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An easy casserole layered with quick cornbread, seasoned meat, salsa, and cheese. Perfect for a quick weeknight meal and makes great leftovers. This is a perfect place to use your homemade taco seasoning!
TACOS BUT EVEN EASIER
When it comes to easy meals, tacos usually find themselves at or near the top of the list. First of all, preparing the meat is usually the hardest part. It takes just a few minutes! After that, it’s just a matter of setting out toppings and letting the rest come as it may.
That’s what I love about this baked taco casserole. The most involved part of the work is still the browning of the meat, but you have a cohesive casserole hot from the oven when all is said and done, and you can still offer up a selection of your favorite taco toppings, just as you would with a taco bar.
YOU’LL LOVE HOW QUICK THISEASY TACO CASSEROLE RECIPEIS
I have been making this recipe for so long, I can do it in my sleep. In fact, this recipe has lived on my site since 2016, and is often a go-to for me when I need a quick recipe for my family, want to drop off a meal to a family in need (my other go-to is mybaked ziti!), or taco Tuesday rolls around and I don’t want to plan another meal.
The bottom layer consists of a quick cornbread, in that the baking of the cornbread happens in the oven with the rest of the casserole. There’s no pre-baking a cornbread and then assembling the dish. It all happens at the same time, and making the cornbread is as simple as stirring the ingredients together and pouring it into a prepared baking dish.
After that, we’ve got a layer of seasoned meat (I prefer beef but have used ground turkey, ground chicken, shredded chicken, and even a rotisserie chicken) followed by salsa and cheese. I always use my homemade gluten-free taco seasoning.
Of course, if you want to add anything to your meat mixture like black beans or refried beans, you can do that! Or, you can opt to serve them alongside your toppings later.
The other thing I love about this recipe is that it can totally stand alone with no added toppings. Personally, I’m a huge sour cream girl, so at the very minimum, I will add a dollop of that to my slices. Otherwise, this delicious dish can totally stand on its own and speak for itself with those classic taco flavors already built in.
BAKED TACO CASSEROLE INGREDIENTS
Like most taco recipes, we need very basic ingredients to make this taco bake casserole. There is some wiggle room in here, so feel free to add whatever taco fixings you like, or again, reserve them for later when your casserole is sliced and ready to serve.
For this taco casserole bake, you will need:
•ground meat
•water
•homemade taco seasoningor store-bought seasoning
•all-purpose flourbe sure tomeasure properly
•cornmeal
•dry active yeast
•granulated sugar
•salt
•milk
•oil(vegetable, corn, or olive is fine)
•egg
•salsa
•shredded cheese
HOW TO MAKE TACO CASSEROLE
I think the most important thing to remember about this recipe is that it actually gets baked in a cold oven. That’s right– no preheating, so you can just assemble and toss it in the oven!
WHY START WITH A COLD OVEN?
Starting with a cold oven allows the cornbread batter to puff up nicely and peek its way through the nooks and crannies of the toppings. Since this is technically a yeasted batter, a slower baking of the batter ensures the yeast doesn’t get totally shocked (since we aren’t letting it rise and come to room temperature like we would a yeasted dough bread) and it works at peak performance.
BROWN THE MEAT
STEP #1
In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground meat and drain. Add the water and taco seasoning and mix well, then allow the mixture to simmer on low for 5 minutes. Remove the meat from from heat and set it aside.
MAKE THE CORNBREAD BATTER
STEP #2
In a medium size bowl, toss together the flour, cornmeal, yeast, sugar, and salt. Add the warm milk, oil, and egg and mix gently until no large lumps remain.
STEP #3
Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
LAYER THE INGREDIENTS & BAKE
STEP #4
Layer the taco meat evenly on top of the batter, followed by an even layer of the salsa, and an even layer of the shredded cheese, adding more salsa or cheese to your liking if you desire.
STEP #5
Place the dish inside the cold oven, then set the temperature to 350°F (177ºC) and bake for 30 minutes.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH THIS DELICIOUS TACO CASSEROLE
As I mentioned, you can totally let this easy dinner speak for itself, but feel free to serve with your favorite toppings.
I’ve even served this with tortilla chips, corn chips, Mexican rice, black olives, chopped bell peppers, or throw it on top of some greens and make a taco salad. This is one of my favorite recipes to serve the whole family because someone can usually find something they like about it and a way they can enjoy it, as simple or as gussied up as they wish.
I hope this becomes a family favorite for you, too, so you have one less meal to plan for busy weeknights.
EASY TACO BAKE RECIPE FAQs
You absolutely can use any kind of meat you prefer in this recipe. You can even leave the meat out entirely to keep it vegetarian, or use a meat alternative like tofu or another plant based meat alternative.
Yes! This recipe doubles beautifully. Bake the casserole in a 9″ x 13″ dish. Baking time is the same.
Yes, you can make this taco casserole ahead of time. Prepare the meat and store in the refrigerator up to 1 day in advance.
5 from 3 votes
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Baked Taco Casserole Recipe
An easy casserole layered with quick cornbread, seasoned meat, salsa, and cheese. Perfect for a quick weeknight meal and makes great leftovers.
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Bake Time30 minutes mins
Total Time45 minutes mins
Recipe Author Lynn April
Servings: 9 servings
Ingredients
MEAT FILLING
- 1 pound (454g) ground meat I prefer beef, use whatever you like
- ⅓ cup (60mL) water
- 3 Tablespoons homemade taco seasoning or 1 packet store-bought seasoning
CORNBREAD LAYER
- ¾ cup (90g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- ½ cup (76g) cornmeal
- 2 envelopes (14g) dry active yeast or 4 and ½ teaspoons from a jar
- 1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (180mL) warm milk
- 3 Tablespoons (45mL) oil vegetable, corn, or olive is fine
- 1 large egg
TOPPINGS
- 1 cup (240g) salsa
- 1 cup (113g) shredded cheese I prefer a Mexican blend, use whatever you like
Instructions
Lightly spray a casserole dish (8" x 8" or 9" x 13" both work well here, but I prefer the smaller square pan) with non-stick spray. Set aside.
In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground meat and drain. Add the water and homemade taco seasoning and mix well. Allow to simmer on low for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
1 pound (454g) ground meat, ⅓ cup (60mL) water, 3 Tablespoons homemade taco seasoning
In a medium size bowl, toss together the flour, cornmeal, yeast, sugar, and salt. Add the warm milk, oil, and egg and mix gently until no large lumps remain.
¾ cup (90g) all-purpose flour, ½ cup (76g) cornmeal, 2 envelopes (14g) dry active yeast, 1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, ¾ cup (180mL) warm milk, 3 Tablespoons (45mL) oil, 1 large egg
Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Layer the taco meat evenly on top of the batter, followed by an even layer of the salsa, and an even layer of the shredded cheese, adding more salsa or cheese to your liking if you desire.
1 cup (240g) salsa, 1 cup (113g) shredded cheese
Place the baking dish in a cold oven and set the temperature to 350°F (177ºC). Bake the casserole for 30 minutes. Allow to cool at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve with sour cream, chopped chives or green onions, extra salsa, guacamole, pico de gallo, or your other favorite taco toppings. Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator, covered tightly, up to 5 days. Baked casserole freezes well, up to 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight and bake in a preheated 300ºF oven for 25 minutes or until heated through.
Notes
Recipe from Fleishmann’s
Did you make this recipe?Mention @freshaprilflours on Instagram or tag #freshaprilflours!
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 278kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 514mg | Potassium: 338mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 361IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 2mg
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