This easy taco casserole with ground beef, tater tots, refried beans, and lots of cheese will be your new favorite weeknight dinner! This recipe is easy, delicious, and something everyone will love.
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Easy Taco Casserole Recipe
Casseroles are the easiest way to get dinner on the table, and this taco casserole is a quick favorite. What’s better than eating tacos with a fork?
This recipe with ground beef, tater tots, refried beans, cheese, and more is absolutely delicious. And you can make it your own by choosing your favorite toppings to finish things off.
This taco tater tot casserole is easy to prepare and will be ready in under an hour. Best of all, the kids will love it, with no complaints!
Why you’ll love this Taco Casserole recipe:
- CASSEROLE: Casseroles never fail to please. Add everything into one dish and get all the flavor in one bite.
- EASY PREP: Prep is simple, so you can get everything in the oven and cooking quickly.
- KID-FRIENDLY: Kids will absolutely love this recipe (and it’s a lot less messy than regular tacos).
If you like casseroles, you’ll love this Doritos Casserole or this Cheesy Tater Tot Casserole too.
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How to make Taco Casserole (Kid Friendly!)
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- Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a 9×13 baking dish.
- Heat a large skillet and cook the ground beef with the diced onions. Then mix in the taco seasoning and tomatoes.
- To assemble the casserole: Spread refried beans over the bottom of the baking dish, then arrange the tater tots (still frozen) in a single layer, spread the meat mixture, and then cover with cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes covered, then uncover and bake another 10-15 minutes.
- Finish off with any toppings, serve hot, and enjoy!
What toppings should I use?
Toppings are completely up to you! You can use shredded lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, jalapenos, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, homemade taco sauce, or anything you like.
If you want a crunch, top with crushed up tortilla chips, leftover taco shells, Frito’s, Dorito’s, etc. Use whatever you have on hand.
Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes, you can easily prepare or partially prepare this taco casserole ahead of time if needed.
A simple thing to do is to make the ground beef mixture ahead of time and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to make the casserole. That alone will cut down on prep time.
Another option is to make it a freezer meal. Fully prepare the casserole (without toppings), and freeze until you’re ready to bake. Then you’ll just need to defrost and/or increase the baking time.
Can I use something besides ground beef?
I love using ground beef in this taco casserole, but you can certainly use another type of meat if you prefer. Shredded chicken makes a great substitute!
You could also use ground chicken or ground turkey for the same texture and consistency.
Tips!
- To cut down on prep time, cook the ground beef the night before and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to prepare the casserole.
- Make your own taco seasoning mix if you don’t have any packets on hand.
- To store leftovers, cover the baking dish with plastic wrap, or scoop casserole into airtight containers, and refrigerate up to 3 days.
You’ll love this tater tot and ground beef taco casserole just as much as the kids do. So be sure to try this easy recipe for your next dinner, or make it for Taco Tuesday or Cinco de Mayo!
More Taco Recipes we Love
- Baked Ground Beef Tacos
- Easy Taco Soup
- Taco Mac and Cheese
- Taco Burgers
- Baked Chicken Tacos
- Taco Salad Bowls
- Taco Spaghetti
- Taco Pie
If you make this recipe be sure to upload a photo in the comment section below or leave a rating. Enjoy! You can also jump to recipe.
Easy Taco Casserole Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 pound (454 g) ground beef
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2 tablespoons (37 g) taco seasoning (1 package)
- 16 ounces (454 g) can refried beans
- 16 ounces (454 g) bag frozen tater tots
- 14.5 ounces (411 g) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
- 8 ounces (226 g) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Optional toppings:
- Shredded lettuce
- Black olives
- Chips
- Sour cream
- Salsa
- Roma tomato diced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, add the ground beef and diced onion. Cook until the meat is browned and onions are translucent. Drain fat from pan if necessary.
- Reduce heat to low and add in the taco seasoning and diced tomatoes. Stir to combine and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Spread the refried beans into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Place the frozen tater tots on top of the beans in a single layer.
- Spread the meat mixture evenly on top of the tater tots.
- Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the meat mixture. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Top with lettuce, black olives, chips, sour cream, salsa, and diced Roma tomato if desired.
- Serve immediately.
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Nutrition Information
Hi! I’m wanting to make this as a freezer meal. What would you recommend for oven temp and time if I plan to put it straight from the freezer to the oven?
Same oven temp, just about twice as long of a cook time!
Excited to try this! I’ve read a few comments about using Tater Tots, although it may initially seem “weird” as described, loaded Tater tots, Loaded Fries, Loaded HB are a huge thing!! So I am excited to Taco Up my tots and give this a go. Thanks for the creative idea!! Anymore loaded Tater Tot casseroles using ground pork sausage?? Those are a fave too :)
We hope you love it! We have a Mexican tater tot casserole and a cheesy tater tot casserole!
Do I cook meat before freezing?
Yes!
It’s a casserole, it’s going to be a little weird but taste delicious in the end!
Hi Becky! Greetings from Guadalajara, Mexico. I want to tell you that I tried this recipe, because I thought it was funny. It’s kind of weird but tasty. I didn’t find tater tots but I used hash brown. I’m going to try some of your recipes although, honestly, they have nothing to do with real mexican food! :)
Congratulations!
I am sorry to hear it wasn’t your taste!
We thought this was good! I was torn between baking the tater tots first to crisp them or just following the recipe, but decided to go with the recipe and they turned out fine. I also added some Mexican blend cheese on top of the cheddar for something different. Another one I’ll be making again!
Thanks for sharing, Helen! I encourage spicing things up with fun modifications!
So delicious. I used hash browns with bell peppers O’Brien’s mixture instead of tater tots. So easy everyone loved it. Thank you
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing, Dawn!
It was excellent. I mixed my hamburger with onions, taco seasoning, diced tomatoes and 1/2 can refried beans. I added about 3 tablespoons of taco sauce to liquefy it some. The tater tots I baked first till crisp.. To assemble I put a smear of taco in a 11×7 casserole dish, 1/2 the taco meat, then all the tater tots, shredded cheese, rest of taco mixture, then more shredded Mexican cheese. I cut a jalapeno thin and laid on cheese. 20 mins covered, 10 without 350 degree oven . So good. Served with guacamole n sour cream.
Sounds mouthwatering, Michelle!