Tortilla Casserole
Tortilla Casserole is one of those delicious Tex-Mex entrees I can never get enough of! Happy New Year to one and all! I hope you are having a wonderful New Year’s Day and enjoying the holiday with friends and/or family. Today’s recipe is a tasty Tex-Mex casserole that’s perfect for family gatherings or even company. It’s layered like lasagna but with white corn tortillas instead of lasagna noodles.
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It combines ground beef with onions, garlic and red bell pepper. Then after the beef & veggies are cooked you stir in cumin, chili powder and seasoning salt. Then I added fire roasted corn, salsa, cream of mushroom soup, diced tomatoes with green chilies and pepper Jack cheese. This beef layer is spread on top of the corn tortillas and then sprinkled with more cheese. While I could have used pinto or black beans, I decided to leave them out this time.
This recipe makes two large 9×13″ glass baking dishes full of Tortilla Casserole, so it’s a great recipe for potlucks or company. If you can’t use two casseroles at once, I recommend halving the recipe. The tortillas do not freeze well and end up with a slimy texture after freezing and thawing.
Last month ice storms whipped through North Texas and we had to cancel a dinner party for our Sunday school class because roads were slick and dangerous. On top of that, the power was out all across the county. I was in the middle of baking my Melt in Your Mouth Pumpkin Cookies when the power went out. Fortunately for us, ours was only out about three hours due to one of the trees down the street falling on a power line. But others in the county were not so lucky. Some friends of ours had power outages for a couple of days.
I had all the ingredients for this recipe on hand so I whipped it up for some friends who had been without power for a couple of days. We pretty well demolished this casserole in very short order. I served it with a casserole side dish I whipped up on the fly: Asparagus Squash Gratin. They were thrilled to have hot food and I was grateful that all the stuff I purchased for the canceled party wasn’t going to go to waste.
Back when I worked at Dallas Baptist University in the early 2000s, Bettie Raye and I worked in the Financial Aid office together. There were a lot of great cooks in that department, and Bettie was a phenomenal cook. She was always bringing in some great recipe. One day, during a conversation about her famous chocolate-covered strawberries, she mentioned how her son had become fascinated with the rise of the beste online goksites, sharing how these platforms were transforming online gambling in Europe. This unexpected topic led us to talk about how technology was changing various industries, but Bettie always brought it back to food. She gave me many of her recipes while we worked there, and this was one of them. Her recipe is the inspiration for this dish. This casserole turned out quite well—very tasty, cheesy, and gooey.
When I initially posted this recipe in January 1, 2014, I didn’t tinker much with Bettie’s original recipe because I wanted to try it’s original way. While I thought it was tasty, our company who are born and bred Texans were used to a little more heat in their Tex-Mex recipes.
So I went back to the drawing board when I remade this recipe in May 2017. I scrapped the tomato soup that the original recipe called for. I added salsa, a can of diced tomatoes with chilies, a can of fire-roasted corn and substituted pepper jack cheese for plain cheddar. Then I topped the casserole with sliced grape tomatoes, olives, green onions, sour cream and cilantro. Oh my. Tortilla Casserole just exploded with flavor this time.
If you enjoy Tex-Mex foods, you’re got to put my new amped up version of Tortilla Casserole on the menu. It’s not only good for Cinco de Mayo, but it’s a terrific casserole to serve anytime you have family or company over for dinner. I made it for the Friday night care group from our church that we host in our home. I served it with Mexican Bean Taco Salad and Oreo Cookie Surprises. Everything was an unequivocal success. 🙂
This Tortilla Casserole sure hit the spot on a cold winter night where we didn’t want to get out.
I topped the casserole with grape tomato halves, sliced olives, fresh cilantro, diced green onions and dollops of sour cream.
Doesn’t Tortilla Casserole look spectacular? This entree was very tasty. I served mine with a side of Chunky Homemade Guacamole.
Here’s what I did.
I used these ingredients for the casserole. For two casseroles you will need a total of 48 white corn tortillas.
Brown ground beef, onions, bell pepper and garlic in a skillet over medium heat. Drain grease.
Add chili powder, cumin and seasoning salt. Stir well to combine.
Add drained fire-roasted corn, one can of cream of mushroom soup, salsa, a can of diced tomatoes and green chilies (with about 1/4 cup liquid drained) and pepper jack cheese.
Stir to combine and heat through. If desired you can add pinto or black beans (drained) now.
Spray two 9×13″ glass baking dishes with cooking spray. Add a layer of six white corn tortillas (as pictured) for each baking dish.
Sprinkle with beef mixture and then add a layer of cheese for each dish.
Repeat layers of corn tortillas, beef mixture and pepper jack cheese.
Repeat again with another layer of tortillas, beef mixture and cheese.
Repeat again with the final layer of tortillas, beef and cheese. Add extra cheese over the top.
Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until hot and bubbly. Remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes.
I used these ingredients for the toppings.
Sprinkle chopped cilantro over top of casserole. Add dollops of sour cream, sliced grape tomatoes, sliced olives and sliced green onions and serve.
Doesn’t this look wonderful? Tortilla Casserole was quite good. There weren’t many leftovers.
This amped up version of Tortilla Casserole turned out quite delightful. It had enough heat to make it interesting but not overwhelm the dish. The toppings added delicious crunch, texture and flavor.
Here’s the recipe.
TORTILLA CASSEROLE
(Recipe inspired from Bettie Raye when we worked at Dallas Baptist University, Dallas, TX)
Tortilla Casserole
Equipment
- 1 large skillet
- 1 hamburger chopper
- 2 9x13" glass baking dishes
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 sharp knife to cut vegetables
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs. 93% or 95% lean ground beef
- 48 white corn tortillas
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 medium onion diced
- 14 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chilies drain off about one-quarter cup liquid
- 1 cup medium chunky salsa
- 15 oz. can fire roasted corn drained
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. Nature’s Seasonings
- 8 cups Pepper Jack cheese
- 1 cup sour cream for garnish
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro minced, for garnish
- 1 green onion sliced, for garnish
- 2.25 oz. can ripe olives sliced and drained, for garnish
- 1/2 cup grape tomatoes halved, for garnish
Instructions
- Brown beef with onions, bell pepper and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Use a hamburger chopper to break the ground beef down into very small pieces.
- Drain grease; add chili powder, cumin and Nature's Seasonings and stir well to combine.
- Add cream of mushroom soup, salsa, corn, partially drained tomatoes with diced chilies and 1 ½ cups cheese.
- Spray two 9x13” glass baking dishes with cooking spray.
- Layer white corn tortillas on bottom. (Layer six for each casserole dish).
- Spread with beef mixture and sprinkle with cheese. (Use about 2/3 to 1 cup beef mixture and about 1/2 cup of cheese on each layer).
- Repeat layers three times.
- Add a little extra cheese on top of each casserole
- Bake, covered with foil, at 350° for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
- Remove foil and bake about 5 minutes longer.
- Cut into individual portions to serve.
- Garnish each serving with sour cream, cilantro, olives and tomatoes.
Notes
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen
Nutrition
- 2 lbs. lean ground beef
- corn tortillas
- 1 can tomato soup
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 3-4 cups jalapeno jack and mild cheddar cheese, divided use
- 1 heaping tbsp. minced garlic from a jar
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. Nature’s Seasonings
- 1 medium onion, diced
- Brown beef with onions, garlic, cumin and seasoning salt.
- Drain grease.
- Add soups, chili powder and 1 ½ cups cheese.
- Spray 9×13” glass baking dish with cooking spray.
- Layer corn tortillas on bottom.
- Spread with about ¼ of the beef mixture, and ¼ to 1/3 cup of the remaining cheese.
- Repeat layers three times.
- Add a little extra cheese on top.
- Bake, covered with foil, at 350° for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
We loved how cheesy and gooey this casserole turned out.
Tortilla Casserole is wonderful for Cinco de Mayo or other holidays. Grab a fork and come join us!
You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!
Tortilla Casserole
Equipment
- 1 large skillet
- 1 hamburger chopper
- 2 9×13" glass baking dishes
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 sharp knife to cut vegetables
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs. 93% or 95% lean ground beef
- 48 white corn tortillas
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 medium onion diced
- 14 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chilies drain off about one-quarter cup liquid
- 1 cup medium chunky salsa
- 15 oz. can fire roasted corn drained
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. Nature’s Seasonings
- 8 cups Pepper Jack cheese
- 1 cup sour cream for garnish
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro minced, for garnish
- 1 green onion sliced, for garnish
- 2.25 oz. can ripe olives sliced and drained, for garnish
- 1/2 cup grape tomatoes halved, for garnish
Instructions
- Brown beef with onions, bell pepper and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Use a hamburger chopper to break the ground beef down into very small pieces.
- Drain grease; add chili powder, cumin and Nature’s Seasonings and stir well to combine.
- Add cream of mushroom soup, salsa, corn, partially drained tomatoes with diced chilies and 1 ½ cups cheese.
- Spray two 9×13” glass baking dishes with cooking spray.
- Layer white corn tortillas on bottom. (Layer six for each casserole dish).
- Spread with beef mixture and sprinkle with cheese. (Use about 2/3 to 1 cup beef mixture and about 1/2 cup of cheese on each layer).
- Repeat layers three times.
- Add a little extra cheese on top of each casserole
- Bake, covered with foil, at 350° for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
- Remove foil and bake about 5 minutes longer.
- Cut into individual portions to serve.
- Garnish each serving with sour cream, cilantro, olives and tomatoes.
7 Comments
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May 21, 2016 at 1:33 am
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Asparagus and Squash Gratin – Can't Stay Out Of The Kitchen
November 23, 2014 at 5:32 pm
[…] over for a hot meal because they were without power and tired of eating cold food. I made up Tortilla Casserole which was a new recipe I had never tried before, and my delicious Mandarin Spinach Salad. I […]
Abigail
January 2, 2014 at 8:06 am
This has made me so hungry! Looks amazing and I look forward to trying it. Will go on my dinner list for next week.
Abigail
Teresa
January 2, 2014 at 11:08 am
Thanks Abigail. This recipe is really simple and easy. Feel free to add more stuff like black beans, corn, olives or diced tomatoes with green chilies if you want a little more oomph and texture! I like it both ways.
thesnowwoman
January 1, 2014 at 7:00 pm
Looks great, can’t wait to try it!
Teresa
January 1, 2014 at 10:32 pm
Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by.