This tasty Mexican Lasagna Recipe has layers of tortillas and is packed with a cheesy meat sauce including black beans and fire-roasted tomatoes! Not only is it a great option for a freezer-friendly meal, but it’s also ready in just 1 hour! Serve with your favorite toppings and sides for the ultimate Mexican casserole!
Busy nights call for an easy recipe, but it has to be a family favorite so we can avoid fighting with the kids! That’s when we go with this Mexican lasagna. It’s also a fun twist on Taco Tuesday and much easier than assembling a traditional Italian lasagna.
A Mexican casserole like this already has a ton of flavor, but you can always serve it with homemade guacamole, tortillas, and queso, or Mexican Red Rice. Some like to add refried beans to the lasagna, but I prefer serving those on the side so the tortillas do not get soggy. If you’re feeding a crowd and need more Mexican inspired dishes, try these Green Chicken Enchiladas or Crockpot Carnitas!
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Why You’ll Love This Easy Mexican Lasagna Recipe
- Makes a perfect weeknight dinner that the whole family will love.
- This baked casserole is also a great make-ahead meal.
- So much easier than a classic Italian-style lasagna.
🍅 Ingredients:
- Ground beef – We use 85% or 90% lean meat
- Onion – Yellow or white are best
- Minced garlic – adds that garlicy flavor 🧄
- Taco seasoning mix – choose your favorite brand
- Fire roasted diced tomatoes – you can use regular diced tomatoes if needed
- Green chiles – brings out that great authentic Mexican flavor
- Black beans – we use canned for the simplicity of the dish, they should be washed well
- Corn tortillas – small taco size
- Shredded cheese – the staple in every Mexican dish!
- Tomatoes – fresh for the garnish when serving
- Green onions – garnish
- Sour cream – for serving
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Substitutions and Variations
- If you have spare time, try to make your own black beans, roast your own tomatoes or green chilies.
- Salsa can be used in place of the roasted tomatoes. I would recommend 1.5 cups of salsa. The juices provide the necessary moisture for the dish.
- Change up the taste entirely by adding salsa verde or enchilada sauce.
- Corn can be added to the beef mixture.
- Use soft flour tortillas instead of corn, however, they do not hold up as well as the corn tortillas.
- Try using actual lasagna noodles as you would with a traditional lasagna recipe!
- Some like to add bell peppers and black olives.
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Grease a 9×13 casserole dish and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Step 1: Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Step 2: Stir in the minced garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes.
Step 3: Add the taco seasoning and water.
Step 4: Stir in the tomatoes, chiles, and black beans.
Pro Tip: Be sure to drain and rinse the black beans. They will make the casserole soggy and the juices contain a lot of unnecessary sodium.
Step 5: Cover the bottom of the baking dish with 6 corn tortillas that overlap slightly.
Step 6: Spread ⅓ of the meat mixture over the tortillas, then cover with cheese. Repeat the layers, so that there are 3 layers in total.
Step 7: Cover with aluminum foil and bake until the casserole is bubbly and the cheese has melted.
Step 8: Garnish with tomatoes and green onions. Let the lasagna cool slightly for 10 minutes before serving.
GARNISH/SLICE/SERVE: Serve Mexican Lasagna warm out of the oven alongside a salad or even corn on the cob!
Recipe Tips for Mexican Lasagna with Tortilla:
- If you aren’t using a lean ground beef, you may want to drain the excess grease from the pan.
- Ground turkey or ground chicken can be swapped for beef. A plant-based ground “meat” will also work great in this recipe.
- We love using shredded cheddar cheese, but you can also go with a Mexican cheese blend or a few spoonfuls of queso too. Prepackaged shredded cheese typically has preservatives and anti-caking agents on it that don’t allow the cheese to melt as smoothly as if you grate it fresh off the block.
Recipe FAQs
Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can also freeze it for up to 2 months. To reheat, place it directly in the oven from the freezer and bake at 350 degrees until warm.
Freeze in individual servings for meal prep if you don’t want to take the whole casserole out.
Sure can! Follow the recipe to assemble. Once you are finished, either wrap and refrigerate or freeze until you are ready to serve.
More Mexican Inspired Recipes
If you tried this Mexican Lasagna Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Mexican Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ¼ cup taco seasoning
- ½ cup water
- 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes do not drain – fire roasted
- 4 oz. can green chiles
- 15 oz. can black beans drained and rinsed
- 18 corn tortillas
- 6 cups shredded cheese jack and cheddar
- 1-2 tomatoes diced for garnish
- 1 green onions sliced for garnish
- Sour cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Cook ground beef and onion in a large skillet over medium heat until the meat is browned and the onions softens.
- Add minced garlic to the skillet and saute for 1-2 minutes longer.
- Add taco seasoning and water and stir over medium heat until well combined.
- Stir the tomatoes (juices included), green chiles, and black beans into the meat mixture and heat through.
- Line the prepared baking dish with 6 corn tortillas, overlapping slightly to cover the bottom of the casserole dish.
- Spread ⅓ of the meat mixture over the tortillas. Sprinkle 2 cups of the cheese over the meat mixture.
- Continue layering corn tortillas, meat mixture, and cheese to form three layers total.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30-40 minutes until casserole is bubbly and the cheese is fully melted.
- Garnish with diced tomatoes and green onion. Let the casserole sit for 10 minutes for easy slicing and serving.
- Serve with sour cream.
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Notes
Ground turkey can be substituted for ground beef. You can use salsa instead of the fire-roasted tomatoes – I would recommend 1 ½ cups of salsa. The juices in the tomatoes (or the salsa) provide the necessary moisture for the dish. Since we’re layering with corn tortillas, the filling needs that moisture. Corn (canned or frozen) can be added to the meat mixture. We loved the corn tortillas in this recipe. They soak up just enough moisture from the rest of the casserole but do not get soggy and add some nice texture and sturdiness to the dish.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Mary says
it’s absolutely wonderful!
Tabitha Meece says
are you supposed to drain the grease from the hamburger when done?
Stefanie says
Yes, I would drain if you have excess grease. If you use a 90% lean ground beef, you probably won’t need to drain.
Diana says
Delicious! The second time I made this recipe, I used 2 lbs of ground beef and two can of green chilis. Added a bit more taco seasoning, along with a can of corn. Excellent dish!
Tlg says
Everyone loves this recipe. It makes the menu almost once a week.
Carol Schirm says
Absolutely delish!
Added a small can of mexi corn drained.
Served with salsa, sour cream and guacamole.
Definitely a keeper.
Diane Martin says
Making this for tomorrow can make this ahead of time
and cook tomorrow for lunch. Or cook now tonight and reheat it is that possible.
Stefanie says
Hi Diane, you can definitely assemble today and refrigerate overnight. Since everything will be cold, it will probably take an extra 20-30 minutes in the oven. Keep it covered with aluminum foil while baking until the casserole starts bubbling up from underneath to know that it’s heated through.