Walking Taco Casserole is incredibly easy to make and a long-time family favorite. It features cooked ground beef seasoned with taco seasoning, a bit of cream cheese, and salsa. This flavorful beef mixture is then topped with plenty of shredded Mexican blend cheese, and Frito corn chips lend their signature corn-flavored crunch.
Like my Hamburger Noodle Casserole, it’s perfect to serve family-style for a quick weeknight dinner or even a simple Sunday supper. Walking Taco Casserole is also a fun main-dish dish to serve at a Cinco de Mayo party.
This recipe was inspired by the novel invention, Walking Tacos, which became popular several years ago. Walking tacos are simply small bags of Fritos or Doritos topped with taco meat, lettuce, tomato, and cheese. Often served from food trucks or vendors at fairs or other outside venues, these creative bags of deliciousness are portable, and when you are through, you can toss the bag. They are the epitome of convenience food.
Instead of individual servings like Walking Tacos, in the Walking Taco Casserole, everything is baked in a casserole dish. Then in its simplest form, it’s topped with lettuce and tomato. Of course, if your family is anything like mine, everyone has their personal favorite “must-have” add-on toppings such as sour cream, sliced black olives, or pico de gallo. The list is never-ending.
Here’s what you will need:
- Ground beef – forms the base of this recipe; I like to purchase 80-85 percent lean ground beef for the best flavor. If you want to make sure your beef doesn’t contain any extra fat after the ground beef is cooked and you have drained the grease, put the beef into a colander and rinse it with water. Drain it on a paper towel and pat dry before continuing with the recipe.
- Taco seasonings mix – enhances the flavor of the ground beef and adds the familiar taco flavor. Typically the purchased packages contain chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, cumin, and paprika. However, if you prefer, you can easily make your own.
- Cream cheese – adds a slight tang and creaminess to the taco meat mixture.
- Salsa – made primarily with tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, and lime juice, salsa spices things up and adds great flavor to the taco meat mixture.
- Mexican blend cheese – usually, you can buy packages of Mexican blend cheese already shredded. You can’t have tacos without cheese, and pretty much any shredded cheese works in this recipe!
- Fritos – add a delicious corn-flavored crunch to this casserole. I usually use the original smaller chips, but you can use the “scoops” too!
- Iceberg lettuce – has gotten a bad rap lately in the nutrition department, but this crisp, bright, mild-tasting lettuce is a mainstay for tacos. You can certainly substitute romaine if you prefer, but I like to use iceberg.
- Tomatoes – add their beautiful color and fresh tastiness to this dish. Fresh summer tomatoes are the best, but if you can’t find them, Roma or Italian plum tomatoes seem to have a consistent meaty tomato taste no matter what season it is.
- Additional optional toppings – sour cream, more cheese, pico de gallo, sliced jalapenos (pickled or fresh), more salsa, sliced black olives, drained and rinsed black beans, fresh or frozen corn, refried beans, taco sauce, guacamole, chopped scallions, etc.
Here’s how to make it:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the ground beef. Break the meat into large pieces using a potato masher or fork. Let it brown for several minutes, and do not stir it. Once the meat cooks for a few minutes and starts to brown on one side, break it up into smaller pieces and continue cooking it until more of it has browned. Stir once more and break up any remaining larger pieces. Continue cooking until all of the meat has browned. This should take about six to eight minutes total. Remove the skillet from the heat and drain any grease.
- Put the skillet back on the burner and add the taco seasoning and 2/3 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for three to four minutes or until all of the water has been absorbed.
- Add the salsa and cream cheese and stir to combine. Continue stirring until the cream cheese has melted.
- Spray an 11″ x 8.5′ oven-safe baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour in the meat mixture and spread it out evenly.
- Add one cup of the shredded cheese, then top that with the Fritos and spread them out evenly. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese evenly over the top and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the mixture is bubbling and the cheese has melted.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and top with lettuce and tomatoes. Add additional toppings if desired.
- Serve immediately while it’s still hot.
Variations:
This recipe is really more of a guide than something you have to follow to the letter. Feel free to add more or less cheese, Fritos, lettuce, or tomatoes and customize it any way you like.
You can also substitute your favorite corn chips or tortilla chips for the Fritos and as I’ve said above, add as much or as little of the optional toppings as you like.
I have also made this dish without adding the cream cheese and salsa to the taco meat, and it was still delicious.
Frequently asked questions:
Because Walking Taco Casserole has veggies, I usually serve it by itself and call it a day. However, if you have company or want to add some variety, my Mexican Chopped Salad with Honey Lime Dressing and Jalapeno Cornbread would pair nicely. Then, of course, my Ultimate Frozen Margaritas or Cranberry Margaritas would be a lovely addition, and my Smoked Queso would be the perfect appetizer to serve with it?
If you are trying to limit your salt intake or prefer to make homemade taco seasoning instead of purchasing it, here is a link to a DIY Taco Seasoning recipe from my sister Chula over at the Pudge Factor Blog.
You can make the taco meat mixture ahead and store it covered in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. Then, take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before baking it to allow it to come to room temperature. Before you are ready to serve it, add the cheese and Fritos and bake and garnish as directed.
This casserole is best served and eaten right after it is made. Because it’s topped with fresh lettuce and tomatoes, it does not heat up well after being refrigerated. Even if you remove the lettuce and tomatoes first, the Fritos won’t have any crunch.
Sharon’s tips:
- You can substitute ground chuck or ground chicken, pork, or turkey for ground beef.
- When cooking ground beef, once you break it up, let it cook undisturbed for a few minutes so it will brown properly before stirring it. If you stir it the entire time you are cooking it, it will steam and not be as flavorful as if you let the pieces get brown and crispy.
- If your family likes onions, feel free to add a handful of chopped onions to the beef when you are browning it.
- Mexican Blend cheese generally comes pre-shredded and contains a nice mix of Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Asadero, and Queso Quesadilla cheeses. You can substitute any of these cheeses for the blend.
More Southwestern or Mexican-inspired recipes:
Of course, this Walking Taco Casserole is not in any way an authentic Mexican recipe. But if you like recipes like this with a Tex-Mex or Southwestern vibe, I think you might also like this reader favorites:
- Spicy Blackened Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Salsa
- Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tacos
- Tequila Lime Chicken Enchiladas
- Shrimp and Bacon Quesadillas
- Cast-Iron Skillet Macho Nachos
- Sizzling Steak Fajitas
If you need more menu suggestions, check out all of my Mexican-inspired Tex Mex and Southwestern recipes at this link. I also have a roundup with over 40 Cinco de Mayo recipes that you may be interested in.
★ If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and give it a star rating. I would love to know how you liked it!
Thank you so much for visiting Grits and Pinecones!
Walking Taco Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef or ground chuck
- 1 ounce dry taco seasonings mix
- 4 ounces cream cheese cut into cubes
- ½ cup salsa or pico de gallo
- 2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
- 4 cups Fritos
- 2 cups torn iceberg lettuce
- 1 tomato large, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the ground beef. Break the meat into large pieces using a potato masher or fork. Let it brown for several minutes, and do not stir it. Once the meat cooks for a few minutes and starts to brown on one side, break it up into smaller pieces and continue cooking it until more of it has browned. Stir once more and break up any remaining larger pieces. Continue cooking until all of the meat has browned. This should take about six to eight minutes total. Remove the skillet from the heat and drain any grease.
- Put the skillet back on the burner and add the taco seasoning and 2/3 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for three to four minutes or until all of the water has been absorbed.
- Add the salsa and cream cheese and stir to combine. Continue stirring until the cream cheese has melted.
- Spray an 11″ x 8.5′ oven-safe baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour in the meat mixture and spread it out evenly.
- Add one cup of the shredded cheese, then top that with the Fritos and spread them out evenly. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese evenly over the top and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the mixture is bubbling and the cheese has melted.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and top with lettuce and tomatoes. Add additional toppings if desired and serve immediately while it’s still hot.
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