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Home » Main Dishes » Cheesy Spinach and Beef Casserole (Spinach Fandango)

Cheesy Spinach and Beef Casserole (Spinach Fandango)

August 26, 2019 by Joanie Simon 27 Comments

Spinach Fandango recipe is a tasty casserole with beef, cheese, and spinach in a large casserole dish for a hungry crowd.

Straight from the family recipe box! A cozy, hearty spinach and beef casserole with fresh mushrooms and melty jack cheese. You call it what you want, we call it Spinach Fandango.

A large dish filled with a spinach, cheese and beef casserole with a piece taken out and put on a grey plate with a fork

A Retro Recipe

I don’t know the exact lineage of this retro cheese-topped casserole. The recipe card is in my Nana’s handwriting and it was the dish I frequently requested for my birthday dinners as a kid. Did you grow up with this one? A quick Google search tells me a lot of people from the midwest did.

A casserole dish of spinach fandango with a slice removed and then a plate to the side with the slice on it.

Making Substitutions

I have slightly modified Nana’s original recipe, but the flavors and texture are the same. Instead of the canned cream of celery soup in the original, I substitute a tablespoon of butter and 3/4 cup of milk to replicate the moisture and texture. Instead of canned mushrooms I use fresh sliced button mushrooms. Otherwise, the rest reads exactly the same.

Strain the Spinach

One of the important steps not to skip in this recipe is to strain the liquid from the defrosted frozen spinach before adding it to the meat mixture. I take the frozen spinach and put it into a microwave safe bowl and cook it until it’s defrosted. Then, I press the spinach up to the side of the bowl to extract the liquid and then pour it off. Straining the water ensures you won’t have a watery casserole in the end.

Here’s what the mixture should look like once you’ve added all of the components together before the cheese topping:

Overhead image of a cast iron dish filled with a spinach, beef and mushroom mixture.

and then add the cheese! Oh, and a note about cheese. Be sure to shred it yourself. Don’t buy pre-shredded. Pre-shredded is treated with potato starch to prevent clumping, but it affects the meltability factor. Take the time and shred your own.

A casserole dish filled with Spinach Fandango topped with shredded white jack cheese.

Make It Keto

This dish can easily be made Keto friendly by substituting the rice with riced cauliflower. I did a side by side comparison of the version with regular rice vs with cauliflower and Mr. Simon actually preferred the cauliflower!

I used one 10oz package of frozen riced cauliflower and cooked it according to the package directions. Then, I pressed it up against the side of the bowl to remove the excess water and strained off that liquid. Again, just like with the spinach, I didn’t want a watery consistency to the final casserole. Too, instead of 3/4 cup of milk, I only used 1/4 cup of milk. Otherwise, the recipe is the exact same.

Hot Outta the Oven

Nothing makes me happier than pulling a hot casserole, bubbly with crispy melty cheese on top! I mean, how can you resist?!

Spinach Fandango is a hearty casserole of cheese, spinach, beef and rice in a large casserole dish.
A closeup of the cheese topping on a cheesy spinach and beef casserole topped with colby jack cheese.

I do recommend giving it a couple minutes to cool down after it comes out of the oven. Letting it cool about five minutes allows the filling to bind together so that when you slice it up, it comes out in nice squares.

Not that you have to have nice squares, but ya know, the food styling lover in me goes for that.

A slice of spinach fandango casserole on a grey speckled plate next to a casserole dish
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A large dish filled with a spinach, cheese and beef casserole with a piece taken out and put on a grey plate with a fork

Cheesy Spinach and Beef Casserole (Spinach Fandango)

★★★★★ 4.2 from 5 reviews
  • Author: Joanie Simon
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 40
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x
  • Category: main dish
  • Method: oven
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

A cozy, hearty spinach and beef casserole with fresh mushrooms and melty jack cheese. You call it what you want, we call it Spinach Fandango.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 lb ground beef (80/20 or leaner)
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 8 oz fresh button mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 – 12oz packages of frozen spinach
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup long grain white rice, measurement based on dry (or rice of your choice) prepared according to package directions.
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 Tbs butter
  • 3/4 cup milk or cream
  • 8 oz shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • In a large skillet or dutch oven, combine the 1lb ground beef, 1 diced onion, 8oz fresh sliced mushrooms, 1 clove of minced garlic, and 1 tsp oregano and cook over medium heat until meat is browned and the vegetables are softened and fragrant.
  • While the beef mixture is browning, microwave the frozen spinach to defrost it.  I microwaved it in a microwave safe bowl for 4 minutes.  Then, remove from the microwave and over the sink, press the spinach up against the sides of the bowl to extract excess liquid and drain off the liquid.  You can also use cheesecloth or a sieve if you prefer.
  • Once the spinach is fully strained, add it to the browned beef mixture and toss to combine.
  • Next, combine the rice, 1 tsp oregano, 1 cup sour cream, 1 Tbs butter and 3/4 cup of milk in a small bowl and stir until combined and creamy.  If the rice isn’t warm and the butter doesn’t melt, you can microwave it for 45 seconds.
  • Add the creamy rice mix to the beef and spinach mixture and then pour it all into a medium to large sized rectangular casserole dish and spread evenly to all sides.
  • Sprinkle 8 oz shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese evenly over the top of the casserole.
  • Bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese on top is melty and slightly browned.
  • Allow to rest for 5 minutes after removing from the oven before slicing.

 


Notes

Make it Keto: substitute one 10oz package of frozen riced cauliflower for the rice and cook it according to the package directions. Then, press it up against the side of the bowl to remove the excess water and strain off that liquid. Too, instead of 3/4 cup of milk, I only used 1/4 cup of milk. Otherwise, the recipe is the exact same.

Keywords: spinach, beef, spinach fandango, casserole, rice, gluten free, keto, mushrooms

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Filed Under: Casseroles, Dietary, Gluten-Free, Main Dishes

Joanie Simon is a food photographer and stylist and family recipe keeper. In addition to The Dinner Bell, Joanie shares photography education at TheBiteShot.com.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. vurtil opmer

    December 23, 2019 at 5:01 pm

    I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your site to come back later. All the best

    Reply
  2. Leigh-Anne

    January 10, 2020 at 12:10 am

    This looks delicious! I’ve followed your YouTube channel but have never checked out your recipes before. Looking forward to trying this!

    Reply
    • Joanie Simon

      January 11, 2020 at 7:35 pm

      Thanks for stopping by! New YouTube videos coming soon <3

      Reply
  3. Kaitlyn

    May 15, 2020 at 3:23 am

    Hello!! I’m wondering if you’ve ever frozen this casserole before. If so, any tips? We’re trying this recipe tomorrow and hoping to make one & freeze one.

    Thank you!!

    Reply
    • Joanie Simon

      May 15, 2020 at 1:36 pm

      Yep! If you plan to freeze a whole tray, take it to the step where you sprinkle the cheese on top, but don’t follow through with baking, freeze it with the cheese un-melted. Melted cheese doesn’t generally hold up well in the freezer and usually won’t re-heat well.

      Reply
  4. Ashleigh

    May 31, 2020 at 4:56 pm

    If I use fresh spinach should I cook it first and then add to beef or could I add it after washing?

    Reply
    • Joanie Simon

      May 31, 2020 at 6:11 pm

      Good question! I’ve never prepared it with fresh so I can’t say for certain, but if I was going to attempt it, I’d cook the spinach down first and then add it to the beef. If you do go with fresh, let me know how it turns out!

      Reply
      • Ashleigh

        May 31, 2020 at 10:08 pm

        Thank you! I actually made it tonight and cooked the spinach down first. If using fresh you will need 10+ ounces but it was fantastic! Thank you so much!!

        Reply
        • Joanie Simon

          June 1, 2020 at 3:25 pm

          That’s awesome to know! Glad it was a hit <3

          Reply
      • Ashley

        October 21, 2021 at 11:25 pm

        I used fresh spinach and I just waited until the beef was browned and threw it in for a couple minutes, just long enough to make it wilted. Turned out great 😁

        Reply
        • JGHPGH

          February 16, 2022 at 11:22 pm

          I did the same. I cooked the beef mixture and after it was browned, threw in a 9 oz bag of spinach and cooked till wilted. Next time I think I’d chop it up a bit.

          Reply
  5. Paula

    February 16, 2021 at 10:06 pm

    Tried your recipe today for dinner it turned out awesome thank you so much.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Joanie Simon

      February 17, 2021 at 4:18 pm

      So glad to hear! It’s definitely a personal favorite <3

      Reply
      • Marianne

        March 3, 2022 at 11:55 pm

        Made this today. Followed the recipe exactly but it was very bland. Seems like something is missing.

        ★★★★

        Reply
  6. Rhonda Addington

    June 2, 2021 at 11:35 am

    Made this for one of my Ladies meetings and everyone loved it. Was wondering if you have ever substituted

    Reply
  7. Rhonda Addington

    June 2, 2021 at 11:37 am

    Was wondering if you ever substituted chicken firvthe ground beef? What other changes would need to be made. Don’t want to use pasta.

    Reply
    • Joanie Simon

      June 3, 2021 at 2:56 pm

      Hi Rhonda, I’ve never done any substitutions on this recipe other than the swapping of cauliflower for rice. But, I bet ground chicken could be good too. I don’t think any changes would need to be made because of it since it’s not altering the moisture in the dish. If you try it out let me know!

      Reply
  8. Tammy

    March 6, 2022 at 5:51 pm

    This was pretty close to what I was looking for – I had spinach & mushrooms that needed using. I added a couple teaspoons of cornstarch (it seemed wet – I didn’t put too much effort into squeezing my spinach) and added a bit of parmesan cheese & a chopped tomato before adding the cheese.

    ★★★★

    Reply
  9. Julie v.J.

    December 12, 2022 at 2:32 am

    This was so delicious! I was looking for something that I could call semi-healthy involving ground beef and spinach and this checked the box! I’m always guilty of overdoing it with the cheese, but that’s a me problem 🙂 Consistency was perfect and flavor was great! I’m normally a one-and-done with casserole servings, but with this bad-boy I went back for round 2 and so did the hubby. Also, I immediately sent this to my farm-to-table farmer best friend as she has a fridge full of ground deer meat at home and needs creative solutions to work through that. This will definetly be going on my short list for go-to meals for family and potluck events. Thanks for sharing your grandma’s Fandango. She continues to permeate 2022 with her delicious meals! I’m grateful for that as tonight, she saved my dinner dilemma!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  10. Helen

    December 18, 2022 at 12:36 pm

    I used cream of mushroom soup and fresh spinach!

    ★★★

    Reply
  11. Stacie Akridge

    March 1, 2022 at 12:14 pm

    I have been making this recipe for decades. Original recipe for me came from the Pink Parsley cookbook. The Junior League of Rockford, IL put out this cookbook in the 70’s I believe.
    I add two eggs, scrambled into the mixing bowl ingredients. Sets up the casserole very well for cutting. Almost like a souffle.

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Joanie! This website is where I catalogue my "greatest hits" recipes and ideas for entertaining. I am my happiest when my table is full. Read More…

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