Taco rice casserole is an easy dinner idea and freezer friendly. It is a great recipe to stretch your meat and easy on the budget.
Taco rice casserole
If you are looking for an easy dinner then this Taco casserole recipe is one you just have to try today! Remember, my freezer cooking adventure where I made 16 meals for the freezer? Well this easy taco casserole recipe was one of them, and it was a huge hit.
My husband practically licks the pan clean when I make it. It is seriously that good!
My recipe below is for 2 meals. Why? That way you can make one to eat now, and then the other one goes in the freezer. One mess, but you get 2 meals.
If you don’t want to do that, just cut the recipe in half. However, why wouldn’t you want to? You hardly have to do any extra work to make a second one.
To be honest, I normally make 4 of these taco casseroles because they freeze so great and they make a busy weeknight so much easier.
Let’s get started with this taco casserole!
Ingredients for the best taco casserole:
- 2 lbs ground turkey (or ground beef)
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cups corn
- 2 cans black beans
- 2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles (aka Rotel)
- 1 package taco seasoning (We love homemade taco seasoning.)
- 4 cups cooked rice
- 3 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 2 9×13 pans
How to make taco rice casserole:
If you want to this taco casserole with rice right away:
- Bake covered at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes until cooked through.
How to freeze taco rice casserole:
- Cover with foil and label. To reheat, let thaw overnight in fridge. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes covered with the foil. Then remove foil and cook until the top is nice and brown.
Time saving tip:
Another time saving tip is to use a small food chopper or food processor to quickly and easily chop onions and bell peppers.
If you do not have one of these, I highly recommend them. They are such a time saver and you make cooking so fast and easy.
I usually just chop the entire vegetable and freeze what I don’t need. It’s so nice to be able to just take the diced onion out of the freezer for recipes.
This is how I meal prep. It’s so quick and easy and helps get dinner on the table fast.
Learn and how to freeze onions and also how to freeze peppers to save so much time in the kitchen! Lots of the recipes we cook call for onions and peppers so this is such a great time tip that we use frequently.
You will love having peppers and onions all ready to go! It is quick and easy.
Everyone will enjoy taco rice casserole!
This recipe will surprise you. It doesn’t seem like much, but it has some amazing flavor. We served it with salad to make it a complete meal.
If you want, you could add some crushed tortilla chips on top before you serve it. YUM! My husband even likes to top his with lettuce and fresh tomatoes to make almost like a taco salad. Green onions are also amazing.
You can use white rice or brown rice in the casserole. Both are delicious.
However your family eats it, I think you will love it. Make one for dinner and one for the freezer. You will thank me later. 🙂
It is also a great meal to take to someone recovering from surgery or with a new baby. You can grab one from the freezer and bless them with a great meal.
Let us know once you try it and how it turns out for you. It is sure to be a hit with everyone!
Print this easy taco rice casserole recipe below:
Taco Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Ground Beef
- 1 Onion chopped
- 2 cups Corn
- 2 cans Black Beans drained and rinsed
- 2 cans Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilis
- 1 Package of Taco Seasoning (or 4 tablespoons of homemade seasoning)
- 1 tsp Salt
- 4 cups Cooked Rice (I used regular that I cooked but you can use any)
- 3 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Instructions
- First brown your ground beef. Add in chopped onions and cook until soft.
- Stir in Taco seasoning seasoning.
- Add corn, tomatoes and beans.
- Spray 2 9×13 pans with non stick spray. Spoon 2 cups of rice into the bottom of each pan, spreading it out evenly.
- Spoon the meat mixture over the rice.
- Top with the ½ of the cheese on each pan.
If you want to eat it right away:
- Bake covered at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes until cooked through.
If you want to freeze it:
- Cover with foil and label. To reheat, let thaw overnight in fridge. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes covered with the foil. Then remove foil and cook until the top is nice and brown.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Facts
You might also like our One Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta Recipe where everything is made in one pot.
Try these other easy freezer casseroles:
- Pizza Pasta Casserole
- Walking Taco Casserole Recipe
- Easy Baked Ravioli Recipe
- Old Fashioned Hamburger Casserole Recipe
- Taco Lasagna Recipe
- Easy Hamburger Casserole Recipe
- Chicken Noodle Casserole Recipe
This is my favorite recipe. It is easy to make and so delicious. My family loves it.
This is one of our favorite freezer meals! We doubled it so we could have 3 casseroles in the freezer for the weeks after my baby was born.
My family loves this recipe and we make it often! It’s so delicious and so easy!!!
This was amazingly delicious, I made a double batch and gave my children each a tray, we ate one and froze one at home, super easy, tasty , can add anything else you like in it to change it up, I served shredded lettuce, jalapeños, and sour cream also with it and Tostitos, great meal to give someone you want to give a food dish to and serve it in 9×13 foil pan
My family hates black beans. Can you suggest a substitute?
Very easy to put together and fast. We loved it! Served it with shredded lettuce, sour cream and tortilla chips on the side. Wonderful! Thank you!
Didn’t this recipe used to have grated zucchini in it?
Made this but didn’t make two I just put everything as listed in one of those aluminum disposable lasagna pans and it was just right. I made for my niece who just had a baby to help them with dinners. Was able to make one little dish on the side to try and it was really good. Just topped with sour cream.
Yes, pinto beans or kidney beans would be delicious in this recipe.
This is a new family favorite. I did sub pinto beans for black beans. Turned out great didn’t get to freeze the 2nd pan we did 2nd and 3rd night!
Super easy and filling. We ate ours with sour cream.
I halved this recipe to make 2 8×8 pans for 3 of us. I did make some changes that worked great for us. I increased the rice once I tried to use 1 cup in each 8×8 pan…it just wasn’t enough. I used more like 1 1/2 cups in each pan. I also added in diced yellow bell pepper and black olives. I sprinkled dairy free cheddar cheese on top. We served this over tortilla chips and topped with salsa, plain dairy free yogurt instead of sour cream and shredded lettuce. We all loved it so much! Can’t wait to eat the pan in the freezer!
Exelllent!!! I cut the whole recipe in half with 1 pond of ground turkey. I replaced the crushed tomatoes with a real tomato, chopped by hand. I always season my rice. I used uncle bens whole grain brown rice, generous shake of Adobo with pepper and tumeric ( to make the rice yellow and add health benefits) and to make the rice firmer for the baking portion I used one cup of rice and 1 and a 1/2 cups of vegetable vegetable broth, cook for 18 min. I added shredded pepper jack and a mixed blend of shredded taco cheeses. Topped with Gaucamole and thin totilla chips on the side for scooping. My hobby said it was in his top 5!
Yes that is what of the optional add ins.
I halved the recipe. I mixed the rice meat and cheese together. It seemed a little dry for our taste so I added another envelope of taco seasoning and 8 ounces of tomato sauce. Topped with more cheese and baked. My husband liked it a lot.
My family loved this so much that there were no leftovers! I am going to cook and serve the extra freezer one this time and see how that works. Thank you!
OMG so very yummy. Even my picky eater said its aake again. I used salsa instead of the tomato and chilly in a can. PS I did not have it to Begin with. The flavor is on point.
Do you drain the burger?
Yes, I would