Mexican Casserole
This Mexican casserole recipe is a workhorse of a meal. It’s easy and family friendly, you can customize it, make it ahead or freeze it. It does it all!
When school starts back in the fall and the speed of life picks back up, I turn to my tried and true recipes that are easy, tasty and flexible. This Mexican casserole more than fits the bill! The ingredients are simple and easy to swap out. It doesn’t take very long to whip up. You can easily double or triple the recipe to feed a crowd or to freeze for later use. You can assemble it ahead of time, then bake it when you’re ready to eat. And it can easily be warmed up if your family is eating in shifts on a busy night.
You just need a few ingredients that are cheap and family friendly. Most of them you probably already have in your pantry. You can also mix them up to suit your family’s tastes or what you have on hand.
Start with gound meat of some sort. I usually use lean ground beef, but you can sub ground chicken or turkey. Brown that up, then add beans, tomatoes, corn, salsa, and taco seasoning. If your crowd likes chiles this would be the perfect time to add those in too. Much to my dismay, my family refuses to eat anything remotely spicy, so I’m skipping the chiles.
Let this mixture mingle together on the stovetop for a few minutes. This is going to be the filling for your casserole. Once everything is heated through and the flavor is to your liking, you can get ready to assemble your casserole.
You need some tortillas. I prefer corn tortillas in this recipe but I’m sure flour tortillas would also work. And you need some sort of shredded cheese. The Mexican style cheese is super tasty, but plain cheddar works great too. And lastly, you need a large casserole dish.
Now you’re going to build the casserole like a lasagna. First, a thin layer of your filling, then a layer of tortillas. Make sure you cover the entire area of the dish with the tortillas. You can cut them to fit if you need to.
Next is another layer of filling, then a layer of cheese. One more layer of tortillas, then the rest of your filling, and finally a good layer of cheese for melty, cheesy goodness!
Now it’s ready for the oven. Or it can hang out in the fridge for a while until dinner time. Or it can go in the freezer for a later day. If you’re freezing the casserole for later use, leave off the last layer of cheese until you’re ready to bake it.
If you’re cooking it from room temperature, it really doesn’t take long to come together. Just 30 minutes or so in a 350 degree oven should do the trick. Let it cool a few minutes, then you’re ready for business!
Okay, now is the fun part. Everyone can top their own serving of casserole with whatever taco toppings they like! We like sour cream, guacamole, and salsa. I also love to add some jalapenos. But anything you would put on a taco you can put on top of this casserole. The sky’s the limit!
This casserole reheats well so it’s perfect for a busy night when people are coming home at different times in the evening. That also means it’s great for meal prep. Just place individual servings into microwavable containers and you can reheat for lunch or a quick dinner any night of the week!
I hope your family enjoys this casserole as much as mine does. And I hope it helps you get dinner on the table on a super busy night!
Mexican Casserole
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb ground beef, turkey or chicken
- 1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes *sub diced tomatoes with green chiles
- 1 cup prepared salsa
- 1 package taco seasoning
- 8-10 corn tortillas *sub flour tortillas
- 2 cups shredded Mexican style cheese *sub shredded cheddar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef.
- Drain beef, then add beans, corn, tomatoes, salsa, and taco seasoning. Let simmer over medium low heat 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a large casserole dish, layer in this order: meat mixture, tortillas, meat mixture, cheese, tortillas, meat mixture, cheese.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted.