This taco casserole is layers of tortilla chips, refried beans and beef, all topped with plenty of cheese and baked to perfection. Add your favorite taco fixings such as lettuce, tomato and olives for a hearty and family friendly meal!
My family loves a hot cheesy casserole, they’re always requesting beef noodle casserole, chicken and rice casserole and this festive taco casserole. You can never go wrong with tacos!
I love to do taco night for dinner, but sometimes when I’m in a hurry, I just layer all the ingredients in a dish and bake them together, which is how this taco casserole came to be. This recipe has all of the components of tacos in the form of a cheesy casserole. You can even add your favorite taco fixings on top to take this dish to the next level!
How do you make taco casserole?
This recipe starts with ground beef, which is cooked in a skillet with onions, tomatoes and taco seasoning. A layer of crushed tortilla chips goes into the bottom of a casserole dish, and is topped with refried beans. The next step is to add your layer of beef, and plenty of shredded cheese. Bake your casserole until it’s bubbling and the cheese is melted, then add some fresh toppings and serve.
Tips for taco casserole
- I typically use 90% lean ground beef, it has plenty of flavor but is not overly greasy.
- I recommend grating your own cheese instead of using the pre-shredded variety. The bagged grated cheese is often coated with anti caking agents and does not melt as well as freshly shredded cheese.
- This dish can easily be doubled for a crowd and makes for great leftovers.
- To crush your tortilla chips, place them in a resealable bag and use a rolling pin or meat mallet. You want your chips to be coarsely crushed, about 1/4 inch sized pieces.
Taco casserole variations
There are so many different ways to customize this casserole to your tastes.
- Protein: Use cooked diced chicken or ground turkey instead of beef.
- Cheese: Try pepper jack instead of cheddar for a bit of a spicy kick.
- Chips: Instead of regular tortilla chips, try a flavored chip such as nacho cheese chips, or you can use a layer of flour or corn tortillas on the bottom.
- Beans: Use black or pinto beans instead of refried beans.
- Vegetables: You can add extra vegetables to your beef mixture such as bell peppers or corn.
- Toppings: You can top your casserole with sour cream, avocado, more crushed chips, pickled jalapenos, green onions or cilantro.
This casserole is such a fun and easy way to do taco night. I find myself making it on a regular basis because my kids can’t get enough of it! Add some steamed vegetables on the side and you’ll have a dinner that will earn you rave reviews.
More great Mexican food recipes
Taco Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef I use 90% lean
- 1/2 cup onion finely diced
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes do not drain
- 1 1/4 cups tortilla chips crushed
- 16 ounce can refried beans
- 1 1/4 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- Toppings such as shredded lettuce, diced tomato and sliced olives
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9 inch square pan or 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the ground beef and cook for 5-6 minutes, breaking up the meat with a spatula.
- Add the onion and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes or until onion is translucent.
- Stir in the taco seasoning and diced tomatoes. Simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Place a layer of tortilla chips in the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread a layer of refried beans over the top.
- Pour the beef mixture over the beans and top with the cheese.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Add toppings if desired, then serve.
Suzzette says
I had a package of corn tortillas that were cracked and couldn’t be used for taco’s. So I broke them up and I used my crock pot. I did 2 layers. Since the crock pot add its own moisture, I put parchment paper between casserole and lid so it wouldn’t become soggy. It turned out delicious. Next time I won’t cook it as long. But using the crock pot in summer helps bc I can plug it in, in the garage so not to heat up the house. This is a big hit. It’s definitely going into the menu rotation. I think I’ll use nacho chips next time. Thank you for this delicious recipe.
Suzzette says
I’m going to make this tonight. I have plain Tortilla chips, but I think I’ll use nacho chips instead. I’m hoping it turns out well in the crock pot. I don’t like using the oven in summer, but I love anything Taco 😁 and this looks and sounds amazing. Thx
Laro says
Made this tonight! It was so good! We used a mix of beans!
brook says
could you add a layer of rice in here?
Sara says
Yes that would be delicious!
Gail says
Do you drain and mash the black beans ?
Sara says
You would rinse and drain black beans. You can either mash them or leave them whole!
Gail says
I would like to know could you rinse the black beans?
Terri says
This was GREAT! Satisfied four teenaged boys. My only question…am I the only one that found it impossible to spread refried beans on the tortilla chips?? I had to heat the beans up and smoosh them on the chips. Still tasted great.
Sara says
I also heated up the beans to spread them, then used an offset spatula to gently spread them around!
Margie Smuck says
I heated the beans and mixed a little sour cream and salsa, spread really easy.
Terri says
I just made this tonight and topped it with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, diced avocado, sour cream and sliced black olives. It was A huge hit with all my family members. My 19 year old son who is very picky ate 3 heaping helpings and my 16 year old so. Had two and my 13 year old who isn’t a big Mexican food fan even cleaned his plate. It’s a keeper for sure!
Chris Downie says
Great recipe !!! You rock!!!!!!
Ryan Tehada says
Hi, Was wondering but could you make this dish and freeze it for future use? Im looking for casseroles where I can prepare , freeze and then reheat at a later time to save time.
Sara says
You could do that, just be aware the chip layer on the bottom will turn soft after being frozen!
Jacque says
What a great dish for Cinco de Mayo! My friends would love this; glad I saw this recipe!
Jen says
Tried this with ground chicken, added a dollop of guacamole and used low carb tortillas for an excellent Taco Tuesday meal. For my carb conscious guests, it hit the spot!
Sandra | A Dash of Sanity says
This will quickly become a favorite in our house!
Melanie Bauer says
Can’t wait to dive into this! Love all the flavors going on and I’m so excited to make this!
Jade Manning says
This looks like my kinda dinner, I love Mexican!
Catalina says
I love taco everything! I am sure I will love this recipe!
Katerina @ diethood .com says
WOW!! This looks incredible!! I bet it tastes ahhmaazing!! YUM!!
Chrissie Baker says
I’m a HUGE fan of tacos and casseroles, so when they’re combined in one, you better believe I’m in heaven! Thank you!!!
Bee says
This sounds delish. We are going to party in a couple of weeks and i am taking this cass for sure!
Beth Pierce says
I will be adding this to my dinner line up for the week! This looks amazing!