Beefy Rice-A-Roni Casserole Recipe – easy weeknight meal with only 5 ingredients! Ground beef, Beef Rice-A-Roni, cream of chicken soup, cheddar cheese, and fried onions. Can make ahead and freeze for later! Ready in 20 minutes! Add this hamburger rice casserole to your menu. It is sure to become a family favorite!
Remember this recipe.
Pin this recipe to your favorite board now to remember it later!
Pin This RecipeBeef and Rice Casserole Recipe
Stop what you are doing and add this Beefy Rice-A-Roni Casserole to your menu. I made this for dinner last night and we could not stop eating it. OMG! SO good!! Ground beef, cream of chicken soup, shredded cheese, french fried onions, and rice-a-roni. This is comfort food at its best. We ate this for dinner and fought over the leftovers for lunch the next day. Whip up some green beans and rolls for an easy dinner the whole family will enjoy!
How to Make Beefy Rice-a-Roni Casserole
This casserole is very easy to make. Start with preparing a box of Beef Rice-A-Roni according to the package directions. While the rice is cooking, brown a pound of ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Combine cooked Rice-A-Roni, cooked ground beef, and cream of chicken soup. Transfer the beef mixture to a casserole dish. Top with shredded cheese and french fried onions. Bake until the cheese is melted and the casserole is heated through. Garnish the cooked casserole with some green onions or fresh parsley.
Helpful Tips & Frequently Asked Questions
- You can substitute ground turkey for ground beef.
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup: https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-cream-of-chicken-soup/
- Can substitute any flavor of condensed cream soup. Cream of mushroom soup or cream of celery also works great.
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Beef Rice-a-Roni: https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-beef-rice-roni/
- Feel free to add white onion, bell pepper, mixed vegetables, black beans, and olives to the casserole.
- I use cheddar cheese in this recipe. You can use any cheese that you enjoy. Pepper jack, Colby jack, or provolone would all work great.
- Can Beefy Rice-A-Roni Casserole be made in advance? Yes! You can assemble the casserole and refrigerate it overnight before baking.
- Can Beefy Rice-A-Roni Casserole be frozen? Yes! Assemble the casserole and let it cool to room temperature. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze. When ready to bake, thaw completely and bake as directed.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
What to Serve with Cheesy Ground Beef Casserole
This ground beef rice casserole has quickly become a favorite meal in our house. It is super simple to make and has so much flavor! We like to serve this delicious casserole with some green beans and rolls. It is equally delicious simple salad or some potato chips. Add this recipe to your menu the next time you need a quick dinner that even your picky eaters will enjoy!
Lookin for more side dish ideas? Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this delicious casserole:
Ranch Style Green Beans
Ranch Style Green Beans Recipe – THE BEST green beans ever! Only 4 ingredients and ready in 20 minutes –…
7UP Biscuits
7up Biscuits Recipe – Light and fluffy. There only have four ingredients needed to make THE BEST biscuits EVER! Butter,…
Crunchy Romaine Toss
Crunchy Romaine Toss – CRAZY GOOD!!! Had this at a dinner party and everyone raved about it. I had to…
Oven Roasted Asparagus and Tomatoes
Roasted Asparagus and Tomatoes – takes one minute to toss together and is ready to eat in 15 minutes! SO…
Beefy Rice-a-Roni Casserole
Ingredients:
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 (6.8-oz) box Beef Rice-A-Roni
- 1 (10.5-oz) can Unsalted Cream of Chicken Soup
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 (6-oz) container French fried onions
Instructions:
- Pre-heat oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray.
- Prepare Rice-A-Roni according to package directions.
- While rice is cooking, cook ground beef in a skillet. Drain fat.
- In a mixing bowl, combine cooked beef, prepared rice, and soup. Spread into prepared pan. Top rice mixture with cheese and French fried onions.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Notes:
- I suggest using Unsalted Cream of Chicken Soup in this dish to control the sodium.
- You can buy it by the case at Amazon: https://amzn.to/49n4uZE
- Need Gluten-free Cream of Chicken Soup? You can buy it here: https://amzn.to/3MtqQ1s
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup: https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-cream-of-chicken-soup/
Steph
Remember this recipe.
Pin this recipe to your favorite board now to remember it later!
Pin This Recipe
Very good. I added a package of frozen corn too. Did mozzarella as that is what I had on hand. Yum! My two kids and hubby loved it. Will make again.
Should I add any spices to it if I’m using the cheesy rice a roni instead?
Any changes and modifications to the recipe would be up to you.
We love this recipe! I always use two boxes of rice a roni since there are 5 of us, but keep everything else the same. It is still plenty moist, but means we can have (a little) leftovers.
I don’t have any french fried onions… can I just fry up some onions or use carmelized onions instead?
If you like carmelized onions, I’m sure that would be fine.
Made this last week and making it again tonight. It’s so good! I make it exactly as written and it’s perfect. Tastes even better the next day!
I wasn’t sure about this but I love the beef rice a roni so figured I would give it a try and… OMG it’s so good and addicting! Even the leftovers were so good. I didn’t change anything to it, followed the recipe. I might try corn mixed in next time and see how it turns out.
Do you use the regular size box or rice a roni or the family size?
regular
I never leave comments. This is really good ! Easy to make and family loved it!!
Can this be frozen successfully.
This is simply amazing! I used cream of broccoli soup for that extra bit of flavor (and was out of cream of chicken) and also used sharp cheddar. Can’t say enough what a big hit this dish was especially with the kids!
Shouldn’t there be milk in this recipe? The cream of soup sounds like it would be thick.
NO
I made this last night. It was AWESOME.
Could I use sour cream in place of the chicken soup? Just curious as I want to make this and don’t have the cream of chicken soup on hand! 🙂
I've never tried this without the soup, but you can give it a try! Let us know how it turns out.
I didn't have soup, so I found a quick recipe and made some in about 5 mins. I used beef broth instead of chicken to make it since I had it opened already. Casserole is in the oven, but it smells great!
We love this at my house! Even my picky daughter loves it – she and I love to put Wickles hoagie relish in it for a tangy spice.
So glad the family enjoys it!! Love the Wickles idea!!
This was so good. I doubled mines and added Italian seasoning garlic powder black pepper. Thank you so much for this recipe.
What size cream of chicken?
10.75-oz can
This casserole is not only budget friendly, but sooo yummy and easy to throw together for a quick meal. My family loved it and did not leave any left overs. Perfect for a busy night. I served it with some green beans on the side.
This looks like a great one for making on Sunday to reheat during the week for a no fuss dinner.