If there ever was such a thing as a party casserole, this is it! It’s a mixture between a main dish and an appetizer. Why make tacos when you can make a whole dip-like, casserole-style, layered masterpiece with juicy beef, melty cheese, and crunchy taco shells? This scoopable Tex-Mex masterpiece has all your favorite flavors and is ready in about 40 minutes.
What is a Taco Casserole?
A taco casserole has all the ingredients you like in a hard-shell taco but layered inside a casserole dish. This one has:
- Ground beef
- Chopped onions and garlic
- Chopped green bell pepper
- Taco sauce
- Diced green chiles
- Taco seasoning
- Hard taco shells
- Mexican cheese blend
- Your favorite toppings such as pico de gallo, sliced black olives, sour cream, sliced avocado, and chopped jalapenos
Is a Taco Casserole Easy to Make?
It is easier than making a bunch of tacos one by one! All you have to do is:
- Brown the ground beef along with the chopped onions and minced garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- Mix in the chopped green bell pepper, diced green chiles, taco sauce, and taco seasoning. Simmer until almost all the liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes.
- Assemble the casserole: place half of the broken taco shells in the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Add half of the meat mixture over the broken shells
- Top the meat with half of the shredded cheese.
- Repeat the layers ending with shredded cheese.
- Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 20 minutes.
- Top with your favorite toppings and serve while hot.
Taco Casserole Variations:
- Don’t like beef? Use ground turkey or chicken.
- If you like it spicy, add more jalapenos and a dash of hot sauce to the meat mixture.
- If you are an absolute cheese lover, add more cheese or use two different kinds of cheese.
- Instead of adding slices of avocado as a topping, try spreading guacamole on top.
- Don’t have hard taco shells? Use Fritos instead!
Other Mexican-style Casseroles For You:
- Beef Enchilada Casserole
- Salsa Chicken Rice Casserole
- Easy Baked Burrito Casserole
- Beef Taco Casserole

Easy Taco Casserole Recipe
Why make tacos when you can make a whole dip-like, casserole-style, Tex-Mex meal?
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Servings: 8
Calories: 18kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- ½ cup chopped green bell pepper
- ½ cup taco sauce
- 1 ½ tbsp taco seasoning
- 1- 14 oz can diced green chiles
- 12 hard taco shells broken up in small pieces
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
- Your favorite toppings: pico de gallo, avocado, sour cream, sliced jalapenos, and sliced black olives
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef along with the chopped onions and minced garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- Mix in the chopped green bell pepper, diced green chiles, taco sauce, and taco seasoning. Simmer until almost all the liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes
- Assemble the casserole: place half of the broken taco shells in the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Add half of the meat mixture over the broken shells
- Top the meat with half of the shredded cheese.
- Repeat the layers ending with shredded cheese.
- Bake until the cheese is bubbly, about 20 mins.
- Top with your favorite toppings and serve while hot.
Notes
- If you don’t have lean ground beef, drain the fat after browning it.
- If you want a lighter version, use ground turkey.
- Break up the taco shells as small as possible without totally crushing them, so they can be evenly distributed.
- Evaporate as much liquid as possible from the meat mixture so your casserole won’t turn out soggy.
Nutrition
Calories: 18kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 18g
Diana
Monday 29th of July 2024
Great dish! We were hungry for Mexican but wanted something fast. Huge hit! Hardly anything left which is a little sad. Looks like it would be great leftover. :)