Loaded with flooring red meat, rice, cheese, and extra, this crowd-pleaser Taco Casserole is crowned with crunchy tortilla chips and smothered in an impossible to resist home made nacho cheese sauce.

You might be in for a severely savory, extremely scrumptious deal with. This taco casserole is produced from completely browned flooring red meat, rice, and numerous cheese, all in a superbly seasoned creamy tomato sauce crowned with a layer of crunchy tortilla chips and possibly probably the most wonderful nacho cheese topping ever. From the nostalgia of the cheese sauce to the crunch of the chips to the ooey-gooey taco-esque filling, this casserole is unmissable.

Why You’ll Love This Taco Casserole Recipe

• Nice taste. Who doesn’t love nachos? This casserole takes the entire flavors of your favourite Mexican appetizer and turns them into a whole meal.
• Texture. I like the crunch of the tortilla chips sandwiched between the hearty, gooey red meat filling and the velvety nacho cheese.
• One pan surprise. Do all your sauteing, simmering, and baking in a single massive ovenproof skillet for simple cleanup.
• Room for experimentation. Play with substances to make it your personal. Take a look at other meat or cheese, believe different toppings, use kind of (or other) spices, and so forth…

Substances & Substitutions

• Additional-virgin olive oil
• Onion
• Lean flooring red meat: You should use flooring turkey or hen in case you’d like.
• All-purpose flour
• Tomato paste
• Hen broth: Be happy to make use of red meat or veggie inventory as an alternative.
• Tomato sauce
• Seasonings: Chili powder, cumin, paprika, and pepper. Smoked paprika and/or oregano can be beautiful additions as smartly.
• Cooked white rice: I counsel the usage of long-grain rice comparable to Jasmine or Basmati. Lengthy-grain brown rice would additionally paintings.
• Cheese: I used shredded cheddar and shredded Monterey Jack, however you want to use what you could have readily available. Pepper Jack can be scrumptious.
• Bitter cream
• Beaten tortilla chips: In the event you’d like to make use of Doritos or Fritos, you’ll be able to.
• Butter
• Milk
• Toppings: I went with tomatoes, avocado, sizzling sauce, and inexperienced onions, however be at liberty to make use of black olives, pickled jalapeños, black beans, or another taco topping you’ll be able to recall to mind.

The best way to Make a Taco Casserole

• Prep. Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Saute the onions. Warmth the oil in a big ovenproof skillet over medium warmth and upload the onions. Cook dinner till translucent.
• Brown the meat. Upload the meat and sauté till browned and cooked thru.

• Make it saucy. Stir in 2 tablespoons flour and prepare dinner for 1 minute. Stir within the tomato paste, adopted via the hen broth, tomato sauce, and seasoning. Convey the combination to a simmer after which cut back the warmth to low. Cook dinner for 10 mins.
• Bulk it up. Stir within the rice, 1/2 cup cheddar, Monterey Jack cheese, and bitter cream.
• Bake. Quilt the filling with tortilla chips and bake for 18 to twenty mins.

• Make nacho cheese sauce. Soften the butter over medium warmth. Whisk in the remainder flour and prepare dinner for 1 minute. Stir within the milk and produce the combination to a simmer. Cook dinner till it thickens a bit of, after which stir in the remainder cheese, whisking continuously. Season with salt and pepper.
• Put all of it in combination. Pour the cheese sauce over the cooked casserole and garnish with toppings.

Serving Ideas

This taco casserole is a complete meal in and of itself. That being mentioned, I like serving it with some further veggie facets. A gentle salad with my Gentle and Creamy Avocado-Lime Salad Dressing or an aspect of Elote (Mexican Boulevard Corn) can be my most sensible choices. And, if the temper is correct, deal with your self to my Very Berry Margarita Spritzer.

The best way to Retailer & Reheat Extras

• To retailer. Word that taco casserole will get soggy because it sits, so it’s perfect to experience it quicker reasonably than later. Switch any leftovers to an hermetic container (preferably with out the toppings). You’ll retailer it within the refrigerator for as much as 3 days or within the freezer for as much as 3 months.
• To reheat. Switch the leftover taco casserole to a baking dish, quilt with aluminum foil, and bake at 350°F for 20 mins or till heated thru. Then again, microwave a portion in 30-second durations till heat.

Extra Simple Casserole Recipes

Casseroles are any such nice technique to feed a crowd (or simply your family with numerous leftovers). Listed below are a couple of of my different favourite comfy casserole recipes to get you during the iciness.