Need a break? Yet want to put dinner on the table? This is when this One Skillet Mexican Casserole come into play.
10 minutes of active cook time on your part, with simple pantry staple ingredients, and this amazing casserole full of Mexican flavors happens. And did you hear one skillet? Yup music to my ears, for easy clean up later.
Moreover, this Mexican casserole is extremely versatile and customizable. It can take different forms with whatever things you add, depending on whatever your heart fancies that day. Get ready for a new Taco Tuesday with this Taco Casserole, aka One Skillet Mexican Casserole…
Yes, you can call it Taco Casserole or Mexican Rice Casserole or Taco Tuesday Casserole… 🙂
However you address it, it’s cheesy and gooey, jam packed with all the Mexican staples like corn, salsa, black beans and plenty of their earthy spices.
We often make our Taco Skillet for our get togethers, but this time decided to make a complete meal out of our favorite dish. Just throw in some rice and you have a one pot meal ready in no time.
The secret is to use your own homemade taco seasoning. It’s super easy, and most of the ingredients is already in your pantry. Mix in a bowl and it’s ready to throw in a pot. No more of that artificial tasting, loaded with salt, store bought taco seasoning.
Trust me, homemade is way to good taste. Saying that, the rest is easy..
Ingredients for Mexican Casserole
- Ground meat – We used ground beef, but you can use any of your available ground meats. Ground chicken, ground turkey or even ground pork will work great here.
- Garlic – Always fresh.
- Bell peppers – We use all different colors.
- Corn – Today we used frozen corn, but you can use fresh or canned.
- Salsa – Any of your favorite varieties.
- Black beans – Drained and rinsed.
- Uncooked rice
- Taco seasoning – See recipe card for exact amounts for how to make easy homemade taco seasoning.
- Cheese
- Beef broth
- Oil
How to make One Skillet Mexican Casserole
Since you want this to be a one pot meal, use any skillet that you can bake directly in the oven. We love our big cast iron skillet for one pot recipes like this, that start on stove top and end up baking in the oven.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add in ground beef and cook, breaking it with a spatula till brown. Add in garlic and diced bell peppers and cook for 5 minutes. (You can use diced onions along with bell peppers, but for my onion phobic husband, we avoid it when we can).
Stir in taco seasoning and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add in corn, salsa, uncooked rice, black beans, 1 cup of cheddar cheese, and beef broth. Combine well.
Top it with the rest of the cheese and bake it covered for 25-30 minutes, or till rice is cooked. While it’s cooking, check out our collection of favorite Mexican Recipes!
Uncover and cook till cheese is melty all over.
That’s it… cooking can’t get easier than that. Simply dig in with some tortilla chips if handy, or it’s so comforting and fulfilling on its own.
Variations
1. As mentioned earlier, use different ground meats. Ground chicken or turkey would make this a healthier Mexican dinner option.
2. Make it with leftover rotisserie chicken instead of ground beef.
3. Don’t have salsa? No problem, just use a can of diced tomatoes or Rotel.
4. Instead of rice, layer it with tortillas to convert it into Mexican style lasagna.
5. Try other beans like pinto beans or red kidney beans instead of black beans.
6. Make a veggie version. Skip the meat and load it up with other veggies like diced carrots, green beans, zucchini, mushrooms and bell peppers.
There is absolutely so much to do with this simple Mexican casserole concept. Your imagination and whatever is available in your kitchen is the key here.
Can you make it on stovetop?
Absolutely. Once the casserole is assembled, bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer until rice is cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Leftovers and Storage
This casserole freezes and refrigerates well. Make a huge batch and it’s a great idea for meal prep. Simply store it in airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and reheat in the microwave when ready to eat.
You can freeze this in an airtight container for a couple of months for easy future ready made meals.
When craving for Mexican flavors, try this easy one pot meal for your whole family. I am sure they will dig in with happy smiles. How can they not, when there is something that cheesy for dinner…
Cook it for dinner tonight, and get ready for rave reviews!
Mexican Casserole, on our Gypsy Plate… enjoy!
Try these other easy casserole meals!
Chicken Pot Pie Casserole
TikTok Baked Spaghetti
Lancashire Hotpot
Ground Turkey Baked Pasta
Shrimp de Jonghe
Sausage Potato Casserole
Johnny Marzetti
One Skillet Mexican Casserole
This One Skillet Mexican Casserole only takes 10 minutes of hands on time and is loaded with great flavors.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs ground beef
- 4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 3 small bell peppers (red/ green/yellow), diced
- 3 Tbsp taco seasoning (see note 1)
- 1 cups uncooked rice
- 1.5 cups corn
- 15oz salsa
- 1 15oz can black beans, drained
- 4 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1.5 cups beef broth
- 2 Tbsp oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add in ground beef and cook, breaking it with a spatula till brown.
- Add garlic and diced bell peppers and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in taco seasoning and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add in corn, salsa, uncooked rice, black beans, 1 cup of cheddar cheese, and beef broth. Combine well.
- Top it with the rest of the cheese and bake it, covered, for 25-30 minutes, or till rice is cooked.
- Uncover and cook till cheese is melty all over.
Notes
- For homemade taco seasoning, our recipe is:
1 Tbsp chili powder
½ tsp smoked paprika
1.5 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp red chili flakes
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.
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Easy and excellent weeknight dinner. So delicious, and we’d even consider this a “comfort food” dish.
I made this for dinner tonight and I must say it is very good. The only problem I had was I didn’t have a big enough skillet to fix it in so I browned the beef and the threw it together in a pot and mixed it together and put it in a casserole dish and bake it.. I added jalapeños to mine also and served it with Refried Beans and pico de Gallo. Will definitely make it again.
I didn’t have black beans so I used refried beans. Also added one half chopped onion to the dish at the same time as the peppers and garlic. I used my own chile powder blend in the taco seasoning recipe. We like a little heat. It was a delicious, easy to make and quick to the table. A win for sure.