Cheesy, sweet potato ground beef casserole is super easy to make. This hearty dish is the ultimate, healthy-ish comfort food and something the whole family will love. It's especially perfect for a chilly fall or winter night when you need a hot meal to warm your home (and it's even gluten free)!
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Nothing beats a delicious casserole during the cold season, right?!
If you enjoy this recipe be sure to check out my Butternut Squash Ground Beef Casserole, Low Carb Taco Casserole, Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Casserole, Chicken And Rice Casserole or this tasty Zucchini, Squash & Corn Casserole. You can't go wrong with any of these amazing options.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Easy: this delicious recipe is very basic and beginner friendly. If you're not super experienced in the kitchen, don't be intimidated! This is the perfect meal for anyone.
Simple: only 13 ingredients and 7 simple steps.
Cheesy: in my opinion, you can't go wrong with melted cheesy goodness.
Perfectly seasoned: this recipe is seasoned simply with salt, pepper, garlic and dried/crushed rosemary. I absolutely love rosemary, it adds so much flavor and takes almost any dish to the next level! Especially a cozy, fall favorite.
Versatile: feel free to play around with this recipe and try different seasonings, protein or veggies. If necessary, you can easily appease any picky eaters by making simple swaps.
It's big! This recipe makes a lot and leftovers are great for meal prep. Eat them for lunch or dinner the next day! I love packing a piece of casserole to heat up at the office, especially when I'm tired of sandwiches and craving a hot meal.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Sweet potatoes: orange is my go-to. White would also work! You can even use purple sweet potatoes if you'd like, though they may look a little funny in this recipe.
- Extra virgin olive oil: avocado and grapeseed oil are good substitutes.
- Simple seasonings: salt, pepper, garlic powder and dried/crushed rosemary.
- Lean ground beef: I like to buy super lean ground beef if possible (generally 93/7). If you use a higher fat option, I would recommend draining excess fats before adding onion.
- Yellow onion: a white onion will also work.
- Broth: vegetable or chicken stock.
- Heavy cream: or half and half.
- Instant rice: white or brown.
- Cheese: shredded yellow or white cheddar.
- Parsley: I typically top my casserole with dried flakes, but you can chop up some fresh parsley leaves if desired.
How To Make It
Keep scrolling for the full recipe card and measurements. We’ll start here with a quick overview!
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
Peel and dice sweet potatoes into small cubes, then place chunks in a 9 x 13" casserole dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder and rosemary. Mix well, until all pieces are coated.
Arrange cubes in a single layer and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.
Step 2
While potatoes are roasting, add ground meat to a skillet and brown over medium high heat. Add diced onion to the hamburger and allow it to sauté for 3-5 minutes until translucent.
Step 3
Remove sweet potatoes from the oven and add vegetable broth, heavy cream, instant rice and ground beef mixture to the casserole dish.
Step 4
Mix everything together until well combined and pat ingredients evenly into the baking dish.
Step 5
Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and place it back in the oven for 15 minutes.
Step 6
Remove the foil covering, and sprinkle cheddar cheese evenly atop ingredients. Return to the oven for about 10 minutes.
Step 7
Remove casserole from the oven. Allow it to cool and set for 10-15 minutes. Plate and enjoy!
Expert Tip
Foil: It's really important to cover your casserole dish with aluminum foil after mixing other ingredients with your cubed/roasted sweet potato. This will ensure that all of your instant rice cooks and become soft!
Air Fry: if you want to save a some time, make these Air Fryer Sweet Potato Cubes and place them in the casserole dish with everything else, rather than roasting potato chunks for 30 minutes!
Serve This Casserole With
- Easy Oven Roasted Asparagus
- Creamy Mashed Cauliflower
- Roasted Broccoli And Cauliflower
- Maple Balsamic Brussels Sprouts
- Simple Garden Salad & Homemade Italian Dressing
Variations
Protein: use ground turkey or ground chicken instead of beef.
Veggies: add diced red bell pepper, corn, green peas or cauliflower rice to your onion and meat mixture.
Legumes: stir in some cooked black beans or lentils.
Seasonings: play with different seasonings. Add a little thyme, Italian seasonings, onion powder or paprika!
Storage
Allow leftovers to cool and transfer them to a lidded, airtight container. Refrigerate for 3-4 days. To reheat: microwave in 30 second increments, on high, until warmed through.
More Sweet Potato Recipes
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Sweet Potato Ground Beef Casserole Recipe
Equipment
- 9 x 13" casserole dish
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes *diced *see note below
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons rosemary *dried/crushed
- 1 lb. lean ground beef *93/7 *see note below
- 1 medium yellow onion *diced *white onion also works
- 1 14.5 oz can vegetable broth *about 2 cups *see note below
- ½ cup heavy cream *or half & half
- 1 & ⅓ cup instant rice *white or brown
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 teaspoons parsley
Recipe notes:
Sweet potatoes: once diced, you'll have about 4 cups worth of sweet potato cubes. I generally use orange sweet potatoes, but you can use white (or even purple)! Lean ground beef: if you use a higher fat content beef, drain excess fat before adding onion to the skillet. Broth: chicken broth can be substituted. I love keeping broth base or bullion cubes in the house (especially during soup and casserole season).Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Peel and dice sweet potatoes into 1 inch cubes.2 medium sweet potatoes
- Place potato chunks in a 9 x 13" casserole dish, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder and rosemary. Place baking dish in the oven and roast sweet potato cubes for 30 minutes.1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, 2 teaspoons rosemary
- Meanwhile, place a large skillet on medium-high heat and add ground beef. Break apart with a spoon and stir until completely browned. (*If you use a higher fat content beef, drain excess fat before adding diced onion in step 4).1 lb. lean ground beef
- Add diced onion to the browned hamburger meat and sauté for 3-5 minutes until it becomes soft and translucent.1 medium yellow onion
- Remove casserole dish from the oven after 30 minutes have passed. Add broth, heavy cream, uncooked instant rice and sautéed beef/onion mixture. Stir well and use your spoon to pat mixture evenly into the dish. Cover with foil and return to the oven for 15 minutes.1 14.5 oz can vegetable broth, ½ cup heavy cream, 1 & ⅓ cup instant rice
- After 15 minutes, remove foil and top the casserole with shredded cheese. Return to the oven (uncovered) for about 10 more minutes.2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Allow casserole to rest and cool for 10-15 minutes. Add parsley flakes, plate and enjoy!2 teaspoons parsley
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?!
Wahoo! Thank you so much for trying it out – would you leave a rating?! Simply click on the stars in the recipe card above.
Anna says
Thank you so much for the recipe! I came out delicious!
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Thank you, Anna! I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe! It's one of my favorites for sure. 🙂
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Hi, Amanda! Thank you for the kind words and rating! I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe, it's one of my favorites for sure!
Gwyn says
Hi there, is it possible to freeze this and then reheat?
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Hi, Gwyn! I haven't tried but my gut tells me it would work fine to fully make/bake the casserole and then freeze once cooled to be reheated at a later time. Let me know if you give it a try. - Stacey
Alice says
Easy and very good.
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Thank you, Alice! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Julie Tietje says
I had some leftover sweet potato chunks from Christmas dinner & a pound of cooked ground beef so did a google search for recipes with these ingredients. Hubby really liked this one! Thanks for the recipe!
He said it’s a WINNER!🏆
Garlic Salt & Lime says
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks, Julie!
Marianne says
I don’t use instant rice. How would I tweak the recipe to use regular rice?
Breezy says
Also wondering about this..
Impossible Girl says
Same.
Em says
Overall very good!
We don’t buy or use instant rice. If you don’t have instant rice try substituting with quinoa. I did this and the cook turned out perfect.
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Thanks for the great suggestion, Em! Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Meghan says
Did you cook the quinoa first? Mine is not cooking in the time frame, so the whole thing is a crunchy mess without a lot more time.
Allie says
This is SOOO good! I did make a few changes if anyone is looking for a healthier version. I didn’t have instant rice so I used 1 package of that rice you pop into the microwave for 90 seconds. I did not add the cream and I added a can of green beans. Still came out amazing!
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Love your improvisations - sounds so delicious! Thanks for the rating, comment and review!
Alyssa says
Did you microwave the rice before adding it to the casserole dish?
Candice says
Hi where are the proportions of the ingredients???
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Hi, Candice. If you scroll to the very bottom of the page you'll see a recipe card with all of the measurements!
huck says
We really loved this. I didn't want to use instant rice, either. I substituted 200 grams (about 1.75 cups) of cooked Basmati rice and cut back on the broth by 1 cup. It came out perfect. I think I'll plan on making this when I know I have leftover rice next time.
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Love to hear this! Thank you so much for the comment, rating and substitution suggestion. Thanks, Huck!
Anonymous says
Instant rice doesn’t cook in the mixture unfortunately. What a waste
MJ says
I am always on the hunt for new dinner recipes and this one does not disappoint. I didn’t have enough sweet potatoes so I added carrots. Also sautéed mushrooms and substituted quinoa for the rice. Still came out great! Thank you!
Garlic Salt & Lime says
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe. I love your improvisations, they sound delicious!
Chaeli says
Did you cook the quinoa beforehand?
Leslie says
Ok I did some substitutions here. Jasmine rice for the health benefits & a little extra chicken broth & doubled the baking time with foil & stirred halfway. PLUS I used cottage cheese instead of the heavy cream. I did put it in the blender for a few to get the creamier texture like the cream. Turned out fantastic🤩
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Love your improvisations and substitutions. So happy you enjoyed the recipe!
Amanda says
Can anyone tell me if you cook the rice beforehand?
Thanks!
Garlic Salt & Lime says
Hi, Amanda. You don't need to cook the instant rice before you add it to the casserole!