Taco Casserole
This taco casserole with tortilla chips will be an instant hit!
- SERVES
- 6
- COOK TIME
- 35 Min
Our Taco Casserole is a simple, Mexican-inspired, ground beef recipe that everyone in your family will eat right up. It's got all the tasty taco fillings you and your family love. But best of all, you can make our Taco Casserole in advance, and heat it up when you're ready to eat!
This easy casserole recipes has a special place in the hearts of the Test Kitchen. Why? Because this Taco Casserole is a meal we’ve all sat down to and enjoyed together. When you’re looking to make a meal that will really bring family together, this dinner casserole should be your go-to. The juicy ground beef is perfectly complimented by the gooey cheese and zesty taco seasoning! And we think the crushed tortilla chips add the perfect crunch. Don’t wait to make this easy casserole recipe; it’s a Tex-Mex favorite the whole family will love!
What You'll Need
- 1 pound ground beef (see Note)
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 (1.25-ounce) envelope taco seasoning mix
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup small curd cottage cheese
- 4 cups crushed tortilla chips
- 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Colby Jack cheese
What to Do
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 2-1/2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
- In a large skillet over high heat, cook beef and onion 5 to 6 minutes, or until no pink remains; drain off excess fat. Add garlic powder, taco seasoning mix, and tomato sauce to beef; mix and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese; set aside.
- Place half the crushed chips in the bottom of the casserole dish. Add enough meat mixture to cover the chips, then cover the meat with half the sour cream mixture. Sprinkle with half the cheese; repeat layers.
- Bake, uncovered, 30 to 35 minutes, or until casserole is heated through.
Mr. Food Test Kitchen Tip!
- Want to make this casserole a bit lighter? Substitute the ground beef with ground turkey and use low-fat sour cream and cheese.
- For more taco options, check out our recipes for Bean 'n' Veggie Soft Tacos, our Sassy Chicken Street Tacos, or our Simple Fish Tacos!
- We've got even more tacos for dessert! Make our Mini Fruit Tacos, or our Ice Cream Tacos as a treat everyone will love.
- This Taco Casserole is just one of the easy and tasty recipes you'll find in our collection of Easy Mexican Casseroles!
- Why make tacos in a cassrole dish? Making tacos for dinner is always fun and delicious; but it can create a ton of mess and dishes to clean up afterwards! That takes the fun out of any meal, if you ask us. But making this casserole gives you all the delicious flavors and fun of tacos without all the mess. That's something we can always get behind!
Up Next:
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Nutritional InformationShow More
Servings Per Recipe: 6
- Amount Per Serving % Daily Value *
- Calories 700
- Calories from Fat 402
- Total Fat 45g 69 %
- Saturated Fat 18g 92 %
- Trans Fat 0.8g 0 %
- Protein 34g 67 %
- Amount Per Serving % Daily Value *
- Cholesterol 118mg 39 %
- Sodium 1,296mg 54 %
- Total Carbohydrates 44g 15 %
- Dietary Fiber 4.7g 19 %
- Sugars 6.3g 0 %
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DS
Aug 25, 2024
One of my favorite go tos! My grandson was so proud when he made it by himself at the age of 12
ralphnewbill 40863 40
Mar 27, 2018
Might I use a jar of taco sauce, instead of the tomato sauce and taco seasoning?
kenndonh 5187693
Aug 31, 2017
This was a a hit! It was so fast to make although I made 1/2 the recipe for the two of us. I added a few slices of jalapeno to give it a little zip since I didn't use HOT taco seasoning. Might even try it on family company.
Nanogoodsell5 5557 501
Aug 08, 2017
for lowering the carb count try using pork rinds instead of chips
Foodismylife
Dec 30, 2016
I will never turn down this Taco Casserole. It's so beefy and delicious. I don't even like cottage cheese, but I'll eat it in this recipe. I also love the crunchy chips on top. Lots of flavor in this one!
veggievick 6763809
Sep 27, 2016
Something happened in my post below.....I kept trying to put in the word "crunchiness" and for some reason the word "truthiness" kept coming up. Anyway......that's the reason for the weird post I did before. The casserole itself still gets 5 stars.
veggievick 6763809
Sep 10, 2016
A delicious taco casserole with all taco flavor! My so won't eat cottage cheese,but lapped this up because he didn't know it was in it! I do think there could be more truthiness, so the next time I make it I may just serve the hot casserole over chips on the plates. We did have some left over the next day, and for lunch we scooped it up like a dip with tortilla chips. Delicious that way too!
douglasdherbert
Sep 15, 2015
A good meal I make quite often. My only changes are the addition of some spicy salsa, crushed garlic, and I add some crushed taco chips with the last layer of cheese for the last 10 min or so and it keeps a nice little crunch in the dish. As another poster stated, the first time I made this just as the recipe stated and my cheese was burned. Add it closer to the end of baking time. BTW, I HATE cottage cheese, but like lasagna, I'll be darned if I can taste it in the dish. It just adds another type of creaminess, that it lacked when I made it without. Like others, I have subbed ricotto, and it works, but is so much more expensive than cottage cheese with only a slight difference it taste.
Member 2553638
May 23, 2015
Don't put the last layer of cheese on until the last 10 minutes unless you like over cooked cheese. I'd also recommend not crushing the corn chips. But, this is a tasty dish, especially with a bit of taco sauce on top.
audrabear 9708302
Apr 02, 2014
I have the same problem so I have a folder on my computer named Mr. Food, copy and paste in word, then you save it, to your folder.
Test Kitchen Team
Apr 04, 2014
Please see the comments below. We have corrected the issue and the Recipe Box is working again. Thank you for your patience!
grannyblu
Mar 24, 2014
I sure hope they get this website fixed soon there is no way to put any recipes into categories or folders!
Test Kitchen Team
Apr 04, 2014
We are happy to report that the Recipe Box issue has been resolved! You can now add recipes to your box, create folders and organize your saved recipes! If you need any assistance learning how to do this, you can refer to our blog; http://www.mrfood.com/blog/mf/how-to-use-your-reci == pe-box-with-step-by-step-photos/ for step-by-step directions. Thank you!
ND Terri 4427050
Oct 21, 2013
After reading the comments about it being dry, I substituted a 14.5 oz. can of Tex-Mex fire roasted diced tomatoes with peppers for the can of tomato sauce and added a 15 oz. can of drained whole kernel corn with red and green peppers. It was delicious, but very heavy on the dairy products. I also felt like something crunchy was missing.
DH02666
May 04, 2013
People never be surprised where you can use cottage cheese and never know it's there.I have a recipe that uses whipped cottage cheese as a filling for a cake roll. Once it's sweetened, you never know what it is.This recipe would be good with salsa and chedder cheese.
BettyCos
May 03, 2013
I wanted to feed more people so used 1-1/2 lbs. ground beef and doubled everything else, added 2 cups of salsa, a can of black beans, a can of whole kernel corn and a 4 oz. can of sliced olives to the beef mixture. Obviously you will need either 2 casserole dishes or a lasagna pan, but it was excellent. For those that commented on using cottage cheese, try it before you knock it; it pleasantly adds to the texture.
Dendy2
May 03, 2013
msfantastic58, don't be such a food snob! Cottage cheese and ricotta cheese can be used in combination or alone in most recipes. If well blended with a whisk, you cannot even tell the difference-and it doesn't affect the savory/spicy taste. I've used the combo in my lasagna (along with parmesan) for years! All you taste is the parmesan. Nothing revolting about it!
sgoring24 7038187
May 05, 2013
I totally agree with you! I've use c. cheese in lasagna all the time, plus alot of other casseroles. You never know it's there.
jojanet 5343077
Apr 16, 2013
Can you use just sour cream and no cottage cheese?
msfantastic58 7067 834
May 03, 2013
I would certainly not use 'cottage cheese' in a spicey/ savory dish as this, it would kill the authenticity of the dish. Besides, who 'thunk up' the cottage cheese as added to any dish (which includes lasangna)? Absolutely revolting!
rubybrown 3329500
May 04, 2013
jojanet, you can add anything that you and your like the this and most likely it will taste good. Love, Ruby Brown
NoNoNannette
Apr 13, 2012
Good, but I added salsa to the tomato sauce = parts also green chilies and black olives. Next time I'm going try Ro-tel with the sauce = amounts The crushed tortilla chips I just used enough to cover the bottom of the dish and the same with the next layer Use good brand of chips also I added some mexican blend of cheese
jmps3 2241722
Dec 21, 2011
I made this for our dinner tonight and found it a bit dry. The flavor is good, but next time I'll cut the crushed chips back to 1 3/4 cups, and will add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of salsa to the tomato sauce.
tamibaker2 6153033
Oct 12, 2011
Don't the crushed tortilla chips become soggy?
LLJbeanies 3686878
Apr 19, 2012
Probably like all other recipes that use tortilla chips like this. They're fine when first made, but the leftovers are soggy. Maybe when reheating leftovers, crush more chips over the top for more crunch.
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