What the heck happened to free time? Seriously, every time I think we may have some, we don’t. School, baseball schedules, doctor’s appointments, kids play dates (not a fan of that term) , oh and this blogging thing. I wouldn’t change a thing though. It all keeps me going and energized. And when things get hectic and time gets cramped, nothing is better than coming up with a quick and dirty weeknight meal that I know everyone here will love. In this case, my Mexican Beefy Nacho Casserole.
In my opinion, nothing beats Mexican food. Maybe it’s because I live in Southern California, but I could easily eat Mexican food every day and be quite happy. Regardless, this is a really fun dish and one I know the wife and kids would love. Why? Well, if you ask the kids, probably because there are Doritos in there! For me and Naomi, it’s the beef, the cheese, and the fact that it’s baked until it’s got the perfect crisp to everything and every bite oozes with a little drip of cheese. And everyone loves a dish that can be thrown together in under 30 minutes too, right?
To mix it up and make it a little more substantial, you can layer it with cooked Mexican rice. A time saver, a crowd pleaser, and I was pleasantly surprised that the leftovers were just as good. Big win for me all around. Now it’s off to plan tomorrow’s baseball tournament lineup. The fun never stops!
Yield: 6
Mexican Beefy Nacho Casserole
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Ingredients
1 lb 90% lean ground beef
1/2 cup salsa, your preferred
4 scallions, white and green parts chopped and separated
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 15oz can white beans , (or black beans, pintos beans or a combination)
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon paprika
12 oz Doritos chips , (or restaurant style tortilla chips)
3 cups pepper Jack, cheddar, or a combination
green scallions, chopped tomatos, sour cream and lime for serving
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Cook beef in a large skillet over medium high heat until browned about 5-8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon and transfer beef mixture to a plate. Set aside to cool, then fold in salsa.
Add scallions whites and garlic, cook until soft and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in chicken broth, chili powder, cumin and paprika. Stir in beans until combined and heated through. Transfer bean mixture to a blender or food processor and pulse until mixture is pureed. Alternately, you can use a potato masher and mash bean mixture until smooth.
Spread half of chips into casserole pan. Top with half the bean mixture, half the beef mixture, half the cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Bake until cheese melts, about 5-7 minutes. Serve with green scallions, fresh chopped tomatoes. sour cream and lime.
**NOTES** (1) To shortcut this recipe you can replace the spices with 1-2 tablespoon of your preferred taco seasoning. (2) Use any beans you prefer. I like white beans for their mild taste and creaminess. (3) To make this a heavier meal, layer in cooked Mexican rice.
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What time is it there Mary? I think you should open up a little taco stand there. Who knows, it may be a huge hit! 🙂 Will you ever visit Huy? That’s where Naomi’s family comes from. Hope you both are having the time of your lives there!
12:30 pm! We’re 14 hours ahead of California time. I bet a taco stand would be a HUGE hit, even if only with tourists (of which there are plenty). I’m not familiar with Huy… could you mean Hue? We are going to Hue!
In SoCal you probably have the best Mexican food in the country. If I lived there I would probably eat it every day.
On the East coast you can get OK Mex food, never awesome…
BTW that casserole looks killer; I could totally use some for lunch today!
I think we are all on a Mexican food brainwave and I’m soooo not complaining! I’m jealous of your location in Souther California! I’m in Southern Ontario, which has way less awesome Mexican food and far more snow.
Thanks Allison. I would much rather be there today though! It is going to be close to 100. But absolutely, as far as food goes, never have to go far for good Mexican food, or ingredients.
You’ve just solved my “what to make for dinner with no time to make dinner” dilemma. So, thank you! I can’t even wait to make this. Free time is a funny joke, isn’t it?
Ditto on the being busy, I just want one day, heck, I’d settle for 2 hours of doing nothing!! And of course instead of writing this super long sponsored post I have due, I’m surfing my fav blogs! oh well. And, oh my, this is fabulous, my family would love it, they would prefer if I made Mexican food every night!
YUM!! Love nachos and I love everything about this!! Huge fan of mexican food 🙂 We’re in So Cal right now too. In the process of moving to Texas though, but at least they have TexMex!
This looks awesome and like something my husband would love! Fast, easy, and protein-packed! I’m new to your site, but am really enjoying it! I’m so happy to see some testosterone joining this world! 🙂
So awesome to hear, thanks Lauren! I am having more fun than I anticipated and hope to keep things going. Lots of pressure but so much fun. Thanks for stopping by!
What a fabulous idea. Using the Doritos is genius… my husband constantly fantasizes about making nachos with Doritos. Maybe it’s time we take the plunge! I’m always looking for “quick and dirty” dinner ideas because I cook for my blog during the day and don’t usually feel inspired come dinnertime. This is perfect!
“Free time”??? What’s that??? I so know what you mean about being time crunched – I take the easy route and make a big batch and eat leftovers for almost a whole week-but this looks way way better!
I kid you not, my husband made a similar dish for us last night! We never get tired of Mexican food! Casserole dishes are the best for the mid week crazy schedules! Looks delicious, Matt!
Oh my! This looks like the perfect weeknight meal! I would probably make two casseroles one for dinner and one to freeze for later. Even though I’m pretty sure this casserole wouldn’t last very long either way – looks ah-mazing, Matt!
Any time you guys are down here Todd! Just bring some of those granitas. We won the league championship, so it’s on to TOC next, which is the big little league tourney. Thanks so much and hope you have an awesome weekend!
Thanks Crystal! Same here. I feel like a kid when I eat them. I buy them for the boys but usually end up eating most of them. Cole and I made Doritos nachos last night. Way cheesy but really good! Have a great weekend:)
I am the same exact way… I could eat Mexican food every single day! Love it. In fact, it’s only like 6:30 am here but now you’re making me want Mexican for breakfast. What a stunning looking casserole!
Holy amazing nachos, batman! I can ALWAYS go for a good plate of Mexican food and nachos are at the top of my favorite Mexican foods list. Great recipe, Matt!
Thanks! I ended up just draining and rinsing both cans of beans (white and black) and then adding the salsa, seasonings, beans, and chicken stock to the ground beef once it was browned. I omitted the onions because I am the only one who will eat them. I let it reduce a little for maybe 8-10 minutes and then assembled as directed. It was delicious. I will definitely be making this again!
Made this for supper tonight and absolutely love it. I layered in some leftover brown rice and only lightly mashed the beans to keep some texture. This recipe is a keeper for sure!!
My husband and I enjoy many traditional Mexican dishes, and decided to visit Una Mas Mexican Grill in Fremont, CA. Their popular Foghead Burrito is simply delectable and the Margarita Salad is fresh. I urge you to find out more about them at http://unamas.com.
[…] time to experiment with food and try out new recipes. This Nacho Casserole is inspired by Matt from Real Food by Dad (thank you!) and was a major hit […]
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If you love this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and review. Star ratings help people discover my recipes online. Your support means a great deal to me.
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