Reach for this taco casserole recipe when you need a family-pleasing, filling dinner in less than an hour!
If there’s one thing my family always eats, guaranteed, it’s tacos. So this casserole-taco mash-up was not only an instant hit, but it’s also the kind of meal I cook more than once a week!
What I Love About This Taco Casserole Recipe
I love to shake up Taco Tuesday and serve this fabulous casserole instead of tacos! Move over taco meat recipe and taco soup, there’s a new taco craze in town: taco casserole recipe!
We all love the ease of casseroles — just try to say no to my chicken and rice casserole — and we all love tacos, so it’s about time someone mashed the two together.
Lucky, this recipe does just that, and WOW, it could not be more delicious! Perfectly seasoned ground beef meets all your favorite taco veggies in a dish that’s as simple to whip up as my goat cheese and prosciutto breakfast casserole.
I love it because my family loves it — and, okay, I can’t get enough of this savory, Tex-Mex goodness either!
Let’s make this!
Taco Casserole Recipe Notes
- Salsa: I use basic mild salsa in this recipe, but feel free to grab your personal favorite! You can also use pineapple salsa if I want this casserole to have a bit more of a sweet kick.
- Cheese: Ah, the star ingredient! Isn’t cheese always the star? I love it with the combo of jack and cheddar cheeses in this, but also try some variations of Mexican cheeses like cotija or queso fresco.
How to Store and Make Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? As with any casserole, this recipe makes a dish that will last up to four days in the fridge. Any longer, and you risk bacteria growth.
- Can You Freeze This Taco Casserole Recipe? Definitely! What’s a casserole if it doesn’t freeze? Pop this ground beef taco casserole with tortillas into the freezer for up to six months. When you need it, thaw it in the fridge overnight, then bake according to the recipe.
- Make Ahead Tips: This ground beef taco casserole whips together so fast and bakes so quickly that you can’t get any more make-ahead-friendly! If you need, you can always make it the day before, and just store it in the fridge until you need to bake it.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
Serving Recommendations
Have a whole fiesta with your casserole recipe! Serve it up with Mexican rice — perfectly fluffy! — and some delicious sopes, which make a great sort of tortilla base for your servings.
How To Make Taco Casserole With Tortilla Chips
- Brown the beef.
- Add onions and continue to cook. Drain excess fat.
- Stir in taco seasoning and continue to cook until thickened.
- Combine sour cream and cheese.
- Assemble: spread crushed tortilla chips in the baking dish. Spread beans over.
- Spread the beef mixture over the beans.
- Spread sour cream over the beef mixture.
- Spread the remaining crushed tortilla chips over.
- Bake covered. Add cheese and bake uncovered. Add toppings.
***See the full instructions below.
Recipe Variations
As with any good casserole, variations are the name of the game!
- Use pork. Swap out the type of meat. Try substituting the beef with the meat from my slow-roasted chili-rubbed pork tacos!
- Use turkey meat instead. Lighten up your casserole — instead of making a ground beef taco casserole, swap for turkey meat to make a turkey tacos recipe.
- Make this with pasta. Add cooked pasta instead of the chips for taco casserole with pasta or try my favorite taco pasta! You can even get fancy with Taco Stuffed Shells.
- Use chicken instead. Try Dorito chicken casserole!
More Taco Recipes
Looking for more dishes like this recipe? Check these out!
- Walking Tacos
- Taco Chili
- Taco Pasta Salad
- Taco Spaghetti
- Dorito Taco Salad
- Taco Rice
- Taco Lasagna
- Spaghetti Tacos
- Taco Mac and Cheese
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Taco Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 envelope taco seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups salsa
- 1 (16-ounce) can refried beans
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 2 cups jack cheese -divided, shredded
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 5-6 cups crushed tortilla chips-divided
Optional Toppings:
- lettuce, shredded
- chopped tomato
- red onion, diced
- sliced black olives, rinsed and drained
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 9X13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, brown beef (1 pound) and crumble, until the exterior is brown (interior will not be cooked through), about 7-8 minutes. Add onion (1 medium) and continue to cook until there is no longer any pink in the beef and the onion is soft about 5 minutes. Drain excess fat.
- Stir in the taco seasoning (1 envelope) and salsa (1 1/2 cups). Cover and continue to cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes or until the mixture has thickened
- In a mixing bowl combine sour cream (1 cup), cottage cheese (1 cup), and 1 cup of jack cheese.
- Assemble: Spread about 3 cups of the crushed tortilla chips on the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Spread beans (1 can) over tortillas. Spread beef mixture over beans.
- Spread sour cream mixture over beef mixture. Spread about 2 cups of the remaining crushed tortilla chips over.
- Spray a large piece of aluminum foil with nonstick cooking spray. Cover the baking dish. Place in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes, or until heated through. Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining jack cheese (1 cup) and cheddar (1 cup) over the top. Return to oven and bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Add toppings as desired and serve.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Salsa: I use basic mild salsa in this recipe, but feel free to grab your personal favorite! You can also use pineapple salsa if I want this casserole to have a bit more of a sweet kick.
- Cheese: Ah, the star ingredient! Isn’t cheese always the star? I love it with the combo of jack and cheddar cheeses in this, but also try some variations of Mexican cheeses like cotija or queso fresco.
Nutrition
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This sounds amazing. My Family is not fond of Cottage Cheese, what would you substitute in it’s place?
Hi, Melinda! You can use ricotta cheese.
What can you use in place of cottage cheese? I can’t even stand to look at cottage cheese.
Hi, Jackie! Use ricotta cheese instead.
Excellent taco casserole recipe, the best one I’ve ever made! Will be making this again soon.
Yaaay! So happy you like this casserole 🙂
Thank you for your feedback!
Another Taco Tuesday recipe for my family!!
Yay! Thank you, Lea! 🙂