Mexican Casserole With Ground Beef

Make this Mexican casserole with ground beef, veggies, and melty cheese for an easy one-pan dinner. Load it up with your favorite toppings!

By Maya Krampf
Updated Apr 14, 2025

79 Votes | 110 Comments

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Mexican ground beef casserole in a baking dish.

In This Post

Why You Need My Mexican Casserole Recipe
Ingredients & Substitutions
How To Make Mexican Ground Beef Casserole
My Recipe Tips
Make Ahead Options
Topping Ideas
Mexican Ground Beef Casserole Recipe card
Recipe Reviews

If you’ve been around here for a while, you know Mexican flavors are some of my favorites. This Mexican casserole with ground beef takes everything I love about a taco — my homemade taco meat, melty cheese, and plenty of veggies — and bakes it into one easy, hearty dish. And you can pile on all your favorite toppings, which is always a hit at my house. If you want to change up your taco night with something just as easy, make this ground beef Mexican casserole recipe with me!

Why You Need My Mexican Casserole Recipe

Your entire dinner in one dish – This casserole is a complete meal with protein, veggies, and tons of flavor. And although it has multiple layers, they all cook in the same pan. Perfect for busy nights when I just want to throw something in the oven and be done!
Great for meal prep – I often make this Mexican casserole ahead for easy, healthy dinners, or freezing portions for later. It reheats beautifully.
Make it light or hearty – I’ve got 2 options for the base, so this dish can be light or more filling. Both ways are naturally gluten-free.
Customizable with all your favorite toppings – Keep it simple or load it up! I love that everyone in my family can make their plate their own way.

Cheesy Mexican ground beef casserole lifted from a baking dish.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Here I explain the best ingredients for my Mexican casserole recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.

Rice Layer:

Pick Your Rice – I make this with cooked cauliflower rice most often, but have done white or brown rice, too.
Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies – Make sure to drain them well, or your casserole will end up too watery. If you don’t want any heat, use plain diced tomatoes without the chilies.

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Labeled rice layer ingredients: Rice or cauliflower rice, diced tomatoes, avocado oil, and salt.

Vegetables Layer:

Veggies – I used diced bell peppers (two colors because it’s pretty) and a big onion for my Mexican ground beef casserole. Zucchini, mushrooms, or even spinach would be great additions, even if they’re less classic with Mexican flavors.
Avocado Oil – For sauteing. Olive oil works great, too.
Sea Salt & Black Pepper
Sour Cream – Adds creaminess and a little tang to balance the spice. You can swap it for Greek yogurt to lighten it up. I’ve also omitted it for a dairy-free friend, or you can try thick coconut cream mixed with a splash of lime juice.

Labeled vegetable layer ingredients: Bell peppers, onion, sour cream, avocado oil, salt, and pepper.

Taco Meat:

Ground Beef – I usually make this Mexican casserole with ground beef, but feel free to swap in ground turkey or chicken for a lighter take. Once I even used shredded Instant Pot chicken breast.
Taco Seasoning – I use my homemade taco seasoning, which is a mix of chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper. You can use store-bought, but if the brand you have is unsalted, I recommend adding a teaspoon of salt per pound of meat.
Water – To help the seasoning penetrate and make it a little saucy. You can even use beef broth for a flavor boost.

Topping:

Shredded Cheese – My family’s fave here is Mexican blend, but sometimes I use cheddar cheese instead. Any kind that melts well works great! When I made this Mexican ground beef casserole for my dairy-free friend, I made half using Manchego (from sheep’s milk) for a dairy-sensitive version.
Other Toppings – After baking, my go-to topping combo is diced tomatoes, sliced jalapeños, avocado, and fresh cilantro. I have other topping ideas for you below.

How To Make Mexican Ground Beef Casserole

I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.

Rice layer: Use a large skillet to cook cauliflower rice like this, or cook white or brown rice using your favorite method. Then, stir in the drained diced tomatoes with green chiles. Spread the rice mixture into a large baking dish. (I use this one for meal prep since it comes with a lid!)

Rice layer with tomatoes and green chilies in the bottom of a casserole dish.

Veggie layer: Wipe the skillet, heat some oil, and cook the peppers and onions until soft and slightly browned. Season with salt and pepper, then spread the vegetables over the rice. Spread sour cream over the vegetables.

Veggie layer spread on top of the rice layer, with sour cream spread on top.

Meat layer: Cook the ground beef over medium-high heat, breaking it apart as it browns. Stir in water and taco seasoning, then simmer until the liquid absorbs. Top the Mexican casserole with ground beef.
Cheese layer: Finally, add a generous layer of shredded cheese.

Assembled Mexican ground beef casserole topped with shredded cheese.

Bake and add toppings: Bake your Mexican ground beef casserole until it’s hot and melty. This doesn’t take long, since all the layers are cooked. Add your favorite toppings and enjoy — see my topping ideas below!

Finished Mexican casserole recipe with toppings in a casserole dish.

My Recipe Tips

How to avoid a watery casserole: Make sure to drain your diced tomatoes well, and cook the cauli rice, peppers, and onions for long enough for excess moisture to evaporate. I still usually have a little liquid at the bottom when serving, but if it’s a lot, that’s a sign there was lingering moisture somewhere before baking.
If you prefer, you can spread the diced tomatoes with green chiles over the rice layer instead of mixing in. I’ve done it both ways, but think the rice mixture tastes better with them mixed in.
Want to make it more hearty? Stir a can of beans or corn into the vegetables before transfering to the casserole dish.
When adding the sour cream, add it in dollops before spreading. It sticks to the vegetables, so this makes it easier to spread without disturbing the peppers and onions too much.
Yes, this Mexican ground beef casserole has a kick. You can swap the diced tomatoes with green chiles for plain ones like I mentioned above, but I actually recommend just serving it with more sour cream to cool it down because the green chilies add such nice flavor.
Have picky eaters? Serve the toppings on the side for everyone to choose their favorites. It’s like a taco (casserole) bar!
How much of the toppings do you need? It’s up to you! When I plan to make this Mexican casserole recipe, I usually grab one jalapeno, a few Roma tomatoes, 1-2 avocados, and a bunch of cilantro.

Make Ahead Options

Store in the fridge: I like to assemble this Mexican ground beef casserole ahead (without baking), cover it, and pop it in the fridge. It’ll last up to 3 days, so just bake when you’re ready! Letting it sit at room temp for 15-20 minutes helps it cook more evenly.
Freeze before baking: Same as above, but I add a layer of foil over the plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.
Freeze after baking: I prefer freezing before baking for the best texture, but you can freeze it after, too. I do this when I want easy meal prep—just pop individual portions in zip lock bags and keep frozen for up to 3 months.
How to reheat: If frozen, thaw first. Then bake as usual if uncooked. If it’s already baked, reheat at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes for the whole thing or 5-10 minutes for individual pieces. The oven is best, but the microwave works for individual portions in a pinch (just might be a little watery).

Two bowls of Mexican casserole loaded up with toppings.

Topping Ideas

This Mexican casserole is a full meal—no sides needed! But toppings? Yeah, I highly recommend those. My faves here are fresh tomatoes, sliced jalapeños, sliced avocado, sour cream, and plenty of cilantro. Green onions make a nice alternative if you’re not a cilantro fan.

If you have more time, you can whip up my guacamole recipe, fresh tomato salsa, or avocado salsa verde to put on top. Sometimes I sprinkled with crushed tortilla chips for crunch!