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!
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.
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.
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!
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).
This Mexican casserole is truly the perfect weeknight meal for a busy family, a hungry couple, or any at all, for that matter.
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!
Mexican Lasagna with Tortillas
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
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
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!
The flour tortillas give me all the vibes of my favorite burrito!
Woo hoo!!
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
Hi Nancy! We agree so much! We hope you make the Mexican lasagna and love it as much as we do! Please keep us posted!