So, we all love my Mexican veggie rice, but I thought it was about time I try another Mexican recipe – this time it’s a cheesy Mexican rice bake with a spicy tomato sauce and ground beef! It’s super delicious and easy – plus, there’s no shortage of flavour with plenty of spices.
This recipe is pretty simple, although it can seem like you’re doing a lot of things at once. The first thing you do is set your rice cooking, easy. Then, cook your beef and chilli pepper together. Remove those to a separate bowl and then cook your sauce! The sauce really isn’t too different to an Italian pasta sauce. After all, you start with onion and garlic. Then add tomato passata (plus some non-Italian spices – we are cooking Mexican here!) and simmer for a while! Easy! Mix everything together and top with (plenty of) cheese. Then you get to pop it in the oven and chill out while it bakes.

You could always tidy up while it bakes, or perhaps use the time more wisely than I often do. But, you have just cooked dinner so I think you deserve to sit down! After all, it’s not like you’re about to sit down to eat it or anything…
I first intended to feed two people with this recipe. After all, I know a lot of you don’t like too many leftovers and are only cooking for one or two. However, I promise you that leftovers of this will get eaten – I could eat it for every meal of the day! Leftovers keep for up to 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer, so if you don’t fancy eating it all the same week then no worries! However, I assure you that in our house, even though I’m the only one who eats this cheesy Mexican rice bake, it will always disappear with time to spare!

Another great thing about this recipe is that really, it’s pretty healthy! After all, you can use brown rice if you prefer, and add in as many veggies as you like! Perhaps some colourful bell peppers or even some spinach? Whatever you like, there’s a way to pack it in there too! After all, if you can’t just shove everything in and end up with a delicious, cheesy result then what’s the point of making a casserole?

Cheesy Mexican Rice Bake
This cheesy Mexican rice is packed full of ground beef and kidney beans, with a spicy tomato Mexican rice. It's a great comforting dinner that doesn't skimp on flavour!
Ingredients
- 100 grams (1/2 cup) basmati rice, or other long grain white rice
- 2 tbsp neutral cooking oil
- 1 chilli pepper, deseeded and finely diced
- 250 grams (9 oz) lean beef mince
- 200 grams (7 oz) tin of kidney beans, drained
- 100 grams (1 cup) cheddar, grated
- salt and pepper, to season
For the spicy tomato sauce:
- 1 tbsp neutral cooking oil
- 1/2 small red onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp double concentrate tomato puree
- 300 ml (1 1/4 cup) passata
- 100 ml (scant 1/2 cup) water
- 1/2 tsp mild chilli powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- salt and pepper, to season
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). In one pan, begin to cook the rice.
- In a separate pan, heat 1 tbsp neutral cooking oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef and chilli pepper and cook until browned. Drain any excess liquid and remove to a separate dish.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low and heat the oil for the sauce. Once hot, add the garlic and onion and soften for 3 minutes. Add the tomato puree and stir for one minute. Add the rest of the ingredients for the sauce and simmer for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- By this point, the rice should be cooked. Add the rice, beef and kidney beans to an oven-safe dish and pour over the sauce, mixing them together gently. Once well combined, top with the grated cheese and bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is golden and melted. Serve.
Notes
Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 3 days or can be frozen for up to 3 months. Always defrost and heat before serving. Always follow food safety guidelines when reheating rice.
You could add other veggies such as bell peppers to the sauce if you wish.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1/4 batchAmount Per Serving: Calories: 629Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 106mgSodium: 979mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 4gSugar: 8gProtein: 39g
All nutrition values are an estimate and will vary.
If you like this recipe, try my one-pan vegetarian Mexican rice. Or, for another spicy, meaty recipe, try my spicy chicken skewers & turmeric rice. Enjoy!

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Ohh this is just the sort of dish my boys would like. I call them boys but they are men really so I would have to up the quantity a bit they have huge appetities. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare
I’m so glad you like the look of it – I hope they enjoy it! I’d suggest possibly upping the rice, sauce and adding some veggies for larger portions as there’s already quite a lot of beef per portion (extra cheese never goes amiss either!) – let me know how you get on!
This has made my seriously hungry! Rich, cheesy – just yum!
That was my nan’s reaction when she first saw it too – she took some home to reheat straight away! I really do recommend it – it’s delicious! Plus, I won’t tell if you add extra cheese!
Looks very tasty, think I’m going to have to try making this soon!
I hope you enjoy it! It takes a couple of different pans, but it’s definitely worth it – it’s absolutely delicious!
Sounds delicious! I love a mexican rice dish called Arroz Con Pollo from the Mexican Takeaway! So this sounds similar. A real treat!
I’m so jealous that you have a Mexican takeaway near you – our small town has about 3 chip shops, 2 pizza places, 2 Indians and a Chinese and I don’t think any of them even deliver! It definitely makes it a special treat for us though! Arroz con pollo sounds delicious although I believe it’s chicken rather than beef? Either way it’s my type of food too!
Sounds so delicious and this looks like it would do with so many dishes. I can just see me having the leftover in a wrap! Yum
Absolutely – it would make a brilliant wrap filling! It’s really great as a main dish by itself, perhaps with a side salad if you’d prefer to add more veggies!
Love rice and love Mexican flavours, so this dish right up to my ally. Such a gorgeous pics.
Thank you so much! I really love Mexican-style rice dishes too and I really do have to say it makes a great comforting dinner!
Wow this is so up my street, I love Mexican food and am already excited about trying this one out x
I’m really glad that you think it looks good – please do let me know what you think of it!
This looks so good and so easy! I like spicy but I might need to kick it down a hair for the rest of the family. I have never seen passata before here tho. Maybe I can use regular tomato paste. Is there a big difference between the two?
In that case, I’d probably say remove the chilli pepper and perhaps replace it with a bell pepper or just leave it out altogether! Passata is sieved tomatoes, so not as concentrated as tomato puree/paste. It’s often found here in cartons rather than cans so perhaps that could be why you haven’t seen it?
Instead, crushed tomatoes are probably the most similar, although the sauce won’t be quite as smooth. So long as the ones you buy don’t have any herbs or seasonings etc in then they should be a good substitute though!