This Taco Casserole Recipe is loaded with all of your Mexican favorites and topped with Doritos, Fritos, or Tortilla Chips! It’s easy to assemble days ahead of time and bake later for an easy dinner!
Be sure to try my Taco Stuffed Shells and my Salsa Chicken recipes next!
I’ve been on a casserole kick lately, especially ones that you can make ahead of time. It’s amazing how much easier your life becomes when you do a little meal prep ahead of time.
The fact that you can assemble this Taco Casserole up to 2 days ahead of time is really handy. And the ingredients are really easy to customize!
How to Make it
Note: This is an overview. See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Let the sour cream come to room temperature while you prepare the meat. This will prevent it from curdling when baked as it won’t be going from cold to hot right away.
- Cook/crumble the ground beef and onions in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Drain excess grease, add water and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat.
- Spread the refried beans in an even layer over a 9 x 13″ casserole dish. Top with sour cream.
- Add the seasoned ground beef and onions on top.
- Top with cheese. Bake uncovered at 350°F for 15 minutes, until the cheese is hot and melted.
- Add the black olives and crunchy toppings. Bake uncovered for 8 minutes.
- Garnish with green onions, diced tomatoes, and/or shredded lettuce if desired and serve!
Make-Ahead Method
This Taco Casserole can be made up to 2 days ahead.
- To do so, cook the ground beef and onions and layer all of the ingredients in a casserole dish.
- Let it cool and cover it. Refrigerate for up to 2 days.
- Let it sit out and come to room temperature for 35 minutes prior to baking. This will prevent the sour cream from curdling.
- Bake, covered, in a 350° oven for 25 minutes.
- Uncover, and bake for 5 more minutes to fully melt the cheese.
- Add black olives along with the crunchy toppings. Bake for 8 additional minutes.
- Add the shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and green onions prior to serving.
Crock Pot Taco Casserole
- This recipe is easy to assemble within a Crock Pot and heat right away or up to 2 days later.
- You’ll still need to brown the ground beef first, then layer the ingredients per the recipe instructions.
- Save the crunchy toppings and shredded lettuce/tomatoes/green onions until you’re just ready to serve.
Heating right away: High 2-3 hours or Low 4-5 hours
Heating from a cold state: Let it sit out for 35 minutes prior to heating to prevent the sour cream from curdling. Heat on high 4-5 hours or Low 6-7 hours
This Crock pot allows you to sear/brown meat right on the stove top. It also switches to warm once the cooking time is up.
Note that Crock Pots vary in terms on how quickly they heat up and how hot they get.
Taco Casserole for a Crowd or Potluck
- These aluminum foil pans make it easy to prepare this recipe for a crowd and the pans can be disposed of afterwards.
- This recipe serves 6 people. Click the number of servings to reveal a slider. Move the slider right to increase the number of servings if you’re making this for a larger crowd.
Storing Leftovers
- Leftovers should be refrigerated in an airtight container and are best if used within 3-4 days.
- Reheat in a microwave or a 350°oven until heated through.
Pro Tip: Leftovers make a great dip or filling for burritos!
Freezing
- Taco casserole makes a good freezer food and can be stored for up to 3 months, although I recommend that you leave out the sour cream and serve it on the side with this casserole if you plan on freezing.
- Leave out the crunchy toppings and shredded lettuce when you freeze as well.
- Let it defrost overnight and bake as instructed, or bake it frozen and add 1 hour of baking time.
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Taco Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef, I use 80% lean
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 oz. taco seasoning, equivalent to 2 Tablespoons
- 16 oz. refried beans
- ¾ cup sour cream, *see notes
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup black olives, sliced
- ¾ cup crunchy toppings such as tortilla chips, Doritos, and/or Fritos
To garnish:
- Green onions, (optional)
- 1/3 cup lettuce, shredded
- 1/3 cup tomatoes, diced
Instructions
- Let the sour cream come to room temperature while you prepare the meat. This will prevent it from curdling when baked as it won't be going from cold to hot right away.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the ground beef and diced onions to a large pan and cook and crumble over medium heat until the meat is cooked through.
- Drain excess grease.
- Add ¾ cup water and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Let it cool for 8-10 minutes.
- Spread the refried beans in an even layer in a lightly greased 9 x 13-inch casserole dish.
- Spread the sour cream over the refried beans, followed by the slightly cooled beef, then the cheese.
- If you’re preparing this head of time, let it cool and cover and refrigerate until ready to bake.
Baking:
- If baking right away: Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is hot and melted.
- If baking after the casserole has been refrigerated: Bake, covered, for 25 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
Add the toppings:
- Top the casserole with black olives and crunchy toppings. (Add additional cheese if you like as well.)
- Bake uncovered for 8 minutes.
- Garnish with green onions, diced tomatoes, and/or shredded lettuce and serve!
Notes
*A combination of Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese works well too!
Crock Pot Taco Casserole
- This recipe is easy to assemble within a Crock Pot and heat right away or up to 2 days later.
- You'll still need to brown the ground beef first, then layer the ingredients per the recipe instructions.
- Save the crunchy toppings and shredded lettuce/green onions until you're just ready to serve.
Heating right away: High 2-3 hours or Low 4-5 hours Heating from a cold state: Let it sit out for 35 minutes prior to heating to prevent the sour cream from curdling. Heat on high 4-5 hours or Low 6-7 hoursThis Crock pot allows you to sear/brown meat right on the stove top. It also switches to warm once the cooking time is up.
Nutrition
Recipe says to add water and taco seasoning. No mention of how much water anywhere in recipe
Step 5: “Add ¾ cup water and taco seasoning.” 😊
I cooked this it’s amazing. I needed something different and believe me this is an amazing different. Thank you!
I’m so happy you liked the casserole Lois! I love how fun and unique this is too. Definitely different. Thanks so much for the great review!💖
how about a can of diced tomatoes?
A can of drained diced tomatoes would be great!
I did some stuff differently simply based on what I had on hand/laziness. My bottom layer was whole kidney beans instead of refried beans. (I could have made them into refried beans, but lazy) Then I added corn. Mexican Crema for the sour cream. I used crushed tortilla chips for the crunchy topping. After the 8 minute bake to brown the crunchy topping, I took it out and added fresh tomatoes and cilantro. I served with tortilla chips so it could be scooped up onto the chip like when you order nachos grande at a restaurant. (except I arranged the chips around the dish instead of topping the chips with the mixture. I’d have topped with avocado, too, like someone earlier did, but my dang avocados aren’t ripe.
Thanks for the recipe. Even though I did a few things differently, I’d have never come up with the general idea all on my own.
I’m so happy you liked this recipe and were able to customize it! I love the changes/additions you made. Thanks so much for the comments and for taking the time to leave a review!❤️
I’ve made this before and it’s absolutely fantastic! What I’m wondering though, can this be frozen and baked at a later date and what temperature and for how long would it be baked for?
Hi Mary Kay, I don’t recommend making this one ahead and freezing it because of the sour cream layer, the dairy would separate when thawed and reheated. If you wanted to try it, you could bake from frozen and add one hour to the baking time. Or let it thaw completely, sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, and bake as outlined. The second option would be your better bet. I haven’t tried it with this casserole though, like I said, the sour cream makes it tricky. You could always skip that and serve it on the side!
My family loves this recipe!!! Thank you so much!!! We added some Ortega chili’s, just because we like them.
I’m so happy you and the family love this one Lori!❤️ Ortega chili’s sounds like a great addition. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!
Crockpot link does not work.
Hey Cassie, thank you so much for letting me know, I updated it! Thank you again!! -Stephanie
If I add tater tots- do they go on the bottom and do I cook them first?
Hi Rachael, I would add them right on top without pre-cooking them!
I am making this tomorrow and love the idea of adding tater tots. How did yours come out? Did you add them uncooked on the top before the cheese?
Absolutely love this recipe! It’s perfect for party food plus it’s quick!
I’m so happy you’re enjoying this one Kristina! I agree, definitely a great party food. There’s something really fun about this recipe in general, and it’s super quick and easy. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!😍
This was such a delicious treat. Thank you Thank you I will make this again forever.
You’re very welcome! I’m so happy this was a hit!❤️ Definitely a good way to mix things up for an extra fun taco Tuesday! Thanks so much for the review!