Name: Walking Taco Casserole (With Doritos)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 # ground beef; 1 cup yellow onion (chopped); 1 15 oz. can black beans (drained & rinsed); 1 4 oz. can chopped green chiles; 1 cup salsa; 1 packet taco seasoning (1 oz. ); 1 9.25 oz. bag nacho cheese tortilla chips, Doritos (crushed, about 3 cups); 2 cups Colby jack cheese (shredded)

This walking taco casserole is a layered bake featuring nacho cheese tortilla chips (Doritos) along with everything you love about tacos all in one pan! It’s a quick & easy dinner recipe that is on your table in 30 minutes.

Walking taco casserole in white baking dish with shredded lettuce, diced tomato and 2 dollops of sour cream on top. Dish is sitting on wicker placemat with halved avocado in the corner.

What Is A Walking Taco?

If you’ve ever been to a kid’s birthday party, graduation party or school sports concession stand in the midwest, you’ve probably tried a walking taco.

All the goodness of Mexican tacos like seasoned ground beef, beans, cheese, are piled into a personal-sized bag of crushed tortilla chips and topped with veggies, sour cream and salsa. They are a delicious and portable meal that both kids and adults love!

While the idea of being portable is convenient, walking tacos in casserole form is a great option for a weeknight meal at home. It contains all the components of tacos that you love, all in one pan!

Ingredient Notes

What you’ll need for this recipe:

Ground beef – Any kind will do. You will drain any excess grease after cooking.
Black beans – A second form of protein in this casserole. I love having beans with my Mexican food, so I like the combo of both meat and beans in here.
Salsa – Homemade or store-bought is fine. You choose the level of spice.
Taco seasoning – I’ve made my own, but most time the packet at the grocery store is just too easy to pass up.
Doritos – Or any brand equivalent of nacho cheese tortilla chips. I prefer using these instead of corn chips, or Fritos, as they have more flavor.
Toppings – Any veggies or other toppings you’d put on a taco can be used. Find a list of suggested toppings further down in this post.

Ingredients laid out on marble countertop for casserole.

How to Make Walking Taco Casserole

Make the meat filling – Combine cooked ground beef and onion with black beans, green chiles, salsa and taco seasoning. Stir well to combine and heat for a couple minutes until everything is heated through.

Layer – Start with placing half the crushed chips in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Evenly add half of the meat mixture followed by half the shredded cheese.

The easiest way to crush the chips is to open the bag and use your hands to crush all the chips inside. Good way to get some aggression out!

crushed nacho chips in a white 9x13 baking dish.

Beef and black bean mixture spread out on top of first layer of crushed chips.

Shredded Colby jack cheese on casserole.

Repeat – Use second half of chips, meat mixture and shredded cheese to finish assembling the casserole.

Second layer of crushed nacho cheese tortilla chips on casserole.

Second layer of beef and black bean mixture on top of casserole.

Second layer of shredded cheese on top of casserole.

Bake – At 350 degrees for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serving Tips

I like to top the casserole with veggie toppings and leave any sauces for people to add themselves. How perfect would this recipe be for Cinco de Mayo party?

You could also leave the veggies on the side of everyone to customize their own. Some topping ideas include:

Shredded lettuce
Diced tomato
Avocado
Black olives
Jalapeno slices
Cilantro
Pico de gallo
Sour cream
Taco sauce
Guacamole
More salsa
Queso

Recipe Variations

The best thing about this taco bake is how customizable it is. Here are some ideas to cater to many different dietary and taste preferences:

Double the ground beef for an all-meat recipe or sub in ground turkey or chicken!
To make a vegetarian dish, use 2 cans of either pinto, black beans or canned corn.
Make your own taco seasoning to adjust the spice and sodium levels to your needs.
Use a spicier salsa or a specialty one like salsa verde.
Cheddar, Monterrey Jack, pepper jack or a “Mexican” blend cheese are other cheese options.
Although there may be cross-contamination during manufacturing, brand name Doritos do not contain gluten. Use certified gluten-free tortilla chips if gluten is an issue.

The possibilities are endless!

Black spoon scooping a spoonful of casserole out of baking dish.

Storage Tips

If you are serving fewer people and assume you’ll have leftovers, leave a section of the casserole free of any toppings and store them separate for another time . Leftover taco bake can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

The casserole can easily be reheated in the microwave and then topped with your desired toppings. The chips will be slightly soggier when reheated, but overall, the leftovers are just as good!

I would not recommend freezing the casserole, but you could make and freeze the meat & bean mixture and thaw before assembling.

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