Lawnmower Taco Casserole Recipe

This Easy Taco Casserole Recipe is super easy and freezer-friendly, perfect comfort food, rich in flavor, ground beef, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, and spices. Named “Lawnmower Taco” when a picky eater was hesitant to try it, it’s a simple taco casserole recipe that you’re going to want on repeat.

Serve this taco casserole alongside Mexican Rice and Instant Pot Refried Beans for an easy dinner with southwestern flair. This is one of our favorite Mexican Dinner Ideas and one of the very best budget meals kids love.

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Lawnmower Taco Casserole is a simple yet delicious taco casserole that young and old are guaranteed to gobble down. It makes good use of stale tortilla chips so you can avoid food waste and enjoy a fantastic meal.

If you’ve got a few extra minutes, make a double or triple batch and stash the extras in the freezer. This is one of those Easy Freezer Meals to keep on hand.

Ingredients

You only need six ingredients for this taco casserole recipe:

This is a great meal plan for picky eaters.

Recipe Costs

Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.

• ground beef – $2.99, try to get it on sale
• Taco Seasoning Mix – $0.20, make your own for the lowest price
• flour – $0.04
• chicken stock – $0.60, make your own for the lowest price
• tortilla chips – $1.00, use stale chips or the leftovers from several bags
• cheese – $2.00, try to get it on sale

While your costs may vary depending on where and how you shop, you can expect to pay about $6.83 for a pan of Lawnmower Taco Casserole, about $0.85/serving.

Learn to stretch your grocery dollar even more with the Good Cheap Eats System.

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Lawnmower Taco Casserole Recipe

Lawnmower Taco Casserole is super easy, freezer-friendly, and totally delicious. Rich in flavor, it contains ground beef or turkey, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, and taco spices layered in a savory gravy that comes together in minutes.

4.84 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 432kcal

Author: Jessica Fisher

Equipment

• large skillet
• rubber spatula
• 9×13-inch baking dish

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef (ground turkey, pork, or chicken can also be used)
• 2 tablespoon Taco Seasoning Mix
• ¼ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 2 cup chicken stock beef broth can also be used
• 1 9-ounce package tortilla chips crushed
• 8 oz cheddar cheese (shredded) (2 cups), can also use jack or pepper jack
• taco toppings for serving: shredded lettuce, salsa, sour cream, sliced black olives

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• In large skillet, brown ground beef. Stir in taco seasoning. Sprinkle flour over top. Stir to combine.
  
• Stir in broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer until sauce thickens.
  

To assemble in a baking dish:

• Grease 9×13 inch baking pan. Place ½ of crushed chips across bottom of dish. Layer with half the meat sauce and then half the cheese. Repeat layers: chips, meat, cheese.
  
• Bake at 325° for about 20 minutes or until bubbly. Serve with toppings.

To make in the slow cooker:

• Prepare the meat sauce as directed above. Grease the crock of a casserole slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Assemble the casserole as directed. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour. Serve with toppings.

Video

Notes

Promptly store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days. These can be packed for lunch as well. Just reheat in the microwave prior to serving.

Nutritional values are approximate and based on ⅛ the casserole.

Variations: Taco casserole is a very flexible meal. Feel free to vary the meat, use beans instead of meat, and/or add a layer of beans, corn kernels, or diced tomatoes.

To make vegetarian taco casserole: Use a plant-based meat grind or beans instead of the meat and vegetable broth instead of the chicken stock.

To make a vegan taco casserole: Use a plant-based meat grind or beans instead of the meat and vegetable broth instead of the chicken stock. Substitute a plant-based cheese for the dairy cheese.

To make a gluten-free taco casserole: Use gluten-free baking mix, such as Bob’s Red Mill instead of the flour. Read the labels of the other ingredients to make sure they don’t contain added gluten.

To make taco casserole as a freezer meal: Assemble the dish, but do not bake. Instead, cover with foil, label, cool, and freeze. On serving day, thaw casserole and follow baking directions, adding up to 10 to 15 minutes baking time, depending on how cold or frozen the casserole is at the start.

Nutrition

Calories: 432kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 588mg | Potassium: 296mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 312IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 273mg | Iron: 2mg

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Originally published June 5, 2010, this post has been updated for content and clarity.