This Mexican lasagna is layers of flour tortillas, cheese, beans and ground beef, all baked together until golden brown. The ultimate Mexican casserole that’s sure to get rave reviews from the whole family!
I make Mexican food at least once a week, my kids always request Chipotle carnitas, carne guisada, black bean soup, chicken tinga, green chile chicken enchiladas, carnitas tacos and this easy and satisfying Mexican lasagna.
This Mexican lasagna is a fun and unique twist on the classic Italian style lasagna, with tortillas instead of noodles and a hearty Mexican beef mixture instead of red sauce. This dish is simple to make, and is sure to please any crowd.
Table of Contents
Mexican Lasagna Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need olive oil, ground beef, onion, garlic, taco seasoning, green chilies, diced tomatoes, corn, refried beans, enchilada sauce, flour tortillas, cheddar cheese and cilantro.
How Do You Make Mexican Lasagna?
To make Mexican lasagna, first make the filling by cooking up crumbles of ground beef in a large skillet. While the beef is cooking, add chopped onion and garlic to the pan. Add the taco seasoning, green chilies, diced tomatoes and corn. The last ingredient to stir into the filling is a can of refried beans. With the meat filling done you are ready to assemble the lasagna.
Spread a little enchilada sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish. Place a layer of tortillas over the sauce and add the meat filling and then the shredded cheese. Repeat the layers until the baking dish is full. For the top layers you want tortillas, enchilada sauce and then cheese. Bake the dish until golden brown and bubbly. Once the lasagna is done, take it out of the oven, let it cool for a few minutes and serve it sprinkled with cilantro.
Tips For The Best Mexican Lasagna
- To make this casserole in advance, assemble all the layers, then cover the dish with foil and refrigerate it for up to one day. When it’s time to eat, follow the baking instructions in the recipe, but add 15 minutes more to the bake time to compensate for starting with a cold dish.
- Let the baked lasagna rest for at least 5-7 minutes before you try to slice it. This will help the layers hold together.
- Leftovers will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- I recommend using freshly shredded cheese for this recipe. The pre-shredded cheese you by at the store is often coated in anti-caking agents and doesn’t melt as nicely.
- Serve your lasagna with side dishes such as Mexican rice, charro beans, or even some vegetarian fajitas.
Quick Tip
You can serve your lasagna as-is, or add some toppings such as pico de gallo, cilantro, lettuce, sour cream, salsa, avocado or sliced black olives.
Mexican Casserole Flavor Variations
Sometimes I make this recipe with different ingredients, depending on what I have on hand. You can easily customize this dish to your family’s tastes!
- Protein: Use cooked shredded chicken or ground turkey instead of the beef.
- Fillings: Try black or pinto beans instead of refried beans, or add other vegetables such as diced red bell pepper.
- Cheese: Swap out the cheddar for different variety such as Monterey jack cheese, Colby or pepper jack.
- Tortillas: I use flour tortillas in this lasagna because my family prefers them. That being said, you can substitute corn tortillas, actual lasagna noodles or even do a layer of crushed tortilla chips.
Recipe FAQs
To reheat a pan of lasagna from the refrigerator, cover it with foil, then bake at 350 degrees F for about 30-40 minutes. To reheat a single slice of lasagna in the microwave, heat it on high for about 2 minutes. Check the center of the lasagna to see if it needs more heat. If it needs more heat, cook it a little longer in the microwave in 20 second increments.
I start my lasagna covered in the oven, then uncover it towards the end of the baking process so that the cheese can fully melt and get browned. If you keep it uncovered the whole time, it could dry out.
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This Mexican lasagna is a fun twist on a classic recipe. You’ll be amazed at how well all the Mexican flavors work in a lasagna. Give this recipe a try for a savory, cheesy meal that your whole family will love!
More Mexican Recipes You’ll Enjoy
Pico de Gallo Recipe
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Mexican Stuffed Shells
40 mins
Mexican Casserole
1 hr 5 mins
Stuffed Poblano Peppers
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Steak Fajitas Recipe
30 mins
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Mexican Lasagna
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef I use 90% lean
- 1/2 cup onion finely diced
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 4 ounce can diced green chilies drained
- 14 ounce can diced tomatoes drained
- 1/2 cup corn kernels fresh, thawed from frozen, or canned
- 16 ounce can refried beans
- 10 ounce can red enchilada sauce divided use
- 12 flour tortillas 8 inch size
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided use
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- cooking spray
- toppings such as pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9"x13" baking dish with cooking spray.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the beef and cook, breaking up the meat with a spatula, for 4-5 minutes.
- Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Stir in the taco seasoning until the meat and onions are thoroughly coated.
- Add the green chilies, diced tomatoes and corn to the pan, then stir to mix everything together.
- Add the can of refried beans. Stir until the mixture is thoroughly combined.
- Spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce over the bottom of the baking dish.
- Cut the tortillas in half, and layer 6 tortilla halved to fit in the dish. Spread 1/3 of the enchilada sauce over the tortillas, then sprinkle with 1/2 cup of cheese. Spread 1/3 of the bean and meat mixture over the cheese.
- Repeat the layers, ending with layers of tortillas, enchilada sauce, and the remaining cheese.
- Cover and bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned.
- Sprinkle with cilantro. Add any desired toppings, then cut into squares and serve.
Notes
- To make this casserole in advance, assemble all the layers, then cover the dish with foil and refrigerate it for up to one day. When it’s time to eat, follow the baking instructions in the recipe, but add 15 minutes more to the bake time to compensate for starting with a cold dish.
- Let the baked lasagna rest for at least 5-7 minutes before you try to slice it. This will help the layers hold together.
Such a lovely cheesy dish! I used ground turkey and is was yummy!
I “vegan-ized” this recipe, but it was very good. I used tofu in place of the ground beef and added black beans with homemade refried beans. Also added chopped spinach and diced green and yellow peppers for color. For the cheese I used a cashew nacho cheese sauce, it worked well! I also made my own enchilada sauce, if you’ve never done it I highly recommend it is so quick, easy and cheap.
That sounds so good! I’m going to try this.
So amazing!!!
My family loved this! I added chopped green bell peppers with the onions just for a little more color. I will definitely be making this again though, it was delicious!
Delicious! The whole family ate it and loved it. I didn’t have any refried beans on hand or time to make them so I just used black beans.
How many adults does your recipe feed?
This serves 8 people!
Does this freeze well? I am making meals ahead for a friend, and this sounds delicious!
Yes this freezes well!
The whole family really enjoyed this Mexican lasagna! We used venison instead of ground beef and couldn’t tell a difference. Never had anything like this and would definitely make it again.
Not a fan of flour tortillas can you use corn tortillas? Would I need to modify any of the ingredients?
Corn tortillas should work fine with no modifications!
What about black beans instead? Will it work?
Yes that’s fine!
We love this Mexican lasagna. It’s easy and not fussy, doable even for midweek meals. And impressive enough to bring to a potluck. 🙂
This is such an easy and delicious weekday meal. The family always goes nuts over it!
This is exactly what I’m in the mood for tonight! I love the tortillas in place of lasagna noodles too, very creative!
This was AH-Mazing! I wanted something different than turkey for after the holiday, and this fit the bill. So much flavor, it was gobbled up by everyone!
Wow! this sounds marvelous. My family is going to love this!
Love how easy and perfect for the whole family this is!
OMG yum my two favorite foods combined!! I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Yum! This is great for family dinners and potlucks
Great way to change up regular lasagna!
Lovely easy idea for a quick weekly dinner with the family. Making this right after the holidays. Pinning for later reference.