Mexican tortilla casserole brings all the tasty flavors of your favorite Tex-Mex dishes together into one hearty, satisfying all-in-one meal. This cheesy baked casserole is layered with crispy corn tortillas, spiced ground beef or chicken, beans, salsa, and melted cheese.
Easy to customize with your favorite fillings and garnishes, tortilla casserole is endlessly adaptable for a midweek family dinner, potlucks or game day appetizer. Read on to learn how simple it is to make this crowd-pleasing favorite.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Part of what makes assembling tortilla casserole so simple is that it uses common ingredients already stocked in most pantries:
- Corn or Flour Tortillas – Corn adds more authentic flavor. Can use small or large.
- Ground Beef/Chicken – Cooked seasoned ground meat provides hearty base.
- Onion and Garlic – Building flavor in meat mixture.
- Bell Pepper or Jalapeños (optional) – For additional veggie.
- Taco Seasoning – Adds signature Mexican spices and heat.
- Diced Tomatoes – With juices or roasted for more flavor.
- Refried Beans – Smooth or chunky both work.
- Shredded Cheese – Melty cheddar, Mexican blend, etc.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Follow these simple steps:
1. Cook Ground Meat
- In a skillet over medium heat, brown 1 lb ground beef or turkey.
- Add diced onion, garlic, bell pepper and cook 5 minutes until softened.
2. Season Meat Mixture
- Stir in 1 packet taco seasoning and 1 cup diced tomatoes.
- Simmer 5 minutes til thickened. Add salt/pepper to taste.
3. Prepare Baking Dish
- Coat a 9×13 dish with nonstick spray.
- Layer bottom of dish with enough corn tortillas to cover it completely.
4. Assemble Layers
- Top tortillas with 1/2 meat mixture, 1 cup beans, 1 cup shredded cheese.
- Repeat layering tortillas, meat mixture, beans and cheese until dish is full.
5. Top with Tortillas and Sauce
- Final top layer should be closed tortillas.
- Pour additional tomatoes, enchilada sauce or melted butter over top layer.
6. Cover and Bake
- Cover dish tightly with foil and bake at 375°F for 30 minutes.
7. Uncover and Finish Baking
- Remove foil and continue baking 15 minutes more until hot, melty and slightly browned on top.
8. Let Sit Before Serving
- Allow casserole to rest 10 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.
Garnish your piping hot tortilla casserole with all your favorite Tex-Mex toppings!
Customization Ideas
The great thing about tortilla casserole is how adaptable it is:
Substitute Fillings
Try swapping ground beef for lean ground turkey or chicken. Or use veggies instead.
Use Different Salsas/Sauces
Mix up flavors with verde salsa or queso sauce instead of red.
Cheese It Up!
Use a Mexican blend or Tex-Mex cheese combo for maximum cheesiness.
Garnish Away!
Top baked casserole with fresh avocado, cherry tomatoes, plain Greek yogurt or salsa and serve with lime wedges, sour cream and cilantro!
Storage and Reheating
Tortilla casserole stores easily for quick meals later:
Refrigeration:
Cover leftovers and refrigerate up to 5 days.
Freezing:
Let casserole cool completely then freeze. Thaw overnight when ready to reheat.
Reheat:
Microwave individual portions with a splash of water to prevent drying. Or reheat entire casserole in the oven at 350°F until hot, about 30 minutes.
With so many ways to customize and make ahead, tortilla casserole will become your new favorite dump-and-bake dish! Swap meats, cheeses and toppings to invent your own perfect version.
Ingredients
- Olive oil extra virgin oil 1 tbsp
- Yellow onion 1 large size chopped
- Garlic paste or thinly sliced garlic 1 medium garlic clove
- Powdered cumin 1 tsp
- Red chilli powder 1 ½ tsp
- Canned fire-roasted tomatoes 14 ounces; ¼ cup tomato juice reserved
- Tomato paste substitute ketchup ¼ cup
- Black or pinto beans drained 15 ounce
- Frozen corn 1 ½ cups
- Spinach finely chopped 3 cups
- Corn tortillas 8
- Salt black pepper
- Monterey jack cheddar or Mexican blend cheese (2 cups)
- Optional ingredients: Cilantro salsa, sour cream, jalapenos
Instructions
- To start making Mexican tortillas, first, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. As you need to bake before serving. Now apply oil on the baking pan (use cooking spray).
- Now, put a pan on flame and add olive oil. Heat it on medium flame and then add chopped onion, garlic paste, grounded cumin, and red chilli powder. Keep stirring until onions appear translucent, and the spices produce an aroma. Stirring time may be three to five minutes. Now, add tomatoes, reserved tomato juice, ketchup (or tomato paste), drained beans, corn and finely chopped fresh spinach. Keep stirring and cooking for another 2 minutes. Spinach appears soft and, the corn has thawed. Add some salt (as per taste) and black pepper (as required).
- Layer 2 corn tortillas in the bottom of the oiled baking pan, and add the next layer of bean mixture. Spread the mixture properly. Now sprinkle cheese on the beans. Repeat same with all the left ingredients until all are used. Finishing sprinkles should be of cheese.
- Now place the dish into the microwave oven and bake until the ingredients are cooked. It may take twenty minutes. Now take out the dish and let it cool. Cooling may take five minutes. After cooled down, cut into pieces.
- Now sprinkle some toppings using the ingredients listed as optional.
All your recipes sound delicious can’t wait to try them!