This taco casserole recipe has flavorful ground beef, salsa, corn, black beans, plenty of cheese, and a layer of Doritos. It's the perfect easy comfort food for busy families!
This ground beef taco casserole is also great because you can load it up with your favorite toppings. I'm one of those people where toppings make the meal. It's easy to top the whole thing like I did for the photos, or you can let everyone top their own piece once it's dished up.
I didn't really grow up with casseroles, but I can definitely see the appeal. They're warm, comforting, easy to throw together, and feed a crowd. If you like taco flavors and ground beef, chances are that you will like this taco casserole with Doritos. Or your family will. I can imagine that this one would be popular with the kiddies!
It's strange... I did not expect my husband to like this, but he LOVED it. He devoured the entire thing and enjoyed the leftovers very much. Just goes to show that even when you think you know a person, they can sometimes surprise you.
This casserole is quite forgiving and easily customizable depending on your preferences. Keep scrolling for some tips and tricks.
Love casseroles? Try my Simple Ground Beef Casserole.
How to make taco casserole
- Preheat your oven and prep the ingredients;
- Cook the ground beef in a skillet for 5 minutes, then add in the onion and spices and continue cooking;
- Spread an even layer of crushed Doritos on the bottom of a casserole dish;
- Stir the beans, corn, salsa, and half the cheese into the skillet;
- Spoon the beef mixture evenly over the Doritos;
- Top casserole with the rest of the cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes;
- Meanwhile, prep your toppings;
- Add toppings to casserole (or serve it first and let everyone top their own bowls).
(Full ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card below)
Taco casserole toppings
- Fresh tomatoes
- Chopped cilantro
- Avocado
- Scallions
- Black olives
- Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- Iceberg or romaine lettuce
...etc.
Recipe notes & tips:
- You don't have to use Doritos. Other tortilla chips (or Fritos) will definitely work in this taco bake!
- Use a ready-made taco seasoning if you prefer not to use the individual spices.
- You could add more veggies (such as red peppers) to this casserole. I'd add them in at the same time as the onion.
- Feel free to swap the black beans with another kind if you prefer (such as kidney or pinto). Or even add a layer of refried beans instead.
- If you want to add some heat, use a medium or spicy salsa, hot cheese blend, add some cayenne pepper, or you could even add some spicy chopped green chilies.
Other Tex-Mex recipes you may like:
- Skillet Salsa Chicken
- Creamy Taco Soup
- Easy Cheesy Taco Pasta
- Easy Beef Taco Salad
- Mexican Stuffed Peppers
- Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Will you make this Doritos taco casserole?
Questions? Ask me in the comments below.
Easy Taco Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound extra lean ground beef
- 2 cups crushed Doritos I used Nacho Cheese flavor
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 (14 fluid ounce) can black beans drained & rinsed
- 1 (12 fluid ounce) can corn drained
- 1 (14.5 ounce) jar salsa use your favorite kind
- 2 cups shredded Tex-Mex cheese blend (or use cheddar)
- Toppings (optional, to taste): tomatoes, cilantro, scallions, avocado, black olives, sour cream, iceberg lettuce, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and move the rack to the middle position. Prep your ingredients.
- Add the oil and ground beef to a skillet. Cook, breaking up the meat as you go along, for 5 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Stir in the onion, chili powder, garlic powder, and ground cumin, and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the crushed Doritos in an even layer to the bottom of a 9x13 (or similar size) casserole dish.
- If there's a lot of excess fat in the skillet, spoon most of it out. Stir in the beans, corn, salsa, and half the cheese. Let it warm through (until the cheese melts).
- Spoon the beef mixture evenly over the Doritos.
- Top the casserole with the remaining cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until it's warm and the cheese is nice and melty.
- Meanwhile, prep the toppings. Serve casserole as-is or with your favorite toppings.
Notes
- Serves 6+ depending on how much people eat.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Christine says
Just had this tonight! It was a hit. I was in a rush so I just used a bag of taco seasoning- next time I’ll make it spicier. Also added hatch chilies & didn’t have Doritos so just used plain tortilla chips. Will definitely have this again! Quick, easy, & really good! Thanks!
Natasha says
I'm so glad that you enjoyed it!! 🙂
Deborah Daniel says
Hi there!!
Okay!!!!! Huge hit in our home this weekend!!! Requests are coming for it already and we just finished last night. I read some of the comments from others and it wasn’t soggy and was great for leftovers. It’s was so delish and can be fixed up with whatever fixins one may like. I would love to bring this to a party with all taco fixins that my family doesn’t like such as jalapeño, avocado, olives!!! Oh my oh my!!! Fabulous recipe and super easy and quick!!!
Of course I had all the ingredients!!
Thank you again for bringing love to my kitchen table and my families bellies!!!!
Natasha says
Hi!! Thanks for your sweet comment. I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! 😀 XO
Mary Sullivan says
Have you tried this recipe with chicken?
Natasha says
I have not, but I think you could for sure try it with chicken. Let me know if you do experiment! 🙂
Chad Smith says
Sounds so good I am going to make it this week.
Natasha says
Enjoy!
Miriam says
I did not have Doritos, so used plain tortilla chips. They were pretty soggy when I served it. ☹️ I would suggest either adding them to the top after baking, or just serving chips on the side to scoop the mixture. Other than the soggy chips, everyone liked it alot!
Natasha says
Yes, you could definitely try that. I'm glad you guys liked the recipe in general, though!
Susan says
Loved it. Better than a taco. We topped with lettuce, tomato, olives and sour cream. Definite recipe keeper! Thank you.
Natasha says
Woo hoo! You're welcome! 🙂
Rachel says
This sounds delish! Could you make this ahead and keep in the fridge until you're ready to cook and eat? Wondering if this would work for a meal train for a friend that just had a baby. Thanks!!
Natasha says
Hi! My only concern is that the Doritos layer might get a little soggy. It's not crispy to begin with, but I'd hate for it to go yucky. Maybe leave that off?
maball says
This was so very good. You must use the Doritos. I loved it. My son said it was spicy, but I thought it was miraculous.
Natasha says
Wonderful!! I'm so glad you liked it! 🙂 Agree on the Doritos haha.
Pauline says
Absolutely delicious
Natasha says
So happy to hear that, Pauline! 🙂
Mary Sunn says
Really good! Quick and easy!
Natasha says
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed it.
Kiki says
Very good! I am making this for my second time. My Son wanted this for his Celebration dinner for getting his new job!!
This will be a go-to dinner. Yummy!!
Natasha says
Aww I'm so happy to hear that! 🙂
Shiryl Stanfield says
Excellent recipe. Very fast and easy. I will definitely make this again. 😎
Natasha says
Wonderful! So glad you liked it. Thanks for commenting!
Tina Ulrich says
This sounds delicious! Wondering if I substitute the ground beef with rotisserie chicken if it would still turn out.....? Have you tried it? Looking forward to making this!
Natasha says
Hi Tina! I think that would be fine. My only concern is that rotisserie chicken is already cooked, and so especially the white meat parts may get dry and chewy a lot faster. I'd probably just cook it for a bit less... like add it in to the mixture as late as possible. Let me know how it goes!
DIane says
Loved it but I used soft tacos as a layered (lasagna) like dish. I spread sour cream and cheese on top. Really good, thank you Also used taco seasoning and salsa to give it more of a kick
Natasha says
That's such a good idea with the layered soft tacos!!
Joanne says
My family of four ate every bit and asked for more! I was grateful that this recipe used ingredients that I usually have on hand due to our limited trips to the grocery store due to the [...] stay at home order in our state. Thanks!
Natasha says
Hi Joanne!! So happy you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review! (I edited your comment because bloggers have been told that using buzzwords surrounding the current events can negatively impact our Google ranking so I'm not taking any chances).
Lauren A Milke says
This was so delicious! My family loves cheese so added an extra 1/2 cup on top. I also substituted the black beans for black olives because it better suits my family's likes.
Thank you so much,
Lauren
Natasha says
You're very welcome, Lauren! XO
Jeanne says
Yet another delicious recipe from you! This was easy and a favorite at my house. Will be adding it to the meal rotation!
Natasha says
Yay! So glad you liked it!! XO
Monica Van Rickley says
It was good! Made it for lunch. I had ranch style beans and since I didn’t know when else I could use it, it was the chosen one. Because of this I omitted adding chili powder. I also used frozen corn and served with a dollop of sour cream, avocado 🥑 and green onions. Even though I added the Doritos, we ate with some tortilla chips we had and it tasted like Nachos. I would definitely serve this as a snack while watching TV with the family.
Natasha says
I'm so glad you liked it and made it work with what you had at home, Monica! 🙂 Thanks for letting me know!
Jamie says
I made this last night..... It was delicious!! Although I think I used too much cheese on top (my own doing though, lol), so I recommend a sprinkled layer of cheese top.
I also added a packet of taco seasoning in the beef mixture, since I had it on hand, because the kids love it!
My daughter is a vegetarian - so I made a small separate batch of meatless mixture, and added everything else, and just seasoned to taste. I used a large muffin pan to cook her vegetarian batch in the oven (it made about 3 portions).
All-in-all, the recipe was delicious and very easy to make! Next time I am going to try the beef and vegetable mixture to stuff some bell peppers!! mmmm.........
Thanks Natasha for your recipes - they are always crowd pleasers at mi casa!! 😉
Natasha says
I am so happy you enjoyed it. Love the vegetarian tips too. Thank you so much for following along! XO 🙂
Carol says
This Recipe was fun. I wouldn’t normally admit to using Doritos in a recipe, but it received five star reviews from husband and son!
I just found your site, and you have some great inspirational quick dinners, which I’m always looking for.
Way to go, Natasha!
Natasha says
That's awesome! I thought Doritos would be a fun touch hahaha. So happy it was a hit! 🙂 So glad you found me. Happy new year!
Hannah says
Made this today and it is DELICIOUS! I swapped the black beans for black eyed peas (because they are supposedly easier to digest and I have GI problems), mixed regular tortilla chips with the doritos, and used a McCormick Mild Taco Seasoning Packet (not too much), and then added tortillas to eat it all in! It is like tacos on steroids!
Natasha says
So glad to hear you enjoyed it! Love your tweaks. 🙂 Happy new year!!
Pia says
Hi Natasha
Again we had a lovely and tasty meal from one of your recipes.
Thank you!
Pia
Natasha says
Yay!! That’s awesome!! So glad you liked it.
Mimi says
I literally never ever cook, made this for my fiancé and my parents as a surprise, and it was a smash hit 😉 Super delicious and not even I could mess anything up; ingredients were easy to get as well!
Natasha says
That’s awesome!! So happy to hear it! 🤗 Thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment. ♥️
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
This would be a winner of a dinner here Natasha! So easy and delicious!
Natasha says
Thanks so much, Mary Ann! 🙂