Butternut squash casserole with ground beef and rice! This simple, delicious bake was a happy accident born out of my efforts to use up some random ingredients in my kitchen. Isn't it just the best when that happens?!
Simply cube squash and roast for 30 minutes. Remove baking pan from the oven and add all other ingredients (except cheese). Mix it up and bake again, until rice absorbs liquid. Cover with cheese and place back in the oven one more time until melted.
That's it! A tasty, healthy, gluten free meal your family will LOVE.
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If you love this recipe be sure to check out my Sweet Potato Ground Beef Casserole (it's essentially the same dish, but with sweet potato and it's incredible)!
I've also got a popular Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Casserole recipe that won't disappoint.
One more suggestion: If you found this recipe you were likely looking for a comforting, cozy dinner so I also suggest checking out my Pumpkin Sausage Soup!
Ingredients For Butternut Squash Casserole:
- Butternut squash
- Olive oil
- Salt, pepper & rosemary
- Ground beef
- Yellow onion
- Minced garlic
- Vegetable broth
- Heavy cream
- Brown instant rice
- Cheddar cheese
- Parsley flakes
Making Butternut Squash Casserole With Ground Beef & Rice:
Keep scrolling for the full recipe. We’ll start here with a quick rundown!
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Peel and cube butternut squash and measure 4 cups into a 9x13 baking dish.
- Drizzle with olive oil. Generously sprinkle with salt, pepper and rosemary.
- Roast for 30 minutes.
- While squash is baking, brown your ground beef and drain excess fat.
- Dice onion and add to hamburger. Cook until translucent, then stir in minced garlic and sauté until fragrant (30-60 seconds).
- Remove squash from the oven and add browned hamburger mixture, instant rice, broth and cream. Stir well and return to the oven for about 10 minutes.
- Once rice has absorbed broth, cover casserole with cheese. Return to the oven for about 5 minutes then broil for 1-2 minutes to brown cheese, if desired.
- Allow to cool and enjoy!
HANDY TIPS:
- Butternut squash: Pre-cubed butternut squash is usually available at the grocery store (especially when it's in season)! If you don't feel like dicing up a whole squash, or you're looking to save a little time, consider looking for a package like the one shown below.
- Minced garlic: I always keep a jar of minced garlic in my refrigerator. It's a huge time saver. I love garlic but I don't always want to mince by hand, this is a great alternative!
STEP BY STEP PHOTOS:
Butternut Squash Casserole With Ground Beef & Rice
Ingredients
- 4 cups butternut squash *cubed *see note below
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Salt & pepper
- Rosemary *crushed/dried
- 1 lb ground beef *I use 97/3%
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic *see note below
- 1 can vegetable broth *about 2 cups
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 & ⅓ cups instant brown rice
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
Recipe notes:
Butternut squash: Pre-cubed butternut squash is usually available at the grocery store (especially when it's in season)! If you don't feel like dicing up a whole squash, or you're looking to save a little time, look for a package in the produce section. Minced garlic: I always keep a jar of minced garlic in my refrigerator. It's a huge time saver. I love garlic but I don't always want to mince by hand, this is a great alternative!Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Peel and cube butternut squash. Measure 4 cups into a 9x13 baking dish.
- Drizzle with olive oil. Generously sprinkle with salt, pepper and crushed rosemary.
- Roast for 30 minutes.
- While squash is baking, brown your ground beef and drain excess fat.
- Dice onion and add to beef. Cook until translucent, then stir in minced garlic and sauté until fragrant (30-60 seconds).
- Remove squash from the oven and add browned hamburger mixture, instant rice, broth and cream to the pan. Stir well and return to the oven for about 10 minutes.
- Once rice has absorbed most of the broth broth, remove pan from the oven again and cover casserole with shredded cheese.
- Return to the oven for about 5 minutes, then broil for 1-2 minutes to brown cheese, if desired.
- Allow to cool, plate and enjoy!
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?!
Wahoo! Thank you so much for trying it out – would you leave a rating and review in the comment section below?! Your feedback is so important to me.
More Simple Ground Beef Recipes:
- The Best Porcupine Meatballs
- Easy Low Carb Taco Casserole
- Italian Stuffed Pepper Crockpot Soup
- Sheet Pan Nachos With Ground Beef
- The Best, Easy Tailgate Crockpot Chili
- Beef Taco Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Easy Homemade Shepherd's Pie
- Hamburger Potato Casserole
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Melba says
Stacey this really sounds incredible! I love butternut squash and can’t wait to try the recipe.
stacey_olson says
Yay! Enjoy it friend. It's one of my absolute favorites!
Diane says
Hi there
Can I use sour cream for the heavy cream.
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Hi, Diane. I haven't tried that so I'm not sure. My gut says it wouldn't probably work! You might want to water the sour cream down a little bit to make it closer to a heavy cream consistency. Let me know if you try it!
Gail Montero says
We love rice and butternut squash so this tasty dish is perfect for my family. Love all the flavors!
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Thank you so much, Gail!
Aimee Mars says
This looks like such a heart-warming casserole and one I'd love to take to a friend who has just had a baby.
Garlic Salt & Lime says
That would be so perfect!
Elizabeth says
This casserole is so delicious! Hearty and perfect for winter!
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Cold weather food all the way!
Sue says
LOVE the pairing of ground beef and butternut squash, that's a new one for me and I think it sounds wonderful.
Garlic Salt & Lime says
It's surprisingly tasty!!
Sue Johnson says
This sounds delicious and I hope to make it, but I need it to be “dairy free” for an allergy. Anyone have ideas for a good non-dairy heavy cream substitute for this recipe? I, also, have a “tree nut allergy” to work around. Thank you!
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Hi, Sue! Can you have coconut? I might try a can of coconut cream which you usually be found in the baking or Asian foods isle at the store (canned is going to be creamier than boxed). I haven't tried this but I think it would probably work well!
Sue Johnson says
Thank you! I will try this!
Robyn says
Wow delish I must say. Will become a regular for me .
Did change a few things. Cauliflower rice instead of white/ brown rice. I will say followed everything else and delish!!
* will say using this method of my I suggest decreasing the liquid a bit . If I made this same mistake again I will be okay with that!!😉
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Hi Robyn! Thank you for your kind words and recipe rating. I am so glad to hear you enjoyed the casserole and that it worked well with cauliflower rice. Great advice to reduce liquid a bit if you're not using regular rice, I appreciate it!
Jean says
I am so excited to try this! Sounds divine! Do you have any advice for substituting the rice for regular basmati rice?
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Hi, Jean! I haven't yet made this recipe with basmati rice so I'm not sure. True basmati rice is very thin and doesn't take long to cook, so my gut says it would probably work without changing much. I might cover the pan with foil while everything cooks together to create more steam. I make this casserole often, next time I'll try basmati rice and let you know how it goes (unless you beat me to it)!
Emma says
This is so helpful, thank you! I have everything beside the instant brown rice and I will be using basmati rice.
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Enjoy, Emma!
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Hi, Jean! I tried making this casserole with Basmati rice and it worked great! I did cook it a little differently: I covered the casserole dish with foil and baked for about 15 minutes. I then added cheese on top and covered the casserole back up and baked for another 15 minutes. Then I removed the foil and let the cheese brown up for 5 minutes! Worked like a charm. 🙂
kayla says
how would you adjust this for a freezer meal? making a bunch of meals for postpartum, and not sure how to turn into a freezer meal. thanks!
Nichole says
My husband I and made this for dinner last night, it was very good but next time we are going to make the following changes:
1) Add 6 to 8 cups of squash vs. 4. We both thought it needed more squash.
2) Use chicken vs. ground beef. Ground beef was not bad, but the flavors were more for chicken.
3) Add mushrooms
4) Use real rice not instant and reduce the rice down to 1 cup. The amount of rice it calls for is way too much. I steamed my rice before hand and added it to the pot.
Overall, a great recipe.
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Hi, Nichole! I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe overall. Thank you for your feedback and rating. Let me know how it turns out with chicken and mushrooms, that sounds really good!
Kayla says
how would you make this into a freezer meal? thanks!
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Hi, Kayla. I haven't even made a freezer-meal version of this casserole. You could try making the casserole and fully baking it, then freezing it once cooled for reheating at a later time. I haven't tried this, however. I'm not 100% sure it would work but my gut tells me it would.
Diana says
I'm so excited to try this! I don't have instant rice but I DO have long grain brown rice. How would I change the recipe to use this type of rice? Thanks.
Diana says
I also have orzo and pearled couscous. Would either of these be a better substitute than long grain brown rice? Thanks for any help.
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Hi, Diana! Thanks for the questions. I haven't made this recipe with long grain brown rice, orzo or pearled couscous so I can't be 100% sure. I think all three could work. I would try cook them first, at least partially, before adding to the casserole. Let me know how it goes if you try a substitute!
Christine says
Made this tonight with fresh herbs so I added more, flavours were great. Made with basmati rice but it didn’t cook enough after 30mins, I would precook the rice next time and add less stock.
½ cheddar ½ Swiss cheese were a good mix and add some red pepper flakes next time.
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Hi Christine, thanks for the comment and rating! I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe overall!
Elena says
This was amazing!!! It will be on our menu rotation. I used cooked medium grain brown rice, which is what we normally eat instead of the instant. Adjusted the liquid for the rice being already cooked. This combination is so delicious! So happy that I found your blog and this recipe!
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Hi, Elena! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe and that the adjustment you made worked well. Thanks for the rating, review and kind words! - Stacey
Louise says
Absolutely delicious! I used long grain white rice and cream of mushroom soup(instead of cream). Loved it!
Garlic Salt & Lime says
So happy to hear this. Thanks, Louise!
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Nice! I love your creativity!
Krusatyr says
Idea to make this more exotic and easier to clean up after at the same time:
Cut squash in half longways. Remove and discard seeds. Spoon out inner fruit carefully with a spoon to reserve the outer shell intact. Mix recipe and stuff into shell, then bake and serve in the shell.
No casserole dish to clean!
Garlic Salt & Lime says
That is such a fun idea! Thank you for sharing!
Eileen says
Thank you so much for the great recipe! I had just purchased some butternut squash and had some hamburger that I wasn’t sure what to do with… But it came out great!
I didn’t have enough cheddar cheese, so I added Parmesan in addition. I also did not have instant rice, but used regular rice and cooked it with a hamburger and chicken stock. I did bake it 15minutes covered and15 minutes uncovered (After I put the cheese on)
Everyone loved it!❤️
Garlic Salt & Lime says
I love your improvisations and I'm so happy the recipe was a hit! Thanks, Eileen!
Denise Loury says
Is the instant rice supposed to be cooked or not cooked for this recipe?
Garlic Salt & Lime says
You can add it uncooked!