This kid-friendly easy beef taco casserole recipe lets you cook up a whole bunch of cheesy tacos all at once. Perfect for Cinco de Mayo!
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Why we love this recipe
Hey everyone! These days I am all about celebrating everything that can be celebrated, and guess what is coming up soon? Cinco de Mayo!
And one of my favorite ways to celebrate? warm and wonderful casserole full of beef and cheese and tacos and YUM. I love so many of the delectable flavors of Mexican food (even made in a completely inauthentic Irish girl way, as in this scrumptious and easy beef taco casserole).
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
Here’s how you make this easy beef taco casserole!
Start by cooking up some ground beef with some of your favorite salsa – any kind you like and have on hand – and some taco spices. You can use the kind of spices in the envelope, or you can make your own with this super simple taco seasoning recipe.
Take a little more of that salsa and mix it up with some whipped cream cheese, and spread it all over the bottom of a casserole. This is going to let you stick a bunch of crunchy taco shells into the casserole without falling over.
I used a 13 x 9 inch casserole, and used this configuration, but you be you. However you organize your taco shells is going to be A-OK.
Now divide your beef mixture between those shells, and top each one with shredded cheese. Be generous. :)
Pop the casserole in the oven and cook it up until the cheese is nice and melty. The taco shells are going to get nice and soft on the bottom and stay crunchy on the top, which is pretty much the best of both worlds, taco shell-wise.
Scoop out a couple of tacos per person and give them a generous dollop of sour cream and scatter on some scallions. And there you go!
Recipe FAQs
That’s up to you – it is all about the taco spices and the salsa. If you like things on the milder side 🙋🏼♀️ then use the amount of taco spices called for in the recipe and a mild version of salsa. If you like a little more heat, you can add some extra spices and pick a regular or hot salsa. 🔥
You can, but they will work a little differently. Spoon the beef filling into the center of each tortilla, roll it up, nestle it in the cream cheese and continue on with the recipe.
It can be made a few hours ahead, but not much more than that or your tacos will get soggy.
Leave your question (or comment or suggestion) in the Comments box below the recipe and I will answer pronto!
Want to round out your meal?
Well OF COURSE you need a strawberry margarita to go with your tacos! And how about this cool and delicious cherry tomato and green bean salad?
And to cool things down after dinner, let’s have some strawberry banana icebox cake!
Other taco recipes we love!
I have a bunch of other Cinco de Mayo recipes here, but once way or the other, make sure you celebrate. Even if it’s just with a prosecco margarita – we need all the good cheer we can get!
Looking for more casserole inspiration? Here is our complete collection of casserole recipes!
Could you leave us a review?
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section.
PrintEasy Beef Taco Casserole
This kid-friendly easy beef taco casserole recipe lets you cook up a whole bunch of cheesy tacos all at once. Perfect for Cinco de Mayo!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- One 1.25 ounce package taco spices (about 3 tablespoons….see note)
- 1 16 ounce jar of your favorite salsa
- 1 8 ounce container whipped cream cheese
- 12 hard taco shells
- 2 cups shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
- Sour cream for garnish
- 4 scallions, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 and get out a 13 x 9 inch casserole.
- Cook ground beef over medium high heat in a large skillet until browned. Stir in taco spices and half the salsa and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Combine the remaining salsa with the cream cheese and spread over the bottom of the casserole. Stand the taco shells up in the casserole.
- Divide the beef mixture among the 12 taco shells, and top each taco with cheese. Bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Remove the casserole and top the tacos with spoonfuls of sour cream. Scatter with scallions and serve!
Notes
If you can’t get/don’t have packaged taco spice mix, here’s a recipe for taco seasoning that you can make at home!
Rachel says
This recipe is so great! The cream cheese makes such a flavor difference and it’s such a great way to make so many tacos. Delicious!
I’m so glad you like this one, Rachel! Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Nancy says
Not tried yet, but as only hard corn shells are all that’s available, this may just work! I’m so close to buying a taco press (had one but never used it so it went) but haven’t yet!
Missing Mexican so will give this a try!
Thanks for all the lovely recipes!
Be safe!
Hi Nancy! I’ve been thinking about getting a taco press myself! In the meantime, so happy you are going to give this one a try…you stay safe and healthy too! :)
Theresa Murphy says
This looks really good! I made “regular” tacos earlier this week and, as luck would have it, I bought an extra box of shells! So, yeah me! I’m wondering if I can use an 8 oz block of cream cheese, softened, and “whip” it myself instead of the tub cream cheese? Worth a try! Thanks for keeping us in comfort food, Kate!
Hi my friend! I don’t see any reason why you can’t whip that cream cheese yourself – let me know how that comes out, okay? Stay healthy and xoxo!