Pastelón de arroz, a cheesy beef and rice casserole is a great dish to recycle rice leftovers. It's a whole dish in a casserole, easy to make, flavorful, vegetable-rich. It's the perfect dish for potlucks.
Why we ❤️ it
There seem to be as many versions of pastelón de arroz (rice casserole) as there are cooks in the Dominican Republic. This one is my family's.
This isn't even a very common dish in our country, but we love rice, and love reusing leftovers, so people assemble pastelones de arroz with whatever they have at hand. This one is my favorite combination and just the kind of flavors that will please everyone.
Rice casserole fillings
Ground beef is my favorite filling for rice casseroles, but you can either make a different filling or use some leftovers from another meal. A chicken rice casserole is also a great option.
I chose grated mozzarella, but you can use cheddar cheese, or a mixture of both if you wish.
How to serve
The only thing I'd serve with this casserole dish would be a salad. It is already a complete dish.
About this recipe
Unlike most traditional recipes on this blog, this is not a recipe I learned from my mom, this one is just one I have slowly developed by combining my favorite leftovers. Feel free to adapt it to your own liking.
This recipe serves 6 portions.
Recipe
[Recipe] Pastelón de Arroz (Cheesy Beef and Rice Casserole)
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter (salted), plus extra to grease pan
- 1½ tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 cups evaporated milk, or whole milk
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella, (divided)
- 6 cups cooked white rice (arroz blanco per our recipe), the rice is measured cooked.
- 1½ cups minced spinach, blanched, or frozen (thawed beforehand)
- Filling, per suggestions above the recipe
- 2 cups tomato sauce (our recipe), warm, leave unblended (chunky), and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Instructions
- 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 ⅓ of the cheese and keep stirring until it becomes a thick cream.Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Prepping: Grease the baking pan, and heat up the oven to 350 °F [175 ºC].
- Layering: Mix half the rice with half the cheese sauce and the spinach. Mix the other half of the rice with the remaining cheese sauce.Layer the rice mixed with the white sauce on the pan. Press down. Cover with the meat and top with the rice with the spinach. Press down. Layer with the remaining cheese.
- Baking: Bake until the top starts browning. Remove from the oven.
- Serving: Serve with the tomato sauce on the side.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutritional information.
