The Best EASY Mexican Casserole Recipe Made With Ground Beef & Doritos

This Mexican casserole recipe is packed with flavor. It combines layers of taco-seasoned ground beef and veggies, sour cream, crunchy Doritos, and melty shredded cheese to make a casserole like no other. Plus, it's super easy to prepare in just 15 minutes!

The Best Mexican Casserole

If you like Mexican food and tacos in a bag, you're going to love this Mexican casserole recipe. It's literally a taco in a bag, but in casserole form. And, it makes enough to feed the whole family!

Now, I know I'm biased, but I think this is one of the best casserole recipes ever! Seriously, it's next-level good. From the seasoned ground beef to the Doritos and cheese, it's filled with everything you'd expect it to have and nothing less.

Plus, it's actually really easy to make. All you have to do is prepare the ground beef and veggies, then toss everything in a casserole dish and let it bake to perfection in the oven. The entire Mexican casserole will take you about 30 minutes from start to finish. Pretty great for a dinner that will feed the whole family, right?

By the way, if you're looking for more casserole recipes that everyone will love, you have to give this cheeseburger casserole or ground turkey casserole a try next!

Ingredients

Now, the ingredient list for this Mexican casserole is on the longer side, but you'll see they're all super simple ingredients. In fact, you might even have most - if not all - of them on hand already!

Anyway, here's what you'll need to make this easy Mexican casserole:

• 10 oz. Doritos (or corn tortillas)
• 1 tbsp. Oil
• ½ Onion, diced
• ½ Green Bell Peppers, diced
• 1 tbsp. Jalapeño Pepper, diced
• 1 lb. Ground Beef
• ½ Red Bell Peppers, diced
• ¼ cup Taco Seasoning
• 10 oz. Canned Tomatoes, drained
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 4 cups Cheddar Cheese
• ¼ cup Cilantro, chopped

Pretty simple stuff, eh?

By the way, if you love Mexican food, you can use a lot of these same ingredients to make some of my other Mexican recipes - like these birria tacos and these beef empanadas.

Oh, and if you want to make another version of this casserole, you can use all of these ingredients to make this Mexican chicken casserole. It's like a cross between this casserole and a chicken enchilada casserole and it's so good.

Ingredient Substitutions and Suggestions

I always make this delicious casserole with the ingredients listed above, but you can make some changes, and it'll be just as delicious.

So, of course, this recipe calls for lean ground beef, but you can also make it with ground turkey, ground pork, ground chicken, or ground chicken instead. Honestly, though, you can skip the meat altogether and turn it into a vegetarian casserole if you'd like.

Now, as you probably noticed above, I like to use nacho cheese Doritos to top off the casserole. The extra cheesy flavor is what I think makes this the ultimate Mexican casserole recipe. Just so you know, though, you don't have to use the cheese-flavored Doritos to make it. You can use any flavored Doritos or even crushed tortilla chips or corn tortillas, and the casserole will turn out great. 

As for the casserole filling, I love using red and green bell peppers, onion, jalapenos, and canned tomatoes. But you can also add in things like black beans, chili beans, refried beans,m pinto beans, roasted poblano peppers, green chiles, diced tomatoes, and Mexican street corn to it too. 

Lastly, I usually like to keep the toppings simple and use sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and, of course, the Doritos. But some other toppings I like to include are green enchilada sauce, hot sauce, and shredded lettuce to make it more like a taco salad.

So, as you can see, there are a ton of ways to change up this casserole, and that's why I think it's one of the most versatile Mexican casserole recipes out there.

How To Make Mexican Casserole

As I mentioned earlier, this Mexican casserole recipe is really, really easy to make.

With that said, you will have to do a little active cooking, but it really just involves adding ingredients to a skillet and giving them a mix.

Now, let's not waste any more time, and get cooking!

Step 1: Cook The Veggies

First things first, you'll want to preheat your oven to 350°F (180ºC). Then, after you've got the oven heating up, you'll want to grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and set it aside for later.

Now, add the tablespoon of oil to a large non-stick skillet and put it over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, red bell peppers, and jalapeño pepper to it. Then, cook the veggies for about 7 minutes - or until they're tender and the onion is translucent.

Step 2: Cook the Ground Beef

Next, add the ground beef (or substitute ground turkey or another meat) to the skillet with the veggies in it and break it apart with a wooden spoon. Cook the beef until it browns on all sides, flipping it around every so often so it cooks evenly.

Then, once the ground beef is looking good, you can add the green bell peppers, taco seasoning, and tomatoes to the skillet and cook 'em for a couple of minutes with the ground beef mixture.

Also, while you're cooking everything, make sure to stir the ingredients around every so often to incorporate them together.

Step 3: Prepare the Casserole

So, now that the Mexican casserole filling ingredients are cooked, it's time to assemble the casserole!

First, crush up half of the Doritos and layer the bottom of the baking dish with them. Next, top the crushed Doritos with half of the ground beef and veggie mixture, followed by half of the sour cream and half of the cheddar cheese. Then repeat the same sequence to create another layer, finishing it off with the rest of the cheese.

Step 4: Baking The Casserole

Now, once you've used up all of the ingredients and the casserole is assembled, you'll want to pop it in the oven and bake it for about 20 minutes - or until the cheese is nice and bubbly.

Finally, take the Mexican casserole out of the oven and top it with fresh cilantro or any other toppings you want. Enchilada sauce and hot sauce are a couple of toppings our family enjoys on this casserole. Enjoy!

How to Store Mexican Casserole

This recipe for Mexican casserole will make 6 large servings, so it's really the perfect weeknight dinner. You can even double - or triple - the recipe if you think you'll need more or want to have leftovers.

Speaking of leftovers, if you do end up with some, you can store the leftover casserole in a sealable container in the fridge for 3-4 days. However, if you want to store the leftovers for even longer, you can freeze them for up to 3 months.

How To Reheat Mexican Casserole

The best way to reheat the entire casserole is to put the casserole dish back in the oven at 350°F for about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese melts again and the casserole is warmed through.

With that said though, if you want to reheat individual portions, you can put them in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave 'em for about 30-seconds or until the casserole reaches your desired temperature.

Wrapping It All Up

Well, that's how to make a Mexican casserole with ground beef!

If your family enjoys Mexican food, they're really going to love this casserole. It's just so flavorful and packed with so many delicious layers like seasoned meat, taco fillings, melty cheese, and Doritos. I know I'm biased, but I think it's one of the best Mexican casseroles you'll ever have!

This casserole has seriously become one of my family's favorite meals since it's so delicious, so easy to whip up, and so good to eat the next day too.

Anyway, I hope you like this Mexican casserole recipe as much as my family and I do. As always, if you give this Mexican casserole a try, leave a comment below and let us know what you think.

More Casserole Recipes

If you're looking for more casserole recipes that are absolutely delicious, we have a ton on the blog that you can make next!

Check these out:

• Philly cheesesteak casserole
• Crack chicken casserole
• John Wayne casserole
• Stuffed pepper casserole
• Meatball casserole
• Sloppy Joe casserole
  

Oh, and for more delicious easy dessert recipes, make sure to check out our Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. We post new ones every day on 'em!

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