Pastelón de Arroz [Video+Recipe] Cheesy Beef and Rice Casserole
Learn how to make pastelón de arroz, a cheesy beef and rice casserole that is perfect to reuse leftovers, or as a potluck dish.
Servings 6 servings
Calories 1225kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
For the ground beef filling
- 2 tablespoons olive oil [20 g]
- 1 medium red onion chopped [65 g]
- 3 cloves garlic [20 g]
- 1 pound ground beef [454 g]
- 1 cup tomato sauce [115 g]
- 1 bell pepper diced [76 g]
- 1½ teaspoons salt or more, to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper or to taste
- 1 sprig cilantro chopped, or parsley
For the tomato sauce
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups large tomatoes peeled and seeded
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- ¼ teaspoon dried ground oregano
- 1 teaspoon granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper or to taste
To assemble
- 3 tablespoons butter plus extra for greasing the pan
- 1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups evaporated milk
- 2½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese (amount divided)
- 6 cups cooked white rice (link to the recipe)
- 1½ cups chopped spinach blanched, or frozen (thawed beforehand)
Instructions
1. Make tomato sauce
- Dice the tomatoes.Place the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients in a pot, and simmer over low heat until the tomatoes are soft.💡 You can mash the tomatoes with a tomato masher for smoother sauce.
2. Cooking ground beef
- In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-low heat. Stir in onion and cook and stir until it turns translucent. Add garlic and cook and stir for a minute.Add ground beef and cook and stir, breaking it into small clumps until it browns. Pour in tomato sauce. Add bell pepper, salt, and pepper. Stir and cover. Simmer for 3 minutes.Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste if needed. Mix in cilantro. Remove from the heat and set aside.⚠️ See the video to cook the beef.
3. Making the cheese sauce
- In a skillet heat the butter over low heat. Add the flour and stir vigorously until the two are well mixed and the flour has turned a bit more translucent.Add the milk and stir vigorously until it reaches a uniform consistency. Add ½ of the cheese and keep stirring until it becomes a thick cream.Remove from the heat and set aside.
4. Prepping
- Grease the baking pan, and heat up the oven to 350 °F [175 ºC].
5. Mixing rice
- Mix the rice with the white sauce. Divide into two equal amounts of rice.Mix the other half of the rice with the spinach.
6. Layering
- Place the rice mixed with the white sauce in the mold. Press down. Cover with the ground beef and top with the rice and spinach. Press down.
7. Baking
- Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes.Remove from the oven, uncover, and cover with a layer of the remaining cheese.Place under the broiler until the cheese is golden brown. Remove from the oven.
8. Serving
- Serve with the tomato sauce on the side.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 1225kcal | Carbohydrates: 168g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 1068mg | Potassium: 1338mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 3360IU | Vitamin C: 40.7mg | Calcium: 292mg | Iron: 3.7mg
