Cheesy Ground Beef and Cauliflower Rice Casserole | Low Carb & Keto-Friendly Casserole

by: Katerina Petrovskapublished: Apr 6, 2020updated: Aug 2, 2020

Ground Beef and Cauliflower Rice Casserole is packed with fresh spinach, beef, and cheese, then combined with cauliflower rice and baked. A low carb and Keto meal the whole family will love.

An Easy Low Carb Casserole That’s Super Satisfying

Cheesy Ground Beef Casserole is one easy, delicious, and absolutely satisfying dinner idea! Casseroles make everyone’s lives easier and this one is a true lifesaver. It requires minimal prep and then you pop it in the oven and forget about it for the next 25-ish minutes. It’s even low Carb and Keto, too. 👍

Thinking about casseroles really brings me back to my childhood. It’s like casseroles speak family dinner, don’t they? Now that I’m a mom, I get it. They are super easy and a complete meal in one dish!

This one is especially great for meal prepping and as a freezer meal. You’re going to love its hearty flavor and ooey gooey cheesy goodness!

Casserole Ingredients

The ingredients in this casserole are super basic. It’s full of yummy goodness you’re sure to have in your fridge on any given day.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• olive oil
• onion
• garlic
• lean ground beef
• Italian Seasoning
• sweet paprika
• Salt and pepper
• spinach
• cauliflower rice
• sour cream
• Butter
• dried basil
• shredded cheese

How to Make Cauliflower Casserole

1. Preheat: Set your oven to preheat to 375˚F.

2. Saute: Heat the olive oil in a large 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add your onions and cook them for 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 20 seconds.

3. Brown: Add the ground beef and season it with Italian Seasoning, salt, and pepper.
Continue to cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until beef is completely browned.

4. Add: Add in the spinach. You might have to do this in batches, depending on the size of your skillet. Stir frequently for 1 more minute or until the spinach is wilted. Remove the skillet from the heat, drain liquid from the skillet, and set it aside.

5. Combine: In a baking dish, combine cooked cauliflower rice, sour cream, butter, and dried basil. Stir and mix until everything is completely combined and creamy.

Add the prepared beef mixture to the baking dish and stir until everything is completely incorporated.

Then, top it all with shredded cheese.

6. Bake: Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until the juices are bubbly and cheese is melted.

7. Serve: Remove the dish from the oven and let stand for several minutes before cutting and serving.

Tips for the Best Cauliflower Casserole

Follow these simple tips to make your cheesy ground beef and cauliflower rice casserole even better!

• Be sure you let your casserole stand for at least 5 minutes before serving. This will allow the casserole to firm up and will make it even prettier and more yummy on your plate. Trust me, it’ll be worth the wait.
• Resist the urge to cover this casserole with foil before baking. I know, that’s like casserole blasphemy, but since everything is already cooked and warm, it’s really not necessary. Baking it uncovered will allow the cheese to get bubbly and melty, which I really like!
• More veggies? No problem. If you want to add more veggies to this casserole, you could throw in some diced and sauteed carrots, or some frozen peas or corn.
• Meat options. You can opt to use ground turkey, ground pork, or sweet Italian sausage in place of the ground beef, if you prefer.

Can This Recipe Be Made Vegetarian?

• Absolutely! This casserole can definitely be modified to be vegetarian. My favorite way to do that is by using mushrooms in place of the ground beef. Mushrooms have a hearty meat like flavor and I bet you won’t even miss the meat! 
• Another option is to make a lentil based ground meat substitute. This is pretty commonly done as a taco meat substitute and could work easily here as well.

Can I Make Cauliflower Casserole in Advance?

So much yes! This, or any, casserole, makes for a great as a freezer meal.

I love to make it for my new mom friends or where a parent has just undergone a surgery. This is also a great freezer meal idea for meal prep and making weeknight dinners just a little easier for YOU.

This casserole will be fine in their freezer for about 3 months. All you have to do is defrost it and heat it in the oven when you are ready for it.

Want to make it ahead but not freeze it? Sometimes I will prep this casserole in the morning or the night before we are going to eat it. I’ll tightly cover it and let it hang out in my refrigerator until dinner time, then I simply pop it in the oven and it’s ready in 20-25 minutes.

The joy of casseroles! Can I get a heck ya?! 🙌

How to Store Leftovers

• Once the casserole is baked, your leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for about 3-5 days.
• You can also freeze your leftovers. Let the casserole cool completely first. Then, place the leftovers in an airtight, freezer safe container for about 3 months.

How to Reheat Cauliflower Casserole

• Reheating your cheesy ground beef and cauliflower rice casserole is simple! All you have to do is bring it to room temperature, then pop it in your 375˚F oven and bake it until it is heated through. Then, serve it up and watch your family enjoy!
• If you are not reheating an entire casserole, just scoop what you want to eat into a bowl and microwave until heated through. I usually pause halfway through the microwaving time to stir the contents of my bowl.

More Casseroles

• Cheesy Chicken and Cauliflower Rice Casserole
• Tex Mex Cheesy Beef Quiche
• Spaghetti Beef Casserole

ENJOY!

Tools Used in this Recipe

OXO Good Grips Non-Stick 12" Open Frypan

U-Taste 10 Piece Measuring Cups and Spoons Set in 18/8 Stainless Steel

Staub 40511-924 Ceramics Rectangular Baking Dish Set, 2-piece, Rustic Turquoise

Stainless Steel X-Large Serving Spoons (2-Pack), Serving Utensil, Buffet &...

4.91 from 30 votes

Print

Cheesy Ground Beef and Cauliflower Rice Casserole

16 16 16

WW Freestyle: 16

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time45 mins

Ground Beef and Cauliflower Rice Casserole packed with fresh spinach, beef, and cheese then combined with cauliflower rice and baked.

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American, American/Southwest, Italian

Servings: 4

Calories: 553

Author: Katerina | Diethood

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 small yellow onion, diced
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 1 pound lean ground beef
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• ▢ ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
• ▢ Salt and pepper, to taste
• ▢ 6 ounces fresh baby spinach
• ▢ 1 package (10 ounces) frozen cauliflower rice, cooked according to the directions on the package
• ▢ 1 cup sour cream
• ▢ 1 tablespoon butter
• ▢ ½ teaspoon dried basil
• ▢ 2 to 3 tablespoons milk, if needed*
• ▢ 8 ounces shredded Italian blend cheese, or any other shredded cheese that you have/prefer

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 375˚F.
• Heat olive oil in a large 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add onions and cook for 2 minutes.
• Stir in garlic and cook for 20 seconds.
• Add ground beef; season with Italian Seasoning, paprika, salt, and pepper.
• Continue to cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, and cook until beef is completely browned.
• Add in spinach - you might have to do this in batches, depending on the size of your skillet - cook, stirring frequently, for 1 more minute or until spinach is wilted.
• Remove from heat, drain liquid from the skillet, and set aside.
• In a 9x13-inch baking dish combine cooked cauliflower rice, sour cream, butter, and dried basil; stir and mix until completely combined and creamy. If sour cream and butter aren’t melting completely, stir in some milk. (The cauliflower rice should be warm enough to melt the butter.)
• Add prepared beef mixture to the baking dish; stir until everything is completely incorporated.
• Top with shredded cheese.
• Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until bubbly and cheese is melted.
• Remove from oven and let stand several minutes before cutting and serving.

Notes

NET CARBS: 10 g

Nutrition Facts

Cheesy Ground Beef and Cauliflower Rice Casserole

Amount Per Serving

Calories 553 Calories from Fat 342

% Daily Value*

Fat 38g58%

Saturated Fat 14g70%

Cholesterol 120mg40%

Sodium 314mg13%

Potassium 982mg28%

Carbohydrates 13g4%

Fiber 3g12%

Sugar 5g6%

Protein 43g86%

Vitamin A 4556IU91%

Vitamin C 49mg59%

Calcium 274mg27%

Iron 5mg28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keywords: baked cauliflower casserole, casserole, ground beef recipe, keto dinner idea, low carb dinner