Cheesy, cornbread, taco… Yum!
On busy weeknights, having a casserole that we can throw in the oven saves a lot of time. The main parts of the Taco Cornbread Casserole come together quickly and then you can walk away while it bakes in the oven.
Plus, it combines two items our children absolutely love: fresh cornbread and tacos.
Built around a from-scratch pantry, this recipe uses items you already have on hand. No extra store trips or special ingredients. A great low-cost meal that will feed your entire family. And you won’t even have to spend the day in the kitchen.
Taco Cornbread Casserole starts with a skillet and a pound of ground beef. Add a little taco seasoning, corn, black beans, and tomatoes. Drop in a 13×9 baking dish, sprinkle with cheese, and pour the cornbread mix over. Bake for 30 minutes and dinners on.
Why you will love Taco Cornbread Casserole
Our family loves this dish and I think yours will too! In a world of boxed meals or complicated recipes, finding an easy meal that everyone will eat is never simple. Thankfully this recipe fits the bill while being cost effective for large families. Plus it stores well in the fridge making it great for leftovers the next day.
Easy on the wallet
This budget-friendly meal uses low cost ingredients that will work great in a from-scratch and healthy eating kitchen. The most expensive ingredient for us is ground beef running $4 a pound.
Based on average pricing of most ingredients in our area, a full 13×9 baking dish costs $11.67, making it only $1.66 per serving for each member of our family of 7.
Kid Friendly Meal
This dish ranks up there as one of our most requested meals. The kids will gladly eat it without complaints and it’s easy enough for our little ones to eat on their own.
The combination of fresh cornbread, yummy cheddar cheese, and good taco taste without all the junk makes it an easy win. Topped with fresh tomatoes, it makes this dish well rounded and filling.
Quick to make & clean up
Most of the hard work is handled by the oven. Other than browning the ground beef and making the cornbread mix, this whole meal gets dumped into a 13×9 baking dish. This leaves you with time while it bakes, and only a skillet (we recommend either a cast iron skillet or stainless steel skillet) & small mixing bowl to clean besides the baking dish.
Making Taco Cornbread Casserole in your kitchen
Three simple steps – Mix, Bake, Serve
Mixing the basics
Over medium heat, brown the ground beef and diced onion. Drain any extra grease and return the meat mix to the skillet. Add canned corn, tomatoes and beans. Return to the stove and heat everything together.
Meanwhile, mix the cornbread recipe in a small mixing bowl. If you buy block cheeses, grate your cheddar cheese.
Bake your dish
Pour the warmed meat mixture into a 13×9 glass baking dish. Sprinkle about half of the grated cheese over the mix. If desired, take a spoon and lightly mix the cheese into the meat mixture.
Evenly pour the cornbread mix across the top, spreading all the way to the corners and edges. Top with remaining cheese.
Bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cornbread comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
Serve in bowls
Using a serving spoon, serve in bowls. Add fresh chopped tomato, cilantro, lettuce, sour cream, and cheese if desired. Allow bowls to cool if serving this casserole to little kids as this dish tends to be very hot inside.
Connected Recipes
This recipe builds on two other recipes we have posted, and you will need to reference each of these during the cooking process.
Homemade Cornbread
The cornbread in Taco Cornbread Casserole is made from our homemade cornbread recipe, just poured over the pan of ingredients instead of an empty pan. Follow all the instructions up to that point, and then jump back to this recipe to finish it off.
Homemade Taco Seasoning
We have never been big fans of store-bought seasoning mixes. They just contain too much junk. Taco Cornbread Casserole uses a single batch of our taco seasoning recipe for flavor. Or make it easier by purchasing our Taco Seasoning Mix by the jar.
Optional Toppings
You can easily serve this recipe with nothing else. But a few ingredients will really bring this home and kick the Southwest flavors up a notch. Most of the time, our family eats it with no toppings at all, and it’s amazing all alone.
We recommend the following toppings if desired:
- Fresh Diced Tomatoes
- Grated Cheddar or Pepper Jack Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Lettuce
- Fresh Cilantro
- Salsa
Easy Taco Cornbread Casserole That Your Family Will Love
Course: DinnerCuisine: Southwest American20
minutes30
minutesA quick casserole that uses basic ingredients already in your from-scratch pantry. Fresh cornbread mixed with taco meat creates a nice southwest flavor everyone will enjoy.
Ingredients
1lb ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 can of diced tomatoes, lightly drained
1 can of corn, drained
1 can of black beans, drained & rinsed
Taco seasoning – see recipe
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
Cornbread batter – see recipe
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook ground beef & onion in large skillet over medium heat. Drain excess oil.
- Return ground beef to skillet, adding corn, beans, tomatoes, and taco seasoning. Continue cooking over medium heat until warm, then pour into 13×9 glass baking dish.
- Sprinkle with ½ the cheese and optionally stir into the meat mixture.
- Pour the cornbread batter over the meat & cheese mixture, spreading to corners in an even layer. Top with remaining cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until cornbread is done throughout and golden brown on top.
- Serve with sour cream, fresh tomatoes, lettuce, and additional cheese if desired.
Notes
- It’s important to keep the cornbread batter even to keep the baked bread from drying out or baking unevenly.
- Toppings are optional, and this dish tastes great without anything additional.
- The ingredients in this recipe are easy candidates for your From-Scratch Pantry.
