This turkey taco casserole recipe has the delicious flavours of ground turkey tacos loaded into one scrumptiously cheesy casserole. Once the taco bake is done, you can garnish with your favourite toppings. It’s such a fun way to mix up your next taco night!
I enjoy tacos so much, so it’s no surprise that this turkey taco casserole is something that I love to make (and eat). I love how I can tweak the recipe each time I make it by using a different variety of salsa or changing up the toppings.
It’s a fabulous way to mix up your next taco night or just about any day when you don’t want too much fuss but you know you want something good. Wait, that’s pretty much every day, am I right?
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Veggies: Includes onion, garlic, bell pepper and chopped green chilies.
- Ground turkey
- Seasoning: Includes taco seasoning and chipotle powder.
- Tomato paste
- Chicken broth
- Black beans: I used canned black beans. Just make sure they’re rinsed and well drained before using.
- Salsa: Use your favourite variety: mild, medium or hot.
- Shredded cheddar cheese: For optimal meltiness (because who doesn’t love that?), shred the block of cheese yourself rather than using preshredded.
- Tortillas: I used 8 flour tortillas that were about 7 to 8 inches in diameter each. If your tortillas are smaller (or larger), you can simply adjust the quantity used. You want enough for the casserole layers.
- Garnish: A bunch of garnish ideas are listed below, but the possibilities are pretty much endless. Use your favourite taco toppings or omit, it’s totally up to you.
How to Make Turkey Taco Casserole
Here is an overview of how to make turkey taco casserole (full details are in the recipe card below):
- Heat some olive oil in skillet, then cook the onion until softened. Stir in garlic until it’s nice and fragrant (things are already starting to smell good!). Add the ground turkey and bell pepper, then season with taco seasoning and chipotle powder. Cook until the ground turkey is cooked through. Once it is, add tomato paste and chicken broth and cook just until the broth is pretty much evaporated.
- Now it’s time to start to put together the taco casserole. Assemble some tortillas on the bottom of a greased casserole dish.
- Top the tortillas with half of the ground turkey mixture, half of the black beans, some cheese, some salsa and some chopped green chilies. Repeat that one more time, starting with a layer of tortillas.
- For the final (top layer), add two tortillas.
- Add more shredded cheese and salsa. Cover with aluminum foil and bake, carefully removing the cover partway through.
- Once baked, allow the turkey taco casserole to cool for a little bit, and then garnish with your favourite taco toppings. Devour!
Garnish Ideas
Here are some of my favourite toppings for this taco casserole recipe. Of course, you can totally add another topping (or two or three) that you enjoy.
- Diced tomato
- Chopped cilantro
- Chopped green onion or chives
- Pickled red onion
- Sliced chili pepper
- Sliced Kalamata olives
- Crushed corn chips (they add a lovely texture)
- Crumbled Queso Cotija
- Drizzle of hot sauce
- Sliced avocado or dollops of guacamole
- Dollops of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
What To Serve With It
If you want to make your meal more substantial, this turkey taco casserole pairs great with any of these side dishes:
- Corn and black bean quinoa salad
- Crispy potato wedges or baked fries
- Baked potato
- Bean salad
- Tomato and avocado salad
- Tortilla chips with salsa and guacamole
Tips and Variations
- Protein: If you like, you can substitute ground beef or ground chicken for the ground turkey.
- Make it more substantial: Speaking of protein, you can cook up more ground turkey if you want this taco bake to be even more substantial. Add up to another pound. You can also add some drained canned corn to the cooked turkey mixture before assembling the casserole.
- Seasoning: The taco seasoning I used has salt in it, so I didn’t season the ground turkey with more. If the version of taco seasoning you are using doesn’t have salt, feel free to add some.
- Cheese: I used cheddar cheese, but you can substitute with another good melting cheese, such as mozzarella or Monterey Jack (or a combination of your favourites).
More Recipes You May Enjoy
If you make this turkey taco casserole, be sure to leave a comment below!
Turkey Taco Casserole
This turkey taco casserole recipe has the delicious flavours of ground turkey tacos loaded into one scrumptiously cheesy casserole. Once the taco bake is done, you can garnish with your favourite toppings. It's such a fun way to mix up your next taco night!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 2 teaspoons chipotle powder, or smoked paprika
- 1 bell pepper, diced small (I used a red bell pepper but you could use whatever colour you like)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ cup chicken broth, divided
- 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained well (divided)
- 3.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 1.5 cup salsa, divided
- 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies, no need to drain (divided)
- 8 large flour tortillas, cut in half
- Cooking spray, to grease casserole dish.
Garnish Ideas
- Cilantro, chopped
- Chili peppers, sliced
- Green onion, chopped
- Tomato, diced
- Sour cream
- Guacamole
Instructions
Preheat the oven
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for use shortly. Spray a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
Cook the ground turkey mixture
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the ground turkey and bell pepper. Season with taco seasoning and chipotle powder. Cook, breaking the ground turkey into small pieces as it cooks and stirring occasionally, until it's fully cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in tomato paste and ¼ cup of chicken broth. Cook 5 minutes or until most of the broth has evaporated.
Assemble the taco casserole
- Start assembling the taco bake: Cover the bottom of the casserole dish with a layer of tortillas (I used 3 whole tortillas (or 6 half pieces) in total for the bottom). Top the tortillas with ½ of the cooked turkey mixture, ½ cup of black beans, 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, ½ cup of salsa (dollop over) and ½ (or 2 ounces) of the chopped green chilies (dollop over). Repeat one more time for the second layer (starting with the tortillas).
- For the final (top) layer, top with the remaining 2 tortillas (or 4 half pieces) and the remaining 1.5 cups of cheddar cheese and the remaining ½ cup of salsa. Around the edges of the casserole, spoon in the remaining ¼ cup of chicken broth.
- Cover the taco casserole with aluminum foil (being careful not to press the foil into the cheese).
Bake the taco casserole
- Bake the taco casserole in the preheated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the aluminum foil and continue to bake the casserole for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and there are some brown/bubbly spots.
Cool, garnish and serve
- Let the taco casserole cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Garnish, as desired, with any of the garnish ideas. Serve and enjoy! Make 4 large servings or 6 smaller servings.
Notes
- Protein: If you like, you can substitute ground beef or ground chicken for the ground turkey.
- Make it more substantial: Speaking of protein, you can cook up more ground turkey if you want this taco bake to be even more substantial. Add up to another pound. You can also add some drained canned corn to the cooked turkey mixture before assembling the casserole.
- Seasoning: The taco seasoning I used has salt in it, so I didn’t season the ground turkey with more. If the version of taco seasoning you are using doesn’t have salt, feel free to add some.
- Cheese: I used cheddar cheese, but you can substitute with another good melting cheese, such as mozzarella or Monterey Jack (or a combination of your favourites).
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
© Girl Heart Food Inc. Photographs and content are copyright protected.
Tried this recipe?
If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!
Leave a Reply