Taco Casserole — 9 ingredients & 30 minutes!

This easy Taco Casserole recipe is made with just 9 ingredients and ready in 30 minutes! Make ahead and freezer friendly!

*This recipe has been updated since originally posted — I added a few more ingredients and that add big flavor and made it in a 9×13″ baking dish to serve more people. The photos have not been updated quite yet, but will be shortly!

Today we’re kicking off a new month in my Six Ingredient Suppers series (<– see all of my six ingredient suppers over there), and this month is all about SKILLET recipes!

We’re talking easy, one pan meals, made with just 6 ingredients or less!

If you can’t tell, I’m a little excited.

There have been some awesome 6 ingredient dinners so far, but this month has some of my favorites! I can’t wait to show you what’s in store.

But back to this incredible Taco Casserole, friends.

When I came up with this idea, I wasn’t sure I would able to pack in as much flavor as I wanted with just a handful of ingredients. I had a few leftover tortillas and decided to test it out one night.

I was totally blown away — so easy, and so much flavor! But more than that? The kids didn’t complain once. Which is a pretty big deal around here!

How to make Taco Casserole:

• Start with your tortillas. Open up the bag. Yep, that’s it. Set aside.
• Brown your ground beef and veg — if you can do this in an oven safe skillet, even better because we can keep it to one pan!
• Add your salsa and seasoning, then pour into a bowl so we can use that skillet again.
• Layer tortillas, then beef, then cheese. Do it a couple more times. Add some more cheese.
• Bake for a little while, just until the cheese is melted. If you don’t have an oven safe skillet and don’t want to dirty a pie plate, you can cover the casserole and turn on low heat on the stove until the cheese is melted. Just be careful because you don’t want to burn the bottom tortilla!

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Variations on this Taco Casserole recipe:

• Make this Taco Casserole vegetarian — use a can of black beans instead of beef, simmer with the other ingredients and then mash slightly so they stay put in your casserole. You can also just saute an assortment of veggies in place of the beef.
• Make this Taco Casserole gluten free by choosing corn or other gluten free tortillas.
• Make this Taco Casserole dairy free by choose dairy free cheese.
• If you want it spicy, choose a spicy salsa or spicy taco seasoning.
• Feel free to keep the beef and add in extra veg if you want to make it a little healthier.

How to make this Taco Pie ahead:

• You can make this Taco Pie ahead and refrigerate until baking — I prefer not to leave it in the refrigerator more than a day before baking, but it will be good up to 3 days.
• You can make this Taco Pie ahead and freeze — for this I recommend layering the mixture in a pie plate as it is easier to store in the freezer. Cover tightly and freeze flat. Then bake, covered, until warmed through. If you want to cut down on baking time and can plan ahead, remove the casserole and place in the refrigerator a day before you want to serve it.

More easy one pan meals you’ll love:

• Chicken Pesto Pasta
• Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs: Sheet Pan Dinner
• 7 Ingredient Chicken and Rice Bake

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Taco Casserole

written by Ashley Fehr

5 from 5 votes

Taco Casserole is cheesy, beefy, flavorful and SO easy to make! It's a great weeknight dinner that the whole family loves. A base layer of soft tortillas are topped with a hearty ground beef mixture, more tortillas and plenty of gooey cheese.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Cuisine American, Mexican

Course Main Course

Servings 8 pieces

Calories 287cal

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 lb lean ground beef
• ▢ 1 red bell pepper (chopped)
• ▢ ½ medium onion (finely chopped)
• ▢ 3 teaspoons taco seasoning
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt (omit if using salted taco seasoning)
• ▢ 2 cups jarred tomato salsa (mild or spicy, depending on your tastes)
• ▢ 1 can black beans (298 ml or 14 oz, rinsed well)
• ▢ 6 large tortillas
• ▢ 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

US Customary – Metric

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Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large skillet, cook ground beef, pepper and onion over medium-high heat until ground beef is browned and vegetables are tender.
• Add pepper and continue cooking, stirring often, until pepper has softened and meat has browned completely.
• Add taco seasoning, oregano and salt and cook 1 minute.
• Add salsa and beans and remove from the heat.
• Place two large tortillas (cutting one in half to cover the bottom as necessary), one on top of the other, in the bottom of a 9×13" baking dish. Top with ⅓ of the meat and ⅓ of the cheese.
• Repeat layers twice for three layers: two tortillas (cut to fit as necessary), ⅓ ground beef, ⅓ cup cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted. Slice and serve.

Notes

*This recipe has been updated to include a few more ingredients for more flavor! It is essentially the same, just in a different shape (a rectangular baking dish instead of a pie plate). 

Ingredients and Substitutions:

• Ground beef: feel free to swap the beef for any ground meat, or add additional veggies and make it a meatless meal.
• Vegetables: I use bell peppers and onions in this recipe, but this is a great recipe for using up whatever is in the fridge. You can finely chop or shred carrots, zucchini, spinach, kale, mushrooms, etc. or add frozen vegetables to bump up the veggie content.
• Salsa: Choose a jarred or cooked tomato salsa for this recipe rather than a fresh one. A fresh salsa will be too liquidy and make the tortillas soggy. You can swap for smooth tomato sauce with added spices if you need to.
• Tortillas: choose flour, whole wheat or corn tortillas according to your preferences. 
• Cheese: cheddar, mozzarella, or Monterey Jack would all work well in here!

 

Nutrition Information

Serving: 220grams | Calories: 287cal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 44mg | Sodium: 1038mg | Potassium: 576mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 875IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 247mg | Iron: 3mg

Keywords taco casserole

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