Texas Rice

Are you craving the perfect side dish, well my Texas Rice fits the bill! This quick and hearty versatile dish can also be a main dish. I mix cooked rice, ground beef, bacon, onions, spices, tomatoes and put it all in a pretty casserole dish, then top it with gooey cheddar cheese.

Your loved ones will rave over this dish at family dinner or gathering. Bigger and Bolder… Texas style!

I hope you’ll try our hamburger rice casserole, chicken broccoli rice casserole, or sausage and rice. If you’re looking for more easy, flavorful meals like this, be sure to check out my full collection of ground beef recipes for even more family-friendly dinner ideas.

 TEXAS RICE INGREDIENTS

• Water: Filtered or tap
• White Rice: Long Grain. Rinsing rice gets rid of any residual chemicals.
• Bacon: Any brand, any type.
• Ground Beef: I use 80%/20% fat ratio for maximum flavor and texture.
• Onions: Yellow or white onion is recommended.
• Green Bell Pepper: You can also substitute red or yellow, but green has a more distinct flavor that I like.  You choose!
• RO*TEL Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies: My favorite! Just the right amount of heat.
• Salt + Pepper: Table or Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
• Cheddar Cheese: I use block cheese and shred it myself.  You can use pre-shredded cheese, but it does not melt well due to the added cellulose to prevent sticking. It really does make a difference.

TIPS 

• Make It A Main: This is a versatile dish and can easily become a main dish by adding more veggies. Just keep the ratio of liquid the same.
• Cut It First: Instead of crumbling the bacon after cooking, cutting the raw bacon before cooking is a convenient way too!
• Don’t Stick! Spray non-stick spray on one side of the foil.  The last thing you want is for the cheese to stick to the foil when you take it out of the oven. 
• Rice: The rice should be fully cooked before mixing with the meat and tomatoes. 
• Make It Yours: Variations: add additional vegetables, fresh or frozen such as corn, green beans, black beans or mixed veggies. You can spice up the dish by adding  jalapeños, green chilis, hot sauce or Cajun/Creole spices. Serve with sour cream.
• Make It Faster: People have emailed me asking how I can make this with only 15 minutes prep? I use this chopper (Amazon affiliate!)

STORING + FREEZING + MAKE-AHEAD

• How Long Can You Keep This in The Fridge? Once cooked and cooled, your Texas Rice will last up to two days in the fridge.
• Can You Freeze This? I do not recommend freezing. You will want this dish fresh and warm.
• Make-Ahead: You can prepare the Texas Rice ahead of time. You can microwave the dish until heated through.
• Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.

SERVING RECOMMENDATIONS

If you’re serving this as a main dish, we like this with a salad such as our KFC coleslaw, 1905 salad, strawberry salad (with blue cheese, fresh strawberries, +  homemade sherry vinaigrette), Southwest salad,  strawberry spinach salad, or pizza salad.

As a hearty side dish, we serve it with our cilantro lime chicken, pollo asado, arroz con pollo, arroz con pollo Peruano, crock pot chicken tacos, or grilled flank steak.

If you’re looking for more side dishes to accompany Texas rice, we like it with Mexican rice, charro beans, Mexican corn salad, cowboy baked beans, calico beans, or jalapeño cornbread!

HOW TO MAKE TEXAS RICE

1. Cook the rice.
2. In a skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Set aside.
3. In the same skillet, cook the ground beef, green pepper, and onion. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add the beef mixture and cooked rice to the baking dish.
5. Add the tomatoes and bacon.
6. Mix until well combined.
7. Spread the cheese over the top.
8. Bake.
9. Serve.

***See the full instructions below.

More Easy Meat and Rice Recipes

• Old Fashioned Chicken and Rice Soup
• No Peek Chicken
• Taco Rice
• Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup
• Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
• Unstuffed Pepper Skillet
• Porcupine Meatballs
• Italian Stuffed Peppers
• Crockpot Stuffed Pepper Soup
• Lemon Chicken Soup
• One Pot Chicken and Rice

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Texas Rice

Texas rice is a delicious side dish or main dish! Loaded with flavor and lots of goodies. Skip the boring rice dishes and make this instead!!

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Servings: 6 - 8 servings

Author: Kathleen

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 cups water
• ▢ 2 cups uncooked long grain white rice
• ▢ 6 slices bacon
• ▢ 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• ▢ 1 onion chopped
• ▢ 1/2 green bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed and chopped
• ▢ 1 (28-ounce) can RO*TEL original diced tomatoes and green chilies
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• ▢ 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Arrange the oven shelf to the bottom third of the oven. Preheat oven to 400ºF (204ºC). Generously butter, grease with bacon fat, or spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
• Place the rice in a sieve set over the kitchen sink. Rinse, stirring and turning the rice in the sieve. Repeat 2 more times.
• In a medium sauce pan with a tight fitting lid, bring water to a rolling boil. Add rice and bring back to a rolling boil. Stir the rice. Reduce heat to low, as soon as it boils, and cover with a lid.
• In a high sided 12-inch skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoons of drippings in the skillet. When bacon is cool enough to handle, crumble; set aside.
• Add the ground beef, green pepper, and onion to the skillet and cook over medium heat. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Cook until the beef no longer has any pink, and is cooked through.
• Add cooked beef mixture and cooked rice into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Add the tomatoes, bacon and reserved drippings, mixing until everything is well blended. (You can also mix everthing in a large mixing bowl. (Frankly it's easier to mix in a bowl. I mix in the casserole dish because I hate doing dishes and this way, I avoid washing the bowl!!) Spread the shredded cheese over the top.
• Spread a sheet of foil, long enough to cover the bakingdish and wrap over the edges. Spray one side with nonstick cooking spray.
• Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is bubbly, and the center is heated through.

Fans Also Made:

• 
  Fiesta Chicken
• 
  One Pot Burrito Bowl
• 
  Stuffed Peppers
• 
  Unstuffed Peppers (Easy One-Pot Ground Beef & Rice)

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Notes

1. Make It A Main: This is a versatile dish and can easily become a main dish by adding more veggies. Just keep the ratio of liquid the same.
2. Cut It First: Instead of crumbling the bacon after cooking, cutting the raw bacon before cooking is a convenient way too!
3. Don’t Stick! Spray non-stick spray on one side of the foil.  The last thing you want is for the cheese to stick to the foil when you take it out of the oven. 
4. Rice: The rice should be fully cooked before mixing with the meat and tomatoes. 
5. Make It Yours: Variations: add additional vegetables, fresh or frozen such as corn, green beans, black beans, or mixed veggies. You can spice up the dish by adding jalapeños, green chilis, hot sauce, or Cajun/Creole spices. Serve with sour cream.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 822kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 140mg | Sodium: 1126mg | Potassium: 752mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 628IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 431mg | Iron: 4mg

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