Julie Clark
Updated:
Taco Lasagna
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Perfect for busy weeknights or cozy family dinners, this taco lasagna recipe combines the heartiness of taco meat with the comfort of lasagna, all layered in flour tortillas. Serve with our chocolate tres leches cake recipe or vanilla tres leches cake for dessert!
Ready to give your Taco Tuesday a delicious twist? Our Taco Lasagna is here to bring a little excitement to your dinner table. Ground beef with Mexican flavors, melted cheese, beans & tomatoes, and soft flour tortillas, all layered together in a casserole that’s bound to become a family favorite. It’s a great twist on traditional lasagna!
Love Mexican food as much as we do? Try our t
What readers are saying:
Amy says, “I tried this … turned out great. We used street taco tortilla shells, the smaller size fit the pan nicely. Will definitely make again. Thanks for the great recipe.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Regina says, “I made this for my family last night for dinner. They loved it and the left overs are just as yummy.” ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Taco Lasagna Ingredients
This taco casserole calls for simple ingredients:
- Ground beef. Use ground turkey, ground chicken or even ground chorizo in place of the beef you’d like. The whole family prefers when I use lean ground beef.
- Poblano pepper and onion. Poblano peppers have a hint more spice than green bell peppers, so are great in this easy Mexican casserole.
- Taco seasoning. Don’t have any in the house? Make our homemade taco seasoning.
- Black beans and refried beans. A mix of both gives an excellent texture to the casserole.
- Rotel. Rotel is one pantry item you should keep on hand. It’s the base of our Rotel pasta, taco pie and Mexican chicken soup.
- Flour tortillas. I often make this when I have random tortillas that need used up. Any size will work, just tear them to fit the pan.
- Cheese. Mexican-style shredded cheese. Love lots of cheese? Double it! Pepper jack cheese is also delicious and gives more heat to the taco lasagna.
✨ See the recipe card below for complete ingredients and amounts. ✨
How to Make Taco Lasagna
- Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350º Fahrenheit. Spray a 9×13-inch casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Cook. In a large skillet, cook the beef, pepper and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain off any fat.
- Simmer. Add water and taco seasoning packets. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and then simmer, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Stir in black beans and tomatoes (with juice). Simmer the meat mixture, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
- Layer. Place 2 tortillas in the bottom of the pan. Break a third tortilla and piece it together in any holes to make as much of a complete layer of tortillas as possible. Spread the top of the tortillas with half of the refried beans. Spoon half of the ground beef mixture on top. Sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. Repeat layers (3 tortillas, remaining beans, remaining beef, 1 cup of cheese). Top with remaining tortillas and 2 cups cheese.
- Bake. Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted and lightly golden brown.
top it!
Top this easy taco lasagna with your favorite taco toppings: green onions, black olives, sour cream, guacamole and pico de gallo.
Make Taco Lasagna Ahead
This is a great make ahead meal. Make it up to 2 days in advance, then cover and refrigerate before baking. Remove it from the refrigerator 1 hour before baking. Then bake as the recipe says.
Taco lasagna with flour tortillas also makes a great freezer meal if you freeze before baking. Wrap it in plastic wrap, then again in aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 2 months.
When you are ready to bake it, remove it from the fridge and allow it to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Remove it from the refrigerator one hour before baking as the recipe suggests.
Recipe Variations
- Don’t like refried beans? Use double the black beans or Mexican rice in place of the refried beans.
- Love corn? Add about a cup of corn and use corn tortillas in place of flour tortillas.
- Use salsa in place of the Rotel.
- Want it “saucier”? Add a small can of enchilada sauce.
- Don’t have tortillas? Make this taco lasagna with noodles. Cook the lasagna noodles according to package instructions and layer where the flour tortillas would be.
Make it a meal.
Here are a few fun side dish recipes that you might like adding to this meal:
Other Mexican Main Dishes
If you love taco lasagna, you may also love these other taco dinners:
- steak tacos
- taco corn casserole
- taco pizza appetizer
- taco stuffed shells
- enchilada casserole
- Mexican meatloaf
- Mexican lasagna recipe
Love lasagna? Try our crazy good lasagna, lasagna soup or white chicken lasagna.
Taco Lasagna (with Make Ahead Instructions)
Perfect for busy weeknights or cozy family dinners, this taco lasagna recipe combines the heartiness of taco meat with the comfort of lasagna, all layered in flour tortillas.
Servings 15
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 poblano pepper (seeded and diced)
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup water
- 2 envelope taco seasoning
- 15 ounces black beans rinsed and drained (1 can)
- 29 ounces Mexican diced tomatoes undrained (2 cans, 14.5 ounces each) (Rotel Mexican)
- 9 flour tortillas (8 inches)
- 16 ounces refried beans (1 can)
- 4 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend or cheddar cheese
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large skillet, cook the beef, pepper and onion over medium-high heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain off any fat. 2 pounds lean ground beef, 1 poblano pepper, ½ cup chopped onion
- Add water and taco seasoning packets. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and then simmer the sauce, uncovered, for 2 minutes. Stir in black beans and tomatoes (with juice). Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. 1 cup water, 2 envelope taco seasoning, 15 ounces black beans, 29 ounces Mexican diced tomatoes
- Place 2 tortillas in the bottom of the prepared pan. Break a third tortilla and piece it together in any holes to make as much of a complete layer of tortillas as possible. 9 flour tortillas
- Spread with half of the refried beans and half of the beef mixture. Sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. 16 ounces refried beans, 4 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
- Repeat layers (3 tortillas, remaining beans, remaining beef, 1 cup of cheese). Top with remaining tortillas and 2 cups cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. If you make this in advance and the meat mixture is cold, the lasagna may take an additional 15-20 minutes to bake.
- Serve with fresh cilantro, sour cream, sliced avocado and fresh pico de gallo. Season with salt and pepper.
Video
Notes
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
The calories shown are based on the casserole being cut into 15 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of lasagna. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**
Nutrition
Calories: 316kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 545mg | Potassium: 482mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 330IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 266mg | Iron: 4mg
This is delicious. I’ve made it several times now. I substitute a can of enchilada sauce for the water and use fresh tomatoes chopped up, along with homemade taco seasoning.
I make it a little differently. I use cummin and chillli powder with a bit of Cayenne pepper. I use corn tortillas layer 3 layers like lasagna, I then poor a 28 oz can of green enchilada sauce over it then bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until cheese browns on top. My kids growing up loved it. I sometimes substitute ground pork. I serve with avocado, pico de Gallo, and full fat plain organic yogurt. Will try your recipe. I also sometimes put yogurt in the layers.
1 jar Mild salsa 1 -8 oz jar taco sauce then added Black beans 1 cup frozen corn. I also used a yellow pepper instead of the green, and l did not use the refried beans, It was plenty thick enough. Ialso used 18 fajita shells.
Awesome casserole. Loved it. One suggestion, cut all your Tortillas in half and place the straight edge on the straight edge of your casserole dish so that the rounds come together in the middle. Placed that way, there are no open spaces. Just saying
Any thoughts on using corn tortillas?
y’all making me hungry I think I’m gonna bake me a sausage egg and cheese onion bun toasted
I made this for my family last night for dinner. They loved it and the left overs are just as yummy 😋
This was the best! We halved it which was easy to do. Hubby love it and he dislikes black beans.
I tried this … turned out great. We used street taco tortilla shells, the smaller size fit the pan nicely.
Will definitely make again.
Thanks for the great recipe.