EASY SPANISH RICE CASSEROLE

Easy Spanish Rice Casserole image

This was a standard when I was growing up. I love it. It's a very tasty and kid-friendly casserole, works as meal or a side. It can be a little bland, so add some hot sauce on top for the grownups.

Provided by Adam S

Categories Meat and Poultry Recipes Pork

Time 1h10m

Yield 8

Number Of Ingredients 9

Ingredients

1 pound bacon
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 (16 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, halved
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
salt to taste
4 cups cooked white rice
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon slices on paper towels. Partially drain fat from the skillet.
Heat remaining bacon fat in the skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and bell pepper in the fat until tender, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, pepper, and salt; continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add cooked rice to sauce mixture. Transfer rice and sauce mixture to a large mixing bowl.
Crumble bacon. Stir 3/4 of the Cheddar cheese and 3/4 of the crumbled bacon into the hot rice mixture until cheese is melted. Transfer to a 9x11-inch glass oven-proof dish. Sprinkle remaining bacon and Cheddar cheese on top.
Bake in the preheated oven until cheese on top is bubbly, about 25 minutes.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 752.6 calories, Carbohydrate 83.5 g, Cholesterol 92.9 mg, Fat 31.5 g, Fiber 3.4 g, Protein 32.3 g, SaturatedFat 17.3 g, Sodium 1239.5 mg, Sugar 5.2 g