Taco Casserole
This Taco Casserole recipe is easy and delicious…perfect for weeknight cooking!
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Many of you guys already know that Laura and I both curl in the winter months. Yes, curl. Like that sport that shows up during the Winter Olympics and then you don’t hear about it again for 4 years. (Unless you’re one of my Canadian friends…in which case you probably hear about curling more than you want to!)
Laura and I wandered into an open house at our local curling club 3 years ago now…and we’ve been hooked ever since. But here’s the funny thing. We don’t actually like curling together on the same team. And I’ve heard the same thing from other married couples at the club. Whatever the reason, Laura plays in the women’s league, and I play in two different men’s leagues. It keeps us entertained during these winter months up here in New York! (Speaking of winter months, we’re supposed to get 12-18″ of snow tomorrow. Is it Spring yet??)
Bonspiels are one of the coolest things about curling. (A bonspiel is just curling’s term for a tournament.) A bonspiel can be anywhere from just a small handful of teams all the way up to 45+ teams. A team usually consists of 4 people, so you can imagine how crazy some of these big tournaments can get. This year, some of the guys in the club got together and decided to play in a big bonspiel over in Utica, NY. This particular bonspiel was for curlers with 5 or less years of experience, and the rest of my team are all at 5 years experience this year. So we decided to make a run at this one.
Flatout actually sponsored our team this past year, and that was really awesome! We ordered jackets for Team Flatout, and we’ve been wearing those around the club all year. If nothing else, we looked the part! (Isn’t that half the battle anyways?) To get ready for the Utica tournament, we played in a couple of smaller tournaments in our own club earlier this season. We played well together, and most importantly we had a lot of fun! We didn’t end up winning the Utica bonspiel, but we did have some success. And again…we had fun! Isn’t that what it’s all about anyways?
As I mentioned above, bonspiels are a lot of fun! We meet guys from all over the northeast and Canada, so that always leads to some fun conversations after our games. But one of the downsides of bonspiels? The food. I mean I get it. You’ve got a lot of people that need to eat. And since there are always games being played, the eating happens in staggered rounds. That’s hard. So the result is usually ‘conference-style’ food. It does the job, but it’s not as tasty as a home-cooked meal.
I was seriously tempted to bring an oven along and cook this Taco Casserole up in our hotel room. Hah! I wouldn’t actually do that, but the thought was pretty fun. You’ve got 4 guys who are starving after curling all day…so this Taco Casserole wouldn’t have stood a chance! Instead, I made this one for just me and Laura once I got back.
This Taco Casserole is delicious! Like seriously delicious. And seriously easy. The filling consisted of cooked ground beef, sauteed onions + peppers and canned corn, black beans and chilies. But I put a twist on this one by scattering chopped up Flatout flatbreads all over the top of this casserole before baking it. I brushed those flatbreads with a bit of olive oil and taco seasoning first, and I’m pretty sure I just wanted to pick all of the toasted flatbreads off the top of this Taco Casserole while I was taking these photos. (There might be a couple pieces missing…but you can’t tell, right?)
I used Flatout’s Multi-Grain flatbreads with Flax for this Taco Casserole. Each flatbread clocks in at just 100 calories, and each one packs 13g of whole grains, 9g of protein and 8g of fiber. I’ve seen Taco Casseroles with 2 bags of corn chips on top, so using these flatbreads seriously puts a healthier spin on this comfort food classic!
This Taco Casserole makes for a great weeknight meal, or even a comfort food type of meal for a weekend by the fireplace. (Yes, it’s still cold enough to need our fireplace here in New York…) I hope you guys are staying warm, and if you’re looking for a fun + easy meal, then I suggest giving this Taco Casserole a shot sometime soon! Enjoy!
Taco Casserole
Ingredients
For the Topping
- 4 Flatout flatbreads
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp taco seasoning
For the Pot Pie
- 16 oz. lean ground beef
- 2 Tbsp taco seasoning i.e. 1 (1¼-oz. package)
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 bell peppers diced (I used 1 green and 1 red)
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 11-oz. can corn, drained
- 1 15-oz. can black beans, drained
- 1 4-oz. can diced green chilies
- 1 cup salsa
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 8 oz. 2 cups pepperjack cheese, shredded
- {garnish} sour cream
- {garnish} sliced avocado
Instructions
For the Topping
- Brush one side of flatbreads with olive oil. Combine salt and taco seasoning in a small bowl; gently rub this mixture evenly over flatbreads. Using a knife, cut flatbreads up into small, bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
For the Pot Pie
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Using a large skillet, cook ground beef over medium heat until fully cooked. Remove from heat, drain and add taco seasoning and water; stir until well combined.
- Meanwhile, using a separate skillet, add olive oil. Place over medium heat. Once hot, add diced peppers, onions and minced garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes or until peppers just begin to soften. Remove from heat, drain and add onion powder, salt, corn, black beans, chilies, salsa and cilantro; stir until well combined.
- Spray a 9”x13” casserole dish with nonstick spray.
- Using a large bowl, combine cooked beef with the sautéed pepper/onion mixture. Spread half of the filling into the casserole dish. Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese on top. Repeat with remaining filling and cheese. Spread chopped flatbreads on top.
- Bake at 375°F for 25-30 minutes, or until flatbreads have browned and cheese is fully melted. (Tip: Place a piece of foil over top of dish after 20 minutes to prevent the flatbreads from browning too much.)
- Serve with dollop of sour cream, sliced avocado and additional chopped cilantro.
This Taco Casserole post was sponsored by Flatout Flatbread, but the recipe and opinions are entirely my own.
Thank you for supporting the brands that support Spiced!
Prior to bumping into you and hearing about your curling tales, I had only caught a glimpse of curling on TV – but you’ve added to my curling know how and lingo – I had no clue what a “bonspiel” was till today so thanks my friend! By the way – I’m thinking if you brought that oven into y’alls hotel room and baked up this casserole – not only would it be eviscerated but you are sure to bestowed as the MVP! What a delicious casserole – and am thinking this would work with even veggie crumbles instead? I heard of that nasty white stuff heading your way – it’s supposed to be cold (by my standards) here too but Friday we get into the 60s again and I’ll try and fan some of that warmer air up y’all! 🙂 Happy Monday, David! Hope all of y’all had a wonderful weekend!
Haha! I’m totally turning you into a curling fan, Shashi! It seriously is a crazy fun sport…although I’m about ready for the season to be over (because that means Spring will be here). Now bringing this casserole into the hotel? That’s crazy talk! Although I kinda like it. We have one more bonspiel coming up before the end of the year…so there’s still time! Please do send some warmer air our way, Shashi…we had about 2′ of snow yesterday, and I’m ready for some Spring flowers! Thank you, my friend!
I know very little about curling, but I do know that our Province’s team won the Canadian championship! Yay! What a weekend we had here. The weather (wind) was insane and did cause some delays in the competition that was held here. So awesome that you guys play curling during the winter months….nice way to stay active and get out of the house a bit. Funny that you both play on different teams….nice little bit of competition, though, lol 😀 This casserole looks like the perfect thing to eat after playing the game! Lots and lots of garnish for me please 🙂 Happy Monday, my friend!
Yes! I did indeed see that your Province’s team won the Canadian curling championship…that’s big stuff! We watched a few of those games down here. (The curling club has a Canadian satellite for tv…haha!) We’ve been having some pretty rough weather here lately, too (wind + snow), and this casserole is the perfect comfort food to get through the weather! 🙂 Thanks so much, Dawn!
Yum! Going on the menu as soon as we get our power back! Yep- day 6 of no power. But there are perks to being married to an engineer and owning a generator!😊 I can’t wait to try this! We’re getting in a winter food rut over here!
Wait…6 days without power!? Are you kidding me, Marla?? I hope you guys get power back soon! At least you have the generator to keep you going…but man, 6 days is a looooong time. Definitely make this casserole once power comes back! It’s the perfect winter comfort food! 🙂 Stay warm, my friend!
Hi David. I picked up some Flatouts my last trip to the store and I have everything else on hand. Even though we don’t have snow or even cold, this will be dinner one night later in the week. Stay close to your nice warm fireplace my friend.
Woohoo! Sounds like you are all set to make this recipe then, Dorothy! Of course, it’s probably getting warm down there by now…but this would still make one delicious comfort food style dinner! We loved this one, and I’m thinking we might need to make it again soon. The snow + wind has really been rough here lately! Maybe bottle up some of that Tennessee weather and send it our way? 🙂
So I’ve had tuna casserole but never taco casserole, I’m so willing to try it, David. Your pictures always make me drool. I would love playing against my boyfriend in any sport or game; I’m not a huge fan of playing on the same team. I need a clear winner and a clear loser, so I can make fun of him until he gets annoyed and gives me that “ok ok you need to stop it NOW” look. I live for that look lol. I’m in Baltimore visiting family, and I’m supposed to leave tomorrow, but that 12-18” of snow might throw a wrench in my plans. It’s 70 degrees in California, and I just want to get home. Bonspiels = tournament? Wow, I learn something new every time I visit Spiced Blog. I’m going to see if there is a local curling club in the Bay Area, I have to try it now, you talking about it all the time and really seem to enjoy it.
You know, tuna casserole is a classic, Mary…totally takes me back to my childhood! My Mom made tuna casserole quite often. But I gotta say that the taco casserole beats it…no questions asked! 🙂 So you totally get the whole thing about playing on the same team as your significant other! It just doesn’t work out well. Oh gosh…I hope you were able to get back to sunny Cali without any trouble. This snow has been rough here lately! We ended up somewhere close to 2′ I think. All I know is we started with a bare lawn, and the snow was up to my knees by this morning. Ugh! Definitely look up curling in your area, Mary! It seriously is a sport you can play for your whole life…and it looks like there is a Bay Area Curling Club, too! Go google it!
It sounds like quite a storm you have coming! Maybe try curling up on the couch this time! 🙂 I love this taco casserole! There’s nothing better than a quick delicious dinner to feed my hungry crew!
Oh man, big storm was the understatement of the year, Kathy! We got close to 2′, and I’m ready to be done with the snow this year (and next…). Haha! This Taco Casserole is the perfect comfort food for feeding a crowd. Yum! 🙂
Mmmm so much flavor, love it!! stay warm, that storm doesn’t sound good, hope it’s not too bad!
Oh, this casserole is packed with flavor, Manali! It’s a favorite around here for sure. The storm was a big one, but we’ve at least dug our way out now. 🙂 And that means it’s time for some tasty comfort food for dinner tonight! Thanks, my friend!
That’s actually interesting cause I was going to mention curling in one of my comments for quite long time, but it never happened. I think there was a huge curling tournament in Canada a month ago or so – well, at least they were showing it on news for a few days in a row (Sorry I wasn’t paying attention cause no lavender fields were involved). But what’s surprised me is that Laura plays it too. Are you making meals for her as well or since you’re in different teams, she’s got to handle it herself?:) And certainly, this casserole loaded with all the delicious things sounds amazing! Your teammates really are lucky people. May I join your team? I promise I’ll bring Nanaimo bars to trade:)
Yes! Canada just had their women’s and then their men’s national curling championships. I love curling, but it’s not as popular in the States as it is in Canada…it’s big stuff up there! Kinda like our Super Bowl in football. So I sometimes make snacks for Laura to take in after her games, but more often than not it’s only for my team. (Oops…sorry, Laura! Next season!) Of course, I always keep a little bit aside for Laura to try at home. I’m nice like that! And, yes, you are more than welcome to join our team! I hear that we could use a fresh supply of lavender anyways…haha.
I’m with Shashi that the term ‘bonspiel’ is new to me. I love that you and your wife have found a quirky-fun sport that you both like. Even when you play for different teams, I bet you have some great conversations about it.
And this taco casserole is my kind of comfort food! I don’t blame you for wanting to bring an oven to your hotel room so you could make it, lol!
Yeah, ‘bonspiel’ was new to me when we started curling 3 years ago. In fact, I don’t think I pronounced it correctly for about a year. Hah! And, yes, we both love the sport. It’s an odd one, but it really is a good workout…and more importantly, it’s just downright fun! Thanks so much, Marissa! Hope you have a weekend full of tasty comfort food. 🙂
Priya @asmallbite
Not familiar with this recipe,but I will try it out soon.Stunning clicks as always.
Thank you, Priya! This is one really delicious casserole…perfect comfort food on a chilly night for sure. 🙂
How dare you not use the word ‘Bonspiel’ in our conversations- What an amazing word! Stoked that Flatout helped pimp you guys out in some fancy schmancy attire- This is so random but it reminded me of these books I read where college kids would aim to get varsity jackets….I never knew what that meant!
ANYWAY. Super creative use of Flatout in this casserole- Tacos. A famous word in the Dial household!
Hah! Ok then I’ll start dropping bonspiel into our conversations…all the time! It’ll be bonspiel this and bonspiel that. 🙂 Flatout is indeed an awesome company, and they make super tasty wraps…that’s a win-win in my book! Thanks, Arman!
This sounds like the perfect meal to enjoy after your curling tournament. As a matter of fact, it would be good anytime.
Oh, this is indeed a good meal for when you’re craving something super easy and super comfort-food-y. (Is that a word? It is now!) Thanks so much, Karen…hope it isn’t too warm down there in Florida yet. Haha!
Wow, this taco casserole looks like the perfect cheat day candidate! And the good thing is… it is super healthy too! Win-Win, love it!
Why thank you very much, Gabriel! This is one super tasty casserole…and you’re right. It’s really not too bad for you at all as long as you watch that cheese! Mmmm….cheese. Haha! Thanks so much for commenting!