Make this Mexican Casserole for an easy weeknight meal that’s full of flavor, with ingredients like tomatoes, beans, green chiles, and cheddar cheese layered between tortillas.
Casseroles tend to get a bad rap, but I’ve always really enjoyed them. Depending on the type of casserole, the dish can actually make life so much easier. Instead of multitasking and preparing multiple parts of a meal, you just do some beginning prep work, then throw it in the oven for a bit. The end result is a delicious one-pan meal that looks like you put a lot more work into it than you did. Also? You can usually prepare them ahead of time if you’re going to be busy, allowing you to just bake it the next time you’re ready for dinner.
Today’s recipe is one I originally shared six years ago but wanted to revamp a bit. It’s based off a popular recipe that I updated based off the ingredients I usually keep on hand and just overall prefer. This “Mexican Casserole” has a variety of ingredients often used in Mexican food dishes, but they’re layered in a casserole dish between tortillas. (Anyone else think food just tastes better when it’s in a tortilla and topped with cheese?)
There are three main steps to this dish. The first one involves cooking the ground turkey, canned beans and veggies, and seasonings in a skillet. Once this is done, you’ll start creating layers of that (plus cheddar) between tortillas. And finally, bake it for just 15 minutes, and you’ll be left with a gooey, filling dinner.
One way to liven up casseroles is to add some fresh ingredients on top. For this Mexican Casserole, I love sprinkling fresh cilantro and avocado slices on top. You could also put some shredded lettuce on each serving as well.
Garnish (or don’t garnish) as you please. This is a favorite recipe of mine because it’s packed with a variety of ingredients, has great textures throughout, and is bursting with color. It works great for leftovers too!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
- 1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 (14.5-oz) can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15.25-oz) can corn, drained
- 1 (4-oz) can chopped mild green chiles
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- 6 (8-inch) tortillas
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Garnish: fresh cilantro
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat a 13x9-inch baking dish with no-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, brown the turkey over medium-high heat until cooked. Mix in the tomato sauce, tomatoes, black beans, corn, and green chiles. Stir in all seasonings.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer the mixture for 5 minutes.
- In the prepared 13x9 dish, spread half the mixture across the bottom. Add 3 tortillas over the top, overlapping as needed.
- Spread half of the remaining mixture across the top of the overlapping tortillas. Sprinkle half the cheese over the top.
- Add the last 3 tortillas over the top like before. Spread the rest of the mixture over the top, finishing with the rest of the cheese.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, until heated through and the cheese has melted.
- Let cool for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
The original version of this post was published on October 16, 2012.
