This Ground Chicken Taco Casserole Recipe is one of the most delicious and easy recipes. It’s a great make-ahead easy weeknight meal that the whole family will love!
What could be better than layers of taco meat, tortillas, beans, and cheeeeese? A Chicken Taco Casserole Recipe that’s made with healthier lean ground chicken, can be made ahead for your busy schedule, and can feed the entire family with leftovers for another night. Now THAT’s what I’m talkin’ about!
This Ground Chicken Taco Casserole has corn tortillas layered with browned ground chicken seasoned with smokey mexican spices, black beans, tomatoes, and cheeeeese, and then more cheeeeese. Then topped with cheeeeese. It’s like a Mexican Lasagna! You have really got to add this one to your dinner table on taco night, or any night.
Want more tips for making busy family dinners easier? Click here for my Free Printable 5 Simple Steps to Easy Family Dinners!
Check out this video – it’s so easy to make!
More Mexican Casserole Ideas!
If you love chicken tacos, or any tacos, then you will love how tasty and convenient turning them into easy casserole recipes can be. Rather than having to prepare lots of different bowls of fillings and toppings, everything gets cooked in one pan or dish.
When Dave and I were first married, I started making my enchilada casserole with shredded chicken breast and cheese. I have made this casserole for years. But when I had kids, I started adding pasta to it to bulk it up and appease their love for pasta. I also add corn, chorizo, and veggies.
Check out these other two Mexican chicken casseroles! First, my Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Casserole with Veggies is a great way to sneak in veggies. My Mexican Marinated Chicken and Rice Skillet is a great option for a stovetop casserole!
Simple Ingredients from your Fridge or Pantry
Fresh, Fridge or Freezer Ingredients
- Ground Chicken or turkey – I used 99% lean white meat ground chicken. You can use any ground chicken, ground turkey, ground beef, or ground pork that you want. Instructions will be the same for all. You could also use rotisserie chicken or other cooked chicken that you shred and then add it to the filling mixture.
- Scallions (green onions) – I love scallions for the green color and mild onion-flavor. You can swap with finely minced yellow or red onion or even shallots.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese – I like to shred my own cheese to avoid fillers and stabilizers. But of course, you can buy pre-shredded cheese to save time. Monterey Jack cheese, Pepper Jack, Mozzarella, or any other melting shredded cheese will work!
- Sour Cream – The sour cream is for garnish at the end, so you can use it or leave it out.
- Tomato, large – The diced tomato is for freshness and garnish at the end.
- Optional: Chopped Fresh Cilantro – Cilantro adds classic Mexican flavor and a touch of color to this casserole. You can substitute with parsley or just eliminate.
Pantry Ingredients
- Olive Oil – This is for browning the chicken in a pan. Use any cooking oil that you prefer, such as vegetable.
- Canned Black Beans – You can substitute pinto beans or any other canned beans that you have on hand (with the exception of green beans that can become mush). You can also use dry black beans, just be sure to cook them thoroughly before adding them to the casserole.
- Canned Diced Tomatoes – I used San Marzano Tomatoes for this recipe. Diced is great because you want to get those tomato chunks, but if all you have is crushed or pureed, then that will work.
- Green Chilies – I used the small 4 ounce can of Goya Roasted Green Chiles as they are mild, but very flavorful.
- Canned tomato sauce – You will want plain tomato sauce for this recipe. You can substitute crushed or diced and blend them to smooth it out.
- Seasonings: tablespoon Chili Powder, Cumin, Oregano, Salt. I also have a homemade taco seasoning recipe that I always have on hand. You can also your a taco seasoning mix of your choice.
- Corn Tortillas, 6″ – White Corn tortillas or yellow corn tortillas will work. Any size will work as well, just break them as needed to fit into the layers. You could use flour tortillas if that’s all you have, but they tend to melt into the casserole and won’t give you that traditional corn flavor.
Simple Equipment, nothing special
For this chicken taco bake, you need a large casserole dish that’s approximately 10×12, 12×12, 10×13 or similar. The key is to make sure the sides are at least 2.5-3 inch baking dish sides to fit the layers.
Time Saving Steps for this Chicken Taco Casserole Recipe
You are busy, so these are the steps you can do a day or two in advance to prepare food ahead! (See the recipe below for more details)
Ready for the bonus for this recipe? This entire casserole can be made ahead on Sunday and then cooked in the oven for 30 minutes on Monday or Tuesday. Then you can reheat the leftovers again on Wednesday or Thursday – so great, right?
There are 3 main steps to this recipe:
1. Make the Meat, Tomato, Bean filling.
Brown the meat over medium heat with spices and seasoning.
Then adding in the tomatoes, green chilies, and beans.
2. Mix the tomato sauce with the cumin, chili powder, and salt
3. Now, assemble the casserole as if it were a Mexican Lasagna! There will be 3 layers of tortillas, so make sure that you have about 3-4 tortillas per layer. To start, cover the bottom of the casserole dish with 4 corn tortillas.
Then layer on half of the ground chicken mixture, sprinkle ¼ of the scallions, then the add ⅓ of the shredded cheese.
Do this again for the second layer. Then top with a third and final layer of tortillas, the tomato sauce, and the remaining cheese.
At this point, you can either store the taco casserole in the fridge covered or cook it.
Cooking the Ground Chicken Taco Casserole
To cook, simply bake in the oven 350F degrees for 30 minutes! Then serve with sour cream and garnish with remaining scallions.
Enjoy! 😍 Carrie
Easy Chicken Taco Casserole FAQs
Can I use Ground Beef in this Chicken Taco Casserole dish?
You can use ground chicken, ground turkey, or ground pork in this Taco Casserole.
Can I use shredded chicken instead of ground chicken?
You can use shredded chicken breasts instead of ground chicken in this Taco Casserole recipe. Add about 3-4 cups shredded chicken to the frying pan and then immediately move on to Step 4 since it’s already cooked.
What are substitutes for the Sour Cream in this taco casserole recipe?
You can substitute the sour cream in this Taco Casserole recipe with light sour cream or even plain greek yogurt.
How many cups shredded cheddar do I need for this Taco Casserole?
This recipe calls for 12 ounces, which is about 2.5-3 cups.
Are there any other garnishes that I can add to this Taco casserole?
There are so many Mexican flavors and toppings that you can add! In addition to the sour cream, tomatoes, and scallions, you can add fresh salsa, pico de gallo, salsa verde, crushed tortilla chips or black olives or jalapeno slices. Feel free to add any of your favorite taco fixings.
Can I freeze this Chicken Taco Casserole?
Yes, this chicken taco casserole can be frozen after baking, making it a fantastic freezer meal option. Cool it first in the fridge. Store it in an airtight container in the freezer and it will last for 3-4 months. To thaw, place in the refrigerator 24 hours in advance of cooking. Then place in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes minutes covered then 10 minutes uncovered. You can sprinkle fresh cheese on top to melt during the last 10 minutes.
Have you tried this recipe? If so, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe below! I love to hear your feedback and your rating helps others to find this recipe. Thanks so much!
Ground Chicken Taco Casserole Recipe with Black Beans
Ingredients
Ground Chicken and Beans
- 1 lb Ground Chicken
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 15 oz Black Beans
- 15 oz Canned Diced Tomatoes
- 4 oz Canned Green Chilis
- 1 tablespoon Chili Powder
- 1 tablespoon Cumin
- 2 teaspoon Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Tomato Sauce
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Make Casserole
- 12 Corn Tortillas, 6″
- 3 Scallions (green onions)
- 12 oz Shredded Cheese Cheddar or Taco Blend
- ½ cup Sour Cream
- 1 Tomato, large
- ½ cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped Optional
Instructions
Prep-Ahead Steps
- This entire casserole can be made on Sunday and then cooked in the oven for 30 minutes on Monday or Tuesday. Then reheat again on Wednesday or Thursday.
- Thin Slice the scallions. Most will be used in the casserole, but save some of the greens for garnish.
- Preheat a large skillet on high. Add the olive oil to coat bottom and then add the ground chicken. Break it up, but let it sit to sear and cook for about 5 minutes. Then mix so that all sides of the chicken cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add diced tomatoes, green chilis, chili powder, cumin, and oregano.
- Open the can of black beans and before adding them, smash them a bit in the can using a fork. Then add them to the chicken. Stir to combine and let simmer for 10 minutes to cook down.
- Mix the tomato sauce with the Chili Powder, Cumin, and Salt.
Assemble the Taco Casserole – You will need a 9×9 or 10×10 casserole dish.
- There will be 3 layers of tortillas, so make sure that you have about 4 tortillas per layer. To start the first layer, cover the bottom of the casserole dish with 4 tortillas.
- Next add ½ of the meat mixture on top of the tortillas. Sprinkle with ¼ of the Scallions.
- Then top with ⅓ of the shredded cheese. Repeat! Cover with tortillas, then meat mixture, scallions, and cheese.
- Then the final layer of tortillas and then cover with tomato sauce and the remaining cheese and ¼ of the scallions. The remaining scallions are for garnish.
Bake your Casserole
- Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees.
- Bake the casserole covered for 30 minutes until hot all the way through. While the casserole is cooking, dice the tomato.
- Plate, drizzle with sour cream, sprinkle with diced tomatoes, and garnish with scallions.
Video
Notes
- You can use ground chicken, ground turkey, or ground pork in this Taco Casserole.
- You can use shredded chicken instead of ground chicken in this Taco Casserole recipe. Add about 3-4 cups shredded chicken to the frying pan and then immediately move on to Step 4 since it’s already cooked.
- You can substitute the sour cream in this Taco Casserole recipe with light sour cream or even plain greek yogurt.
- In addition to the sour cream, tomatoes, and scallions, you can add crushed tortilla chips or black olives or jalapeno slices.
mimi rippee says
Nice. My husband would absolutely love this. I love all of the ingredients, but I’m not so much a casserole person. i know, weird. But I would roll all of that up and call it enchiladas and love it!!!
Susan says
This was really good, I made a few tweaks (like no chili powder or green chilies, because kids) and used refried black beans instead of whole (again, the kids) and they BOTH liked the finished product, which is basically a miracle!
Carrie Tyler says
Thanks, Susan! I love the tweaks you made to customize it to your family.
And who doesn’t love a dinner miracle!!!
Happy Cooking,
Carrie
Linger, Kristy Murray says
This recipe is giving me permission to have “Taco Tuesdays” on a Monday. It sounds fantastic. I love all the questions you answer in the post. Very helpful and insightful. Thanks so much for sharing Carrie.