Mexican Lasagna with Tortillas

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If you love lasagna and if you love Tex-Mex, then you and your family will flip for this classic casserole!

There are so many things to love about this family-favorite dish. First and foremost, it’s delicious. But it’s easy to put together, and it easily feeds a hungry family. Perfect weeknight fare. We love to serve it with a side of pico de gallo and homemade guacamole! Olé!

A close-up view of a Mexican lasagna in a white 9 by 13 baking dish topped with chopped tomatoes and slices of jalapeños.

How To Make Mexican Lasagna

This is one of our favorite casseroles to make, especially when guests are coming over.

And it never fails to generate lots of accolades every time we serve it. And it’s really not difficult to make!

 

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The Ingredients You Will Need

Many of these ingredients you’ll probably already have on hand. Any other items are easily found at your local supermarket.

Oil – Olive or vegetable
Onion – Chopped
Ground beef – Can also substitute ground turkey or chicken
Black beans – canned, drained
Sweet corn – Frozen is great, fresh is wonderful, too
Tomatoes with chilis – Ro-tel is best, but there are other brands, too. Usually in the canned tomato section
Taco seasoning – Store-bought is fine, homemade taco seasoning is great!
Beef stock – Or chicken, vegetable, or even water will work
Tortillas – We recommend flour fajita-size, but corn tortillas are wonderful, too
Cheese – Cheddar, Colby jack, or any Mexican blend is perfect. Shredded.
Sour cream – A full 16 ounces
Green chiles – Chopped. Can be found in the Hispanic section of most supermarkets. Can substitute chopped pickled jalapeños.
Pico de gallo – For garnish, homemade is easy and delicious
Cilantro – Fresh and chopped, for garnish
Jalepeños – Fresh or pickled, sliced, for garnish – optional

EXPERT TIP: If using fajita-sized flour tortillas, for each layer cut three tortillas in half and arrange them in the baking dish, cut-side facing the edge of the dish. Then place a whole one in the center. You may need to overlap two tortillas in the center on the next two levels (if the sides of your dish are beveled out). Divide the taco meat and cheese into thirds. The sour cream/chili mixture is applied in one layer.

Taco meat ladled onto flour tortillas in a baking dish and then the meat topped with shredded cheddar and then sour cream ladled onto another layer of tortillas.

Tips for a Perfect Mexican Lasagna

Drain the Grease – We like to use lean ground beef for this casserole, but even it will render grease. We don’t recommend leaving the grease in the skillet. Simply tilt the skillet to one side and then use a large spoon to remove it into an environmentally safe vessel. Don’t ever pour grease down the drain!

Watch Your Sodium – Taco seasoning packets are loaded with plenty of sodium, so if using one of those, you won’t need to add any salt to the casserole. If using homemade, you’ll want to add about 1 tsp to the taco meat mixture.

Adjust Recipe to Your Family’s Tastes – You can add or omit so many ingredients when making this casserole. We’ve added chopped zucchini and summer squash to the taco meat. For more heat, add chipotle pepper and a little adobo sauce. You could also skip the beans in the sauce, and add a layer of refried beans in the lasagna. Be creative! Remember, you can easily half the recipe if desired.

A large cast-iron skillet filled with taco meat that includes black beans, corn, and chopped tomatoes and there is a large wooden spoon inserted into the middle of it all.

How To Serve

One of the things we love about this casserole is that you can make it a day or two in advance of serving. Just assemble, cover with foil, and then keep in the refrigerator until ready to bake and serve.

Use a knife or a spatula to cut the lasagna into squares and let folks serve themselves. We love to provide plenty of toppings for guests to add to their own serving. These include:

Pico de Gallo
Homemdae Salsa
Guacamole
Pickled Jalapeños (nachos style)
Freshly chopped cilantro
Chopped onions

NOTE: The perfect side dish for this filling lasagna is Best-Ever Mexican Rice! It’s easy to make and so good! Just look at this lasagna!

A slice of a Mexican lasagna raised up with a metal spatula.

How To Store

We think this lasagna is even better the next day!

Transfer uneaten squares to a container with a lid and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in an oven-proof dish at 350°F until heated through, and bubbly, about 20 minutes.

Individual servings can also easily be heated in the microwave on HIGH in 1-minute intervals.

And the casserole can be frozen for up to 2 months, uncooked (or cooked).

A dinner plate filled with a square serving of Mexican lasagna topped with chopped tomatoes and jalapeño slices.

This Mexican casserole is truly the perfect weeknight meal for a busy family, a hungry couple, or any at all, for that matter. And if you love this dish, you’ll most likely flip for our Green Enchilada Casserole with Chicken!

Make it in advance and then enjoy it all week! As mentioned, the recipe can be halved to serve a smaller family.

It’s also so beautiful and scrumptious that is spectacular to serve at a Mexican-themed dinner party! Trust us, after one bite, your family and loved ones will be begging for more! It’s that good!

A slice of Mexican lasagna with a bite missing and a fork sitting next to it on a white dinner plate.

A dinner plate filled with a square serving of Mexican lasagna topped with chopped tomatoes and jalapeño slices.

Mexican Lasagna with Tortillas

Mexican Lasagna is sure to please. Loaded with layers of taco meat, cheese, sour cream, and tortillas. It can easily be made in advance and enjoyed all week long. It makes a lot, but it reheats beautifully! Or, you can cut the recipe in half! So good!
5 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Entree
Cuisine: American / TexMex
Keyword: how to make Mexican lasagna, Tex-Mex lasagna recipe, weeknight dinner recipe
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 480kcal

Equipment

  • Large skillet
  • 9"x13" baking dish or lasagna pan

Ingredients

For the Meat Mixture

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup onion chopped
  • 2 lbs ground beef
  • 1 15 oz can black beans drained
  • 1 cup corn frozen or fresh
  • 1 15 oz can Ro-tel tomatoes or tomatoes with chiles
  • ¼ cup taco seasoning See NOTES
  • ½ cup beef broth or stock
  • 16 oz sour cream 1 pint
  • 4.5 oz can green chiles
  • 15 flour tortillas fajita-sized, or corn tortillas
  • 4 cups cheddar cheese shredded
  • Pico de gallo for garnish
  • Cilantro fresh, chopped, for garnish
  • Jalapeños pickled, sliced, for garnish - optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.

Make the Meat Mixture

  • Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes.
    1 tbsp olive oil, 1 cup onion
  • Add the beef and cook, stirring often, until no longer pink. Tilt the skillet and use a spoon to remove most of any rendered grease.
    2 lbs ground beef
  • Stir in the drained beans, corn, Ro-tel, taco seasoning, and stock. Simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside.
    1 15 oz can black beans, 1 cup corn, 1 15 oz can Ro-tel tomatoes, ¼ cup taco seasoning, ½ cup beef broth

Make the Sour Cream Mixture

  • In a medium bowl, mix together the sour cream with the green chiles until fully combined. Set aside.
    16 oz sour cream, 4.5 oz can green chiles

Assemble and Bake the Lasagna

  • Add 1/3 of the meat mixture into the bottom of a 9"x13" baking dish. Make a layer of tortillas over the meat (see the video for reference). Add another third of the meat mixture. Top with 1/3 of the cheese. Add another layer of tortillas. Top with the sour cream/chili mixture (spread evenly). Add another 1/3 of the cheese. Top with one more layer of tortillas, then the rest of the meat, and then top with the remaining cheese.
    15 flour tortillas, 4 cups cheddar cheese
  • Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly. Remove from the oven and let rest for about 5 minutes. Top with desired garnishes. Slice and serve at once.
    Pico de gallo, Cilantro, Jalapeños

Notes

See the video near the top of the blog post for visual guidance. If you liked the video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. 
If you are making the homemade taco seasoning, you'll want to add 1 tsp of salt to the meat mixture. If you are using store-bought, no need to add any salt. 
See the video for cutting the tortillas to fit into the dish and making the layers. Corn tortillas can be substituted for flour, if desired.
Leftovers will keep covered in the fridge for up to 5 days, and the lasagna can be frozen (uncooked) for up to 2 months (let thaw completely before baking). Reheat leftovers in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes, or microwave individual servings on HIGH in 1-minute intervals until heated through. 

Nutrition

Calories: 480kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 1030mg | Potassium: 278mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1109IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 370mg | Iron: 3mg
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11 Comments

  • 5 stars
    We loved it so much we made it again exactly as written, except we stirred a can of refried beans into the beef mixture which made it really easy to layer. We liked it even more!!!

    • Hi Barbara! We LOVE that you added to refried beans to the beef! Thank you so so much for sharing and for the wonderful review. That honestly means the world to us! Happy New Year to you and your loved ones!!! Stay in touch! Kris & Wesley

  • 5 stars
    Made this exactly as written except I used pinto beans instead of black beans bcuz that’s what I had. It was fantastic!!! It barely fit in a 9×13, so press the tortillas as you make the layers. Will definitely make this again. And again!!!

  • 5 stars
    Husband and I loved this one. We added a small can of chipotle peppers to it for some smokiness and it really added some depth! Key moment of the dinner was husband recreating Wesley’s line from the video (with poorly recreated accent) “I just loooove all that flavor!”

    • Hi Dart!! You just made our week! We love the addition of a little more heat with the peppers! Yum! And the recreation of Wesley’s dialogue must have been epic! LOL! Thank you so so much for sharing and for the GREAT review. That means the world!!! xoxo Kris & Wesley

  • 5 stars
    I made it (luckily before my knee injury). I was nervous about flour (as opposed to corn) tortillas, but trust me, they are the right choice. They hold up and absorb the flavors. I myself was too shy on the seasoning, but the recipe is spot on. I love the black beans and corn mixed with the meat. and the lack of mushy re-fried beans. I was also surprised at the nice layer of sour cream/ chilies mixture. At your next party, everyone is going to rave about this! Everyone will be full and happy!

  • This is perfect. Interesting how two cultures (Mexican and Italian) can use similar ingredients (a flour structure – pasta or tortillas – , tomatoes, beef, onion, spices, and cheese) to make dishes so different but equally delicious!

    I’m sad I am cooking split pea soup today (planned) instead of this!

    • Hi,
      I plan to make this and like that it can be refrigerated for a few days.
      But this is not a 10-15 minute prep,
      1.get out all of the ingredients,
      2. chop onionand saute,
      3. then cook the ground meat for 10 minutes,
      4. cut tortillas, start layering ingredients
      ….at least 25-35 minutes which is not a problem
      But not a quick meal

      But not a quick weeknight dish

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