This Dorito Taco Casserole is layered with refried beans, seasoned beef, and delicious melted cheese. Load this Taco Bake Recipe up with your favorite Taco Toppings for an easy, flavorful, and fun family meal.
Dorito Taco Casserole
Mexican food is easily my favorite style of food. If I could move to Mexico tomorrow and enjoy their cuisine every day, I’d so do it. I have so many Mexican inspired recipes to share with you on this blog, like Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce, Mexican pie with a cornmeal crust, and another classic Mexican lasagna with layers of flavors.
This recipe goes by several different names. Its’ old-fashioned name is Taco Pie. I’ve also seen it called Taco Bake Recipe, Taco Bake with Doritos, or Dorito Taco Bake.
However you refer to it, you’ll love the easy-to-make taco recipe that turns your favorite taco flavors into a layered casserole.
This Dorito Mexican Taco Casserole is an oldie but a goodie. One of my mom’s friends shared this recipe with us, and it’s been a family favorite ever since. Some people refer to it as a taco pie with Doritos. My youngest son calls this dish a Walking Taco. I guess that his school cafeteria has a similar casserole that they call the Walking Taco, which he loves!
I’m happy to oblige his craving for walking tacos. Doritos are and always will be one of my favorite tortilla chips. I think this would be a great alternative to taco night. It’s something different to try.
What You’ll Love about this Dorito Taco Casserole
Simple: It is an easy dish to make on a busy night
Classic: Casserols are a staple of American food history. Moms and Aunts for generations have brought casseroles just like this one to some form of lunch or dinner. or potluck. The reason is that everyone loves them.
Always a Hit: This casserole is filled with so many delicious flavors, that it is hard to resist going back for seconds.
Ingredients Needed:
- ground sirloin – sirloin is a personal preference, but I feel like it tastes the best. If you have another type of ground beef, then feel free to substitute it for the ground sirloin
- taco seasoning – I don’t use reduced sodium. I think it takes away from the flavor, but if you are cutting back on salt, then, by all means, use it. The brand does not matter here. I typically use Aldi’s flavor packets which are a generic company
- water – this will be used to mix with the taco packet and flavor the beef
- refried beans divided into layers – I have used all kinds of refried beans, vegetarian, low fat, etc… I can’t really taste a difference between them
- crushed nacho cheese chips (Doritos) divided – Generic Dorito chips are totally fine in this recipe
- shredded cheddar cheese divided – you can also use Mexican Blend shredded cheese
- Suggested toppings are lettuce, diced tomatoes, sliced olives, avocado cubed, sour cream
Equipment Needed for this taco bake recipe with Doritos
- Large Skillet – You’ll need this to brown the sirloin beef
- Casserole Dish – I used a 2-quart casserole dish, but you can double the recipe and use a larger dish
- Utensils for cooking beef, layering ingredients, and serving
How to Make a Dorito Taco Casserole
Step 1
Cook the beef (hamburger meat), add water, and a packet of taco seasoning mix
Step 2
Let the taco meat simmer until most water has evaporated and the mixture is thick.
Step 3
In a baking dish, layer: meat, crush Doritos, and Cheese – repeat with meat, remaining Doritos, and more cheese on top.
Step 4
Bake and serve with toppings like sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, sliced black olives, pickled jalapenos, green chiles, and/or salsa. It’s that easy!
Expert Tip
After cooking your ground beef, blend it in an electric blender or food processor until it is super fine. I do this most of the time that I make any type of taco and it is a game changer.
I find that crushing the Doritos by hand gives the pieces the perfect-sized crumbs. Medium pieces are preferred. You don’t want them crushed, or they will get lost in the bake.
Sirloin Ground Beef is my preferred. The beef is not too greasy and holds a great flavor.
I used Mild Cheddar Cheese, but you can substitute a Mexican Mixture, which is another good melting cheese when baked in this dish.
Recipe Variations
- Add even more flavor with corn, bell pepper, diced chiles, salsa, salsa verde, black-eyed peas, rotelle, or cooked diced onion – If you add any of this, I would suggest that your cook it in with the ground beef mixture to make veggies tender and cook some of the liquid out of salsas and tomatoes
- Double or triple to feed more
- Use regular-flavored Doritos, which is my favorite or use Cool Ranch, Spicy Nacho, Spicy Sweet Chili and other Dorito flavors.
Substitutions:
Some substitutions I’ve used in this recipe for taco bake are…
- generic nacho cheese Doritos for the regular brand
- Mexican blended cheese instead of cheddar – you could use sharp cheddar, as well
- different types of refried beans
FAQs
Use beef that is 80%-90% lean. Sirloin is my preferred because it holds the flavor, but has very little fat. Other good choices are ground chuck, ground turkey, ground chicken, or round
You can assemble the ingredients in the morning—place them covered in the fridge. The baking process in the oven may take longer because the ingredients are cold. Check to see that it is warmed and the cheese is melted.
What are some good sides to this Taco Bake?
- Jalapeno Cornbread
- salsa
- refried beans
- black beans
- chopped onions
- Spanish rice
- Cilantro rice
- Pico De Gallo
- Mexican Cornbread
- Guacamole
- Street Corn
- Corn and Black Bean Salsa
- Homemade Cinnamon Crispas for Dessert
Serving Size
This recipe serves a hearty 4. You could squeeze 6 servings if you have plenty of sides.
You can double or triple this recipe to feed more
More Casserole Recipes You’ll Love
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Watch my video to learn how I made this easy Taco Bake.
Finally, here is the recipe for this Doritos Casserole:
Dorito Taco Casserole
Equipment
- 1 2 qt. casserole dish
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground sirloin
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- ¾ cup water
- 1 16 oz. can of refried beans divided
- 2 cups crushed nacho cheese chips (Doritos) divided
- 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese divided
- Suggested toppings lettuce, diced tomatoes, sliced olives, avocado cubed, sour cream
Instructions
- Brown ground beef
- Add taco seasoning and water
- Cook down for about 5 minutes
- Layer casserole dish with half of refried beans, then half of the beef, half of the chips, then half of the cheese
- Repeat
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
- Add toppings and enjoy
Notes
- Need more servings for a big family? You can double or triple the ingredients and use a larger dish for a bigger meal
Nutrition
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This is a great recipe! I made it for dinner and everyone loved it!
Yay! I’m so happy that you liked it! Thank you for coming back to leave me such a nice a compliment.