Taco Sour Cream Rice Bake

Taco Sour Cream Rice Bake – easy weeknight ground beef casserole ready in under 30 minutes!! Rice, sour cream, cottage cheese topped with a quick homemade taco meat sauce and cheddar cheese. Can make in advance and refrigerate or freeze for later. A fun twist to taco night! Serve with some black beans and crusty bread. #taco #groundbeef #casserole #freezermeal

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Easy Ground Beef Casserole

This Taco Sour Cream Rice Bake is a favorite in our house. It is super easy to make and tastes great! Taco meat, sour cream, rice, and lots of cheese – YUM! I mean what is not to like?!?!? This casserole is a great way to change up taco night! PLUS it is gluten-free! Woohoo! We have eaten this for lunch and dinner several times and just love it!

taco rice casserole in baking dish

How to Make Taco Sour Cream Rice Bake

This Taco Sour Cream Rice Bake is very easy to make. You can have it on the table in about 30 minutes. Start with browning the ground beef. Drain the fat and add some taco seasoning, diced tomatoes and green chiles, and tomato sauce. Let that simmer for about 5 minutes. Once the taco meat is ready, it is time to assemble the casserole. Combine cooked rice, sour cream, and cottage cheese. Spread that mixture in the bottom of a 9×9-inch baking dish. Top with the taco meat and finish the casserole off with shredded cheddar cheese. Pop it in the oven and dinner is done.

I used lean ground beef in this recipe. Feel free to substitute ground turkey if you prefer. You can also use low-fat sour cream or plain Greek yogurt to cut down on calories. 

I used white rice in this casserole. You can substitute cooked brown rice if you wish. Either way will be delicious! You can also get creative with the cheeses – pepper jack, or a bag of Mexican cheese blend would be wonderful!

Can I Make Taco Sour Cream Rice Bake in Advance?

Absolutely! I love to assemble this casserole ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight. If you are baking this casserole straight from the oven, you may need to add a few minutes to the cooking time.

Can I Freeze Taco Sour Cream Rice Bake?

Sure! You can freeze this casserole unbaked or baked. I always prefer to freeze it unbaked. When baking this casserole after freezing, thaw completely and bake as directed below. If you freeze this casserole baked, thaw completely and reheat in the microwave or covered in the oven until warm.

scooping taco rice casserole from baking dish

What to Serve with Taco Casserole

We really enjoyed this yummy casserole. It is so simple and so delicious. We sometimes top the casserole with our favorite taco toppings – lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole. It is a fun twist to our regular taco night! We love to serve this casserole with some black beans or refried beans. It is also great with some green beans or squash. Here are a few of our favorite recipes that go great with this easy Mexican casserole:

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taco rice casserole

Taco Sour Cream Rice Bake

Yield: 6 people
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Taco Sour Cream Rice Bake – easy weeknight ground beef casserole ready in under 30 minutes!! Rice, sour cream, cottage cheese topped with a quick homemade taco meat sauce and cheddar cheese. Can make in advance and refrigerate or freeze for later. A fun twist to taco night! Serve with some black beans and crusty bread. #taco #groundbeef #casserole #freezermeal

Ingredients:

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
  • Brown meat; drain off fat and return to skillet. Add taco seasoning, diced tomatoes and green chiles, and tomato sauce. Stir and simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Mix together cottage cheese, sour cream, and rice.
  • Spread rice mixture in bottom of the prepared pan. Top with taco meat sauce. Sprinkle cheese on top of casserole.
  • Bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes.

Notes:

Can substitute ground turkey for beef.
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/
Can use low-fat sour cream or plain Greek yogurt in place of sour cream.
Can use white or brown rice.
Can make in advance and refrigerate or freeze for later.
If baking after freezing, thaw completely and bake as directed above.
Use gluten-free taco seasoning to make the dish gluten-free.
Use mild diced tomatoes and green chiles if concerned about the heat.

Steph

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taco rice casserole on a plate
taco rice casserole on a plate
scooping taco rice casserole from baking dish
scoop of taco rice casserole

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Comments

  1. Made this last night and it was delicious! I wanted to make enough to fit a 9×13, so i used about a pound and a half of ground beef and almost 4 cups of cooked rice. I did one whole (16oz)container of cottage cheese and a cup or so of sour cream. I used a can of diced chilies and about a cup of salsa, along with the tomato sauce and taco seasoning. Comfort food at it’s finest!!

  2. I love this recipe,,one of my favorites. silly question but is it 3 cups of rice before or after cooked? Each time I cooked this I cooked 3 cups and to me it was too much rice so I did not use it all, so is it 3 cups cooked? and if so how much do you cook to get 3 cups cooked? LOL!!

    1. I did the same thing for 2 of these recipes, lol, glanced at it and realized it only had too much because I made 6 servings of rice 🙂

  3. Do you think if I substituted cottage cheese with ricotta instead it would taste weird? Not a huge fan of cottage cheese. Sounds delicious though

    1. I am not a cottage cheese fan either. I NEVER eat it out of the container, but it is wonderful in casseroles. I encourage you to give it a try. I haven't made this with ricotta, so I can't say if it will be as creamy. You can certainly give it a whirl!

    2. Love this, but my family has an aversion to to vegetables. I substituted enchilada sauce for the diced tomatoes and green chiles. It turned out wonderful! I also accidentally made too much rice, so I just doubled the recipe and put one in the freezer for later!

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