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:
Here’s how to make it. Be sure to scroll down for tips and a how-to video after the recipe card.
Lawnmower Taco Casserole Recipe
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
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
Nutrition
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Recommended Side Dishes
How-to Video
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.
Originally published June 5, 2010, this post has been updated for content and clarity.
Samantha
OMG this recipe has saved my bacon on numerous occasions! It is also the most requested meal from my 2 boys (after pizza and lasagna, of course), and always gets a chorus of “YES!” when I tell them it’s on the menu.
We’ve made it various ways, but our favourite version is with onion & slow cooked pinto beans added to the meat.
And yes, my boys would try to eat the whole dish in one sitting if they could.
Jessica Fisher
Awesome!
Linda Budzik
Like so many other people, I’ve seen this recipe numerous times and always thought it looked like a good kid-friendly recipe, but probably not for my husband and me. Yesterday I read the recipe again and thought the same thing. But we were out running errands far later than I expected and I realized I had everything I needed to make this recipe. I had ground beef already cooked in the freezer and an open carton of chicken broth that I needed to use, so I made it. It was fast, easy, and very tasty. My husband isn’t a casserole person and he kind of turned his nose up at it when he saw it. But then he had 2 1/2 helpings! I had halved the recipe and figured we’d have enough left over for lunch this week. Nope. There is one tiny piece left, but that’s all. I’ll be making this again because it’s surprisingly adult friendly, too!
Jo
This recipe is so delicious and is one of my favorites! I make with beef broth and homemade taco seasoning and typically top with lettuce once plated.
Jessica Fisher
So great to hear it!
sam hagins
I buy my ground chuck on sale in 10 pound bags. I divide it into 12 quart freezer bags (a little less and a pound is really not noticeable). Mash them flat to remove the air and freeze. I have just lowered my sale price by an additional 20%. $2.39 a pound now becomes $2 a pound.
Amanda
I found your website through Pinterest and I gotta say…I love this recipe. I honestly wasn’t expecting much from this recipe. I figured it would taste like taco meat over tortilla chips with cheese…essentially the same as a taco. Except that it isn’t. It is a different level of tacoliciousness. I made a double batch of this tonight, thinking it would be plenty of leftovers for the 3 of us. Haha. There is maybe enough for 1 lunch tomorrow. Thanks for the great recipe.
Jessica Fisher
Yay! I’m so glad you found me! More importantly, I’m glad you found Lawnmower Taco. It always surprises people! Now… who gets the leftovers? 😉
Chris
Any tips on how to reheat the leftovers without getting the chips soggy?
Jessica Fisher
The chips don’t stay crisp the first time around, except maybe a few on the very top. Reheated leftovers have a very similar texture to the fresh version. Overall, the texture is more like a tamale pie.
Loren Kaplan
I think this could be great for take-to-work lunch. Do you think I could cook it, and then cut the leftovers into pieces, and then freeze the (already cooked) pieces? Ever tried doing it that way?
Thanks,
Loren
Jessica Fisher
We rarely have leftovers. I think you could do that. Just know that the chips soften a lot in baking, so you chips would be really soft after freezing. Not a bad thing, but some people are surprised that the chips aren’t super crisp. So FYI. Let me know how it goes.
Jeanenne
This Lawnmower Taco was absolutely delicious!!!! I made it gluten free with gf flour and gf tostitoes. My gf granddaughter loved it!! So easy to make. Think I will put one in the freezer for a quick emergency meal. I made Mexican rice to go with it, and what a hit!! Ty
Jessica Fisher
So glad you liked it! It’s one of our favorites. 🙂
Hélène
But I’m also thinking torn nonGMO corn tortillas would work too. Just dont make the layer to thick.
Jessica Fisher
Yes, we’ve used corn tortillas before. Just add more salt since you won’t have the salt from the chips.
Hélène
I think cooked rice would work instead of chips (we keep chips for rare treats). I’ll let you know hopefully!
Elizabeth
I made this for the first time tonight after seeing it referenced on your blog for years. We don’t have a good source for affordable, good quality beef around here, so I cook with mostly chicken. I subbed in shredded chicken instead of beef, went ahead and made the sauce as directed, and I think it worked fine with chicken. My family loved it. My sister called it great party food for New Years tonight. Thanks from one more of your readers for a great recipe!
Polly
Reporting from the gluten free side of the tracks that we made this tonight with a GF cup-for-cup flour and it received rave reviews from our gluten free-ers and non gluten free-ers alike. Thank you for a new freezer recipe!
Jessica Fisher
Thanks for letting us know!
Regina
I have been following you for years and keep passing the recipe up because of the flour – seems silly but we try to avoid it around here. do you think it would make a huge difference if I left it out? I assume the meat sauce would be just a bit more runnier? thoughts? thank you!
Jessica Fisher
Did you get the follow up comment from Polly? She says she used cup for cup and it worked great!
Jen L.
I have followed you for a number of years. During that time, I have passed over the recipe for Lawnmower Tacos at least a dozen times. I just didn’t think I could get away with it. Can I feed my husband a dinner where one of the primary ingredients is crushed up tortilla chips? And would the non taco loving girls go for it? But this past month has been rainy in Indiana and we haven’t been able to grill much (my lifeline during the summer). I’ve been making the same stuff over and over and needed a change. So I made Lawnmower Tacos last night. The result: Double thumbs up all around the table. And so quick and easy. Why didn’t I make this long.ago?! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Jessica Fisher
I love it when that happens! Thanks for letting me know we won some converts at your house. I tell ya, it’s perfect Comfort Food.
Elaine
Just a tip about the chips…you can refresh stale chips in the oven and they are good as new!
Krissi
Do the chips get soggy if you make this a freezer meal? Thank you.l
Jessica Fisher
The chips naturally absorb some of the liquid, which makes it more like tortilla in some places. That’s something I like about it. I wouldn’t say soggy, but definitely soft.
Nicole
Made this last night everyone loved it! I got the chip layers to stay mostly crunchy, because I add more chip layers in big chunks. It’s been asked for again tonight. I’ve got the stuff so why not?! 😀
Carie
I LOVED lawnmower tacos. This is a keeper.
Jessica Fisher
We just had it for lunch today. We love it, too. 🙂
Summer K
I want to make this tonight but its in my freezer – can I just increase the cooking time, or does it need to be thawed first?
Jessica Fisher
You can usually increase the cooking time, but it’s a little unpredictable. Leave yourself enough extra time and you should be fine. 🙂
Summer K
Thanks!
Lisa
Thanks so much for this recipe! There are very few things that I can make that a) the whole family likes or b) I can make more than once a month and not hear, “but we just had thaaaat”. Lol! The first time I made it, my family of two adults and four teenagers, had eaten all of it and were clamoring for more before I had even had any! So now the recipe always gets doubled and made in a shallow roasting pan!
Jessica Fisher
Love it!
Shirlene
I made these today and they were great, my 5 yo said they are awesome! He is so picky too. I had enough for two meal , eat one and freeze one. Thanks for the recipe!!