• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Search All Recipes
    • Recipe Round-Ups
  • More
    • About
    • Work With Me!
    • Lifestyle
    • Outside the Kitchen
    • Kitchen Tips & Gifts
    • Contact

Framed Cooks

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Fall Recipes!
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Fall Recipes!
    • Recipes
    • About
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Framed Cooks » Recipes » Recipes

    Easy Beef Taco Casserole

    Published: Apr 23, 2020 · Modified: Mar 10, 2023 by Kate Morgan Jackson · This post may contain affiliate links · 4 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

    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!

    beef taco casserole

    Hey everyone!  These days I am all about celebrating everything that can be celebrated, and guess what is coming up soon?  Cinco de Mayo!

    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).  I can’t believe it was barely two months ago that we were sitting next to this gorgeous beach in Puerto Vallarta with these dear ones.

    Mexico vacation

    Happy days like those will come again one day, but until then I am trying to enjoy both the memories and the simple day to day things.  I’ve been spending a lot of time in this chair with this blanket and a good book.

    chair with blanket

    …and cooking and baking up all the comfort foods I can think of.  In this case, comfort food comes in the form of a warm and wonderful casserole full of beef and cheese and tacos and YUM.

    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.

    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.

     easy beef taco casserole

    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!

    easy beef taco casserole

    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 strawberry margarita – we need all the good cheer we can get!

    Stay safe and healthy and home.  Sending love!

    Print

    Easy Beef Taco Casserole

    very easy beef taco casserole
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    ★ 5 Stars ☆ ★ 4 Stars ☆ ★ 3 Stars ☆ ★ 2 Stars ☆ ★ 1 Star ☆

    No reviews

    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!

    • Author: Kate Morgan Jackson
    • Prep Time: 10 minutes
    • Cook Time: 20 minutes
    • Total Time: 30 minutes
    • Yield: 6 1x
    • Category: Dinner
    • Method: Stovetop, Oven
    • Cuisine: Mexican

    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 1 pound ground beef
    • One 1.25 ounce package taco spices (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

    1. Preheat oven to 450 and get out a 13 x 9 inch casserole.
    2. 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.
    3. Combine the remaining salsa with the cream cheese and spread over the bottom of the casserole. Stand the taco shells up in the casserole.
    4. 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.
    5. 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 version you can make at home from Spend With Pennies!

    Keywords: kid-friendly easy beef taco casserole

    Did you make this recipe?

    Share a photo and tag @FramedCooks on Facebook or Instagram…we want to see it!

    163 shares
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Yummly

    Want every new recipe delivered right to your email inbox?

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Nancy says

      April 25, 2020 at 7:41 am

      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!

      Reply
      • Kate Morgan Jackson says

        April 27, 2020 at 9:36 am

        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! :)

        Reply
    2. Theresa Murphy says

      April 24, 2020 at 8:15 am

      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!

      Reply
      • Kate Morgan Jackson says

        April 24, 2020 at 2:38 pm

        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!

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating ★ 5 Stars ☆ ★ 4 Stars ☆ ★ 3 Stars ☆ ★ 2 Stars ☆ ★ 1 Star ☆

    Primary Sidebar

    Kate from Framed Cooks

    Hi, I’m Kate! I’m a recipe writer, food photographer and devoted bacon lover. I’m so glad you’re here!

    More about me →

    Tailgate Treats Recipes!

    • All ingredients for corn chip taco salad ready for mixing in mixing bowl.
      Corn Chip Taco Salad
    • Cheese Fries
      Easy Cheese Fries
    • easy watermelon lemon frose
      Watermelon Lemon Frosé
    • no bean chili
      Easy No Bean Chili
    • Caprese Salad Skewers
    • snack attack chocolate chip cookies with pretzels and potato chips
      Snack Attack Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Reader Favorites

    • pastina with egg and cheese
      Pastina with Egg and Cheese, Otherwise Known As Comfort Food
    • Lemon Garlic Lobster Pasta
      Pasta with Lobster Sauce
    • easy filet of sole
      Julia Child’s Filet Of Sole
    • Grandpa's Coca-Cola Ribs
      Grandpa’s Coca-Cola Ribs
    • soft scrambled eggs with ricotta
      Ricotta Scrambled Eggs
    • chicken Diane
      Chicken Diane

    Want every new recipe delivered right to your email inbox?

    Sign Me Up!

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up!

    Get in Touch

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2023 Framed Cooks

    All photographs © FramedCooks and may not be used for any purpose without written permission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    163 shares
    163 shares
    • 116