Creamy Beef and Mushroom Casserole

This Beef and Mushroom Casserole is stuffed with hearty ground beef, tender rice, lots of mushrooms, all baked together in a creamy sauce and topped with a buttery Ritz cracker topping. Family approved and quick and easy to make, this casserole is a one we can all agree on!

this Recipe

Easy Ground Beef Casserole

This casserole is packed with family friendly flavors like ground beef, tender rice, creamy sauce and a buttery Ritz cracker topping.  All of these make it really delicious, but even better, it is also super easy to make!

Beef and Mushroom Casserole has all of these things going for it:

• Can be completely made in ONE DISH.
• Uses pantry staples.
• Only 4 steps from fridge to oven!

So if you need something that can save the day when you don’t know what too make for dinner tonight, look no further than this easy casserole.

What to Serve with Beef and Mushroom Casserole

This little one dish wonder is great to get a meat, veggie and starch all in one dish. It is super filling and can stand on its own as a meal.

That said, we usually serve it with a side or two to help balance the meal out and get a few extra veggies in.

A few of our favorite side dish ideas are listed below. Pick one, or make the meal stretch by adding a few.

• Sautéed Green Beans
• Side salad – served with this salad dressing is always a hit with my kids!
• Cucumber Tomato Salad
• Garlic Bread – the kid’s fave!
• Oven Roasted Broccoli
• Jiffy Corn Casserole

Recipe Tips

This recipe is truly simple to make and should be a breeze to put together for dinnertime. I am going too walk through a few tips and pointers to make sure you get the best results and also cover some common questions and substitutions.

Make sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL recipe card. If you have other questions that aren’t covered here, feel free to leave them in the comments below!

Ingredients

Only 8 simple ingredients make this recipe come together fast. There are a few key points 

• Ground beef– The leaner the better. You can also use ground turkey or chicken for this recipe.
• Minute rice– You MUST use quick cooking rice to make this recipe as directed. It allows the rice to cook completely in the time allotted in the recipe along with the amount of liquid that we use.
• Mushrooms– Use can use any variety of fresh mushrooms that you like.
• Cream of mushroom soup– you can use canned or make a homemade version like this.
• Sour cream– I generally use regular sour cream, but you can also use light in this recipe
• Beef broth– I generally use beef broth with beef, but you can also use chicken broth or vegetable broth with good results.
• Ritz crackers– This buttery crumb topping is my kid’s favorite part. You can leave it off to make the recipe a bit lighter if desired. 
• Butter– This helps the cracker crumbs to crisp up nicely. You can either drizzle the butter over the top, or mix the cracker crumbs in the melted butter then spread them over the top of the casserole.

4 Easy Steps

1. Brown the beef– Make sure you use a skillet large enough for the beef, mushrooms, and onions. I usually like a 12″ or larger. This give everything enough room to cook evenly. Once the beef is done, I like too drain it well to remove any grease. The more lean your beef is, the less grease you will have.
2. Mix the casserole–  Next you will combine the beef mixture with the soup mixture. The extra liquid from the broth allows the uncooked rice to fully cook. It will seem a little sloppy, but once the rice cooks, it soaks in all of the liquid (and flavor) for a creamy, delicious result.

   You can do this in a separate bowl or combine everything right in the casserole dish. I like to do it right in the dish to save dishes, however, you do have to do it slowly and carefully since a casserole dish is more shallow than a bowl.

3. Add crunchy topping– The cracker crumb topping is a highlight of this dish. An easy way to make make the crumbs is to place the crackers in a zip top bag, then roll over the bag with a rolling pin. Mixing the crumbs with butter creates a rich toasty topping.
4. Bake– After the casserole is assembled you pop it in the oven uncovered and let it bake up to perfection. The bake time is perfect for getting the rice soft and tender, soaking up the extra flavor.

FAQs

Can I use other types of rice?

This recipe has not been tested with other types of rice, however, if you want to use something else, you will need to consider 2 things.

1. The casserole will likely have to cook longer.
2. You will need to use the correct ratio of liquid to rice. Our recipe is a 1:1 ratio, but if you use rice that uses a 1.5:1 or 2:1 ratio you will need to increase the amount of broth used. If you don’t have the right ratio of liquid to rice, you will end up with crunchy rice no matter how long you cook it.

Can I use Cooked Rice?

Like above, this recipe wasn’t designed to be made with cooked rice, but with that said, it seems like it should work if you eliminate the broth from the recipe.

Can I make this recipe gluten free?

Since this ground beef casserole is a mushroom based casserole, it is not the best candidate for gluten free cooking. You can substitute gluten free crackers, and ensure you have gluten free cream of mushroom soup which would be the main ingredients including gluten.

While mushrooms don’t contain gluten naturally, they are sometimes grown on wheat products so it can be a risky vegetable to cook with if you have a severe allergy to gluten.

How do I store Leftovers?

Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Beef and Mushroom Casserole can also be frozen. To freeze the casserole, allow it to come to room temperature, then package it in meal sized portions and freeze for up to one month.

The casserole reheats well, however, the crunchy topping will not stay crunchy. It still has great flavor, but does have a different texture.

More Easy Dinner Recipes

If you enjoyed this casserole, I hope that you will take a few minutes to check out a few more of our most popular recipes, loved by millions for a quick and easy meal on a busy night.

Find all of our dinner recipes here, or see a few of our fan favorites below.

• BBQ Chicken Casserole
• Cajun Butter Steak
• Easy Big Mac Skillet
• Italian Sausage Tortellini
• Baked Salsa Chicken