Taco Potato Casserole
Last Updated on January 20, 2024 by Allison Lancaster
Instead of ordering out on busy weeknights, I make a great recipe like this easy taco potato casserole made with lean ground beef, pepper jack cheese, and your favorite salsa. It’s delicious and sure to be a favorite of the whole family.
Taco Tuesday will never be the same with this alternative to traditional tacos.
While ordering out once in a while isn’t the worst thing in the world, it CAN easily gobble up your budget. The average family of 4 spends $30 on dinner out, and that includes fast food drive-thru meals. That adds up quickly!
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This dish was created on a busy day when the last thing I wanted to do was cook. I had a couple of leftover potatoes in the fridge, a bit of leftover taco meat from Taco Night, and a few other ingredients. This dish was something my entire family enjoyed. I am sure your family will love it, too!
You’ll want to start with pre-baked potatoes for this taco potato bake. I like to use russets, but you can use red skin, golden Yukon, or any other potato you have on hand.
If they are NOT pre-baked, you’ll want to stick them in the oven to bake for 45 minutes.
Once they are cool enough to handle, grease an 11×7 or 8×8 pan, cube the potatoes, and lay them in the pan. Top with ground taco meat, salsa, and cheese.
Bake in the oven until the cheese is melted, bubbly and golden.
Top with fresh tomatoes, sour cream, and chives, and enjoy! Store any leftover taco potato bake in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Taco Potato Casserole Ingredients & Substitutions:
Russet potatoes: Baked and diced into 1-inch cubes. Yukon Gold potatoes are another excellent option for this dish.
Ground meat: You can use ground turkey, ground chicken, hamburger, or another ground meat of choice.
Taco seasoning mix: Store-bought or homemade by combining chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, paprika, ground cumin, and salt.
Salsa – You can use a mild salsa or increase the heat in this dish with a spicy salsa.
Shredded cheese: Use cheddar or cheddar Jack cheese. Always grate the cheese yourself for the best flavor and melting ability. Pre-shredded cheese has a waxy coating to extend the shelf-life of the product, which reduces the flavor and makes it more difficult for the cheese to melt well.
Sour cream – To pour over the top of the baked casserole.
Tomatoes – Chopped for garnish.
Green onions – Chopped for garnish.
How To Make Taco Potato Casserole
- Scrub, pierce and bake the potatoes in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes on a sheet pan. Allow then to cool 10 minutes, or until easily handled. Leave the oven on.
- Dice the cooled potatoes into 1 inch cubes, and place them in an 11×7-inch baking dish or 8×8-inch casserole dish.
- Cook the ground beef until fully done in a 10-inch skillet, then add water and seasoning mix to the beef mixture. Simmer for 3-5 minutes on medium-high heat, according to package instructions.
- Layer taco meat on top of potatoes, then pour the salsa over that.
- Sprinkle cheese on top of the meat and salsa, then place the dish back in oven for 30 minutes to bake or until cheese is fully melted and golden brown.
- Garnish the baked casserole with chopped tomatoes, green onions, and sour cream.
- Serve your taco potato casserole immediately.
Serve
Serve this easy taco casserole with tortilla chips, guacamole, refried beans, cornbread, or a side salad. Leftovers can easily be enjoyed as filling for taco shells.
How To Store Taco Potato Casserole
Leftover taco casserole can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. You can also freeze this dish for up to 3 months and thaw it overnight in the fridge to reheat with extra shredded cheese topping in the oven. Always remove toppings that are likely to spoil if you decide to freeze leftovers.
Recipe FAQ’s:
What other toppings can I add to this easy casserole?
Love the idea of topping your taco bake casserole with some yummy toppings to take your easy recipe to a dinner your family will love over and over again? Kick your cheesy taco bake recipe up a notch by adding your favorite taco ingredient to the top. A few delicious ideas include sliced black olives, crunchy tortilla chips, some whole kernel corn (warmed), pinto beans or black beans (warmed),
torn pieces of flour tortillas or corn tortillas, or chopped green chiles.
Do I have to pre-bake the potatoes?
Yes. While this is an extra preparation step, it’s important to bake the potatoes before assembling the casserole. If you don’t do this, the potatoes will not be cooked through by the time the casserole has finished heating in the oven. If time is an issue, pre-bake the potatoes the night or day before and store the potatoes in the fridge, ready for you to add to the casserole dish to make this recipe.
How can I make this casserole spicy?
Add chopped jalapenos, hot sauce, and crushed red pepper flakes to this dish if you prefer a kick of heat.
More Mexican-Inspired Recipes You’ll Love
- Crockpot Chicken Nachos
- Cheesy Taco Casserole
- Taco Bell Enchrito Copycat Recipe
- Chicken Fajita Biscuit Cups
- Easy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas
- Leftover Chicken Fajita Casserole
I hope you enjoy this easy and delicious recipe for taco potato casserole! If you try it, please come back and leave me a comment letting me know how you liked it. And if you have any questions, please feel free to ask! I love hearing from you!
Taco Potato Casserole Recipe:
Taco Potato Casserole
Taco Potato Casserole is an easy alternative to your favorite Mexican-inspired take-out, loaded with flavor to satisfy the whole family!
Ingredients
- 3-4 medium sized russet potatoes
- 1 pound ground beef, or turkey
- 1 package taco seasoning mix
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 16 ounce jar salsa
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- sour cream as desired to top
- chives as desired to top
- tomatoes as desired to top
Instructions
- Scrub, pierce and bake the potatoes in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes on a sheet pan. Allow then to cool 10 minutes, or until easily handled. Leave the oven on.
- Dice the cooled potatoes into 1 inch cubes, and place them in an 11×7-inch baking dish or 8×8-inch casserole dish.
- Cook the ground beef until fully done in a 10-inch skillet, then add water and seasoning mix to the beef mixture. Simmer for 3-5 minutes on medium-high heat, according to package instructions.
- Layer taco meat on top of potatoes, then pour the salsa over that.
- Sprinkle cheese on top of the meat and salsa, then place the dish back in oven for 30 minutes to bake or until cheese is fully melted and golden brown.
- Garnish the baked casserole with chopped tomatoes, green onions, and sour cream.
- Serve your taco potato casserole immediately.
