Julie Clark
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Taco Corn Casserole
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Take corn casserole to a new level with this Taco Corn Casserole Recipe. This cheesy cornbread casserole uses up leftover taco meat. Top with sour cream and fresh salsa.
One of our favorite family recipes is corn casserole, so the past few months I’ve spent some time developing some alternative ways to enjoy the classic 5 ingredient corn casserole. Think not just side dish…but main dish recipes, meat included. Because we love Mexican flavored food, this Taco Corn Casserole was born.
If you love taco recipes, you’ll love our taco pizza, salsa verde tacos, vegetarian taco salad and frito taco salad.
Use up that Leftover Taco Meat
Do you ever have leftover taco meat in the fridge? Honestly, we rarely do. The kids DEVOUR tacos, so if we do have a little bit of taco beef leftover, it won’t last more than a day. If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, that makes this recipe extra easy. Just use about a pound of ground beef seasoned with homemade taco seasoning.
How to Make Taco Corn Casserole
This taco cornbread casserole recipe is literally dump, mix and put in a pan to bake.
- Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9×9″ or 9×13″ baking pan with cooking spray. Note: I use a deep dish 9″ baking pan. It will expand, so if you don’t have a deep dish, use a traditional 9×13″ baking pan.
- In a bowl, mix all of the ingredients together, then pour into the prepared pan.
- This cornbread taco bake will take about 60-70 minutes to cook if using a square 9×9 baking dish or 45-50 minutes in a 9×13 baking pan. Bake until lightly browned and set in the center. (The exact time will depend on the pan you use so watch it closely. The center should not be jiggly.)
Recipe Notes and Variations
- Drain the can of whole kernel corn and the green chilies. If you don’t drain the corn and chiles, this recipe won’t work and won’t fully bake.
- Use jalapeño peppers instead of or in addition to the green chiles if you’re looking for spice.
- We like to use a sharp cheddar cheese, but you can use a Mexican blend cheese if you’d like. Pepper jack cheese gives a nice kick of heat.
- This recipe works well with ground turkey and ground chicken.
- You can also make this taco corn casserole by layering the ingredients. Start with the ground beef to the bottom of the dish. Then add the cheese, then the jiffy corrnbread batter. Bake as the recipe suggests, but watch it closely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make taco corn casserole ahead of time?
Yes! You can mix the ingredients for this taco cornbread casserole together, spread it in the baking pan, then cover and refrigerate until you want to bake it. Remove the casserole from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking so the chill comes off. It might take slightly longer to bake this way.
Can I make taco corn casserole in the slow cooker?
Yes! Simply spray the liner of the slow cooker with cooking spray (or better yet, use slow cooker liners) then add the corn mixture to the slow cooker. Set on low and bake until the center is set. It should take about 4-6 hours.
Taco Corn Casserole Toppings
This taco casserole has a very simple flavor. We like to pile it high with our favorite pico de gallo recipe…or you can use a salsa verde or blender salsa. Top it off with a dollop of sour cream and fresh cilantro.
Make it a meal.
We like to serve a simple side salad with this casserole. You could also serve green beans, tortilla chips or refried beans.
Other Corn Casserole Recipes
- Corn Pudding
- Scalloped Corn
- Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Casserole
- Mexican Street Corn Casserole
- Tamale Pie. This is a similar recipe to taco corn casserole, but it also has black beans and Rotel tomatoes, along with the Jiffy cornbread mix baked on top for a fluffy cornbread layer.
Love cornbread? Try our apple cornbread, sour cream cornbread, sausage cornbread stuffing and Mexican cornbread.
Taco Corn Casserole
Take corn casserole to a new level with this Taco Corn Casserole Recipe. This cheesy cornbread casserole uses up leftover taco meat. Top with sour cream and fresh salsa.
Servings 8
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pound taco seasoned ground beef (either leftover meat or beef cooked specifically for this purpose)
- 8 ounces Jiffy Cornbread Muffin mix (1 box)
- 15 ounces whole kernel corn (drained)
- 15 ounces creamed corn (not drained)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup diced green chilies (drained)
Toppings:
- pico de gallo
- sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9×9" or 9×13" baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Note: I use a deep dish 9" baking pan. It will expand, so if you don't have a deep dish, use a traditional 9×13" baking pan.
- In a bowl, stir all of the ingredients together and pour into a greased deep dish 9×9" or 9×13" baking pan. 1 pound taco seasoned ground beef, 8 ounces Jiffy Cornbread Muffin mix, 15 ounces whole kernel corn, 15 ounces creamed corn, 1 cup sour cream, ½ cup melted butter, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, ¼ cup diced green chilies
- This casserole will take about 60-70 minutes to bake if using a square 9×9 baking dish or 45-50 minutes in a 9×13 baking pan. Bake until lightly browned and set in the center. (The exact time will depend on the pan you use so watch it closely. The center should not be jiggly. If it is a deep casserole it will take longer to bake.)
- Serve immediately with fresh salsa and a dollop of sour cream. pico de gallo, sour cream
Video
Notes
- The time needed to cook this casserole may vary slightly depending on the pan you use. Most times it takes us a full hour to cook it. Plan for up to 70 minutes of baking, but check it several times.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave.
- You can freeze any leftovers in individual storage containers for an easy lunch or dinner. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then reheat in the microwave.
Nutrition
Calories: 558kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 732mg | Potassium: 398mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 780IU | Vitamin C: 4.3mg | Calcium: 169mg | Iron: 2.5mg
Can you use Ground Turkey, Lean
Found this to be exceptionally greasy. It could have been due to the olive oil spray we used on the pan. Next time I’d use half the butter and half the sour cream.
I made this a couple years ago and thought it was amazing!! Did it again tonight but instead I split the mixture into two 7×11 pans and baked for 45 mins and it came out near perfect!! Could have used maybe 5 less minutes in the oven. Do you think it could be frozen after baking?
Can I prepare this the night before and cook it the next morning…will it need to cook longer since it will be cold? I have made this in the past and we love it!
This is AWFUL! Do not bother with this recipe! Waste of ingredients!!
Made this tonight! We all loved it, even my picky five year old!!! Definitely making this again!
Absolutely delicious! This will definitely be in the rotation!
I wanted to double this recipe. What size pan should I use and any ideas how much longer it would take to cook?
Seemed undercooked with the temp given, but I’m not sure how cooked it was supposed to be anyway.. 🤷🏼♀️ If you prefer, you can always add chips like the hubby! All that matters is that (1) the photos of this dish do NOT do it justice! And I say that because (2), in fact, this dinner is absolutely great! Definitely recommend trying!!
It didn’t turn out very well for me.. I put in more chilies than the recipe called for, but made everything like it said. We didn’t really taste them sadly. The cornbread didn’t cook all the way thru. Baked it for over 70minutes in the 9×13 casserole dish. I do want to know with the taco meat do you make it with water and the taco seasoning? I didn’t use the water.
Can you use two cans of regular corn drained (I don’t have cream style on hand) ?
Can you use leftover cornbread instead of the jiffy mix?
Definitely needs a 9×13!!!
Could salsa be used instead of the green chilies or could they be omitted altogether?
Do I mix the jiffy corn mix by package directions before mixing it with all the other ingredients?