This Mexican Lasagna Recipe is a delicious twist on traditional Italian lasagna with layers of corn tortillas, ground beef, refried beans, taco sauce, and cheese. It can be made ahead and is freezer friendly, too. Easy and great for the entire family!
Just the name Mexican Lasagna sounds awesome, am I right?! It also goes by the name Mexican Casserole, Taco Lasagna, Stacked Enchiladas, and Mexican Pie. All the same dish, all delicious.
This dish has been around forever, but I rarely make it because of my kids’ aversion to Mexican food. *groan* So whenever there is an upcoming potluck, I spy opportunity and I grab it. This is always a hit with a crowd!
What is Mexican Lasagna?
It’s basically a riff on Italian lasagna, where tortillas replace the noodles, a Mexican beef mixture stands in for the traditional spaghetti sauce, and a Mexican cheese blend is used instead of ricotta and Parmesan.
If you’re a fan of Mexican food and have never made this, you must. Imagine your favorite tacos, enchiladas, and burritos all layered together – this is it!
Recipe Variations
This Mexican Lasagna recipe is versatile and a great pantry meal depending on what you have available and what your family prefers.
- Swap out the ground beef for ground turkey or cooked shredded chicken.
- Instead of refried beans, use black or pinto beans.
- Replace the Mexican cheese blend with Pepper Jack to make it more spicy. (Tip! I recommend using freshly grated cheese for this recipe. Pre-shredded cheese is usually coated with anti-caking agents, which doesn’t allow it to melt as well.)
- Flour tortillas can be substituted for the corn tortillas, if you prefer, or even crushed up Doritos!
- Serve the lasagna as is or add some toppings like sour cream, sliced ripe avocado, homemade guacamole, or my favorite homemade pico de gallo!
Can I make Mexican Lasagna in Advance?
Yes! The lasagna can be assembled up to 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Let stand on the counter until it reaches room temperature OR add 15 minutes to the baking time to account for cooking the dish cold.
How To Store Leftovers
This dish is so easy to make and leftovers are great, too. You can even serve it for breakfast with some scrambled eggs or poached eggs. DELISH.
- To store in the refrigerator: allow to cool completely, then wrap either the whole casserole or cut into individual servings in plastic and foil. Store for up to 3 days.
- To store in the freezer after baking: allow to cool completely, then wrap either the whole casserole or individual servings in plastic and foil. Store for up to 2 months.
- To store in the freezer before baking: if your intention is to freeze the entire casserole before cooking it, assemble the layers in a foil-lined casserole dish, freeze until completely solid, then lift the casserole out of the pan and freeze separately – this way you still have use of your casserole dish! Store for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and continue with the recipe as written for baking.
No big surprise that this dish is filling. Even though it may look small, those layers add up and are quite substantial!
Other Mexican Dishes We Love!
- Mexican Rice Skillet
- Authentic Chile Rellenos
- Chile Relleno Casserole
- Slow Cooker Taco Soup
- Homemade Taco Seasoning
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Mexican Lasagna Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 small sweet onion , diced small
- salt and pepper , to taste
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 15 ounce can refried beans
- 3/4 cup enchilada sauce
- 10 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers (such as Rotel), drained
- 4 ounce can diced jalapeño peppers , drained
- 2.25 ounce can sliced black olives , drained
- 8 good quality corn tortillas
- 8 ounces (2 cups) shredded Mexican blend cheese
- sour cream, shredded lettuce, or sliced avocado ,for serving
- homemade guacamole ,for serving
- homemade pico de gallo ,for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat an 8x8x4-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Cook beef and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat; breaking it up into small crumbles, until no pink remains, about 3 minutes. Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper, add in the garlic, stir to incorporate. Pour off all the grease.
- Return to heat and stir in the beans, taco sauce, tomatoes, jalapeños, and olives until combined.
- Spread a thin layer of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Cover with 2 tortillas, splitting one of them in half to fit. Spread more of the meat mixture on top, followed by 1/3 cup cheese. Repeat these layers 3 more times, ending with meat mixture and cheese.
- Transfer to the oven and bake until cheese is bubbly and golden, about 25 minutes.
- Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing, which will help the layers stay intact.
- Serve with your choice of toppings and enjoy!
Notes
- For recipe variations, please refer to the full article.
- Nutritional calculations do not include the optional toppings
- To store in the refrigerator: allow to cool completely, then wrap either the whole casserole or cut into individual servings in plastic and foil. Store for up to 3 days.
- To store in the freezer after baking: allow to cool completely, then wrap either the whole casserole or individual servings in plastic and foil. Store for up to 2 months.
- To store in the freezer before baking: if your intention is to freeze the entire casserole before cooking it, assemble the layers in a foil-lined casserole dish, freeze until completely solid, then lift the casserole out of the pan and freeze separately - this way you still have use of your casserole dish! Store for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and continue with the recipe as written for baking.
It was a hit! Everyone loved it. I loved making it because it was easy and the recipe instructions were very clear.
Love this! Might just put some olives and/or slices jalapeño s on top not mixed in
This was a very good recipe for a Mexican Lasagna. We will definitely have it again.
PS the Mexican Enchilada casserole is not the same thing as it uses red enchilada sauce…not the taco/salsa flavors.
Amy I’m curious as to what size tortillas you suggest for this recipe?
Just regular size corn tortillas – like 4 inch?
actually 6″ corn tortillas work very well.
Everyone loved it,and so easy to make and delicious
I make this casserole often. So easy to make ahead and store in refrigerator for a few hours until ready to bake. I do add an extra 6-7 minutes to make up for the chill.
My husband and I absolutely loved this recipe! This is going on our make again list.
Used shredded chicken breast instead of the ground beef. It was delicious! Very filling too!
Good, easy recipe. Having learned from making enchiladas, I lightly fried the tortillas before layering to prevent them from getting soggy.
This is my family’s #1 favorite dish now. I make it with flour vs. corn tortillas and it’s a hit!
My husband and I both loved this Mexican Lasagna! Made the pico and guacamole as well. El Paso took care of the enchilada sauce!
I CHANGED A COUPLE OF THINGS TO PUT MY OWN SPIN ON THIS. JUST BY ADDING GREEN OLIVES AS WELL AND EXTRA CHEESE AND SAUCE. IT IS AN AMAZING DISH
Omg! I made this with ground chicken and it was fabulous!!!
My family loved this!
How do you cook from
Frozen?
Recipe says to thaw in fridge before cooking
This was a huge hit with my family tonight! Thank you for the recipe ?
We enjoyed this! Made a couple of changes by not mixing the refried beans into the mix. Added 1/4 cup sour cream to the beans and used them as a layer on there own . Added the olives as their own layer too. Nice and easy. will make 2 next time so I have one for the freezer.
What brand “good quality” tortillas do you recommend?
Hi Brenda – I love La Tortilla Factory brand! They’re light, soft, and fresh…handmade style. If you can find them, use those. If not, I recommend anything local your markets carry and not the mass produced ones that tend to be hard, tasteless, and crack easy.
A good quality corn tortilla will be soft and pliable, not hard and dry. It smells like good corn, too.