Taco Casserole – My Baking Habit

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Taco casserole is an easy dinner that can fulfill the entire household. Prime this casserole together with your favourite taco toppings to provide it your individual private spin!

Is there something extra comforting than a casserole?

Possibly it’s simply because I grew up within the Midwest, however casseroles are complete consolation meals to me. Whether or not it’s Jiffy corn casserole alongside a vacation meal or cheeseburger tater tot casserole for a weeknight dinner, casseroles simply make me blissful.

This taco casserole is my household’s newest favourite. It’s a 30-minute meal that I can rapidly make on a weeknight and we are able to all add our favourite toppings to it. 

What might be higher than that?

WHAT IS TACO CASSEROLE?

There are actually so many various ways in which you would make a taco casserole. This simply occurs to be my model!

For me, I would like my casserole to have a flavorful filling, somewhat little bit of crunch, and a few good melty cheese. 

I whipped up a easy taco meat with some floor beef, my home made taco seasoning, and a few tomatoes and diced inexperienced chiles. That will get blended with refried beans and bitter cream for much more taste.

For the crunch, I turned to crushed tortilla chips on the underside of the casserole and on prime, and added some shredded cheese for that melty issue!

Look, is that this the prettiest casserole? Completely not. However is it scrumptious? It completely is!

My buddy made this for her household lately and her 8-year-old son mentioned, “Yum, yum, yum!” I’ll take that as a rave evaluate.

HOW TO MAKE TACO CASSEROLE

In case your youngsters love this casserole as a result of it’s scrumptious, you’ll adore it as a result of it’s really easy to make. You might positively have dinner on the desk in half-hour with this one!

Components you’ll want

We make tacos loads, so I normally have a lot of the components for taco casserole already readily available. It makes use of:

• Floor beef: You might simply make this casserole with floor turkey as an alternative of floor beef in case you want!
• Diced onion: I like including some onion to the bottom beef for further taste.
• Diced inexperienced chiles: Canned inexperienced chiles are certainly one of my favourite methods so as to add extra taste to taco meat. I at all times seize delicate inexperienced chiles, however use scorching ones if you would like some further spice!
• Canned diced tomatoes: These add each taste and liquid to the bottom meat combination.
• Taco seasoning: I like to make use of my home made taco seasoning, however you need to use a packet of seasoning in case you want.
• Refried beans: I like refried beans alongside my tacos, so including some to this casserole simply is sensible! You might at all times swap the refried beans for a can of drained and rinsed black beans, as an alternative.
• Bitter cream: This provides taste and likewise provides some creaminess to the casserole.
• Crushed tortilla chips: Probably the most enjoyable a part of making this recipe is crushing a whole bag of tortilla chips! 
• Mexican-style shredded cheese mix: You may’t neglect the cheese! You should utilize any good melting cheese you want instead of the Mexican-style mix. Cheddar, pepperjack, or chihuahua cheese would all be nice right here.

Making this recipe

To make this casserole, begin by browning the bottom beef with the onions. If you happen to used a fattier floor beef, go forward and drain off the fats and return the meat and onions to the pan.

To the meat, add the inexperienced chiles, the undrained tomatoes (you want that juice from the tomatoes!), and the taco seasoning. 

Let that simmer for about 5 minutes, then take it off the warmth and add within the beans and bitter cream. 

Unfold half of the crushed chips alongside the underside of a greased baking dish. I like to make use of a baking dish that’s within the 2.5-quart to 3-quart vary for this.

Spoon the filling excessive of the chips, prime it with the cheese, after which end it with the remainder of the crushed chips. Bake the taco casserole till the cheese is melted and the casserole is good and scorching.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Questioning tips on how to serve your taco casserole? The very best factor about this recipe is that you would be able to prime it with any of your favourite taco toppings!

You might even put out an entire array of toppings so everybody in your loved ones can gown up their plate precisely the way in which they prefer it. A few of our favourite toppings embody:

• Bitter cream
• Diced contemporary tomatoes
• Salsa
• Guacamole or sliced avocado
• Recent cilantro
• Pickled jalapeños
• Pickled onions

Serve it alongside some Mexican rice or Mexican avenue corn salad and you’ve got an excellent meal everybody will love.

MAKE-AHEAD AND FREEZING TIPS

You might simply prep this casserole forward of time to make for an excellent simpler meal throughout the week.

Make and assemble the casserole as written, however depart off the highest layer of tortilla chips. Cowl the casserole tightly and place it within the fridge till you’re able to bake it.

While you’re able to bake, simply add the highest layer of tortilla chips and bake in line with the recipe instructions.

If you happen to’d prefer to freeze the casserole, cowl it with a layer of plastic wrap and a layer of foil earlier than freezing for as much as a month. Thaw, add the tortilla chips, and bake. 

Because it’s really easy to prep forward of time and might be topped nonetheless you want, this taco casserole makes an excellent dish to take to a buddy who simply had a child or a neighbor in want of a home-cooked meal.