I make this recipe at least once a month and my family loves it every time! It's so easy and makes for fantastic leftovers.
"Mexican food is so full of color, life and music. It's like a piñata exploding in your mouth" -Kate McLennan
If you're familiar with casseroles then you already know that each one has a ton of variations so it doesn't surprise me that I found 15 different version of a Taco Casserole when I started doing research to see what makes each one so special.
Most of the ingredients are the same and you don't want to really change the unique Mexican flavor but I found some really weird ingredients that people we using...things like blue cheese...No Ma'am! Anywho, I tried to keep it as "authentic" as possible and stick to traditional Mexican ingredients.
Cooking Tips:
This is probably the most important tip: Make sure your cookware is large enough to cook the meat filling. As you will see in the video, I used a Dutch Oven to cook all ingredients before transferring them into the casserole/baking dish
Chop up all of your veggies first, this takes time since your slicing cherry tomatoes and dicing union.
Be sure to use a lean ground beef, otherwise you will need to drain a lot excess fat
You do NOT need to sauté the onion or garlic, they will have plenty of cook time to soften and flavor the meat.
Feel free to double this recipe, you get more layers and it leaves more leftovers!
Ingredients
1 lbs. Lean Ground Beef
2 Tbsp Taco Seasoning mix
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Black Pepper
1 Tsp Cayenne Pepper (optional)
2 Garlic Cloves, minced (2 tsp)
½ Yellow Onion, chopped
1 (15-oz) can of Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-oz) can of Corn, rinsed and drained
2 Cups Cherry Tomatoes, sliced in half and divided
5 Green Onions, chopped
6 Corn or Flour Tortillas, sliced in half
1 ½ Cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 ½ Cups Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
1 (3-oz) bag of Tortilla Strips
Sour Cream, (optional for serving)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°.
Add Ground Beef to a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat, breaking up the meat as it cooks until brown.
Stir in Taco Seasoning, Cayenne, Salt and Pepper as well as minced Garlic & Onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Next, stir in the Black Beans, Corn, half of the Green Onion and half of the Cherry Tomatoes.
Spread a small amount of the beef mixture on the bottom of your casserole/baking dish, then top with 1 layer of tortillas.
Add a third of the cheeses, a third of the beef mixture again and then repeat process until the beef mixture is gone. Top off with remaining cheeses
Next, top with remaining Cherry Tomatoes, Green Onion and Tortilla Strips.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve and Enjoy!