Cheesy Taco Casserole Recipe – An Easy To Prepare, Make Ahead Dish

I have been making this cheesy taco casserole recipe for over 25 years. It is one of my favorite go-to, quick and easy weeknight meals.

It takes little time to prepare and is a family favorite for even the pickiest eaters!

This recipe is easy to customize to your own preferences. If you don’t eat ground beef, you can use ground chicken or even turkey if you prefer.

**HINT — If you prefer ground chicken, it is much more cost-effective to buy boneless chicken breasts and make ground chicken yourself.

All you have to do is cut the chicken into chunks and pulse it in your food processor until the meat is ground to the consistency that you prefer. It’s that easy! Check out our affiliate link to the Hamilton Beach Duo Food Processor that we have in our own kitchen!

You can also add any additional ingredients or toppings of your choice. I keep the base of the recipe basic with chips, meat, onion, salsa, and cheese.

But you could also add other ingredients as well. If we know everyone likes them we sometimes add leftover refried beans or diced jalapeno on top of the meat mixture before baking.

And we typically let everyone add their own toppings after individual portions have been served. In our house it’s just easier because everyone likes different toppings!

This dish also does well as a make ahead of time and freeze meal. Just prepare as instructed, cover and freeze. When you are ready to bake it, pull it out of the freezer and bake for approximately 60 minutes.

Of course you could take it out to thaw prior to baking and the cooking time would remain at 15-20 minutes.

And if you like this recipe, don’t forget to check out our other popular Mexican recipes! 

Cheesy Taco Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound ground beef or chicken

½ cup chopped onion

3 Tablespoons taco seasoning

3/4 cup water

1 small bag of tortilla chips

½ cup salsa

2 cups grated Mexican cheese, divided

Toppings of your choice

Lettuce, tomato, onion, jalapeno, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, etc.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Brown the ground beef/chicken with the onion, drain if needed.

2. Add taco seasoning mix and water to the cooked ground meat and mix well. Cook down until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

3. Grease a 9 x 11 glass baking dish. Break up tortilla chips and place them in a thick layer on the bottom of the dish.

4. Top the crushed chips with the hamburger and onion mix, half of the cheese and salsa.

5. Add another layer of crushed chips and top with cheese.

6. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

7. Add toppings of your choice.

Enjoy!

Mary and Jim

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