Taco Rice Bake

Taco Rice Bake - loaded with taco meat, beans, Rotel, cheese, and rice. It's a full meal in one dish! We like to top the casserole with our favorite taco toppings - cheese, sour cream, jalapeños and guacamole! This a great change to our usual taco night!!

Mexican food is one of my favorites. Chicken Legs doesn't like to go out for Mexican food, so I make it a lot at home to get my fix. This Taco Rice Bake is super easy to put together. You can make this the day before and throw it in the oven when you get home from work. I haven't frozen the casserole, but I think it would be fine to assemble the casserole and then freeze it for later.

This Taco Rice Bake is loaded with taco meat, beans, Rotel, cheese, and rice. It's a full meal in one dish! There is a can of Rotel tomatoes in the casserole. If you are concerned about the heat, make sure to use a can of mild Rotel. We like to top the casserole with our favorite taco toppings - cheese, sour cream, jalapeños and guacamole! This a great change to our usual taco night!!

Yield: serves 6 to 8

Taco Rice Bake

prep time: 15 MINScook time: 25 MINStotal time: 40 mins

ingredients:

• 2 cups instant white rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 can Ranch Style beans
• 1 can Ro-tel tomatoes
• 2 tsp dried minced onion flakes
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 1 can (10.75-oz)cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup water

instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large skillet, brown meat and drain off fat. Stir in beans, tomatoes, onion flakes, taco seasoning, soup and 1/2 cup water. Simmer over medium-low heat until everything is well combined and heated through. Remove from heat.
3. In a pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add instant rice. Cover and remove from heat. Let rice sit for 5 minutes, until all water is absorbed.
4. Stir cooked rice and 1 cup of cheddar cheese into beef mixture. Pour into prepared 9x13-inch pan. Top with remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese.
5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Top with your favorite taco toppings.
6. **I used instant white rice. You can use instant brown rice, just make sure to follow the directions on the package. You may also omit the instant rice and 2 cups of water and use 4 cups of cooked rice.**

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