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
Can you freeze leftover casserole?
Hi Steve! 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.
You did it again, Stephanie! I was out of taco shells so tried this recipe and it was wonderful! Plus, it saved that last minute rush of compiling into a taco shell. Loved it and so did my husband. I’ll be making it for the picky grandkids when they come. Thank you for providing these consistently great casserole recipes!
Wahooo! I’m so happy it was such a success! Thanks so much for your support, it’s great to hear you’re enjoying the recipes!💗
Looks great! Can’t wait to try it 🙂 I’ve made several of your other recipes and really enjoyed them! Can I use 2% plain Greek yogurt instead of the sour cream? Thanks!
Hi Diane! You might want to serve that on the side instead to ensure it doesn’t curdle when baked! 🙂
My husband loved it and he is a picky eater.
That’s great news, I’m so happy to hear that Lori, thank you so much!!!
Wonderful and tasty recipe! My husband loved it! Very simple to make! Will keep it in my monthly rotation!
I’m so happy your husband loved it Kimberly, nice work! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment💖
The recipe did not disappoint! I was in a cooking rut – so glad I found the Cozy Cook! I look forward to making more of your recipes.
I’m so glad to have you hear! Thanks so much for the great comments and review, I can’t wait for you to try more recipes💖
Very good and the kids loved it.
Great to hear Sandy, I love how kid friendly and simple this one is. Thanks so much for the great review!💗
This was so good! I did add more cheese and less sour cream (I’m not a fan of sour cream), I also used Rotel instead of regular tomatoes. We garnished with lettuce, crushed Doritos, and taco sauce. The entire family loved it and has asked to add into our rotation.
I’m so happy the family enjoyed it so much Erin! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review💖
This was delicious!! My whole family loved it and the next time I make it I will use 2 pounds of ground beef. I saw your 7 day meal planner. So far I have made this, Fettuccine Alfredo and Chicken with dressing. I made a double batch of Alfredo and they ate it all that night. They also ate all the Chicken and dressing. I love your recipes. You cook a lot like me. I just saw your recipe for Hamburger Vegetable Soup. I make something similar to this but I am going to try your way. I have a family of 6 adults so I have to make double your recipes lol. I am pinning your recipes and also taking pictures and putting on Facebook. I can’t wait to try more.
I am so happy that you are loving the recipes Denise, thank you so much for your support!! 🙂
This is great as a template – you can so easily cater it to your own likes. I used ground bison instead of beef, as that’s what I usually have on hand. I also added some shredded cheese, green onion, and chopped black olives to the sour cream before spreading that layer. Topped with more shredded cheddar, green onions, and sliced black olives. Ran under the broiler for the last few minutes to brown the cheese. I served scoops chips on the side as I knew we wouldn’t finish it with only 2 people and I didn’t want them to get soggy. Topped with chopped avocado and shredded lettuce. Yummy! We got quite a few meals out of this (for 2 people).
Hi Stephanie! Reading your description just made me very hungry indeed! So much so, that I might have to make it tonight! 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it! -Stephanie
Ok….why would you cook the sour cream in it? Lots of people use sour cream on their tacos, and I personally like the heat of the meat and cheese paired with cool sour cream the idea of cooking it turns me off badly
The reason it’s included is because the idea behind a casserole is to have everything included in a single dish. You’re more than welcome to put the sour cream on the side, this is noted as an option in the blog post already, so just go that route 😉