This easy loaded Burrito Casserole is the perfect weeknight dinner! It takes everything you love about a cheesy, beefy burrito and serves it up in casserole form. Quick, budget friendly, and feeds a small army – it checks all the right boxes!
There’s one thing that my entire family can agree on when it comes to dinner – and that’s our deep love for Tex-Mex flavors! Just like our taco pasta and easy taco casserole, this burrito casserole recipe traveled all the way from Texas with us on an old, beat-up index card. The beefy and cheesy filling is what really makes this casserole stand out. We mix the refried beans with sour cream to make that layer super creamy. Then we layer the flour tortillas and fillings together in a lasagna-like structure, for the perfect distribution of flavors in every bite. I might be drooling right now thinking about it!
What Makes This Burrito Casserole Recipe So Good?
- No Rolling Required: Instead of making individual burritos, you just layer everything in one dish – it’s so much easier!
- Feeds a Crowd: This hearty recipe makes six generous servings, but you can easily double it for parties or meal prep.
- Packed with Tex-Mex Flavor: Taco seasoned beef, zesty Rotel tomatoes and chiles, and shredded Mexican cheese come together perfectly in every bite!
- Rice Included: So many burrito casserole recipes skip the rice, but not ours! We use zesty cilantro lime rice, making it heartier like a real burrito.
Key Ingredients
Below you will find helpful notes for key ingredients used to make this loaded burrito casserole recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and exact amounts!
- Tortillas: To make this a burrito casserole, we use flour tortillas. If you prefer, corn tortillas can be used instead, but the end result will be more similar to our skillet enchiladas.
- Ground Beef: Feel free to swap this with ground turkey or ground chicken, if preferred.
- Jalapeños: For mild heat, remove the seeds before dicing the jalapeño, or leave the seeds in for double the heat! Want it extra spicy? Use Serranos instead. Need extra mild heat? Use a green bell pepper.
- Rotel: We typically just use original Rotel, but you can use mild, hot, or extra hot depending on your heat preferences.
- Taco Seasoning: We like to use our easy homemade taco seasoning recipe whenever we can for the very best flavor.
- Sour Cream: You can use plain Greek yogurt instead if you’d like.
- Cilantro Lime Rice: Yellow rice or white rice will also work, but our cilantro lime rice is so quick and easy to make and adds a ton of flavor! With that being said, you can always buy the store-bought stuff to save even more time.
- Shredded Mexican Cheese: Shredded pepper jack, cheddar, or Monterrey jack will also get the job done!
How to Make Loaded Burrito Casserole
Similar to our tamale pie, we skip all the hard work and load everything up into a casserole dish and let the oven do the work for you! Below is a quick recipe overview, but please scroll down to the recipe card for full instructions.
- Cook the Meat: Cook the ground beef along with the onions and jalapeños. Break it up as you go. Once it’s fully cooked, drain the excess grease. Mix in the Rotel and taco seasoning.
- Make the Beans Creamy: Mix the refried beans with sour cream. Honestly, this is what makes this casserole SO GOOD!
- Assemble: Spread half a cup of the meat mixture into the casserole dish. Lay tortillas over the meat. Spread the creamy beans on top of the tortillas, then about half of the meat mixture. Top with half the rice and a cup of cheese. Repeat these layers, finishing with the cheese on top.
- Bake: Cover the casserole dish with foil and bake for 30-minutes, until the cheese is hot and melted. You can bake it without the foil for about 20-minutes instead, but we have tested it both ways and prefer the final texture when baked under foil.
- Rest and Serve: Allow the casserole to rest for 5 minutes after baking to cool and for the layers to set up before slicing and serving. Serve it topped with all your favorite toppings… like homemade pico de gallo, sour cream, fresh cilantro, a scoop of our favorite easy guacamole recipe, or even some sliced black olives. You can also try it topped with crushed tortilla chips or Fritos, for an added crunch!
Cook’s Tips & Variations
- Black Beans: You can swap the creamy refried beans with black beans if preferred. Just note that the beans won’t be quite as creamy, but they’ll still be good!
- Make it Vegetarian: Skip the meat and load up on extra beans, sautéed bell peppers, sliced onions, and extra cheese.
- Try it with Shredded Pork: Mojo pork, or even bbq pulled pork, instead of ground beef gives it a whole new flavor twist!
- Make Ahead: Assemble the casserole up to 8 hours ahead, refrigerate, and bake when ready! We don’t recommend storing it for too long or the tortillas will become soggy.
Can I Prepare This Casserole in Advance?
You can assemble the casserole earlier in the day, refrigerate, and bake when ready. However, we recommend not doing it too far in advance or the flour tortillas will become soggy. You can also consider using corn tortillas instead as they will hold their texture better for longer.
Yield: 6 servings
Loaded Burrito Casserole
This loaded Burrito Casserole recipe combines everything you love about a cheesy, beefy burrito and serves it up in casserole form. Easy, budget friendly, and feeds a small army – it checks all the right boxes!
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 jalapeños, finely diced (seeds removed for less heat)
- 1 (10 oz) can Rotel, diced tomatoes and chilies
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 1 (16 oz) can refried beans
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 cups cilantro lime rice, or any cooked rice
- 3 cups shredded Mexican cheese
- 4 flour tortillas, cut into triangles
Optional Toppings
- sour cream, or Mexican crema
- pico de gallo
- guacamole, or diced avocado
- sliced black olives
- crushed tortilla chips, or frito chips, for added crunch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with non-stick spray and set aside.
- In a large skillet, brown the ground beef with the onion and jalapeños. Cook until no longer pink, about 5 to 6 minutes, making sure to break up the ground beef while it cooks. If there is excess grease, drain and discard. Add the Rotel and taco seasoning and simmer for 5 minutes more.
- In a bowl, mix the refried beans and sour cream together until well blended.
- Spread about a ½ cup of the meat mixture into the bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Next, lay half of the tortillas over the meat. Spoon half of the beans over the tortillas, then half of the remaining meat. Next, add half of the rice and top with 1 cup of cheese. Repeat the layers, starting with the tortillas, remaining beans, meat, rice, and top with remaining 2 cups of cheese.
- Bake the casserole covered with foil for 30 minutes, until hot and the cheese is melted. Spray the foil with non-stick spray to help keep the cheese on the casserole and not on the foil!
- Let the casserole rest for 5 to 10 minutes to cool and set up before cutting and serving. Serve garnished with all your favorite toppings!
Notes
- Store: This casserole is best served fresh as the tortillas will get soggy over time. However you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. We do not recommend freezing this dish as the texture will not hold up well.
- Reheat: Warm in the microwave in 30-second bursts or bake at 350°F until heated through.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving, Calories: 494kcal, Carbohydrates: 39g, Protein: 37g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 93mg, Sodium: 1147mg, Potassium: 495mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 694IU, Vitamin C: 12mg, Calcium: 748mg, Iron: 5mg
Our new favorite! 🤩 makes a big casserole so now we have leftovers for lunch.