Simple Taco Casserole

This is a crowd-pleasing taco casserole that has it all: It bakes up quickly in a hot oven, and can be made ahead if you like. Made with ground beef, pinto beans, and canned tomatoes that are subtly flavored with chili powder, they taste just like inside-out nachos.

How to make Simple Taco Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons safflower oil
• 1 medium green bell pepper, diced (1 ½ cups)
• 1 medium white onion, diced (1 ½ cups)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 ½ teaspoons chili powder
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups yellow corn tortilla chips, slightly crushed
• 1 ¼ cup freshly shredded Monterey jack cheese (3 ounces)
• 1 ¼ cup freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese (3 ounces)
• Thinly sliced radish, thinly sliced jalapeño, sliced black olives, sour cream, and fresh cilantro leaves for serving

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Heat a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon to break up meat, until meat is browned, 10 minutes. Transfer beef to a colander to drain. Discard excess oil.
3. Wipe out skillet, add oil, and return to heat. Add bell pepper and onion. Cook, stirring, until tender and browning, 7 minutes. Add tomato paste; cook, stirring, 1 minute.
4. Add back reserved beef, chili powder, oregano and cumin, tomatoes (with liquid), pinto beans, and 2 tablespoons water; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.
5. In a large bowl, combine tortilla chips, 1 cup Monterey jack, and 1 cup cheddar cheese.
6. Top casserole with chip mixture followed by remaining 1/4 cup each of Monterey and cheddar cheese.
7. Bake until cheese is melted and golden in spots, about 3 minutes. Serve with radishes, jalapenos, olives, sour cream, and cilantro.

Recipe Options

• Use canned black beans in place of the pinto beans.
• Replace the ground beef with ground dark meat turkey or a plant-based meat. With either of these swaps, you may need to use more oil as they have less fat than ground beef.
• For a spicier taco casserole, swap half or all of the canned tomatoes for canned Rotel diced tomatoes and chiles.