Tasty Taco Casserole
Tasty Taco Casserole takes all of your favorite taco flavors and puts them into an easy-to-make one-dish dinner your whole family will love!
Taco Tuesdays are a staple in The Stay At Chef house. We simply cannot get enough of them! Ground beef, pork, chicken, or shrimp, we love them all! But when feeding a crowd, we don’t always love the taco assembly line, or taking the time to individually make each taco. Enter: taco casserole. All of your favorite taco flavors in casserole form. It is so quick and easy to put together, and it is great for feeding a crowd, or even just a large family! Bonus: leftovers taste just as good the next day!
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Meat Options for Taco Casserole:
We love to keep tacos classic with ground beef, but you could really replace it with any ground meat. If you prefer a lighter option, go ahead and use ground chicken or turkey. If you prefer pork, use ground pork. If you are vegetarian, use your favorite meatless crumbles. Whichever meat you choose, you can’t go wrong!
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Green Chiles and Spice Level:
Green chiles are typically sold in tiny cans in the Mexican food aisle of your grocery store. They add wonderful flavor and have a nice warm heat to them, but are not overly spicy. If you are spice sensitive, you could always leave them out.
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Canned vs. Frozen Corn:
We know, some people love cans and others love frozen. If you tend to have frozen corn on hand, go ahead and sub out the can for 2 cups of frozen corn.
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Can I use flour tortillas instead of corn?
People have very strong feelings about corn vs. flour tortillas. You can use either corn or flour tortillas in this recipe, though you will want to make sure you use smaller flour tortillas and not the giant burrito size.
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Money-Saving Tips:
Dry beans are an inexpensive substitute for canned beans. While they do take some planning and prep work, you can always cook a large batch of dry beans and freeze single portions. To substitute the canned for homemade cooked dry beans, measure out 2 cups of beans.
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Make-Ahead Instructions:
You can prepare your casserole entirely up to 24 hours ahead of time. Top it with a layer of plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours before time to bake. If baking straight from fridge, adjust bake time to 45 minutes.
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Freezer Instructions:
Prepare your casserole and top with a double layer of plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator when ready to bake. Adjust bake time to approximately 1 hour 15 minutes.
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Storage and Reheating Instructions:
Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 7 days. Reheat single serving portions in the microwave in 30 second increments until warmed through, approximately 90 seconds to 2 minutes total cook time. To reheat a large portion of your casserole still in your 9×13, place in an oven preheated to 350 degrees and cook until warmed through.
If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other delicious taco recipes:
Tasty Taco Casserole
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 7 ounce can diced green chiles
- 1 medium onion , diced
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 12 corn tortillas , cut in half
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 14.5 ounce can black beans , rinsed and drained
- 2 cups salsa , divided
- 2 cups corn kernals , canned or frozen
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese , divided
Garnish Options
- 1 bunch cilantro chopped
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 limes wedges
- 1 cup lettuce chopped
- 1 avocado slices
- 1 cup tomatos chopped or sliced
- 1 jalapeno minced
- 1 bunch green onions sliced
- 1 cup black olives sliced
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 9×13 pan.
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In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook onion in the butter until the onion softens and starts to brown a bit, about 3-5 minutes. Add in beef, green chiles, cumin, salt, chili and garlic powder and cook beef until it browns, about 6-8 minutes.
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In a separate skillet, brown the corn tortilla halves in a very small amount of oil in a pan over medium heat. Flip after about 1 minute and get both sides of tortilla golden in color.
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Line the bottom of a 9×13 dish with 8 of the tortilla halves. Sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Spoon half of the ground beef mixture on top of the cheese layer.
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Layer on all of the black beans, then spoon 1 cup of salsa on top of the beans. Layer 6-8 more browned tortilla halves on top of the salsa.
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Layer the remaining ground beef across the tortillas, spoon the corn on top of the ground beef and then top that with the remaining cup of salsa. Top the casserole with the remaining 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.
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Bake, uncovered, until bubbly and cheese is browning, about 25-30 minutes. Garnish with additional toppings as desired.