Taco Black Bean and Rice Casserole – a quick and easy Mexican casserole! Can make ahead and refrigerate until ready to bake. Ground beef, taco seasoning, black beans, diced tomatoes and green chiles, tomato sauce, salsa, rice, sour cream, and cheddar cheese. Makes a ton!!! We LOVE this easy casserole recipe!
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Pin This RecipeEasy Taco Casserole with Rice
Mexican food is a favorite at our house. I could eat Mexican every day and never get tired of it. This Taco Black Bean & Rice Casserole is a new favorite. It has all of my favorite flavors in one pan. Taco meat, black beans, sour cream, salsa, rice, and cheese. This casserole is seriously delicious! We ate this for dinner and leftover for lunch during the week. It was delicious every single time! This is SO much better than anything at the local Mexican restaurant! PLUS you don’t load up on chips and salsa before the main meal.
How to Make Taco & Rice Casserole
This Mexican Casserole is super easy to make. Start with cooking the taco meat. Once the taco meat is cooked set it aside to cool. Mix together cooked rice, sour cream, Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles, tomato sauce, salsa, black beans, and cheese. Spread the rice mixture into a baking dish. Top with taco meat and sprinkle with more cheese. Pop the casserole in the oven and bake.
You can swap the ground beef for ground turkey. You can also use low-fat sour cream to further reduce the calories. I suggest using our Homemade Superior Grill Salsa for the salsa in the recipe – SO GOOD!
Can You Freeze Taco Casserole?
You can make this casserole ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze for later. To bake the casserole after freezing, thaw completely and bake as directed below. To reheat the casserole after freezing, thaw completely and cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350ºF for 30 to 40 minutes, until warm.
What to Serve with Taco Black Bean & Rice Casserole
This Taco Black Bean & Rice Casserole is a very hearty dish. You really don’t need much to go with it. Maybe some chips and salsa while you wait for the casserole to bake and a simple salad to go with dinner. Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this casserole:
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Taco Black Bean and Rice Casserole
Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 (1-oz) package taco seasoning
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (10-oz) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained
- 1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 (8-oz) jar salsa/picante sauce (1 cup)
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Lightly spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray.
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef until no longer pink. Drain fat. Stir in taco seasoning and water. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, until the water is absorbed. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl, combine black beans, diced tomatoes & green chiles, tomato sauce, salsa, rice, sour cream, and 1 cup cheddar cheese. Transfer to prepared pan.
- Spread taco meat over rice and top with remaining cup of shredded cheese.
- Bake, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes, until bubbly.
Notes:
- Can make in advance and refrigerate or freeze for later.
- To bake after freezing, thaw completely and bake as directed above.
- Can use any type of cooked rice you prefer.
- Can use any type of cheese you prefer in place of cheddar.
- Can substitute ground turkey for ground beef.
- Our favorite store-bought salsas are Mateo’s, Kylito’s, Pace Picante Sauce, and Pace Restaurant Style Salsa.
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Taco Seasoning made with chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper: https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-taco-seasoning/
Steph
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I added a little bit of corn also. when serving it up we added avocado, sliced black olives and chopped green onion. oh yes a corn chips for crunch. Yummy!!
I had a crazy amount of leftover rice and wanted to create a casserole using it up. Wow!! Absolutely not one disappointed face at the table! Made as directed and it is truly a tasty meal, garden salad and toasted rolls completed this fab meal.
Thank you for sharing with us!
Could you use something else besides sour cream for someone who doesn’t eat dairy?
Any changes and substitutions to the recipe would be up to you.
I made wow it was so good but I changed it up a little i did shredded chicken and added corn chips my wife couldn’t get enough ty for the recipe
If I’m using instant rice, does it need to be cooked ahead of time? I know it says cooked rice, but I just want to be 100% sure because some recipes I make the rice goes in raw. 🙂
Any cooked rice
I had leftover taco meat and rice so I used them to make this dish. I added some chopped up mushrooms to the taco meat. Very delicious.
Tried this tonight and was a little surprised how good it was. Made it for my daughter,
my son-in-law, and two grandkids.
They really liked it. Going to use the leftovers for burritos tomorrow.
Will definitely make this again.
Quick and easy.
Saw this on the weekly meal plan and knew I had to try, but I wanted to adapt to slow cooker since it’s too warm to have the oven on. I used 1 cup Minute Rice (uncooked), and subbed enchilada sauce for the tomato sauce since I didn’t have a small can. Cooked on low for about 3 hours and it’s fantastic! Also added a can of corn. Served with the Mexican chopped salad, what a great meal!
We also enjoyed the Awesome Sauce Chicken yesterday served with ramen noodle salad. Loving your recipes, Steph!!