This Light Taco Casserole is your favorite Mexican dish made a little healthier! It comes together in less than 30 minutes and is perfect for a weeknight dinner.
We LOVE Mexican food, but many times it’s loaded with so many calories! This comfort Light Taco Casserole is perfect for feeding your Mexican food craving and not feeling guilty about it at all!
This casserole comes together in a matter of minutes and is perfect for a busy weeknight dinner.
How to make this Light Taco Casserole:
Saute onions and garlic in oil until tender.
Add in the ground beef and cook until no longer pink.
Dump in taco seasoning, black beans, and salsa.
Place crushed tortilla chips in the bottom of a 9×13″ pan.
Spread meat mixture on top of chips.
When adding chips to the bottom of the pan, try to use only enough to cover the bottom of the pan.
If desired, you can crush the chips down into the pan, breaking them into smaller pieces so that they lay better in the pan and it’s easier to put the meat mixture on top.
Sprinkle cheese on top of meat.
Bake and then top with your favorite taco toppings.
Need another easy taco dinner? Try our Cornbread Taco Bake!
Our favorite taco toppings
Let each person top their serving of casserole with whatever toppings they want. Some of our personal favorites are:
- shredded lettuce
- pico de gallo
- guacamole
- diced tomatoes
- shredded cheese
- diced jalapenos
- sour cream
- sliced black olives
- hot sauce
- fresh cilantro
- sliced avocado
“I have so much time!” -No mom ever
Let us give you your time back. With the Six Sisters’ Meal Plans, we do the dinner planning, grocery ordering, and then all you have to do is decide whether to pick them up or have them delivered.
How to make Homemade Taco Seasoning:
To make this casserole even healthier, you could make your own taco seasoning! It’s easy to do. In a small bowl, mix together:
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
This recipe will make 1 ounce of taco seasoning, which is about the same as a packet of taco seasoning that you would buy at the store. Store in an air-tight container.
Related recipe: Don’t miss our Chicken Taco Casserole, it’s a family favorite!
Items needed to make this casserole:
Multi-grain Tortilla Chips: These are my favorite chips that are on the healthier side – I love that I can pronounce every ingredient on the ingredient list!
9×13″ Glass Baking Pan: This is a dish that I use just about every day! This is a staple in my kitchen and this is such a budget-friendly 2 pack.
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Side dishes to serve with Light Taco Casserole:
- Slow Cooker Refried Beans
- Mexican Salsa Rice
- Individual 7 Layer Dip Cups
- Mexicorn
- Mexican Street Corn Salad
Serves: 9
30 Minute Light Taco Casserole Recipe
This Light Taco Casserole is your favorite Mexican dish made a little healthier! It comes together in less than 30 minutes and is perfect for a weeknight dinner.
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 30 minutes mins
PrintPin
Ingredients
- ½ Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound extra lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
- 3 Tablespoons taco seasoning mix
- 15 ounces black beans 1 can, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup salsa
- 13 ounces tortilla chips 1 bag, divided
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tomatoes diced, optional topping
- ½ cup fat free sour cream optional topping
- 1 cup shredded lettuce optional topping
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large skillet, heat oil and add onion and garlic – saute for about 5 minutes until soft. Add meat and taco seasoning, cooking until meat is browned. Rinse and drain grease from the meat. Add beans and salsa. Mix well and cook to thicken.
Line the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with about 25 tortilla chips. Gently press down the chips to break into bite-sized pieces. Spread the meat mixture over the chips. Top with cheese.
Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling.
Top with favorite optional toppings, and serve with remaining tortilla chips.
Notes
SIDE DISHES TO SERVE WITH LIGHT TACO CASSEROLE:
- Slow Cooker Refried Beans
- Mexican Salsa Rice
- Individual 7 Layer Dip Cups
- Mexicorn
- Mexican Street Corn Salad
Nutrition
Calories: 471 kcal · Carbohydrates: 45 g · Protein: 26 g · Fat: 22 g · Saturated Fat: 8 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 59 mg · Sodium: 654 mg · Potassium: 650 mg · Fiber: 8 g · Sugar: 3 g · Vitamin A: 773 IU · Vitamin C: 6 mg · Calcium: 302 mg · Iron: 4 mg
Equipment
Large Skillet
9×13 Inch Baking Dish
Recipe Details
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
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Join The Discussion
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Design DNA says:
This sounds great! Thanks for sharing.
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Lindsay says:
Wahoo! If it is a light recipe that takes good, I am in!
See AlsoVegan Calzone Recipe -
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Ashley says:
love that its light! thanks for sharing:)
http://jaysonandashley.blogspot.com/
ash -
carolinaheartstrings says:
That looks just terrific. I love any Mexican dish and they are usually so fattening. Thanks for ligthening this one up. Come over and visit us. We have some wonderful apple recipes this week.
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cheryl @ nefotlak. says:
yum!!! must try this - sounds delicious.
cheryl xox. -
Lindsay says:
Thanks for including this as well at Show & Share. I always love all your recipes. This is my go-to website for all things food. :)
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Heather says:
i tried this and it was amazing!
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Cupcakes & Tea says:
Tried this tonight with my girls(age 4 and 7), it was a hit!
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Buster52 says:
this was very good! thanks
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SchaeferFamily says:
Made this for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit. Not very often do I find something that everyone likes!!
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Mandie says:
I made this last night, and WOWZA!!!! We loved it! Much much yummier than I even hoped! Thanks!!
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cc019ba0-b6fd-11e0-be52-000bcdcb2996 says:
Love! Made it tonight- used a black bean/corn salsa--b/c it was the only fresh salsa that came in mild at the store. I also added some frozen corn in. Next time I'll just leave chips out and serve them on the side- some of mine ended up soggy after cooking. Everyone at my house loved it!
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Nicole says:
do you know how many servings this recipe is?
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Cyd says:
Just click on the MAGIC button under the picture, and then click on NUTRITION. It will give you all of the nutritional information you need including number of servings. It's our new sister site - MyRecipeMagic.com. Hope you'll stop by and check it out. We would love to have you leave a favorite family recipe or two! -The Six Sisters
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Whitney Daughtery says:
What is the serving size?
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kim says:
clicked on your "Printer friendly" button and it printed 8 pages of comments and links before the recipe - bummer! Perhaps you could change that? Thanks!
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Nancy Matthew says:
I’d be interested in getting recipes that are lite sent to my email.
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Terry Fallon-Bellati says:
Which cookbook of yours does is this Light Taco Casserole in? I would love to buy it and see all of your other recipes. This casserole was out of this world! Thx!
About The Author:
Camille Beckstrand
Camille Beckstrand is married to Jared and they have 4 kids. She loves a good true crime podcast, a big plate of cheesy loaded nachos, and going on adventures with her family.
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