Taco Casserole

Tacos get transformed into a hot dish, aka Casserole… Taco Casserole!! Everyone’s favorite hand held meal gets a cozy comfort food make over.

Get ready for a really Out Of This World Delicious ground beef casserole. This 9×13 dinner is a real crowd pleaser.

Go the casserole way for your next Taco Tuesday dinner night, or any weeknight dinner, actually. It’s that GOOD…

Tacos are huge thing at the Beisers’. We love them in all shapes and forms. Our Tacos Gobernador and Birria Tacos are quite Epic. And then there are Shrimp Tacos and Ground Turkey Tacos, that can be whipped up in no time.

We’re always thinking of new ways to try to hold that tortilla in our hands. Then we thought, how about baking them quick in the oven?

How about making something like Taco Lasagna, where layers of tortillas are laden with beautifully seasoned ground meat along with some Mexican fixings and plenty of ooozy, cheesy goodness. That’s when this Taco Casserole was born…

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Making your own taco seasoning is so simple, and can be done in minutes. It’s a secret for delicious taco meat. 

We swear by our simple Taco Seasoning recipe, that we use in so many of our recipes. All you need is a few simple ingredients, which you probably already have in your pantry:

• Chili powder
• Cumin
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Paprika – we use smoked, but regular is fine.
• Red chili flakes
• Oregano
• Salt
• Pepper

Just measure everything according to the amounts in the recipe card, mix it up and you are all set for some great tacos, as always!!

Taco Casserole Ingredients

• Ground Meat – Today we used lean ground beef. Feel free to use another ground meat of your choice.
• Mexican fixings – Onion, bell pepper, garlic, corn, diced fire roasted tomatoes, black beans.
• Seasonings – Taco seasoning, salt, pepper.
• Cheese – We’re using a cheddar jack mix.
• Oil
• Corn tortillas
• Toppings – Red onion, avocado, tomatoes, jalapeños, sour cream, cilantro.

How to Bake Taco Casserole:

1. Prep for Casserole: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Make Ground Beef Mixture: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add in ground beef and brown the meat, breaking it with a spatula. Drain any excess fat. Add in prepared taco seasoning and combine well. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper. Stir in corn, black beans and tomatoes. Mix well. Add in 1/4 cup water and cook for 15 minutes.

3. Assemble Taco Casserole: Layer 10-15 tortilla halves in the bottom of the baking dish (try to cover as much of the bottom surface as possible). Spoon and spread 1/3 of the beef mixture over the tortilla layer. Next, spread 1/3 of the cheese mixture over the beef layer. Repeat this layering with tortillas, beef filling and cheese two more times.

4. Bake the Casserole: Bake this taco casserole, uncovered, in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted all over. While it’s cooking, check out our favorite Ground Beef Recipes and top Casserole Recipes.

Let it stand for 5 minutes. Garnish it with toppings. Serve warm with sour cream and Refined Beans.

Taco Casserole Variations :

1. Make it with another protein. As mentioned earlier, this taco casserole is fantastic with ground turkey, too. Ground chicken or ground pork, or a mix of two ground meats can be used. Alternately, you can use a plant based ground beef substitute for a vegetarian option.

2. Use tortilla chips or Doritos or Fritos instead of tortillas for layering.

3. Add in more veggies like diced zucchini, diced mushrooms or diced carrots to the mix.

4. You can totally forget the layering and mix the meat mixture with rice, or cauliflower rice for low carb option. This is similar to our Mexican Rice Casserole.

5. Make it spicier by adding other Mexican chilis like chipotle chilis in adobo sauce. Or add Chili Verde or hot salsa, like our Salsa Taquera, to the beef mixture.

Make Ahead Taco Casserole Method

Simply assemble the casserole as mentioned above. Let it cool completely. Cover with wrap or foil and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Let it sit out at room temperature at least 35-40 minutes before baking. Follow the same baking instructions.

Storing and Leftovers

This is a great make ahead meal for future meals, as it refrigerates and freezes well. Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container, and are best eaten within 3-4 days. Simply reheat it in a microwave, or in pre heated oven at 350°F, until heated through.

The cooked casserole can be frozen unto 3 months. We recommend removing the toppings when you freeze this casserole. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before heating it up.

Make this fantastic Taco Casserole for your friends and family, and let them get dazzled by the looks and taste of this innovative ground beef casserole.

Tacos can be so much more, and they always bring joy. Make them more cozy, more cheesy and more fun… Go the casserole way… Taco Casserole way!

Taco Casserole, on our Gypsy Plate… enjoy!

Try these other cozy casserole recipes!
Chicken Pot Pie Casserole
Johnny Marzetti
Green Rice Casserole
Sausage Potato Casserole
Corn Casserole
Moussaka

Taco Casserole

Yield: 8-10 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Transform your favorite fun handheld meal into cozy comfort food with this easy Taco Casserole recipe!

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Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs ground beef
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 garlic, chopped
• Taco seasoning (see note)
• 15oz black beans
• 15oz fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1.5 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 18-20 corn tortillas, cut into halves
• 2 cups cheddar jack cheese
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste

Toppings

• Red onion, diced
• Avocado, diced
• Tomatoes, diced
• Jalapeños, diced
• Sour cream
• Cilantro

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic. Sauté 5 minutes.
3. Add in ground beef and brown the meat, it with a spatula. Drain any excess fat. Add in prepared taco seasoning and combine well. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.
4. Stir in corn, black beans and tomatoes. Mix well. Add in 1/4 cup water and cook for 15 minutes.
5. Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
6. To assemble casserole, layer 10-15 tortilla halves on bottom of baking dish (try to cover as much of the bottom surface as possible). Spoon and spread 1/3 of the beef mixture over tortilla layer. Next spread 1/3 of the cheese mixture over beef layer.
7. Repeat this layering with tortillas, beef filling and cheese two more times.
8. Bake this taco casserole, uncovered, in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is melted all over. Remove from oven and let it stand for 5 minutes.
9. Garnish it with toppings. Serve warm with sour cream and lime wedges.

Notes

For Taco Seasoning:
1.5 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1.5 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp onion powder
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Mix everything together in a bowl and use all of this taco seasoning in the meat mixture.

Nutrition Information

Yield 10 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 562Total Fat 29gSaturated Fat 11gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 15gCholesterol 88mgSodium 415mgCarbohydrates 45gFiber 10gSugar 4gProtein 33g

Nutrition information calculated by Nutritionix.

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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.