Beef Spinach and Potato Casserole is a fantastic family friendly one dish meal. It can be assembled in advance having it ready to bake when you're ready to eat.
Spicy Beef Spinach and Potato Casserole
This spicy beef, spinach and potato casserole evolved while I was making it one day. It was a "clean out the fridge" kinda day. For those of you who are like me and you shop at your local Warehouse Club, you know that sometimes you end up coming home with a large amount of a particular item, and wonder what in the world you're going to do with all of it. In this case, it was spinach.
Easy Ground Beef Potato Casserole
Spinach is a favorite vegetable at our house and we never really get tired of it, but the expiration date was looming and in the mood or not I needed to use it. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. This casserole ended up being a great way to use spinach a little outside of the box, and a tasty one dish meal. It got a two thumbs up from my family. So, I'm passing it along to you, too. You may also enjoy this recipe for Saucy Baked Penne Pasta and Slow Cooked Cowboy Casserole.
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Helpful Kitchen Items:
Beef Spinach and Potato Casserole
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 571kcal
Ingredients
- 1 20 0z package refrigerated shredded hash browns
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 small red bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1 small jalapeno pepper diced
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 ½ lb lean ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3-4 teaspoon taco or fiesta seasoning
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup light cream cheese
- 1 ½ cups white queso blanco
- 2 cups fresh organic baby spinach
- 2 cups shredded pepper-jack cheese divided
- ½ cup crushed nacho tortilla chips
Instructions
- For cilantro-lime crema: In a small mixing bowl, stir until blended. Chill well before serving as a condiment alongside the casserole.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Spray a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray and press the hash browns evenly over the bottom of the dish.
- Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of melted butter over the potatoes, season with salt and black pepper, and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- While the potatoes are baking add the diced peppers and onions to a skillet and saute in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat until they soften. Season with salt and black pepper to your taste. Add the ground beef and cook until no pink remains. Drain any excess fat from the pan.
- To the cooked ground beef add the minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, Tex-Mex seasoning, cilantro, milk, cream cheese and queso blanco. Stir well and cook on low heat until the cream cheese melts.
- Lastly, add in the fresh spinach and stir just until it begins to wilt. Toss in one cup of pepper jack then remove the pan from the stove.
- Pour the filling evenly over the potatoes. Top with the remaining shredded cheese. Sprinkle the crushed tortilla chips over the top.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the casserole is bubbly and golden.
Notes
For the optional cilantro-lime crema:
- ⅔ cup crema
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoon finely diced red onion
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 571kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 128mg | Sodium: 1464mg | Potassium: 627mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1748IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 456mg | Iron: 3mg
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My name is Melissa and I'm the Creator of Melissa's Southern Style Kitchen. Cooking, baking, developing recipes and kitchen tips is my passion. I love sharing my dishes and connecting with people through the food that I create.
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Melissa
Hi Valerie! The spice mainly comes from the jalapeno and the pepper jack cheese, although there is a little in the seasoning. If you're concerned, substitute a can of chopped green chili's for the jalapeno and use monterey jack instead of the pepper jack...that should cool it down. Hope this helps!
valeriedml
This sounds wonderful!!! I must ask how spicy is "spicy"? Maise is very sensitive to hot stuff, so I try to be careful of that.