You will love this delicious Beefy Nacho Casserole with lean beef, cheddar and pepperjack cheeses, onions, bell peppers, salsa, olives and tortilla chips.
Okay, so casseroles aren’t usually my thing… but Nachos, cheese, and beef totally are.
Nachos + Beef + Cheese all together in this Beef Nacho Casserole? Um, heck yes.
So I did something really crazy in this nacho casserole recipe and it involves these guys:
Yep, tortilla chips. And look, no lard! I was kind of disappointed when I read that. You guys know I love lard.
So you know how when you make a graham cracker crust you just combine fine graham cracker crumbs with melted butter and bake it for a little bit to set up?
Well, I figured that there is no reason why I shouldn’t be able to do this with tortilla chips… so I went ahead and did it.
It is a tortilla chip casserole ground beef nacho cheese fiesta!
And guys…
This Nacho Cheese Casserole is yummy.
The crumbs don’t bake into a hard crust, but rather form a buttery-crunchy delicious base for the rest of the toppings to sit upon. Mmmm.
The rest of the ingredients should seem pretty familiar, if you’ve ever had beef nachos.
And I really hope you’ve had nachos, because if you haven’t then you aren’t really living.
Just look at all that gooey & bubbly goodness in this nachos casserole:
And then, because you like to eat healthy, just sprinkle a few cilantro leaves on top for color… and nutrients?
Cut yourself a big ole’ piece.
And help yourself to a bite.
The husband and I ate ALL of this in, like, two days. And I’m pretty darn proud of that.
Beefy Nacho Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 12 oz bag tortilla chips
- 1/2 c. butter - melted
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
- 1 medium yellow onion - diced
- 1 large red bell pepper - diced
- 1 large green bell pepper - diced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded pepperjack cheese
- 1 jar - 16 ounces medium-hot salsa
- 1 can - 2.2 ounces sliced black olives, drained (about ¼ cup)
- 3 large green onions - trimmed and sliced
- 1/4 c. chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place tortilla chips in a blender and pulse into fine crumbs. Pour in the melted butter and continue to pulse until well combined. Press into the bottom of a 13 x 9 baking dish. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, heat oil In large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, red peppers, green peppers, ground beef and garlic salt; cook, stirring to break up clumps of beef, until the peppers are soft and beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain off any excess fat from skillet.
- Pour the jar of salsa into a large bowl. Fold the cooked meat mixture, 1 cup of the cheddar cheese, ½ cup of pepperjack cheese, and olives into the salsa. Scrape entire mixture into the prepared crust. Sprinkle the remaining cheeses over the top.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle green onions and cilantro evenly over the top.
I don’t care if you call this Beefy Nacho Casserole, Beef Nacho Bake, Ground Beef Nacho Casserole, Easy Nacho Casserole, Nacho Beef Casserole, Mexican Nacho Casserole recipe, I am sure you will love it, no matter what you call it!
How much is a serving size for the nutritional values given? 1 cup, 2 cups, 1/2 cup?
Hi Laura, I don’t have the serving size in cups, 1 serving of this recipe is simply 1/6th of the casserole.
Love this recipe
Needed something new to make for taco Tuesday. Perfect 😋
This was easy and delicious ice made it twice in gone wk everyone loved it
Hi Donna,
Glad you loved this recipe, it always gets gone at our house too!
– Linda
Made this lastnight. Everyone was pleased. I did add a layer of refried beans between the crust and beef mixture. Will be making it again in the future.
I use a can of tomato sauce or pasta sauce and use corn tortillas instead of chips. Can then be layered like a lasagna casserole.