This hearty ground beef Mexican casserole combines tortilla chips with seasoned ground beef, tomatoes, chiles, corn, beans, and cheese. It's a family favorite dinner that's easy-to-make and super versatile so you can top it off with the condiments you like best.
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If you love everything Tex-Mex and Mexican food, then you're sure to love this Mexican ground beef casserole. With all the same ingredients you love for tacos, plus a few yummy additions, this easy casserole is the perfect way to change up your weeknight dinners.
This casserole provides the perfect combination of flavors, crunch, and cheesy goodness. All the things you love about tacos in a fun new way and just as easy to make.
❤️ Why I Love This Recipe
- Easy. Casseroles are one of my favorite dinners because they are super easy to cook, serve, and clean up.
- Tasty! Casseroles are also a favorite because with everything cooking together in one pan, you get the yummiest flavors all mixed together.
- Versatile. This casserole is so easy to change by adding, subtracting, or swapping out ingredients to your liking.
🥘 Ingredients
Except for the ground beef, all the ingredients for this casserole can be stored in the pantry for a few months. Consider buying enough for two (or three) casseroles when shopping so you have all the ingredients on hand for a quick and easy dinner.
- Ground Beef – I like to use an 80/20 blend ground beef (ground chuck) so that there is still a little bit of fat, as this adds to the flavor. However, any ground beef you prefer will work great!
- Shredded Cheese – I typically use cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack, but any of your favorite cheeses that melt well will work. Colby, Colby-Jack, Pepper Jack, or a mixture of cheeses are all delicious options.
- RoTel Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles – RoTel is the original brand of tomatoes with green chiles. Many stores carry a generic brand as well, just look for “diced tomatoes with green chiles” on the can.
- Black Beans – Any brand of black beans will work for this recipe. If you don’t like black beans, you can use pinto beans instead.
- Diced Green Chiles – Diced green chiles are not spicy but add a great bold flavor to dishes. You can find these on the international food aisle in the grocery store.
- Creamed Corn – Creamed corn is sweet corn that is combined with a milk or cream base, giving it a similar consistency to a thick soup. It helps give this casserole a creamy, delicious texture.
- Taco Seasoning Mix – You can always use your favorite store-bought seasoning or make your own with my super easy recipe!
- Tortilla Chips – Any of your favorite tortilla chips will work for this recipe. You can even have some fun and use Nacho Cheese Doritos, Taco Flavored Doritos, Salsa Verde Doritos, or Tapatio Flavored Doritos.
Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!
Ingredient Notes
- If you like a really creamy cheesy casserole, mix 4 ounces of cream cheese into the ground beef during step 4 above.
- Make it super cheesy! The 2 cups of cheese is just a guideline, feel free to add as much as you would like to get a super cheesy dish.
- Want to swap the Rotel and chiles for salsa? Go ahead, it's still quite tasty!
📖 Variations
- Ground Turkey or Chicken - If you are looking for a lower-calorie protein or don’t like red meat, ground turkey or ground chicken are a great substitute for ground beef. Follow the same directions for preparing the ground beef.
- Shredded Chicken - Chicken can also be a great replacement for ground beef. If you have a leftover rotisserie chicken or other leftover grilled or baked chicken you could also shred that or chop it up to use.
- Enchilada Casserole - Use red or green enchilada sauce instead of taco seasoning to change this to an enchilada casserole. Depending on what type of enchilada sauce you choose, you may choose to leave out the RoTel tomatoes and diced green chiles.
🧂 Substitutions
- Make it Vegetarian – Replace the ground beef with additional beans to make this a vegetarian dish. For variety, add 1 can of pinto beans and 1 can of dark red kidney beans, in addition to the black beans that the recipe already calls for. You can also use all black beans, all pinto beans, or even a chili bean blend.
- Go low-carb – it’s super easy to make this a lower-carb meal, just leave out the tortilla chips! If you still want some crunch without the carbs, add some crushed pork rinds on top just before serving.
🔪 How To Make Ground Beef Mexican Casserole
Preheat the oven while you cook your ground beef and layer the casserole. Once in the oven go ahead and relax before enjoying this hearty meal.
- Preheat. Set your oven to 350°F (175°C) while you brown the ground beef and assemble the casserole.
- Crush tortilla chips. Grease your casserole dish. Crush approximately 3 cups of tortilla chips (about half of a 15-ounce bag) and layer the bottom of the casserole dish (photo 1). Set aside.
- Brown the ground beef. In a large skillet, cook 1 pound of ground beef over medium-high heat.
- Add the seasoning, tomatoes, and chiles. When the beef is browned add a 10-ounce can of RoTel tomatoes with chiles (drained), 4-ounces green chiles (drained), and 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning (photo 2). Mix well. Reduce heat and simmer for another 3 to 5 minutes (photo 3).
- Layer the beef into dish. Pour the beef mixture over the tortilla chips (photo 4).
Layer the Casserole & Bake
- Add remaining layers. Next layer a 15-ounce can of creamed corn, then a 15-ounce can of black beans (drained), and finally the 2 cups of shredded cheese into your casserole dish (photos 5, 6 & 7).
- Bake. Cook in the middle of your oven's center rack at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly (photo 8).
- Servce. Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly, and serve.
Combine with my delicious Jiffy corn casserole for a yummy comfort food-filled dinner. Make the corn pudding first and let sit covered on top of the stove while your Mexican ground beef casserole cooks. Then serve side by side.
While the casserole is cooling, prepare toppings to serve with it. Some delicious options are avocado, sour cream, taco sauce or salsa, chopped onions, chopped green onions, and/or chopped cilantro. Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Stir the ground beef while cooking, but not too much.
- You want to break up the ground beef as it cooks, but you also want to let it brown. Stir occasionally, but otherwise, just let the beef brown.
- The best part of this casserole is its versatility!
- Use up what you have in the fridge to round out your tasty casserole layers.
>>>See All Of My Tasty Recipes Here!<<<
🥡 Storing & Reheating
Just cover leftovers with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Leftovers will keep for up to 3-4 days if properly refrigerated.
You can also cut up individual portions and put them in separate microwave-safe dishes to take for lunch the next day.
Reheating
If you have leftovers in the casserole dish, just remove the plastic wrap and reheat it by popping the dish back in the oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 15-20 minutes. You can even add some extra cheese. When the cheese starts to get bubbly, take it out and check to see it is warmed all the way through.
Individual servings are easy to heat up in the microwave. Cooking time will vary depending on the microwave and portion size. Start with 1 minute on high heat then add 30-second intervals until thoroughly heated.
🥩 Best Beef Mexican Recipes
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📖 Recipe Card
Ground Beef Mexican Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 cups tortilla chips (about half a 13 oz bag - broken up into pieces)
- 1 lbs ground beef
- 10 oz RoTel diced tomatoes with green chilies (1 10 oz can, drained)
- 4 oz diced green chiles (1 4 oz can, drained)
- 2 tablespoon taco seasoning mix (store bought or use my recipe)
- 15 oz creamed corn 1 14 oz or 15 oz can)
- 15 oz black beans (1 15 oz can, drained)
- 1 cup cheddar cheese (grated)
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese (grated)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease a 9x13 or 2-quart casserole dish.
- Crush the tortilla chips and layer the bottom of the casserole dish. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, brown the ground beef over medium high heat.
- When the beef is browned add the RoTel tomatoes, green chiles, and taco seasoning. Mix well. Reduce heat and simmer for another 3 to 5 minutes.
- Pour the beef mixture over the tortilla chips.
- Next layer the creamed corn, then the black beans, and then the cheese.
- Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.
- Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly and serve.
Katie Line says
I’ve made this dozens of times and everyone has raved over your recipe. I haven’t tried the enchilada casserole recipe as I just saw it, I will try it next time. Thank you so much for sharing this delicious casserole.
Blessings Kate
Diane says
I made this for my husband and I for dinner tonight, it was delicious! The cream corn added a hint of sweetness we enjoyed! Definitely will make this again.
Bobby says
This is super simple to make in very, very good.
Marie says
What size baking dish works best
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
The 9x13 or 2-quart casserole dish in the instructions work best, a lasagna pan (deep dish) is a nice pan for this too.
Steve says
After the meat is browned do you drain it before the next step?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes, correct. Sorry that was unclear.
Sandy says
I haven't made this yet. Just found recipe. I agree about doggy chips. Perhaps using flour tortillas is a good recommendation. Put meat source then corn beans and chili cheese Fritos on top with jalapenos. The only other alternative is to begin with Mexican rice or refried beans.
I have a chicken Doritos casserole did which is delicious. Yes tortillas chips are on the bottom. It doesn't bother me but I can see how it might not appeal to everyone. I think I'll tweak with this to find out what I like the best. A nice side salad with some taco seasoned meat, avocado, tomato, maybe some broccoli, cheese with a dressing made with sour cream and salsa might be good.
Mary Shaw says
Made this for my Friday night wine party was loved by all, only 5 of us but was all gone.. will double next time. Thanks for this easy wonderful recipe. Frank
Bertha wald says
Can you freeze this recipe
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I freeze practically any casserole. 🙂 If you're freezing the assembled casserole (before baking) I prefer to bake from frozen. It will usually take 1-1 hour 15 minutes to cook all the way through.
Elizabeth Simmons says
I was looking for a good casserole type of recipe using ground beef and found yours, then tried it. It was such a hit with the kids and hubby that it is now in my dinner rotations!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Awesome! I love hearing that one of my recipes is a new family favorite! Thanks for sharing!
Diane says
How many servings will this make?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
8 servings per the recipe card but I've found that when you have sides 8 servings works and when this is your sole dish for dinner it's closer to 6 servings. Enjoy!
nancy says
thank you for this recipe, one word awesome! it tics most all my boxes_ fun unique spicy,but not too much, and just plain good. it will have everyone asking for the recipe. in fact both people that joined us for dinner asked for the recipe.
so i made it tonite for first time easy to make easy recipe to follow i especially liked the extra tips and extra addition options
I only made a few tweaks after reading all comments
i used chili flavored corn chips on bottom crunching them lightly so to avoid any soggy bottom followed by thin layer of rice. i used 4 oz cream cheese in meat mixture ( very good) on top crushed tortilla chips. i had sliced avocado black olives and sour cream in small bowls for more options . the consensus was that it was delicious and i will make it again and again.
Anonymous says
This is a good recipe, I added a couple splashes os salsa.taste was good, even with cream corn.
Cora shields says
Do the chips just go on the bottom?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes, but they are great as an extra for the topping too!
Anonymous says
It was great. I left out the beans out and used sargento’s four Mexican cheese.
Anonymous says
It was very good. Only thing I would change is the soggy tortilla chips. Might try layering flour tortillas or just putting the casserole on some rice. The flavor is good though.
Mary Maya says
Freaking amazing! I made this for our Super Bowl dinner... just my family ´cause of COVID. In less the 24 hours, this casserole is almost gone and I didn´t even eat any - well, I had a bit to see if it needed salt and it didn´t. It was super easy and just like you said, everything was in my pantry. I didn´t have the recommended tomatoes, so I used a can of diced tomatoes and two small cans of mild chiles... I had plenty of cilantro on hand so I added that as well. Thank you!
Sharon The bean queen says
I definitely give this a five. It was better than it sounded and I can usually tell when something sounds good. Made it for Super Bowl and everyone went back for seconds. I used ground turkey and served sour cream and avocado on the side. The can of creamed corn threw me but boy was it good! I also added the cream cheese. It’s one of those casseroles that you just wanna keep eating until you make yourself sick.😊
I just got done printing it out because it will go into the make forever file.
Terri says
Can I ask how much cream cheese you added and when in process! Thank you ❤️
Linda says
I think I used 4 oz cream cheese. Add it after the meat mixture is close to being done simmering. Stir until the cream cheese is melted and distributed evenly. Also, I used 3 cups cooked brown rice on the bottom of the casserole in lieu of the chips. I think I would use less rice next time.
Tabitha Weber says
Made this with tater tots instead of chips and I put them on the bottom as well and it came out amazing! Thank you
Gay Nell says
Made this today. Excellent. Only thing I did different was add corn and beans to meat mixture. Thank you
Carol Rodgers says
Angela,
Thank you for sharing this with all of us. I made it last night and it is aweseome. I did add 1 tablespoon of Sazon seasoning to the ground beef and I used cook yellow rice as the base instead of the tortilla chips. That is only because I have a dislike for soggy tortilla chips or even tortilla soup because it reminds me of raw cornbread batter. Thanks again for the recipe it is delicious.
Malakee grammie says
Love it. Easy I had everything in my Freezer/fridge or pantry. Thank you for sharing your recipe. Will be adding this to my winter/oven meals.
Linda says
Wow! Recipe is easy and ever so yummy. My family loved it. I finished it off with sliced avocado and a dollop of sour cream.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Thank you so much I appreciate the kind words! I really enjoyed this casserole as well...so yummy:)