Last updated on May 7th, 2018 at 06:44 am
This Taco Lasagna is saucy, cheesy and delicious. Try this fun twist on your traditional lasagna with lots of Mexican flavors, yet still an easy weeknight and family-friendly meal.
One of my favorite foods are tacos, well pretty much anything Mexican. I would say it’s probably all the cheese, but really, there is not one thing about Mexican food, at least what I’ve tried so far that I don’t like. Another one of my favorite foods is lasagna, so putting these two together is a no brainer. It’s still cold here, and will be for so many more months to come, so I tend to steer towards comfort foods and a lasagna is about as comforting as you can get.
Ever since I discovered no boil noodles, I never looked back. Years ago, I used to shy away from making lasagna, as much as I love it, because it was such a pain to boil the noodles first, and I would always cook them too much until they broke or they would stick together. But I would make these elaborate lasagnas where the sauce would require half a day to cook because it had to be just right. No wonder I would only make lasagna once every couple of years. But not anymore.
You’re going to love the meaty sauce in this lasagna. I added an onion and a bell pepper, just so that I could say there are veggies in this, but I added taco sauce and enchilada sauce to the meat mixture to make it really saucy and super flavorful and it really worked. And because, to me, lasagna needs ricotta cheese, I created a ricotta cheese layer which of course makes this taco lasagna a bit more traditional but with a Mexican flare. Then because no lasagna is complete without a layer of cheese, I topped mine with a blend of Mexican cheese.
The end result, my friends, pure perfection. I may be biased here, but I’d say this was probably my favorite lasagna ever. And I did not slave over it for an entire day! Only took me a few minutes to make the sauce and half an hour in the oven. Did I mention I didn’t boil the noodles? Yeah, this lasagna will fool everyone into thinking you slaved all day in the kitchen, and let them think that! Care for a piece?
For more Mexican inspired recipes, give these a try:
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #jocooks on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!
Taco Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 7 oz taco sauce I used Club House (1 jar)
- 10 oz enchilada sauce (1 can)
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese I used Mexican blend
- 9 lasagna noodles no boil, (about half a package)
Toppings
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes chopped
- 2 green onions chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 avocado sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
- Add the ground beef to a large skillet and brown it over medium-high heat until it's no longer pink, breaking it up as you go along.
- Add the chopped onion and bell pepper to the skillet and let it cook for about 3 minutes, until the onion is translucent and the pepper is tender.
- Stir in the taco sauce and enchilada sauce and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
- In another medium size bowl, whisk together the ricotta cheese, egg and 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese.
- Start layering the lasagna in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Start with a layer of 3 lasagna noodles, then add 1/2 of the meat sauce over the noodles. Next add 3 more lasagna noodles, then spread the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Add 3 more lasagna noodles, then the remaining meat sauce. Top with the remaining 2 cups of cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until the cheese melts and gets bubbly and the noodles are cooked through.
- Let cool for about 10 minutes before slicing it then top with tomatoes, onions, cilantro and avocados.
Notes
Nutrition
I was looking for something quick and different to cook and came across the recipe on Instagram. It’s so delicious. I went for seconds my family loved and and they’re usually very picky.
I was curious about this at first but everybody loved it and now I am 4:4 recipes a hit! it was simple, tasty, familiar and delicious. Thank you
Great flavor! I actually nafe,two, I made a dairy free version as my sin has dairy allergies. One thing I’m,not happy with and it could be i missed missed something, but the noodels ate hardly done and Super dry.. I just had to put more sauce and cover it with foil and back in the oven it went. Hopefully the noodles will soften up. But overall great taste.
The problem could be the type of noodles you have. The ones that say “oven ready” shouldn’t have a problem with softening. Also, don’t be scared to add extra sauce between all the layers. Lots of sauce will cook any type of noodle.
Made it last night. It’s gone. Big, big flavor and so delicious.
Really want to make this! Where did you buy your Club House sauce? Thank you!
I bought it at Safeway.
This looks so delicious! I love anything Mexican as well! I think it’s the combination of cheesy and spicy with cool, creamy (sour cream) and fresh (pico de gallo). I can’t wait to try it!
Thanks, I have been looking for a recipe similar to this. I have had a difficult time finding a layered taco recipe that i like. Going to give this one a try. I just printed a coupon for enchilada sauce at https://frugalharbor.com/. Groceries are so high these days, and I like to save where I can.
Do give it a try as it is really different. Great you found the coupon and thanks for posting the link for others. A great way to save is to buy some ingredients and make a few different recipes with smaller portions and extra veggies and/or pasta and rice etc and that helps s-t-r-e-t-c-h out the week and use less.
Made this for dinner tonight after putting it off for a couple of weeks (just the idea of lasagna is intimidating sometimes). So so so worth the wait! Used an orange pepper instead of green, as I’m not a big fan of pepper and wanted the lighter flavor, and just used basic taco and enchilada sauce – nothing fancy. Ohmigosh. I’m in love. This will be going into the regular dinner rotation for sure!
That’s great, so glad you liked this. 🙂
Wonderful recipe! Made it yesterday only change I made was add black beans and since I couldn’t find the salsa you used I put taco seasoning and Pace mild salsa along with the enchilada sauce. Served sour cream and salsa Verde on the side.
My family loved it. And I did to and normally don’t like Lasagna!
This is my new go to recipe! Quick and easy!
Thank you Jo
So glad you tried making the taco lasagna and everyone liked it. We thought it was such a fun dish and so different from the usual italian lasagna. Thanks for posting your comment and being a part of the Jo Cooks community.
This looks so delicious and easy! Pinning to make soon. Thank you!
Thank you, Cheryl!
This would excellent with beef chiorzo. We have grass fed beef chiorzo at the store we frequent, it would put this recipe over the top! Thanks for the great ideas!
I’m making this for my 15 year old who is going to love me for it – so thank you!
I love this idea!
The only thing I see that is wrong with this recipe is you did not put any taco seasoning in the meat. That would really kick it over the top.
Hi Onita, you’re right, the only thing is the taco sauce I used had chipotle in it and it’s a very flavorful sauce, didn’t find it’s necessary. However, if you can’t find the same sauce I used, I strongly recommend using taco seasoning in this as well. I made a note in the recipe nots for people to know.