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Mexican Ground Beef Lasagna

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A quick easy dinner idea, Mexican Lasagna is created with layers of flour tortillas, ground beef, a richly seasoned tomato mixture and creamy green chile sauce, with lots of delicious melted cheese. Loaded with flavor this dish is sure to be a family favorite!

Is there anything better than a Meaty Main Dish that’s loaded with flavor? Not if you ask the birds at this Nest! The only thing better than a Meaty Casserole, for this Mom, is an Easy Casserole made with ingredients you generally have on hand.

Thankfully my family loves a good casserole! Especially if it’s infused with the flavors of Mexican cooking! We are huge fans of Mexican food. We love everything about it! (Just call me “Taco”! I’ll answer, or at least give myself whiplash looking around for one!) 

When I ran across this recipe from an old “Favorite Brands cookbook” I found at a Thrift store last year…I knew I had to try it, and of course, tweak it just a tad to fit our likes.

How To Make Mexican Ground Beef Lasagna Casserole

Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set it aside for a minute while you prepare the other ingredients needed to make this recipe.

In a large skillet, over medium heat, combine 1 pound ground beef and 1 package of your favorite taco seasoning mix. Cook until browned, about 6–8 minutes. Stir frequently to break up the meat into a small crumble.  Drain the excess fat.

TIP: I generally prefer to use 90-10 ground beef to keep the fat content down. However, if you want flavor and are on a budget then 80-20 is a great option. Either will work beautifully in this recipe.

Browning Ground Beef and Taco seasoning in a large skillet over medium heat.

In a medium bowl, combine 1 can (14 ounces) of Mexican-style diced tomatoes (you can use regular diced tomatoes), 1-1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional). 

TIP: If you’re looking for a Four Alarm version of this recipe you can increase the red pepper flakes to 1 teaspoon! That’ll clear out those sinuses! (If nothing else you may have a few handsome fireman show up to dowse the fire coming out yer ears!) 

Bowl with red sauce ingredients ready to be combined.

Mix the Red sauce ingredients well. This creates such a wonderful rich sauce for this casserole. All the flavors associated with Mexican food. From the Chili and cumin to the red pepper flakes. Simply wonderful!

Red sauce ingredients combined.

In another medium bowl, combine 2 cups sour cream, 1 can (4 ounces) diced mild green Chiles, drained. (I don’t generally drain them…call me a rebel! I just toss them in and let all that juice create a wonderful flavor filled sauce. Just know you don’t have to drain them if you don’t want to.). 

Add 1 Tablespoons dried minced onion flakes…OR 6 green onions chopped! I love the ease of tossing in dried minced onion flakes…but only on days when I don’t want to cry or smell like onions. I’m never opposed to fresh, it’s always best, but busy Mom’s need quick ways to bring a meal together. This is one of my “hacks” when cooking.

Creamy green enchilada sauce for Mexican Lasagna.

Mix the green chili sauce until all the ingredients are well combined. It should look really creamy like the photo below.

Green Sour Cream Sauce in bowl.

Gather all your ingredients together to make assembling this casserole easy. You’ll also need 1 can (15 ounces) drained whole corn kernels, 6 (8-inch) flour tortillas, and 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese. 

TIP: You may want a little extra cheese…if you like a “cheesy” casserole. You could also kick things up by using Pepper Jack instead of Cheddar. 

Ingredients for Mexican Layered salad lined up ready to assemble the casserole.

Layering the Casserole

Starting at the bottom of your prepared 13 x 9 inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the tomato mixture.

Red Tomato sauce spread on the bottom of baking dish.

Place 2 of the flour tortillas on top of the red sauce, over lapping them slightly. Top with one third of the sour cream mixture.

Spreading sour cream mixture on top of flour tortillas.

Add one third of the cooked beef mixture. Sprinkle it evenly over the top of the cream mixture.

Ground Beef spread over cream mixture.

Over the ground beef sprinkle one third of the drained corn and one third of the shredded cheese.

Adding corn and cheese to top of ground meat mixture on Mexican Lasagna Casserole.

Repeat the layers two more times. Starting again with the red sauce, tortillas, sour cream mixture, beef mixture, corn and cheese. It’s all about those layers!

Repeating the layers on the Mexican Casserole.

End with a little extra sprinkle of cheese on top! 

Casserole ready for the oven.

Baking Mexican Lasagna

Place the Mexican Lasagna in center of the oven and bake for 35 minutes until bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes.

Doesn’t that look good! Love all that melted cheese!

Baked Mexican Lasagna resting after baking.

Cut into 12 equal squares before serving. This casserole will serve 6–8 people depending on how hungry they are! If you have 2 teenage boys…you may need two casseroles! (Those teenagers can eat can’t they?!)

Casserole cut into squares for serving.

A Few Helpful Tips About Mexican Lasagna

  • This casserole can be frozen to use later date. Cover the casserole and place in the freezer up to a month. Remove from the freezer and allow to thaw, then follow baking instructions.
  • This casserole reheats beautifully in the microwave, or oven, if you have leftovers.
  • Double the meat ingredients if you want a casserole that is extra hearty!
  • You can make this a healthier dish by substituting the ground beef for ground turkey! 

This casserole quickly has become a favorite. I wish I had run across this recipe when the kids were younger and my nest was overflowing. It’s another great dish that allows you to stretch that grocery budget and provide a deliciously warm meal for your family.

I know some will ask if you can make this with corn tortillas. The answer is “yes”, however I personally haven’t made it with corn tortillas.  I love the flour tortillas in this dish and think they work really well.

Layered Mexican Lasagna on a plate.

If you enjoy this casserole, you may also enjoy these other favorites.

Favorite Family Ground Beef Casserole Recipes

Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting with me today. I hope your family will enjoy this casserole as much as my family has. The Free printable recipe card is right below! Have a great day and…

Happy Nesting!

Photo of Norine with her signature
Yield: 6-8 servings

Mexican Ground Beef Lasagna

Layered Mexican Lasagna on a plate.

A quick easy dinner idea, Mexican Lasagna is created with layers of flour tortillas, ground beef, a richly seasoned tomato and creamy green chile sauce, with lots of delicious melted cheese. Loaded with flavor this dish is sure to be a family favorite!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 package (1-1/4 ounces) taco seasoning mix
  • 1 can (about 14 ounces) Mexican-style diced tomatoes
  • 1-1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
  • 1 can (4 ounces) diced mild green chilies, drained
  • 1 Tablespoon dried minced onions, or 6 green onions, chopped
  • 6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
  • 1 can (15 ounces) corn, drained
  • 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 13 x 9 - inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. Combine beef and taco seasoning in a large skillet; cook over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes or until browned, stirring to break up meat. Drain fat.
  3. In a medium size bowl combine tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, salt and red pepper flakes; mix well. Combine sour cream, chilies and onion flakes in another medium bowl.
  4. Layer one third of tomato mixture, two tortillas, one third of sour cream mixture, one third of beef mixture, one third of corn and one third of the cheese in prepared casserole. Repeat layers twice.
  5. Bake 35 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8 servings

Serving Size:

1 cup

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 384Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 589mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 26g

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Nikki

Monday 1st of February 2021

Tons of flavor! My family loves all your Mexican inspired dishes!

[email protected]

Wednesday 3rd of February 2021

Hi Nikki! I love ya dear friend! Thank you for taking the time to share with me! You're the BEST!

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