Oven Seafood Rice Dressing

7 servings Prep: 15 m Cook: 1 h Total: 1 h 15 m Beginner
5.0/5 (1)
Oven Seafood Rice Dressing
We Cajuns look & find anyway to cook a great meal. With this dressing you may add shrimp or crawfish - this oven-baked rice dressing combines ground beef, seafood, and rice in a savory casserole with the trinity.

Ingredients

7 servings
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 can cream of celery soup
  • 1 - 10 oz can French onion soup
  • 1 beef bouillon cube
  • 1 cup raw rice
  • 1 pound crawfish or shrimp
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1 bell pepper chopped
  • salt, red pepper and black pepper to taste

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a medium skillet, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks, about 8-10 minutes. Drain excess fat.
  3. In a large deep dish 9x13 casserole, mix together the browned ground meat and all remaining ingredients - cream of mushroom soup, cream of celery soup, French onion soup, bouillon cube, raw rice, crawfish or shrimp, chopped onion, chopped bell pepper, and seasonings to taste.
  4. Cover casserole dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 60 minutes at 350 degrees. The dressing is done when rice is fully cooked and tender.
  5. If rice is not quite done at the one hour interval, stir, re-cover with foil, and bake five to ten minutes more.

Common Problems and Solutions

Q: Why is my rice still crunchy after an hour?

A: Make sure you're using a deep casserole dish and that it's tightly covered with foil to trap steam. The rice needs moisture and steam to cook properly. If your oven runs hot, reduce temperature slightly and extend cooking time.

Q: Can I use cooked rice instead of raw?

A: This recipe is designed for raw rice which absorbs the flavors of the soups and meats as it cooks. If using cooked rice, you'll need to reduce liquids significantly and baking time to about 30 minutes just to heat through.

Tips and Techniques

Don’t skip browning the ground beef - draining the fat prevents a greasy dressing. The combination of three different soups creates a rich, complex flavor that keeps this dressing moist.

Ingredient Substitutions

  • crawfish or shrimp: chicken, sausage, or leave it out for a beef-only version
  • cream of mushroom and cream of celery soups: any combination of cream soups you prefer
  • ground beef: ground turkey or ground pork

Equipment Needed

  • 9x13 deep casserole dish
  • medium skillet
  • aluminum foil