This taco bake casserole is easy to put together and a delicious dinner for the whole family! Layers of ground beef, onions, cheese, and your favorite taco toppings! Perfect for Taco Tuesday or a quick weeknight dinner!
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What is a Taco Bake?
Dear taco lovers have I got a treat for you! This taco bake is an easy and delicious recipe that’s a fun spin on just your regular old tacos almost like a good old fashioned taco casserole.
My family loves this recipe! It was a huge hit the very first time they tried it. Even my kids love it!
I am a huge fan of it because it is a super easy recipe. It couldn’t be more simple! Plus, the beauty of making a taco bake instead of making classic tacos is that the taco bake makes for much less of a mess! The clean up is so easy.
The ingredients and instructions follow pretty closely to what you’d need for a regular taco recipe, with just a few minor changes. After prepping all of the ingredients you will put it all together by layering it in a casserole dish and baking it in the oven.
Another great thing about this recipe is that it’s pretty versatile. The taco bake itself is like a basic taco, but you can spice it up after it’s baked however you prefer! Each family member can add their favorite toppings.
Perfect for even your pickiest eater!
I love to add lettuce, bell peppers, black olives, pico, and sour cream. It’s also great with some fresh guacamole or avocado on top. For the spicy lovers, you can always add jalapeños, too!
Easy Taco Bake Ingredients
Below are the ingredients that you’ll need for our taco casserole, followed by a list of ingredients to add after cooking. Keep in mind that you can top off your casserole with a wide variety of things, so if you’re making a shopping list make sure to include those things as well.
- 1.5 pounds ground beef (or ground turkey)
- 1 yellow onion (chopped)
- 4 Softshell flour tortillas (I prefer flour over corn tortillas, but you could use either)
- 1 package taco seasoning mix + water called for on the package
- 2 cups cheddar cheese
- 1 10-ounces can Rotel
- 1 2.25-ounce can of sliced black olives
- 1 15-ounce can of corn
How to make Taco Casserole with Tortillas
- Brown ground beef until no longer pink and onions until tender.
- Stir a package of taco seasoning mix (or try our Homemade Taco Seasoning) along with the amount of water indicated on the package directions. Cook for 8-10 minutes.
- Add in the Rotel, olives, and corn. Mix in with the beef mixture and let simmer for about 3 minutes.
- Spray the bottom of a 9×13 dish with nonstick spray (I like to use a glass pan for this recipe.)
- Place tortillas on the bottom of the dish. Spread half of the meat mixture evenly over the tortillas.
- Sprinkle one cup of cheese over the meat layer. Then add another layer of tortillas, the rest of the meat on top of the tortillas, and the last cup of cheese on top of the meat.
- Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 20 minutes.
Serve with sour cream, lettuce, tomato, pico de gallo, guacamole and any other ingredients you might serve with tacos!
What to serve with this Taco Bake Recipe
The sky is the limit when it comes to toppings you can put on your finished taco bake! You can really add any kind of topping that you might use on a taco or taco salad. Below you’ll find a list of things that I like to add to my taco bake. Feel free to use these as ideas or come up with your own list!
- Jalapeños
- Pico de gallo
- Sour cream
- Refried beans
- Shredded lettuce
- Fresh diced tomatoes
- Green onion
- Our Homemade Salsa or hot sauce
- Extra shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese
- Fresh guacamole (Homemade!)
- Cilantro
- Black Beans
- Tortilla chips
I also love to serve Mexican style rice or corn chips and salsa as a side with my taco bake, to round off the meal.
I will say, this recipe is quite filling, so if you don’t have the time or energy to put into making a side dish, no worries! This dish alone will be enough to feed the family.
How to store and reheat Taco Casserole
As if this recipe could get any better….it makes for great leftovers! Typically, it will provide two meals for my family! Which means I get out of cooking for a night, and I always love a night off.
As I said above, I usually make this taco bake in a glass baking dish. That way, I can just pop the lid on when we are finished and throw it in the fridge for leftovers.
When we are ready to eat it, I cut a piece out and put it on a plate in the microwave – super easy! Alternatively, you can throw it back in the oven on broil to warm it up again as well.
Taco Bake FAQs
Most ingredients are gluten free except the tortillas – be sure to use a corn tortilla and check the label to make sure they are gluten free.
Yes.
More Great Taco Recipes
Taco Bake Casserole
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds ground beef
- 1 chopped onion
- 1 package package taco seasoning mix plus the water indicated on the package
- 1 10 ounce can Rotel not drained
- 1 2.25 ounce can sliced black olives
- 1 15 ounce can of corn drained
- 4 taco size flour tortillas
- 2 cups cheddar cheese divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the ground beef in a skillet along with the onions and cook until beef is browned and onions are tender.
- Stir in the package of taco seasoning along with the amount of water indicated on the package directions. Cook for 8-10 minutes.
- Mix in the Rotel, olives and corn in with the beef. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Spray the bottom of a 9×13 dish with nonstick spray. Place tortillas on the bottom of the dish.
- Spread half of the meat mixture evenly over the tortillas. Next, sprinkle one cup of cheese over the meat layer. Then add another layer of tortillas, the rest of the meat on top of the tortillas and the last cup of cheese on top of the meat.
- Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly, about 20 minutes.
- Serve with sour cream and other taco toppings as desired
Video
Nutrition Info
This taco bake recipe is one of my go-to dinner recipes when we need something quick and easy that everyone will love. It also makes for a great dish to pass at a neighborhood get together or any type of potluck! It’s delicious, simple, and each person can top it off to their liking! I know your family will fall in love with it, just like mine!
Hi Jenn, so happy I have found your recipes ~ they seem to be quick and easy and totally yummy!
I am planning to make your Taco Bake Casserole over the weekend, but need to ask you about one of the ingredients. What is Rotel? I live in Tasmania, Australia and have never seen or heard of that food or brand name (?). I’m hoping I can find the same sort of thing here under another name. Thanks in anticipation . . .
Hey Morgan! Thanks so much for your message!! So here are some substitution ideas for Rotel! https://www.ehow.com/list_7424984_rotel-substitutes.html
Thanks so much for your help with Rotel. I will make the Taco Bake Casserole on Sunday and let you know how it goes.
Jenn, our Taco Bake dinner was easier to make than I expected and amazingly yummy. The black olives made it divine! I thought I was going to have trouble trying to make my own Rotel substitute, but my husband found a can of Mexican flavoured diced tomatoes that tasted as though it contained the spices mentioned, so I didn’t need to stress about making my own after all. The two of us ate half the recipe (four serves!) and I’m planning to freeze the other half for a week or two, as my husband doesn’t like the same thing the next night. Thanks for posting this recipe ~ it will certainly be made frequently at our house.
So easy to make and absolutely delicious! All the flavor wrapped up in a casserole. There were leftovers (yes, can you believe it?!) so heated up for an additional dinner night. Flavors intensified and was even more delicious second time around! All ingredients easily had in a quick shopping trip then home to prepare, pop in oven and serve after a long day. Try, you will not be disappointed!
Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed it!!
I might have missed it but does this freeze well?
It should! Just cover with foil and label. To reheat, let thaw overnight in the fridge. Then, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes covered with the foil. Remove the foil and cook until the top is browned. (You could wait to add the top layer of cheese until you bake it rather than adding it and freezing it)
Great! Thank you!
where is the recipe
Made this tonight, it was easy and yummy! I like the olives, I think it makes the recipe, but you could leave them out if they’re not your thing.
It was delicious and easy to make. The kids loved it!
I made this recipe the other day and it was great! Even the kids loved it! I also added a layer of refried beans on the tortilla shells and was delicious!
Super simple and yummy!!