I haven’t come up with a new casserole recipe in quite a while. But last night, as I was scrounging in my cabinets and fridge trying to find something to make, this casserole was born. It is surprisingly delicious, with tastes ranging somewhere between an enchilada, taco, and tamale. And best of all, it’s not hard to make. You can make it simply or complicate it a bit if you’d like with lots of yummy toppings—the choice is yours. Personally, I say load it up. Read below to see what I mean. I don’t often say with indignation that you MUST try something, but I loved this casserole and sincerely hope you will, too.
For this recipe you’ll need:
For the rice:
2 teaspoons butter or olive oil
2 cups water
1 package (1.25 ounces) taco seasoning, divided
1 cup white rice (I use Basmati)
For the Ground Beef:
1.25 pounds ground beef
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 can cheddar cheese soup (10 ¾ ounces)
For the remainder of the recipe:
10 white corn tortillas
2 ¼ cup cheddar or Colby jack cheese, divided
½ cup salsa, divided
1 ½ cup partially crushed tortilla chips, divided
½ cup green onions, chopped
Desired toppings including sliced olives, additional cheese, additional salsa, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and cilantro
To make this recipe:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook the rice by bringing the water and butter or oil to a boil. Add ½ the taco seasoning packet and the rice. Bring to a second boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Set aside.
In a large skillet, brown the ground beef with the salt and garlic powder. When it is browned, add the other half of the taco seasoning mix and the cheddar cheese soup. Continue to cook about 3 minutes until the soup is heated through.
Spray an 11×9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Layer the casserole as follows: 5 tortillas (spray with cooking spray to soften) topped with half of the ground beef mixture, topped with half of the rice mixture, topped with ¼ cup salsa, topped with 1 cup cheese, half of the green onions, and ¾ cup crushed tortilla chips. Repeat the layering process using all the remaining ingredients in the same order (ending with the tortilla chips).
Bake in preheated oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes. If you need to, you can cover it with foil and continue to heat it through.
Serve on plates and allow each person to top their casserole with desired toppings of choice.
This will serve 6 adults (It fed my family of four—myself, my husband, our 6-year-old, and our 2-year-old for two nights).
TIP: If you want, make the beef and rice ahead of time and store in the
refrigerator until you’re ready to assemble the casserole.
You can substitute chicken for the ground beef.
For leftovers, keep the casserole in the original dish, cover it with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.
Try my macaroni and cheese, too!