Easy Layered Taco Bake
This layered Taco Bake is a simple and quick weeknight meal with layers of tortillas, ground beef and salsa con queso!
A Simple, Taco-Inspired Dinner
One food item I always seem to have in my pantry or in my fridge are flour tortillas. They are good for so many things. Tortillas can be made into so many different types of snacks for kids (and grownups). You can cut them up and fry them or bake them. You can make cinnamon chips, quesadillas, tortilla pizzas. The possibilities are endless and easy on the wallet too.
I’ve made this quite a few times already. It’s fast, delicious and easy clean up. So good! I’m making it again as I type!
– Shauna
Tips For Making Layered Taco Bake
- Flour tortillas work best in this but if you absolutely must have corn tortillas, then you can certainly switch it out.
- Ground turkey and chicken can be substituted for the ground beef.
- Try making your own Taco Seasoning for this recipe!
- If you like this recipe, you should give these Navajo Tacos a try!
- A springform pan makes this easy to remove but an 8-inch round baking pan will work as well.
- This meal is delicious served with Spanish style rice
- If you are very sensitive to spices, you can certainly use a regular cheese dip instead of the salsa con queso.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe
- ground beef – you can use ground chicken or turkey as well.
- taco seasoning – grab a store bought packet of seasoning or if you like to control the ingredients, try making a Homemade Taco Seasoning.
- water – you are going to use the amount given on the back of your particular taco seasoning packet. It can vary by brand. If you are using my homemade taco seasoning, I would use 3/4 water.
- flour tortillas (8-inch size) – you could use corn tortillas but they would need to be the larger size. They are a little harder to find near me. Sometimes the packaging will say “Super Size” or “King Size”.
- salsa con queso – this is another ingredient you can grab from the store or make your own.
- shredded Mexican cheese blend – use any cheese you like here. I think Pepper Jack cheese would be great for a little kick of heat.
How To Make Taco Bake
Brown and crumble ground beef. Drain excess grease.
Stir in taco seasoning and water (following directions on back of seasoning packet.) Once the taco meat is ready, turn off heat and add in 1/2 cup salsa con queso. Give it a good stir, until thoroughly combined.
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray an 8-inch round baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Layer the bottom of the pan with a flour tortilla.
I like to use a springform pan just to make it a bit easier to get out after it is finished baking. But this taco bake is pretty easy to slice up and serve even without the springform pan. Now add about 1/3 of the ground beef taco filling on the the first layer.
Then add 1/3 of the shredded cheese.
Continue until you are done with all the layers: another tortilla, more taco mixture, more cheese.
Bake at 350F degrees for about 15-20 minutes. Until cheese is melted and edges are slightly golden brown.
Allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Then slice and serve. I like mine with some sour cream and diced tomatoes on top.
Craving More Recipes?
- Crock Pot White Queso Dip
- Taco Rice
- Taco Bell Mexican Pizza
- Taco Bell Enchiritos
- Taco Bell Chili Cheese Burritos
- Easy White Chicken Enchiladas (For Two)
- Crock Pot Taco Meat
- Crock Pot Taco Soup
- Taco Bubble Up
- Arroz Con Pollo
- White Chicken Enchiladas
- Tamale Pie
- Cornbread Taco Bake
- Taco Potatoes
Originally published: August 2013
Updated photos and republished: January 2022
Easy Layered Taco Bake (+Video)
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- water as called for on back of seasoning packet (usually 3/4 cup water)
- ½ cup salsa con queso (see notes below)
- 3 (8-inch) flour tortillas (usually called 'soft taco' size)
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend (divided use)
Instructions
- Brown and crumble 1 pound ground beef. Drain excess grease.
- Add in 1 packet taco seasoning and water as called for on back of seasoning packet (usually 3/4 cup) following directions on back of seasoning packet.
- Once the taco meat is ready, turn off heat and add in 1/2 cup salsa con queso. Give it a good stir until thoroughly combined.
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray an 8-inch round baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Layer the bottom of the pan with one of the 3 (8-inch) flour tortillas.
- Now add about 1/3 of the ground beef taco filling on the the first layer.
- Then add 1/3 of the 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend.
- Continue until you are done with all the layers: another tortilla, more taco mixture, more cheese.
- Bake at 350F degrees for about 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and edges are slightly golden brown.
- Allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Slice and serve. Top with desired toppings.
Video
Notes
- If the salsa con queso is too spicy for you, just use a regular cheese dip.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Made it again!
I have 3 teens and a boyfriend who insist on at least two taco/mexican dish nights a month…minimum. This looks very easy to make, and the description sounds very appealing. I am making this dish tonight, and will come back to let you all know the results. I'm looking forward to this..my mouth is watering…literally!!
Thanks for this recipe! My daughter was in tears when Taco Bake was discontinued and has been begging me to make her a Taco Bake for awhile now. Can't wait to make this for her tonight!
I found your site on Pinterest. I JUST made this for lunch and it was yummy! I personally prefer it to doing regular tacos because of the baked together melty cheesy goodness. Thanks!
I just made this for dinner. It was yummy. My husband ate half of it. I will need to make again tomorrow. Thanks for sharing..
I found this on pintrest and tried it the other day. My son loved it!! I substituted refried beans for the salsa con caseo. Thanks for sharing!
Made it tonight…quick, easy, and yummy! My kind of recipe.
Yeah!!!!! We have a winner. My husband is hard to please and he said it is quite good….:)
This sounds delicious & I know my family will gobble it up!
Lori
Whoneedsacape.com
Not Your Average Super Moms!
My husband is the pickiest eater ever and he LOVED this!! Thank you 🙂
Mine too!
I've had this in my "recipes to try" folder on pinterest and I finally tried it last night! The whole family loved it and I blogged about making it for the first time, giving links and credit back to you. The only thing I changed was using left over taco meat and made my own queso. It's a great last minute, quick prep dinner for our family. Thanks so much for the recipe. It's a new family favorite.
Jenn
Here's a link to my blog: http://www.clevercraftycookinmama.com/2013/03/easy-taco-bake.html#.UUO4kFfJj3Q
So, so happy you had success with this one! I love sharing easy meals and I love how folks take a recipe and really make it their own. And I am always celebrating when I hear a picky eater likes something. I have a few of those in my house too!! ~Brandie
Made this tonight and it was great!! My kids love it and they are picky eaters!!
Thank you Lisa! I will check it out. I believe that is a fraudulent site (they have several) that uses my photos & recipes quite often. I appreciate you letting me know! ~Brandie
My husband suggested I make this instead of hamburgers. It was delicious! Very easy to put together. I made it in the springform pan, it looked like your picture! Thanks for sharing.
I just finished preparing this to pop in the oven. It looks and smells yummy. We had a late lunch so I'm waiting a little longer. I've had the strangest thing happen….I had gall bladder surgery in April and then pancreatic surgery in August….all is well now, but ever since those surgeries, I've craved Tex-Mex foods….wonder why. I always liked them all right, but never really craved them…..so send any and all recipes. Thankful there are so many easy recipes out there that feed my cravings.
OMGGG this was so good. My husband is an Airmen in the USAF, on any given day i can be feeding between 1-4 of his friends, theyre in love with pintrest because ive been getting some awesome recipes =] This took me seriously 25 minutes start to finish. I baked it about 15 minutes… and made my own queso with velvetta and salsa. My husband and his friends approved. HIGHLY lol. if youre feeding more than 3 people double your recipe, but this served 3 adults with one peice left over. Thank you!!
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I made this for dinner tonight it was very good and so easy to make.
My husband and I loved this! It was easy to make and clean up! We ate half of it for dinner then I split the rest for us each to take for lunch! My husband liked it so much he ate his part for lunch (he works third shift) then came home and ate my lunch! I will defiantly be making this again!
Great recipe! My husband loved it!
This is a great recipe. My husband loved it!!
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!! This was an easy recipe, and it tastes so amazing. I also used sour cream on the side and made some Mexican rice. My boyfriend couldn't stop telling me how good it was, and he is hard to please with Mexican food, since nothing ever compares to his mom. My three year old helped me make it, and she loved the taste too. Thanks for a great dinner 🙂
I have been letting my two boys pick out meals I have pinned on Pintrest. My 8 year old picked this one and was very excited. I made a few changes to make it a little healthier…. I used ground turkey instead of beef. I used a cheesy taco seasoning and salsa instead of the Queso dip and whole wheat tortillas. My family LOVED it and I liked the fact that I was able to "hide" some good things in there for them.
Found this on Pinterest and made it for dinner tonight (and not only because I got new spring form pans for Christmas lol). It was good and very filling. The only change I made was to alternate ground beef and chicken in the layers, because I had leftover chipotle marinated chicken that I had to use up. I put sour cream, diced tomatoes and green onions on top. Thanks for a yummy recipe that my whole family enjoyed.
This is very good! In fact, my son says it is now his favorite dinner and I just made it now for the second time since he's been bugging me to make it again. I do use half of the salsa con queso (medium spiciness) and half Cheez Whiz so it isn't too spicy. But my son likes spicy more than I do and I don't think it's too spicy this way. Thanks for a delicious, easy dinner recipe!!
I made this before only I didn't use the cheese spread but I used sour cream in it with the meat and taco seasoning and something else. I used what I had in the fridge and it came out so good. One of those nights at the end of the week, when you have to go to the grocery. it turned out really good so I will definitely try this..thanks
We had this tonight and the whole family loved it. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your recipes!
Made it tonight! Turned out great!
Just made this tonight for dinner with a few tweaks of ground chicken, whole wheat tortillas, and added onions and corn. Everyone loved it and it was super easy! Thanks for the recipe!
Made this for dinner tonight. So freakin yummy! Super easy, too!
Has anyone tried this with corn tortillas?
Made this for dinner tonight and am trying not to have thirds! Really delicious! Definitely will be making this again.
We've made this several times and it is always a hit. The only thing I change is to add some diced green pepper and onion to the ground beef. My husband requests this dinner often. It's a great twist on taco night. Thanks for such an easy and yummy recipe!
I just assembled this for dinner. Will pop it into the oven a bit later. We love love love tacos so I can't wait to sit down and actually eat this. I have a feeling it will be added to our recipe rotation!!
Just made this tonight. So easy to make, and it was more than delicious. I felt like I could have eaten the whole thing by myself! My kids loved it, too. Thanks for the great recipe!
Just doubled the recipe and made a 9×13 it was super delicious!
My family loves this as it is 🙂 I would like to know if made one to freeze, how much longer to bake or should I thaw it first? I am trying to stock up on freezer meals so my family won't think they are starving when I'm out of town lol!
Thank you for a great, easy & fun recipe. My 4 year old helped me by counting the layers & sprinkling cheese (snitching some too). It made plenty so I'm sending in my husbands lunch tomorrow. I served with avocado! Yum!
Thank you so much everyone for the sweet comments! I'm so happy y'all like this one!! I appreciate you taking the time to come back and let me know how it turned out for you!! ~Brandie
Thank U for his wonderful recipe. I changes it up some as I am a vegetarian. I sauted Crumbles and chopped Res onion in a little extra virgin olive oil.
While that was inthere stove, I microwaived a package of frozen veggies – carrots, cauliflower and broccoli. Once done, I added it to the crumble mixture with one can if Cream if Mushroom soup.
Seasoned it with lots of fresh ground pepper. Then followed your instructions. It came out Fantastic!!!
Thank U soooooooo much for sharing.
Blessings,
Veronica
I tried this the first time with ground beef and my family loved it. I tried it a second time using chicken breast chopped up and now we found a new favorite!
I just made this…..so good! I added olives and corn. I like the idea of mixing in some beans too! Will make again for sure!
I too made a few additions/substitutions but kept the basic recipe and it was delicious! We had leftove chicken so I shredded it and used that with the queso. Was definitely a bit drier since ground beef newly sauted has quite a bit of oil but we just added a little olive oil and more queso when heating it. We added bell pepper, onion and corn as a layer and after it was done baking, topped it with fresh tomato and avocado. Yummy!!!
I just made this for dinner everyone loved it! Very goo and I got 8 slices out of it which is plenty ! Thanks for sharing!
I made this tonight and it was so incredibly yummy! Thank you for sharing.
This is yummy and super easy to make! Thank you for sharing.
It's so delicious! Yummy
I made this three days ago and brought it to work. Everyone wanted the recipe! I used ground turkey and was amazed that you could never tell the difference. I also used a can of black beans. This recipe is a hit!
I was just wondering if this could be something that I make ahead of time and freeze? Im trying to get some easy meals to make ahead of time and this looks awesome!!
I was just wondering if anyone has made this with corn tortillas? My mom has a gluten allergy but loves anything tacos, so I was wondering if the flavoring would be dramatically different?
I used corn tortillas and tortilla chips( on the bottom layer because I ran out of the other). It turned out great.