The Cozy Cookbook is here! 
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.
Try These Next
-
- Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
-
- Chicken Taco Soup
-
- Taco Spaghetti
-
- Baked Ravioli
-
- Easy Chili Recipe
-
- Chicken Enchiladas
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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
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This recipe looks delicious! How would you incorporate the tater tots in this recipe? Where would you layer them and is the cook time different?
Hi Jenna! I have this tater tot casserole recipe where I bake it at 375 for 40 minutes and put the tater tots on the top. I would do the same thing for this one. I’d also serve the sour cream on the side, since you’d be baking for longer at a higher temperature. (To mitigate curdling.)
Have you tried putting this casserole together & freezing it for later?
yes, I actually cover this in my post, I’ll cut and paste: “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.”
Just made for dinner tonight, everyone liked it! The sour cream did curdle…. it was fresh, full fat, and room temp. I think it would be better to serve the sour cream cold on top of the hot casserole, like someone already mentioned, so I’ll do that next time. Nice quick and easy dinner!
Hi this taco casserole is so great tasting! I’m going to make it again! Kathy
Wahooo! I’m so happy to hear that Kathleen, thanks so much for the great comments!💗
I want to make this, but was wondering if you can make two 8×8 pans and freeze one? It really looks delicious and I think my husband would like it too. Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Bev! You absolutely can! I would serve the sour cream on the side though, as it doesn’t restore back to it’s original consistency after being frozen. Let the frozen casserole thaw in the fridge for up to 24 hours, then let it sit out and come to room temperature for 30 minutes prior to baking. 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 🙂
First off my family loved this recipe hence the 5 stars!! My only suggestion is to skip adding the sour cream and serve it as a garnish on the side. I did everything the recipe said to avoid the sour cream from curdling. It still did! My family loves sour cream and put a dollop on their plate so putting it in the recipe before baking is not necessary in my opinion.
I am so happy that you enjoyed it Nancy, and thank you for sharing your tips on the sour cream. I have never had it curdle on me before, which is so strange! But I know it’s possible, so your tip is helpful! 🙂
Could you please tell me how to keep my lettuce fresh in the refrigerator? No matter how air tight I think I have my container, it still turns brown. I was just thinking if I made this early, my lettuce would be brown before I served it. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.
Hi Betty, I refrigerate the whole head of lettuce and keep it in a tightly sealed freezer bag in the vegetable crisper drawer. You might have better luck if you wait on cutting it just before serving.
Hi, I have found if I add a cold wet paper towel in with my lettuce in a ziploc freezer bag in frig helps keep lettuce fresh for much longer…hope this helps
That’s a GREAT tip! I do that with all veggies, except for the lettuce! (Until now!) Thank you sharing! ❤️
I added diced tomatoes to the skillet and used ground turkey 😊also didn’t have decried bras so used a package of Madras Lentils. Great football Sunday snack!
Definitely such a great football snack! I’m so happy you enjoyed Linda. I haven’t tried it with ground turkey yet but I bet I would love it! Thanks so much for the great review!😍
I made this for dinner and it was a hit. My husband and I loved it.
Great to hear Anita! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and review!😍
The whole family loved this recipe. I used Frontera taco sauce for a great rich flavor. I also added fresh jalapenos under the cheese, avocado with pico de gallo and lettuce, and topped with a little chipotle salsa. My room temperature sour cream (Daisy) did curdle – no big deal.
Sounds yummy Tim! Happy to hear the whole family loved it. Thanks so much for the great comments and review!😍