is really easy to make in an electric pressure cooker. I brown the hamburger, onion, real garlic, and celery in the pressure....using the Sautee setting. Once browned I turn the heat off. I add the beef broth, I used cream of mushroom soup(that's all I had). I mixed it all up, added the rice and mixed it in. I also added a package of dry onion soup mix. Used the custom settin on the pressure cooker. Set cook time for 4 minutes. It turns out perfect every time.

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  38. Kirsten Barber4/8/24, 9:05 PM

    Made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit! My husband who says he “really doesn’t like butter beans” ate these up and went back and got seconds! We live in Lexington, SC too, so I was really excited when I came across your blog on Pinterest. It’s amazing to finally be able to make the dishes from my childhood that I didn’t get to learn to make back then! I will definitely be back to try more of your recipes!

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Hi there! While I’m not able to respond to every comment, I try hard to answer any questions that haven’t been addressed in the post, recipe or in other comments.

I can tell you now 1) I have no idea if you can substitute Minute Rice or brown rice in my recipes because I’ve never used them and 2) If I know how to convert a recipe to a Crock Pot version, I will make a note about it (otherwise, I don’t know).

And though I may not respond to them all, I do read each and every comment and I LOVE to hear from you guys! Thanks, y’all! - Mandy