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This Easy Doritos Casserole recipe with ground beef and Doritos tortilla chips is a delicious dinner the whole family loves. This easy taco bake is hearty comfort food that is easy on the budget!
This layered ground beef taco casserole with Doritos is the kind of easy dinner recipe you make when you’re craving comfort food and you happen to find an unopened bag of Doritos in your pantry.
Somehow, these cheesy tortilla chips found their way into our home. So, I used them to make this easy recipe for Mexican ground beef casserole– kind of like a taco tater tot casserole or Southwestern Lasagna.
My Dorito casserole recipe is loaded with layers of cheese, seasoned taco meat, tomato salsa, and crunchy Doritos. It’s an easy weeknight meal and a great recipe that’s perfect for Taco Tuesday and easier than enchiladas. This is such a family favorite that even my picky eaters love it! My Dorito taco salad is another favorite Doritos recipe around here, as is my Dorito chicken bake.
Table of Contents
Doritos Casserole Ingredients
This easy ground beef recipe is made with simple ingredients. You probably have most of them in your pantry or fridge right now. If not, you can find what you need in your grocery store. Full amounts are in the printable recipe card below.
- Lean ground beef — The leaner, the better so you don’t have to drain the grease
- Taco seasoning — I use homemade taco seasoning because it’s way cheaper and tastes better, but you can use a packet from the store
- Cheese — Cheddar cheese or a Mexican cheese blend or Monterey Jack
- Sour cream — adds creaminess to the casserole without using a can of cream soup
- Salsa — use hot or mild. Thick and chunky style salsa is perfect as it won’t water down the casserole.
- Nacho Cheese Doritos — or your favorite Dorito flavor. I like the taco flavor variety or a combination of nacho cheese and taco flavors!
- Water — or beef broth
- Jalapeño pepper — optional but adds flavor and spice. If you don’t have fresh jalapeño peppers, you can use a can of Rotel tomatoes, green chiles or a can of jalapeños.
How to Make Dorito Casserole with Ground Beef
First, start out by browning the ground beef and chopped jalapeño peppers in a large skillet over medium heat. You can also leave the peppers out completely if you want a milder casserole. My kids love spice, but not everyone does. Just mix it into the beef and add some water or beef broth for extra flavor. Then, stir in your sour cream and salsa.
Crush up some Doritos, and add a layer of Doritos into a greased casserole dish. or baking dish. You want them crushed into smaller pieces, but don’t crush them up too fine — otherwise, they’ll turn to mush! Layer the cooked ground beef mixture and cheese over the Dorito chips.
Pop the taco casserole into the oven for about 15 minutes to 20 minutes or until it’s hot and bubbly. Top with more crushed Doritos, and return to the oven for a couple of minutes, or serve right away. And that is it, my friends! This easy ground beef taco bake is perfect when you need comfort food in a hurry!
Serving Suggestions
I like to top the casserole with extra shredded cheese, chopped lettuce and fresh tomatoes and add some sour cream on the side. You can also use your favorite taco toppings like Guacamole, Easy Homemade Salsa or Pico de gallo with this cheesy casserole.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
This taco bake makes a lot of food. I love using the leftover Dorito taco casserole later in the week for easy dinners during the school year. To store the cheesy casserole, cover it in plastic wrap, or transfer to a covered container or airtight container in your refrigerator. It keeps well for 3 to 4 days. For longer storage, place the casserole in a freezer safe container, and freeze. You can even make it ahead of time and freeze for later.
To reheat, pop it into the microwave until heated through.It’s almost better the next day since the tortilla chips are soft. Almost like beef enchiladas!
Recipe Substitutions and Variations
When I first stared making this hearty casserole, I layered the chips, meat, cheese and salsa. You can definitely do this, but I think it’s easier to mix the salsa with the meat, and keep the layers simple.
Make it even heartier with beans and corn. Use black beans, pinto beans or refried beans. Just add to your meat mixture when cooking the beef.
If you want a Dorito casserole with cream of mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup, you can definitely add that in place of sour cream or along with sour cream. I don’t use it since you get creaminess from the sour cream and the shredded cheese.
I have tried using cream cheese in place of sour cream, but it wasn’t as creamy as I wanted. Sour cream blends much easier. Cream of chicken soup or
Recipe Tips
Use lean ground beef. You won’t have to drain the meat, and you can add the taco seasoning as the beef browns for maximum flavor.
Using beef broth instead of water will add even more flavor.
Don’t crush the Doritos up too fine or they will turn to mush. Small pieces work best.
Doritos Casserole Recipe with Ground Beef
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
- 1 jalapeno pepper finely chopped
- taco seasoning 2 to 3 tablespoons homemade or 1 packet
- ½ cup water or beef broth
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 cup chunky salsa use your favorite here
- Doritos tortilla chips (about 4 cups crushed) use as much as you need
- 3 cups shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375℉
- Brown the ground beef and jalapeno pepper in a large skillet over medium high heat until no longer pink
- Drain grease if necessary, and add taco seasoning and water, and simmer on medium heat until most of water is absorbed
- Turn off heat, and stir in sour cream and salsa until well blended.
- Spray a medium casserole dish with non stick cooking spray, then add enough crushed Doritos to cover the bottom of the dish
- Layer the ground beef mixture over the Doritos, then sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of the meat
- Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until bubbly and cheese is melted
- Top with remaining crushed Doritos, and return to the oven for about 5 minutes
- Serve with your favorite taco toppings
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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So easy to make the family loved this. No leftovers!
What about the oven temp?
Well, it’s listed in step 1 of the recipe.
So simple to make and what a presentation! Looks like you worked for ever on it! Another family favorite!
I’d like to make this for my boyfriend but he doesn’t tolerate dairy too well. The cheese is fine but what would you substitute for the sour cream? Any ideas?
You can add a can of cream of chicken soup or a different flavor, which will add creaminess. Not sure if that would work for you with dairy restrictions. Another alternative would be dairy free sour cream or coconut cream. You could also omit this, and it would work, but it wouldn’t be as thick or creamy.