Fantastic Taco Casserole

"I originally found this taco casserole recipe in a Taste of Home magazine. Since then, I have made this recipe at least 50 times. I love it because the ingredients list isn't complicated and, based on the layers, I can readily remember all ingredients when I am at the store without my recipe card. I have served this for myself and had wonderful leftovers or many times I have made it for company with a nice green salad to accompany it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do."
 
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photo by Jonathan Melendez photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Jonathan Melendez photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by jidore56 photo by jidore56
photo by Cheyenne L. photo by Cheyenne L.
photo by SharonChen photo by SharonChen
Ready In:
30mins
Ingredients:
9
Serves:
7-9
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ingredients

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning
  • 1 (15 ounce) can refried beans
  • 2 cups monterey jack cheese, divided (or mixed cheddar, jack etc.)
  • 1 cup salsa (I prefer mild, but if you would like to kick it up a notch, go for it)
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 1 (2 1/3 ounce) can sliced black olives
  • 1 tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 cups corn chips (coarsely crushed or chopped)
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directions

  • Brown ground beef and drain.
  • Add taco seasoning and cook according to package directions, adding proper amount of water.
  • Put corn chips on bottom of 8x8" dish.
  • Cook refried beans on stove until hot.
  • Add 1 cup cheese and 1 cup salsa. Stir until combined.
  • Pour beans over corn chips in dish.
  • Add beef to top of beans.
  • Sprinkle remaining cheese over top.
  • Sprinkle green onions and black olives over cheese.
  • Bake in a 375 degree oven until the cheese is sufficiently melted.
  • Take out of oven and sprinkle chopped tomatoes on top. Wait 1-2 minutes and then serve.

Questions & Replies

  1. I’ve gone over the recipe a few times but can’t figure out the salsa/cheese mixture. Does that go on top of refried beans?
     
  2. What can I substitute for the ground beef to make it vegetarian ?
     
  3. Use a 13X9 or 8X8 baking dish ??
     
  4. Can this be made ahead of time and cooked later in the day? Or will the chips get soggy?
     
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Reviews

  1. Very Good! instead of putting chips in bottom of dish I just put them on plates and spooned the mixture over top! Saved chips from getting soggy. Will make often. kids age 2 and 6 loved it! thanks for sharing
     
  2. Something new for "Taco Night". This is a great recipe that everyone (including a picky 7yr old) enjoyed. I did omit the olives, family preference, but topped with the fresh tomatoes, lettuce & sour cream. My only problem is this recipe does not give baking dish measurements and makes less than enough to feed 4 people more than a very small portion. I used a 9x13 dish and it was very thin using the quantity of ingredients in the recipe. If using these quantities, I recommend a square baking dish. I will make this again, doubling the ingredients.
     
  3. This was very tasty but quite salty. I do not cook too much with canned or processed foods so I think this was alot compared to what I am used to. I woke up this morning and couldn't get my wedding ring off because I am so swollen.<br/>I messed up and bought tortilla chips instead of corn chips so I decided to just put rice on the bottom instead of ending up with soggy tortilla chips. I also put some corn in between the bean and beef layers. I sprinkled some tortilla chips on the top to give it a little crunch since I didn't add them on the bottom.<br/>I will make this again but will make some changes to reduce the amount of salt in it. I will try homemade taco seasoning so I can limit the salt I add and use canned beans so I can rinse them off and mash them myself. I may reduce the amount of cheese I add to reduce the salt even less.
     
  4. OMGOSH this was awesome! I just made this tonight for dinner and it was delish. I had to make two changes and they were tortilla chips instead of corn because thats what i had on hand and mild green chilis instead of onions, my family doesnt care for onions. This is a keeper, thanks for posting :)
     
  5. This recipe was delicious and even my kids ate it. We left out the olives because Chris does not like them. We had plenty of leftovers.
     
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Tweaks

  1. Made this per directions, but double it. IT IS FANTASTIC! My whole family loved it! We may never eat tacos again....only this. Much easier and better tasting than tacos!
     
  2. I will double the recipe and use turkey instead of beef, Black beans refried with olive oil, pepper jack and add a mixture of corn, cilantro, red onion and lime to the dish. The rest will stay the same, and I’ll cover the dish with broken chips. Haven’t made it yet but this will be amazing. Going for a healthier version.
     
  3. I did not do the chips but made Spanish Rice and lined dish with it. Also do not care for refried beans so used drained black beans and layered starting with rice, taco meat, black beans, salsa, black olives, monterey jack cheese, fresh cut tomatoes, more cheese and sprinkled green onions. I used Zataran Spanish rice which I did not realize used canned tomatoes in it. I did not have any so added fresh tomatoes to the rice which worked great. The other thing I liked about this dish,, is that I think I could make it ahead.
     
  4. Loved it. I used Rotel instead of salsa and that saved the chips from getting soggy. I left out the onion, 1) bc I didn't have time to chop one and 2) DD doesn't like. We REALLY enjoyed it WITHOUT onion. Will make over & over because of the ease. Thanks!
     
  5. I made recipe, following directions above. Served sour cream and chopped tomatoes along side with Spanish rice.
     

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