Easy, cheesy magnificently delicious Ground Beef Taco Casserole with black beans, bell pepper, salsa, cheese, and a whole lot of taco flavor! If you’re a Mexican food fanatic and love all things cheesy, you’ll go wild over this fresh and tasty recipe!
All the delicious flavors of ground beef tacos get soaked up into this beefy cheese and rice casserole for an explosion of flavor and gooey texture.
The concept here is very similar to my Chicken and Rice Enchilada Casserole and my Salsa Verde Chicken and Rice Casserole.
Bold fresh ingredients like onion, bell pepper, salsa (or enchilada sauce), chili powder, and garlic get baked up with rice, cheese, beans, and ground beef for the ultimate flavor fest.
For those times you’re looking for a meal the whole family will love, or you’re in the mood to meal prep, this easy ground beef taco casserole is pure gold.
The best part is the casserole is not only easy to prepare, but it tastes even better the next day. A definite win for busy weeknights or special occasions alike!
While I don’t eat cheese often (I don’t do super great with dairy), a good hearty cheesy casserole like this is one of those times I find it simply irresistible.
If you’re dairy-free, try my Dairy-Free Creamy Mushroom Chicken and Brown Rice Casserole.
The flavors come together so nicely with that amazing texture that it’s hard to stop at one serving!
Let’s discuss the simple ingredients for taco casserole.
Ingredients for Ground Beef Taco Casserole:
Ground Beef: Choose your favorite ground beef. I use grass-fed 80/20 beef which has a tremendous amount of flavor. You can easily go with a lean ground beef such as 90/10 or leaner depending on what you prefer. Ground turkey and ground chicken also work for the taco meat.
If you chop up a couple boneless chicken breasts, you can skip the browning process and toss them directly into the casserole dish.
Onion, Garlic, and Bell Pepper: The fresh vegetables that go into the casserole to give it that bold, inviting flavor. Use garlic powder if you don’t have fresh garlic on hand.
Avocado Oil: Used to sauté the onion and brown the beef, we use a little oil. I use avocado oil, but olive oil works great too.
Salsa & Chicken Broth: The liquid portion of the recipe. Because this casserole contains rice, we need a great deal of liquid for the rice to absorb during the baking process.
I use a combination of salsa or enchilada sauce and chicken broth to maximize the flavor. Use your favorite store-bought or homemade salsa or enchilada sauce!
Chili Powder: That key ingredient in classic tacos, we add a generous amount of chili powder to make the casserole exude all the taco flavor. Taco seasoning works as a great replacement for chili powder if it’s what you have on hand.
Canned Green Chiles: Mild green chiles get added to the mix to bring more flavor. If you love spicy food, feel free to use hot canned green chilies.
Black Beans: One can of black beans goes into the casserole for that yummy bean texture. Feel free to swap it out for pinto beans or corn.
White Rice: Uncooked white rice gets added to the casserole. No need to cook it ahead of time, as it cooks during the baking process. The rice soaks up all the amazing flavors that go into this delicious casserole recipe and acts as the glue that holds it all together.
Colby Jack Cheese: I’ve found colby jack cheese is an amazing blend for casseroles. Rather than buying pre-grated, I buy the brick and take the time to grate it because pre-grated cheese doesn’t melt as well and get nice and gooey.
If you’re trying to save time and you’re fine with that, feel free to use a pre-grated blend. Use cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, or any type of melting cheese you enjoy.
For Serving:
Be sure to pick up tasty goodies like tortilla chips, extra salsa, avocado, cilantro, sour cream, refried beans, and green onion for serving the casserole. You can also serve it with chopped lettuce, tomatoes, and black olives for a classic taco or tostada feel. Any of your favorite taco toppings will be welcome here.
If you’re into Mexican food, beef, and cheese, this taco casserole is your ultimate dream!
Now that we’re familiar with the ingredients list, let’s make it!
How to Make Ground Beef Taco Casserole:
Preheat the oven to 375.
Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the onion has softened. Add the ground beef and use a spatula to chop it into small bits.
The ground beef doesn’t need to be cooked all the way through just yet, but cook it until much of it has browned. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
Transfer the bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, chicken broth, salsa, white rice, black beans, green chiles and salt to a large 13” x 9” casserole dish. Stir everything well until combined.
Stir in the ground beef mixture, followed by half of the cheese.
Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Remove the baking dish from the oven and remove the foil.
Place the oven on the High Broil Setting and sprinkle the casserole with the remaining cheese.
Broil for 5 to 8 minutes or until the cheese has melted and has turned slightly golden brown.
Serve casserole in individual servings with your choice of toppings such as sliced avocado or guacamoles, corn chips, sour cream, salsa, lettuce, chopped tomatoes, olives, pico de gallo, extra shredded cheese, etc.
You can also serve with flour tortillas or corn tortillas so that people can make tacos or burritos out of the casserole.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can also wrap the casserole dish in plastic wrap or the foil you used to bake it.
And that’s it, my friends! An incredibly flavorful and relatively simple casserole recipe that is sure to receive rave reviews from your friends and family.
Mix it up using various ingredients you love and put this beauty on repeat! It’s a family favorite for taco night and an easy dinner to boot. This delicious taco casserole is perfect for Taco Tuesday or the next time you’re craving Mexican inspired cuisine.
If you enjoy this easy weeknight meal, you may also love my Roasted Vegetable Stacked Enchiladas.
If you love casserole recipes, also try these reader favorites.
More Casserole Recipes:
- Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole
- Tuna Noodle Casserole
- Mediterranean Breakfast Casserole
- Broccoli Cheddar Chicken Casserole
- Tuna Rice Casserole
Where tacos and casseroles join as one!
Ground Beef Taco Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 lb ground beef*
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 Tbsp chili powder
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup salsa**
- ⅔ cup uncooked white rice
- 1 15-oz can black beans, drained
- 1 7-oz can green chilis
- 1 tsp sea salt to taste
- 3 cups grated colby jack cheese
For Serving:
- Tomatoes
- Olives
- Avocado
- Sour Cream
- Salsa
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the onion has softened. Add the ground beef and use a spatula to chop it into small bits. The ground beef doesn’t need to be cooked all the way through just yet, but cook it until much of it has browned. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
- Transfer the bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, chicken broth, salsa, white rice, black beans, green chiles and salt to a large 13” x 9” casserole dish. Stir everything well until combined.
- Stir in the ground beef mixture, followed by half of the cheese.
- Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the baking dish from the oven and remove the foil.
- Place the oven on the High Broil Setting and sprinkle the casserole with the remaining cheese.
- Broil for 5 to 8 minutes or until the cheese has melted and has turned slightly golden brown.
- Serve casserole in individual servings with your choice of toppings such as sliced avocado or guacamoles, corn chips, sour cream, salsa, lettuce, chopped tomatoes, olives, pico de gallo, extra shredded cheese, etc. You can also serve with flour tortillas or corn tortillas so that people can make tacos or burritos out of the casserole.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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This recipe was good, but definitely needed baking longer than 45 minutes. It was still soupy, and I baked it another 35 or 40 minutes without the foil. Then added the cheese and broiled it. We ate it on flour tortillas.
Hi Carol! Did you use brown rice instead of white rice?
Very delcious! Except I had to cook this another hour (almost 2 hours total) to get the rice cooked and the liquid to go away. At 45 min it was like soup. I even added 1/4 cup rice because 2 cups stock + a liquidy salsa verde seemed like too much liquid for 2/3 cup rice. Maybe I shouldn’t have used such liquidy salsa?
Once cooked it was amazing though! Will cook again but just prepare for 2 hours to cook.
Hi Gina! What type of rice did you use?
This was very fun and easy to make. BUT I used Jasmine rice which I think was a mistake. Plain long grain may have been better. It wasn’t thoroughly cooked @ 45 min. I cooked it a few minutes longer and it was mush. I used homemade taco seasoning in place a just chili powder. Super fresh and flavorful. We ate some on flour tortillas with the fixings and some by itself. We will have leftovers today which I’m sure will be even better. Thank you for all the serving suggestions. It was still a fun meal we shared with family.
Thanks so much for reporting back with your experience! It’s very helpful to know jasmine rice took longer to cook – I appreciate you sharing this information as I’m sure there are others who would want to try the same thing 🙂 xo
Made this recipe the other night. Had to bake it an hour for the rice to cook completely. Substituted cumin for the chili powder, for us, using the green chilis was spicy enough. Unfortunately we didn’t eat it that evening, so the next morning I fried a couple of eggs, put some of the casserole and extra cheese on a flour tortilla and warmed them in the micro and made breakfast burritos. They were delicious. I find meals like this taste better the next day as the flavors have a chance to blend more thoroughly. Definitely will make this again. Thanks.
I’m thrilled to hear you enjoy the recipe, Karen! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback 🙂
Can I use yellow rice instead of white rice? If so, do I need to change any other ingredients or the amount of any ingredient?
Hi Rose! Yellow rice works too! You won’t need to make any changes to the recipe 🙂 xo
I made this tonight for dinner. It tasted delicious, but there was too much liquid. I wonder if I should have cooked it longer. I followed the recipe as written. I strained out almost a cup of extra liquid, which I will use to make Spanish rice later. Has this been an issue for anyone else?
Hi Virginia! Did you use uncooked white rice?
Can I use brown rice instead of white rice?
Hi Glenda! I love the idea of using brown rice! Because brown rice requires more time to cook than white rice, I would recommend cooking the brown rice on the stove top first. I haven’t tested it myself yet, but I imagine if you didn’t cook the rice in advance, the rice would turn out pretty al dente or slightly undercooked.
Because the rice will already be cooked, you won’t need as much liquid in the casserole, so I would reduce the liquid to 1 cup of salsa (or enchilada sauce) and 2/3 cup of broth. Hope you enjoy!!
This looks super ! Can I prepare it the day before ? Just wondering if the rice would soak up too much liquid if it rests in the fridge overnight …
Thank you 😊
My children looked forward to eating enchilada pie(similar to your taco casserole) and especially the days following when i made crispy tacos with the leftovers! A great after school snack😋 They are grown and have their own families now but sometimes i still make them and call them up – it doesn’t take long for them to show up.
Aww I love that! Little family traditions like that are so meaningful. I love how food has a powerful way of bringing people together and creating memories 🙂 xo
Can u use veggie broth in place of chicken broth?
Absolutely! Any type of broth or stock will work 🙂
Is the rice precooked in this recipe? Looking forward to making this!
Hi Cindy! It’s uncooked 🙂 The rice cooks as the casserole bakes in the oven. I hope you enjoy the recipe!