This Mexican Casserole packed with flavor and loaded with corn, black beans, ground beef, and rice. For an added flavor booster, we add salsa and enchilada sauce. All cooked in your crock pot for an easy all-in-one dinner!
It's super easy to make and you can add any number of toppings to make everyone in your family happy!
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Why You'll Love This
Everyone has their favorite Mexican casserole recipe, and I think this is going to be yours. It's versatile and easy to make, and it always turns out perfect (even the picky kids devour this one lol)..
Making this recipe for Cinco de Mayo is a tradition, but it definitely qualifies for a Taco Tuesday meal - or any day you want a Mexican beef and rice casserole.
You can throw this meal together in the morning and it'll be ready to serve at dinner. Simply cook the ground beef, then add the remaining ingredients to your slow cooker.
However, if you want an easy 30-minute Mexican casserole, try my Lazy Beef Enchilada Casserole!
Why This Recipe Works
This is one of my family's most-requested crock pot ground beef recipes. Once it's done simmering in the crock pot, there are lots of ways to serve it so everyone can create their perfect meal.
- Enjoy this Crock Pot Mexican Casserole as is, right out of the crockpot when it's done. Spoon it into a bowl, add a squeeze of fresh lime juice and you're good to go.
- Top with shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream, chopped cilantro, green onions, lettuce, tomato - or anything you like!
- Make nachos by serving this over tortilla chips or corn chips. Or use the chips to dip or crush and mix in.
- Try it inside a taco shell, use it as a filling for flour tortillas, or top with strips of toasted corn tortillas.
Ingredients
Lots of tasty ingredients go into this Crock Pot Mexican Casserole - don't let that shy you away from making it. All these ingredients blend so well together for a flavor-packed meal.
- Ground Beef - you could also use ground turkey if that's your preference
- Onion, Bell Pepper, and Celery - for convenience, use the frozen, chopped "seasoning blend"
- Salsa - pick your heat level, chunky or smooth, or use a can of tomatoes if preferred
- Black Beans - or use pinto beans if that's what you have on hand
- Southwest Corn - this flavorful canned corn adds more flavor to your Mexican crockpot casserole than plain whole kernel corn
- Red Enchilada Sauce - choose mild, medium, or hot in any store-bought brand
- Butter - need I say more?
- Chili Powder - gives this dish a slight kick and smokey flavor (try smoked paprika for a change of pace)
- Ground Cumin - a key ingredient in taco seasoning, this gives a warm, peppery flavor (use coriander if you need a substitute)
- Minced Garlic - use fresh or jarred, or use powdered garlic if you need to
- Onion Powder - love this basic pantry staple but you can use onion flakes if that's all you have on hand
- Oregano - use dried thyme if you don't have oregano
- Cumin Seed - adds great flavor, but you can certainly leave it out if you want to
- Black Pepper - fresh ground is best
- Long Grain White Rice - long grain white rice won't get mushy or stick together like regular rice does
- Lime - adds special zing as a final touch
Step-by-Step Instructions
For the absolute best results, follow the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post!
This casserole has just 3 easy steps - how great is that! Just cook and drain the ground beef then add the other ingredients.
Step 1: Brown the ground beef and drain. Add to your crockpot.
Step 2: Add remaining ingredients (except the lime) to the crock pot. Mix well and cook on high for 2 ½ to 3 hours or low for 4 to 5 hours - or until rice is cooked.
Step 3: Spoon into a serving bowl and top with a squeeze of lime. Add more of your favorite toppings such as shredded cheese, sliced avocado, sour cream, green onions, etc. Serve with chips or use as a filling for tortillas.
Frequently Asked Questions
This casserole can be made with cooked ground turkey, cooked ground chicken, or cooked chopped or shredded chicken instead of the ground beef.
You can use brown rice instead but you will likely need to let this cook longer, perhaps as much as one additional hour, so please adjust the time as needed. You could also use quinoa instead of rice. However, do not use instant rice!
This casserole freezes well. Allow it to cool completely, then place into a freezer container or sealable plastic freezer bag (write the date on the bag so you can easily remember it). It will stay fresh for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge the day before you plan to eat it. Reheat in a pot on the stove or in the microwave.
I love to top this casserole with toasted corn tortillas! It's easy to do and here's how. Heat a skillet to medium-high heat. Heat each side of the tortilla for 15-20 seconds or until it starts to get toasty. You can also toast a large batch of corn tortillas in the oven by brushing them with a little olive oil, slicing into strips, placing them on a sheet pan, and baking them at 350F for about 10-15 minutes or until toasty brown.
This casserole is pretty filling as by itself! But it's really delicious served with crispy chips, guacamole, fresh chopped tomatoes, or a simple green salad.
Expert Tips
- Have you tried the frozen, chopped onion, bell pepper, and celery blend? Once I discovered this, I have yet to chop another onion (and I have not shed any tears since!). Some people may gawk at the idea of using frozen, and fresh is better, I won't try to convince you otherwise. But I love how easy and convenient the pre-chopped, frozen version is for meal prep!
- Every time I make one of my slow cooker Mexican recipes, I ask myself, "why don't I use this crock pot more often?" Slow cooking brings out more flavor in your food, won't heat up your house when it's hot out, and it's super convenient if you want to take your meal to the office or another person's home.
- Store any leftovers in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I prefer to use BPA-free glass containers with locking lids. Check out this 18-piece set of glass food storage containers with locking lids from Bayco, available now on Amazon.
More Recipes to Try
If you tried this recipe, please let me know by leaving a comment! I'd love to hear from you.
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Recipe
Crock Pot Mexican Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef See Recipe Notes
- 2 cups frozen chopped onion, bell pepper, and celery "seasoning blend" See Recipe Notes
- 1 16 oz jar of salsa
- 1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 14.75 oz can of southwest or fiesta corn, drained
- 2 10 oz cans of red enchilada sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon cumin seed
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup long grain white rice, uncooked See Recipe Notes
- 2 cups water
- 1 lime
- Your favorite toppings of choice: a few drops of fresh lime juice, shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream, greek yogurt, guacamole, lettuce, tomato, etc.
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef and drain. Add to slow cooker.
- Add remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Mix well. Cover and cook on high for 2-½ to 3 hours or low for 4-5 hours or until rice is cooked.
- Top with your favorite items such as a squeeze of fresh lime, chopped cilantro, avocado, shredded cheese, green onions, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, etc. Eat with tortilla chips or corn chips.
Notes
Nutrition
This Mexican beef and rice recipe was originally published in 2021 and updated in 2022.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy to my readers. I'm not a nutritionist and I don't guarantee the accuracy of this data. The data may differ according to the brands I used versus the brands you use. To calculate the data yourself using your brands, try using an online nutrition calculator or app.
Karrie Rukamp
Can you substitute the meatless crumbles for meat to make it vegetarian?
Anne Clark
Hi Karrie! Thanks for a great question. I have not tried this, but I don't see a reason why cooked meatless crumbles would not work the same. If you try it, please let me know how it turned out. Thanks, again!
Gerry
Is this soupy like a chili? Or 'hang together' like an oven-baked casserole? I'm wondering about wrapping it in a hand-held tortilla.
Anne Clark
Hi Gerry. It's not soupy and actually thickens quite a bit as it cools down and is thicker the next day. I think it makes a great filling for tortillas.
Gerry
Thanks! Just what I wanted to hear! 🙂