If I had to eat one type of food for the rest of my life it would be Mexican, hands down. I love the bold flavors, textures, and that you can basically turn the same 5(6,7,8) ingredients into countless different meals. Taco Bell really has this concept down. I don’t think they’ve had to change their ingredient lists, like, ever. Well, except for that one time that they decided to sell Frito Burriots. That was weird.
Anyway…
This taco casserole is proof that you can create a completely different eating experience with the same basic ingredients just by by switching up the cooking style. In this case we’re stuffing the taco shells and baking them all together in one pan. You’re not going to end up with a completely crunchy taco that you’re able to eat one-handed while driving to work (remember $0.29 Tuesdays? Those were the days!). But you ARE going to end up with a plate full of Mexican goodness that is half crispy, half saucy, and flavorful all-around.
Start by browning a pound of ground beef or turkey. Add in some cheese, canned diced tomatoes, taco seasoning, and salsa verde. If you want a little info on what kind of salsa verde to use read this post because not all are created equal. Meaning, that some are burn-your-face-off hot!
Give it a stir until it’s nice and combined…
Stand 12-15 shells up in a 9×13″ casserole dish. If they aren’t all standing up straight they will be easier to move around once they are filled and have some weight to them. I might try the shells with the flat bottoms next time and see it that makes things a bit easier.
Top with some glorious cheesey cheese.
And bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the cheese it melted and the meat is hot. Remove from the oven and top with all of your favorite taco fixin’s. I like to top the whole thing with shredded lettuce, tomato, and cilantro and then serve with sour cream, guacamole, and a squeeze of lime juice.
Baked Crunchy Taco Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef or turkey
- 1 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 1 C cheese divided
- 1/4 C salsa verde
- 15 crunchy taco shells
- Shredded lettuce tomatoes, cilantro, sour cream, guacamole, lime juice to top
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
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Brown and drain meat.
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Stir tomatoes, seasoning, ½ C cheese, and salsa into meat.
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Arrange taco shells standing up in a 9x13" pan. Fill each shell with the meat mixture, dividing equally until all the meat is used.
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Sprinkle remaining ½ C of cheese over the tops of the filled tacos and bake for 15-20 minutes. Cheese will be melted and the meat hot.
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Top with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, sour cream, guacamole and lime juice.
NORMA says
SO EASY TO MAKE AND VERY TAST1 IT IS SO GOOOOO1.
DEFINITELY A KEEPER!.
Meri says
These were really good! I had All the ingredients for tacos and remembered this from Pinterest. Such a nice change from boring tacos! My husband loves black beans so I added them to the shells first. Might try shredded chicken/Monterey Jack next time!!
Rebecca - FoodFlav says
Fantastic combo, looking forward to trying it 🙂
Mary Ann says
Making this tonight. DELISH!!! I have made several times before.
This is a must try.
Thanks for a great recipe.
Donna De Coster says
Made this for dinner tonight, made one change my husband likes to have refried beans at the bottom of taco shells and used the Stand and Stuff Taco Shells. One other note; Salsa Verde if you can get it where you live Herdez is good, not hot.
Heather says
I agree, the stand and stuff shells work great!
Michael Deen says
I like everybody else can eat taco’s everyday for life. I’ve made these with a couple changes. I used 2 diced Roma tomatoes
instead of canned tomatoes. I used cayenne pepper to taste instead of taco seasoning. I saved the salsa verde as one of the toppings. I did these changes to control the amount of salt in the taco’s. Also swiss cheese has less salt in it compared to other cheeses. I did put some cheese in the taco shell first. That helped the taco shell from cracking at the bottom. Enjoy!! 🙂
Heather says
Thanks for the substitution list, Michael!
Kate says
I made as directed. I did use the flat bottomed shells. They’re at bit thicker than standard shells. This made them slightly softened but not at all soggy. We ate them with our hands without them falling apart. I love it! I recommend using the flat bottomed shells.
Stacey R. says
Love this, and I could do have beef half chicken for the picky pickersons in my family
Becky Nelson says
Thank you for posting this recipe. I made these for the Super Bowl and they were a hit! Made mine with ground turkey 🙂
Heather says
Yay! So glad they were a hit!
Jill says
I made this tonight and the flavors were wonderful. I did make one adjustment (hope you don’t mind). I crumbled the taco shells instead of leaving them whole. It was much easier to eat.
Sylvia says
This sounds amazing–will definitely try this next time we want tacos. Thnx for the recipe.
Mary Ann Kilbane says
Very good. Made as is. Will make again. They do get a bit soggy but flavor is still
there. Quick and easy week night dinner.
Shirley Rogers says
I love your recipes…want to get the newsletter…Thanks
Bella says
Made this for a big family, lake gathering. Delicious & easy. Thanks.
Kristin D says
Saw this on Pintrest, made them for dinner tonight, and oh man they are crazy good! I made two two substitutions- I always make my own taco seasoning instead of the packet & canned diced green chilies in lieu of the tomatoes (husband does not like canned tomatoes). May be my new favorite way to make tacos! Thank you for the great dinner idea!
Jill says
Made these for dinner tonight. They were fantastic! To help fix the soggy taco shell problem, I sprayed the pan with some pam and also put the cheese on before the meat and then added some extra on top as well. I will for sure be making these again. So yummy!
Tori says
This is a great idea! I made them the other night, and had the soggy problem! The boyfriend and father love cheese so they wont be opposed to more cheese at all! 😉
Steve Horan says
Yes, spray the pan and put some cheese on the bottom. Not soggy at all as long as you drain things well! Bomb way to make tacos!
Jessica says
That looks so yummy!! Maybe dinner tonight! 🙂
Eva says
Hello,
I came to your website following the link from http://pinterest.com/lindsayw72/vegan-mexican-dishes/ where there is supposed to be a vegan version of this recipe. I cannot find it on your website. Do you have a vegan variation of it?
Thanks.
Heather says
Hi Eva, I think it must have been labeled wrong on Pinterest. I haven’t yet created a vegan option but you could sub the meat for black beans and omit the cheese for sure. 🙂
Aterra says
Great recipe!! Made this and can’t stop eating them. I used just little more salsa verde to give it a little more heat.
Jamie says
How do u get the shells not soggie and stuck to the bottom 🙁
Heather says
Hi Jaime, sorry for the delay in responding. I find that the longer I wait between filling the shells and putting them in the oven, the soggier they become. In general, the shells to absorb a at least a little bit of moister and we usually eat ours with a fork- hence the casserole name. But I think if you fill and put them in the oven right away it should take care of the problem for you. Also, make sure that you do drain the tomatoes really well as that will reduce some sogginess as well. Let me know if you have any other problems!
Kathy says
This is going on the menu for this week! I saw this on Shugary Sweets and had to see what it was! It sounds delicious!
Lemma Nite says
Thi This looks WONDERFUL. I can’t wait to try it.
Julie Anne Rhodes says
This is such a great idea! I’m all about planning meals so you don’t have to slave in the kitchen all day and this is great! Great idea, thanks for the share 🙂
Chandra@The Plaid and Paisley Kitchen says
I am in love with this casserole! I too could eat Mexican everyday! I saw this on Pinterest and I re pinned to my boards! Thanks so much for sharing this! I also have a weekly linky Party called Show Me Your Plaid Monday’s. I’d love to have you link up!
Heather says
I’ll check it out, thanks Chandra!
Jeff says
Those are some FANTASTIC looking tacos! I definitely want to give these a try. I love the salsa verde on top, it looks delicious.
Salmon says
This is the absolute best way to make/eat tacos! I hate the wait caused by building a taco between acts of biting into taco. A pan of all made tacos is the answer.
Valerie @ From Valerie's Kitchen says
Looks perfect Heather! Mexican food is my fav!