Walking Taco Casserole
Walking Taco Casserole is the perfect comfort food dinner for busy weeknights. This kid-friendly recipe requires minimal prep and feeds a crowd with inexpensive ingredients. Layers of seasoned ground beef, black beans, and melted cheese cover crunchy corn chips for a savory texture.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef or turkey
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning or 1 packet
- 1 can 10 oz diced tomatoes with green chiles
- 1 can 15 oz black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ cups frozen corn or 1 can drained
- ½ cup salsa mild or hot
- 4 ounces cream cheese cubed (optional)
- 3 cups shredded cheese cheddar, Monterey Jack, or a mix, divided
- 6 –7 cups corn chips or thick tortilla chips lightly crushed (save some whole for topping)
- Optional toppings: shredded lettuce diced tomatoes, sour cream, jalapeños, avocado, cilantro, green onions, salsa, hot sauce.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Brown ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat 6–8 minutes; drain excess grease.
- Add onion and cook 3–4 minutes. Add garlic 30 seconds.
- Stir in taco seasoning. Add tomatoes with chiles, beans, corn, and salsa. Simmer 4–5 minutes. Stir in cream cheese if using.
- Layer crushed chips in the baking dish. Spoon beef mixture over chips. Top with 2 cups cheese. Add a light layer of chips, then top with remaining 1 cup cheese.
- Bake uncovered 12–15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Rest 5–10 minutes. Scoop into bowls and add toppings.
Notes
For the best crunch, don’t overbake. This dish only needs enough time to melt cheese.
Make the filling ahead, then assemble with chips right before baking.
Add fresh chips on top after reheating leftovers.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!