This is one of our favorite casseroles. The cabbage has just the right consistency... not too crunchy, and not too soft. It's easy to make, and you can easily adjust the heat to your liking. We've used a special Cajun spice blend to give this recipe a unique flavor!
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True Southern Comfort Food!
We love this recipe! If you've followed my site you know that we like highly flavorful food with a lot of spices. But sometimes we just want an easy-to-make, comforting dinner. And this definitely fits the bill. The biggest part of the prep time is chopping the cabbage, everything else is pretty quick.
Our "Secret" Ingredient
You can use any Cajun spice mix in this recipe. But we use Datilgator "Cajun 2x The Heat" blend. We've backed some spice blend and hot sauce projects on Kickstarter, and this is one of them.
Datil peppers are native to St. Augustine, Florida. They have a heat level similar to habaneros, but datils are sweet with a fruity, tangy flavor. Datilgator makes about half a dozen spice mixes, plus a pure datil powder. We like the Twisted Lemon and Taco Lime seasonings, and of course the Cajun. They make a "regular" Cajun seasoning, as well as the 2X.
If you're looking for something new to spice up your life, I suggest that you check them out! (Our links to Datilgator are not affiliate links, we just like to send some business to people who make awesome products!)
Ingredients You'll Need
You can adjust the heat level by adding more or less of the hot sauce and Cajun seasoning!
- ground beef
- red bell pepper
- onion
- garlic
- Ro*Tel
- tomato sauce
- rice
- Datilgator Cajun 2x The Heat Seasoning, or other Cajun spice blend
- hot pepper sauce
- cabbage
- Cheddar Jack cheese
Substitutions
Red Pepper: green, orange, or yellow bell pepper
Ro*Tel: one 10-ounce of chopped tomatoes and one 4.5-ounce can of chopped green chilies
Datil Cajun seasoning: any Cajun spice blend
Cheddar Jack Cheese: any shredded cheese that you like
How To Make Hot Cajun Beef and Cabbage Casserole
Here's the usual ingredients group photo: cabbage; ground beef, red bell pepper, onion, and garlic; Ro*Tel; tomato sauce; rice; and cheese. Not shown: Hot sauce and Cajun spices. I had them on the prep table but forgot to move them into the photo. Don't worry, you'll see them later.
Put the ground beef, bell pepper, onion, and garlic into a large skillet. Cook for abut 5 minutes until the beef is browned.
Add the Ro*Tel, rice, hot sauce, and Cajun seasoning. Look, you can see the hot sauce and seasoning on top of the rice!
Mix everything together and let it simmer for a couple of minutes so the flavors can blend.
Pour everything into a 9x13 baking pan.
Cover the meat sauce with the cabbage. It might come right up to the top of the pan, but don't worry. It will cook down, because that's what cabbage does.
Scatter the cheese over the top. (One cup didn't look like enough to me, so I used 2 cups. Because cheese.)
Bake for an hour. Casseroles usually cook faster, but this one needs extra time so the rice can cook. Here it is just out of the oven. You can see how the cabbage has cooked down.
Doesn't this look delicious? Let me tell you that it is! Looking at this photo makes me want to make it again, right now!
Serve with sour cream and extra hot sauce if you like.
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📖 Recipe Card
Hot Cajun-Spiced Beef and Cabbage Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 can Ro*Tel
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- ½ cup long grain rice uncooked
- 1 teaspoon Datilgator Cajun 2x The Heat Seasoning or other Cajun spice blend
- 4 drops hot pepper sauce or to taste
- 1 small head cabbage chopped
- 1 cup Cheddar Jack cheese shredded
Instructions
- Add the beef, red pepper, onion, and garlic to a large skillet and cook over medium heat until meat is browned, about 5 minutes.1 pound ground beef, 1 red bell pepper, 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic
- Stir in the Ro^Tel, tomato sauce, rice, Cajun spice blend, and hot sauce.1 can Ro*Tel, 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce, ½ cup long grain rice, 1 teaspoon Datilgator Cajun 2x The Heat Seasoning, 4 drops hot pepper sauce
- Spread into an ungreased 13x9-inch baking dish. Top with the cabbage and cheese.1 small head cabbage, 1 cup Cheddar Jack cheese
- Cover and bake at 350°F for 60 minutes.
- Serve with sour cream and additional hot sauce.
Nutrition Estimate
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Elaine says
A really tasty and satisfying casserole, with a nice level of heat. I wimped out and bought the Datilgator regular Cajun seasoning, but I think the 2x would have been fine. The rice was perfectly cooked, too. I'll be making this one again!
Kurt says
I'm glad you liked the casserole, it's definitely comfort food. Datilgator spices are awesome! When I break out the grill I'll be trying their Best Burger Seasoning.