This Taco Bake was a go to recipe at our house when the kids were young. A delicious crust filled with seasoned ground beef and all your favorite taco toppings.
I think every mom has their “Go To” dinner recipes. I know I do. Now that we are empty nesters my “Go To” dinner recipe is sometimes take out!!
When I was a mom of four little kids those go to recipes usually included Boboli pizza, BBQ Chicken Wingettes and tacos. I remember one of my mom’s go to recipes was also tacos. We liked those crispy shells. Earlier this week I was feeling pretty uninspired in regards to what to have for dinner and I was flipping through my binder full of old family recipes and I came across Taco Bake Recipe. It had been years since I made it but it was one of my go to recipes and a nice little variation on the theme of tacos. My dinner dilemma was solved. We were having Taco Bake.
The nice thing about Taco Bake is the ingredients are ones I usually have on hand. A pound of hamburger in the freezer, taco seasoning, cheese, lettuce, tomato and some tortilla chips.
How to Make Taco Bake
For Taco Bake you start with a crust rather than a tortilla. One of my favorite parts of Taco Bake is the crust. It is more like bread than a tortilla. There are crushed up tortilla chips in the crust for some nice crunch and texture.
I browned up a pound of hamburger and added some taco seasoning and a bit of water, letting it simmer for a few minutes and then add it into the unbaked crust.
After it bakes for about 30 minutes remove it from the oven and then top it with your favorite taco toppings. We used grated cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce and some chopped tomatoes. We also liked sliced olives but I didn’t have any this time.
All you have to do is slice it up and serve. You can also top it with some ranch dressing or any favorite dressing for more of a taco salad effect.
What are some of your go to dinner recipes?
You might also enjoy these family favorites:
Taco Bake Recipe
Taco Bake Recipe
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 2 Tbsp dried minced onion
- 1 package taco seasoning
- 1/2 cup water
Topping
- 1 cup grated cheese
- 1 cup chopped lettuce
- 1 cup chopped tomato
- Any other taco toppings of your choice
Crust
- 1 3/4 - 2 cups flour
- 2 1/4 tsp pkg quick rise yeast
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp dried mince onion
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2/3 cups warm water
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cups crushed tortilla chips
Instructions
- Combine 1 C flour, yeast, sugar, onion and salt and mix well.
- Add warm water (110-115 degrees) and oil to flour mixture
- Mix by hand until almost smooth.
- Stir in chips and enough flour to make a stiff batter.
- Spread in a greased 10 inch pie pan and form a rim
- Cover and let rise for about 10 minutes.
- Add meat.
- Bake at 375 for 30- 35 minutes.
- Sprinkle with cheese, lettuce and tomatoes
Nutrition
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Sounds so delicious. Any suggestions for gluten free crust? I love taco bake recipes. Looking forward to take it to church movie night.
Connie, I would just try using some gluten free flour mix to make it gluten free. Enjoy!
Oh my Leigh Anne. I hope you have more “go-to” recipes up your sleeve to post because once again this was FANTASTIC! We absolutely loved it. I was full, but kept going back for more! LOL
Thanks again for such a delicious, and easy weeknight dinner!
So glad you liked it!! I’m sure I’ve got a few more up my sleeve!!
I thought I had minced onions so just used finely chopped fresh and also added an extra 3/4-1 cup grated cheese grated cheese to the meat—cheesy and so good! Highly recommend doing this. My adult son said three times it was so good! He loved the crust…me, too!
Sorry … not double cheese … lol. Typed grated cheese twice!
Oh…should have mentioned I topped with shredded lettuce, cheese and sour cream.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Yummmmm …
Got home tonight from picking up kids at 5:30. Thought, “What’s for dinner?” Remembered this recipe. Went to my computer and pulled it up. And … dinner was on the table in an hour. Amazing!
It was a HIT with the whole family.
My variations:
Doubled the recipe and used an 11×15 casserole dish.
Used Corn Chips instead of Tortilla Chips.
Used Chopped Onions with the Meat instead of the dried onion in the crust.
Added the Cheese to the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
Topped with Lettuce, Tomato, Black Beans, Olives, Sour Cream, and Salsa.
Delicious! Thanks!
Laurel
mama of 12 (ages 10, 10, 12, 13, 15, 19, 21, 23, 23, 25, 26, 27)
This looks so yummy! Tacos are one of my go-to meals, too, but sometimes it’s nice to change things up. This one’s definitely getting tried out this weekend. Love that the crust only has to rise for 10 minutes and, hey, anything with corn chips in it’s gotta be good!
I am not a cook so it has to look delicious and easy for me to even print it out! This one is printed and the ingredients already on my grocery list. Thanks, Leigh Anne!!
Hope you enjoy it Laura! I think I’ve been making this for at least twenty years!
This looks wonderful! I’ve seen many taco bakes & most of them have a greasy crust or all tortilla chip – love, love, love the homemade crust!
Amy, The crust is my favorite part of this recipe! Enjoy.
This looks delicious and so easy! That’s my favorite combination. I can see making these to our garden parties! Thank you 🙂