Taco Casserole Recipe
This taco casserole recipe is perfect for Taco Tuesday! I could eat Mexican food every day of the week. Mark and I fixed this recipe for years for our girls when they were growing up.
This recipe is awesome because most of the ingredients (the meat) are in the freezer, our pantry, and refrigerator. It is also adult—and kid-friendly because everyone loves tacos, right?
This taco casserole recipe includes ground beef, refried beans, black beans, cheese, tortilla chips, salsa, black olives, and cilantro—what’s not to love? I love anything with salsa!
If you love tacos, you will love this recipe. I don’t know about you, but I love casseroles, especially if I can make some ingredients beforehand. You can fry the meat the day before and assemble the casserole right before placing the pan into the hot oven the next day. In case you missed this post, Taco Salad Recipe
Taco Casserole Recipe
Ingredients:
- Ground Beef with Taco Seasoning
- Refried Beans
- Green Onions
- Chopped Onion
- Tortilla Chips
- Salsa
- Tomatoes
- Shredded Cheese
- Black Olives
- Sour Cream
- Cilantro
- Shredded Lettuce
Kitchen Items You May Need:
Taco Casserole Recipe
Step One: Gather Ingredients
Gather your ingredients before you start the recipe.
Step Two: Cook the Ground Beef
Cook the ground beef with the taco seasoning until well done. Preheat the oven to (350°F ) = (176°C).
Step Three: Grease Baking Dish – Layer Chips
Grease a casserole baking dish. The first layer of the casserole will be crushed tortilla chips. Spread them evenly in the baking dish.
Step Four: Add Beans
Top the tortilla chips with several small scoops of refried and black beans, then spread them as evenly as possible.
Step Five: Top With Cheese
Top with two cups of shredded cheese and spread evenly over the refried and black beans.
Step Six: Add Ground Beef & Cheese
Next, top with the cooked ground beef and two cups of cheese. Spread as evenly as possible. Please note that I left the left side meatless for my vegetarian family members.
Step Seven: Add Olives and Onions – Bake
Now, add the sliced olives and chopped white or yellow onions. Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese melts.
Finished Product
After baking, remove the casserole from the oven and garnish with sour cream, chopped tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro. Place chopped lettuce on each plate before serving the casserole. If desired, squeeze some lime juice over each serving.
Taco Casserole Recipe
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 1 pkg. Taco Seasoning
- 2 cups Tortilla Chips, crushed
- 1- 15 -Ounce Can Refried Beans
- 1- 15 -Ounce Can of Black or Pinto beans
- 1 White or Yellow onion chopped
- 4 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese (or your favorite cheese)
- 1 cup Olives, sliced
- 1 cup Salsa
- 1 cup Diced Fresh Tomatoes
- 1 cup Lettuce, finely chopped
- Sour Cream, to garnish
- 1-2 Green Onions, chopped
- Cilantro, to garnish
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Cook the ground beef with the taco seasoning until well done.
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Preheat the oven to (350°F ) = (176°C).
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Grease a casserole baking dish.
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The first layer will be the crushed tortilla chips. Spread them evenly in the baking dish.
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Top the tortilla chips with several small scoops of refried beans. Then the black beans, and spread as evenly as possible.
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Top with two cups of shredded cheese and spread evenly over the refried beans and black beans
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Next, top with the cooked ground beef and the remaining two cups of cheese. Spread as evenly as possible.
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Now, add the sliced olives and chopped white or yellow onions.
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Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes or until the cheese melts.
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After baking, remove the casserole from the oven and garnish with salsa, sour cream, lettuce, chopped tomatoes, green onions, and Cilantro.
How do I store the leftovers?
I store mine in an airtight Tupperware-type container for 2-3 days in the refrigerator.
Can I freeze this recipe?
This recipe is great to freeze. Leave the sour cream, lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and green onions off the casserole until you serve it after freezing and then thawing it.
Can I make this recipe vegetarian?
Skip the meat altogether, add an extra can of beans, and it’s now vegetarian, depending on how you feel about the cheese and sour cream! Remember, this is a taco casserole with all the ingredients and toppings you’d expect.
Is it possible to use ground turkey or chicken?
Yes, you can. That’s why I love this recipe—it’s so versatile. If your family enjoys other kinds of meat, like shredded beef, pork, turkey, or fish, you should try them. I haven’t tried ham, but cubed ham or bacon could have just the flavor you want.
Can I use regular beans instead of refried beans?
Of course, drain the chosen beans and sprinkle them over the chips. It doesn’t matter what kind of beans you decide to swap out. Once you’ve added the beans of choice, follow the instructions in the recipe card.
Final Word
Let me know if you try making my taco casserole recipe. I’d love to hear from you. It’s all about cooking from scratch, right?
We must teach our kids and grandkids the skills of cooking and baking. May God Bless this world, Linda
This looks delicious! My family is going to love it. Thank you Linda for this new recipe.
Hi Steff, thank you for your kind words! I’m working hard to share as many recipes as I can. I want people to feel the joy of cooking together in the kitchen!! Linda
Linda,
Looks great. But, you know us Texans. We have our slant on things Mexican. We will change the black olives to sliced jalapeños and put the sour cream on the side for any Yankees in the crowd. LOL!!!.
Hi Harry, thank you for the 5 stars, my sweet friend! Texas has the best Mexican food EVER!! The black olives switched out to jalapeños is the best!!! You’re awesome! Linda
Linda, I’m going to make this next week. I have a group of quilting friends who come over a couple of times a month, and I always fix lunch for us and they bring sides and desserts. We have fun sewing and then eat together and talk. We have so much fun and I know they will love this. Yes, I will have jalapeños and black olives on the side plus sour cream so they can fix it the way they want.
Hi Paula, thank you for the 5 stars, my sweet friend! Oh, I bet you have so much fun at those quilting get togethers!! You made my day! I love hearing this! Linda
Linda, this recipe was a big hit! My friends loved it and the husband ate the leftovers, which there wasn’t much of!
Hi Paula, oh I love hearing this, I’m so glad your friends and your husband loved it! I love this! Linda
This looks delicious. I make tacos all the time but have never tried it as a casserole.
My favorite tacos start with a heated flour tortilla. I spread heated refried beans on it. Stick a corn taco shell in the middle and fill it with cheese, meat with taco seasoning, lettuce and tomatoes. then I wrap the flour tortilla and refried beans up the side of corn taco shell and yummmm! It’s my version of the old Taco Bell Double Decker.
Hi Ray, thank you for the stars my 5 stars my friend! Now, I’m going to make one of these, I will pick up some corn tortillas tomorrow! The Taco Bell Double Decker, I forgot about that one! YUMMY! Linda
This is so interesting because I already have the hamburger cooked and bought beans at the store today, so I am going to make this tonight. You are so right about this being one of those very versatile recipes. You could do Costco chicken instead of beef or ground turkey. I like pinto beans better than black beans even if there are refried beans in it. And even if the chips were a little stale, they would work great in this casserole. Love these recipes, Linda. Quick. Easy. And nutritious too. I am trying to eat more beans instead of the beef for the protein source.
Hi Carol, I’m going to see how long I can go without buying red meat. I still like to buy the Costco chicken rotisserie chicken breasts in a bag. We all need to pull out our budget recipes with the price of groceries! Life is good when you can cook from scratch! Linda
Linda,
Still five stars and I will stand by my comment from January 2022. Sorry for the late comment. I took off this morning from my emails and chores and went for a 200 mile motorcycle ride. Gotta have fun some time. LOL!
Hi Harry, thank you for the 5 stars, my friend! I bet you had a gret time on your motorcycle! You know I love to hear when your ride! Linda
I bought some assorted size Burrito shells for my son and his wife and made some hamburger meat and along with beans made them some taco’s and burritos that they froze most and made some burrito’s for meals. Since they like Mexican food this is a better and cheaper away for their meals. I am so glad to be back on the computer. 7 months not able to read or go on the computer for so long drove me batty. Now I need to catch up with my computer friends and you are one of my best
Hi Jackie, you are one of my besties too! Thank you for the 5 stars, my sweet friend. Homemade burritos are the best thing ever for saving money! I’m sorry you have been out of commission for 7 months, that’s rough, my sweet friend. Linda
Thank you, I’m going to try this for sure.
Hi Angela, thank you for the 5 stars, my friend! My family loves it I hope you do! Linda