From-scratch Frito Taco Casserole
Walking Taco Casserole is an straightforward weeknight meal the entire family will love. It’s kid-friendly and ready to eat in less than 30 minutes.
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Walking Taco Bake in 30 Minutes
We love all types of tacos and walking tacos are no exception!
If you’re not familiar, walking tacos are tacos made in small individual bags of Fritos and enjoyed with a fork or funneled right into your mouth!
They’re great camping food, walking-to-the-beach food, tailgating food — basically any casual gathering you can think of is suited to walking tacos.
Walking taco casserole is made in a baking dish rather than a bag of Fritos. This casserole version is like our Taco Pie But with all the flavors of walking tacos.
It is ready with your favorite toppings in under 30 minutes. It’s the well-balanced dish for weeknight dinners!
Why you will come back to this Walking Taco Casserole Recipe
This casserole will quickly become a house staple!
- Kids and adults alike will enjoy this nostalgic treat in casserole form. It’s a staple recipe the whole family will love.
- It’s an straightforward dinner recipe. It can be ready in 30 minutes.
- Each person can customize it. Top individual servings with everyone’s favorite taco toppings.
- It makes a great weeknight meal, or you can serve it at a party!
- It’s suited to taco night. Rather than a typical taco Tuesday, enjoy this instead.
Walking Taco Bake ingredients
The method is straightforward! Here is what you need to make this quick weeknight casserole:
- Ground beef – we like to use lean ground beef to avoid draining. You can use ground turkey or ground chicken instead if you like. If you need a vegetarian option, use your favorite plant-based meat alternative, such as Impossible or Gardein.
- Onion – Fresh onion is the most flavorful, but you can also dried onion or onion powder. Sometimes we use frozen diced onion (a great shortcut to keep on hand in your freezer!)
- Taco seasoning – we love to use our From-scratch taco seasoning mix, but the store-bought packets work well too. Fajita seasoning Makes a great substitute.
- Green chiles (green chilis) – Canned green chiles are always in our pantry, but if you want something a little spicier, you can use poblano peppers.
- Enchilada sauce – Enchilada sauce comes in cans or bottles, usually located near the salsa in the grocery store. We highly recommend the Gebhardt brand. Feel free to use Oven-roasted salsa Instead or make From-scratch enchilada sauce, too.
- Cream cheese – Full-fat cream cheese is a house favorite in this recipe! Don’t skip out.
- Frito corn chips – Fritos are the classic ingredient in walking tacos, but you can use any corn chips like tortilla chips or Doritos.
- Shredded cheese – Use your favorite shredded cheese for tacos, such as cheddar cheese, pepper jack, Monterey jack, or a Mexican blend cheese. If you’re up for grating your own cheese, that makes a big difference. But don’t skimp on the cheese — it’s a must-have ingredient in this recipe!
How to make Walking Taco Casserole
(A full printable recipe card with exact measurements and instructions is at the bottom of this post)
Making this recipe is pretty straightforward. All you need is about 30 minutes! You can even let the kids help assemble the casserole before it goes in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with nonstick spray and set it aside.
- Next, heat up a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, onion, and taco seasoning.
- Cook, breaking up the ground beef until it is browned and cooked through. Turn the heat down to low.
- Add the green chiles, enchilada sauce, and cream cheese to the cooked ground beef mixture and mix to combine. Continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and everything is mixed well.
- Then, assemble the casserole. To the casserole dish, add half of the Fritos and spread them around evenly. Top the Fritos with half of the ground beef mixture and spread evenly. Sprinkle on with half of the shredded cheese.
- Repeat the layers with the remaining layer of Fritos, topped with the remaining ground beef mixture, and finish with the remaining shredded cheese.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until it is hot and bubbly and the cheese melts.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
- Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Tips for making Walking Taco Casserole with Fritos
- When you add the cream cheese to the meat, you want to be sure that the cream cheese is completely melted and mixed through so that you can get some in every bite.
- While it bakes in the oven, prepare all the casserole toppings and set up your toppings bar.
- Make this recipe right before serving. We don’t recommend making it in advance because the corn chips will begin to get soggy. Similarly, the soggy corn chips mean it doesn’t work well as leftovers, either.
- However, if you want to prepare as much as you can in advance, you can cook the ground beef up to 2 days before and store it in an airtight container. Then add it to the casserole cold — it will heat up in the oven.
- If you find that your cheese is getting burned before the rest of the casserole is heated through, top it with aluminum foil for the rest of the baking time.
Frito Taco Casserole toppings suggestions
Don’t forget to top off your casserole with your favorite toppings.
People often set up an array of toppings for a walking taco bar, so you can do the same for the casserole!
Here are a few ideas:
- Shredded lettuce
- Chopped tomatoes
- Other types of salsa, such as Avocado corn salsa Or From-scratch roasted salsa
- Pico de gallo
- Diced onions
- Sour cream
- Corn
- Queso
- Black olives
- Cilantro
- Pickled red onions
- Diced avocado
- Guacamole
- Diced bell pepper
- Black beans, kidney beans, or pinto beans
- Rice
- Green onions
Taco Casserole with Fritos FAQs
Products we used to make walking taco casserole
Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast Iron Deep Skillet
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Meat chopper
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Measuring cups
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Measuring spoons
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9×13 baking dish
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Veggie chopper
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Prep 20 minutesCook 15 minutesMakes 10
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs ground beef
- 1/2 large onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 2 tablespoons green chiles chopped
- 15 ounces enchilada sauce I recommend Gebhardt brand
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 10.5 ounce Fritos bag
- 8 ounces cheese shredded
- shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, salsa, sour cream Optional Toppings:
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, onion, and taco seasoning.
- Cook, breaking up the ground beef until it is browned and cooked through. Turn the heat down to low.
- Add the green chiles, enchilada sauce, and cream cheese to the cooked ground beef mixture and mix to combine. Continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and everything is mixed well.
- To the casserole dish, add half of the Fritos and spread evenly. Top the Fritos with half of the ground beef mixture and spread evenly. Sprinkle with half of the shredded cheese. Repeat the layers with the remaining Fritos, topped with the remaining ground beef mixture, and finish with the remaining shredded cheese.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until it is hot and bubbly.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
- Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Notes
- You want to be sure that the cream cheese is completely melted and mixed through so that you can some in every bite.
- Make this right before serving. We don’t recommend making it in advance because the corn chips will begin to get soggy.
