Ultimate Cheesy Corn and Rice Casserole

It seems impossible, but Thanksgiving will be here before you know it. I just can’t believe it.
My advice is always the same: make things easy on yourself. Pick a few superstar dishes to focus on and fill in with other delicious, less fussy recipes that are easy to prepare. Also, do as much prep in advance as you can, so that you have less to stress about the day of.

Ultimate Cheesy Corn and Rice Casserole in green serving dish

One delicious recipe that perfectly fits that bill is my Ultimate Cheesy Corn and Rice Casserole. I took my original Cheesy Corn and Rice Casserole and kicked it up a few notches by adding green onions and pimiento peppers, among a few other changes. This added tons of flavor with no extra work at all!

The best part is that it’s really just a pour and stir recipe, which makes the perfect, no-fuss Thanksgiving side. Yeah, you do have to cook the rice in advance, but you can do that early on Thanksgiving morning and have it ready and waiting to be added into the mix.

That’s not the only benefit – you’ve also got the convenience of having all of the peeling, chopping, and husking the corn done for you to get this dish on the table! That means more time to spend with your family – and that’s what this day should really be about! Right?

Ultimate Cheesy Corn and Rice Casserole being served with spoon

Ultimate Cheesy Corn and Rice Casserole

Ingredients
2 (15.25-ounce) cans Libby’s® Whole Kernel Sweet Corn, drained
3 (12-ounce) packet yellow rice mix
2 (9-ounce) container sour cream
3 (12.5-ounce) can cream of celery soup, undiluted
1 (4-ounce) jar diced pimientos, drained
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 (8-ounce) bag shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Salt & pepper*
Instructions
Cook the rice mix according to the package instructions.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly spray a 2-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix the cooked rice, drained Libby’s® Whole Kernel Sweet Corn, sour cream, cream of celery soup, pimientos, green onion, and about half of the cheese together. Add salt and pepper to taste.*
Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Top with the remaining cheese.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the cheese starts to brown and bubble around the edges.

Notes
*I know how frustrating it can be to some folks to see the phrase “Add salt and pepper to taste.” They’d much rather have an actual amount. Here’s the thing with this recipe… The different brands of yellow rice mix are going to have varying levels of salt and spices in them so putting a specific amount of salt in the recipe might be too much if you use one brand or too little, if you use another. Taste the mixture and add 1/4 teaspoon of each salt and pepper and continue adding, stirring, and tasting until you get it to a place that tastes good to you.