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Southwestern lasagna (enchilada casserole) is a comfort food dinner with ground beef, cheese and veggies layered between tortillas and baked to perfection.
I’ve got another easy dinner idea for you today— Southwestern Lasagna, aka Enchilada Casserole. It’s cool and rainy here today, and I’m in the mood for some serious comfort food! When you live in the desert, cool weather is always cause for celebration, especially after a long, hot summer.
Some people call this ground beef dinner an enchilada casserole or Mexican lasagna or layered enchilada casserole. Some even call it taco pie.
I’ve always called it Southwestern lasagna. And since it’s one of our favorite comfort food casseroles, I gave this older post a much needed update.
So whatever you call it, Southwestern lasagna enchilada casserole is just plain good!
Southwestern lasagna is super easy to prepare, and my family absolutely loves it. You can even prepare all of it or part of it ahead of time and heat it up when it’s time for dinner. Plus, it works well for leftovers!
I’ve made this dish with chicken and ground beef, and we like it both ways. It’s really like making easy enchiladas, only you don’t have to roll the tortillas up.
Think of it as enchiladas without the work!
How to make Southwestern Lasagna (Enchilada Casserole)
Basically, you brown the ground beef in a large skillet, and then you add the veggies. Then, you layer the ingredients in a baking dish between some flour tortillas, along with cheese and enchilada sauce.
I had two layers of meat and three layers of tortillas. It really is a lot like traditional lasagna.
The sauce will be absorbed as the dish cooks.
And for a bit of extra crunch, I add some crushed nacho chips to the top layer, right before the dish is ready. I don’t always do this, and it’s optional, but it just adds extra texture and flavor.
Then, I add a little bit more cheese — can’t have too much cheese in comfort food!
Of course, you can add as much cheese as you want, but this is just a guide. If you don’t like spicy food, you can always leave out the jalapenos. I like to serve this enchilada casserole dish with some shredded lettuce on the side and top it off with sour cream, diced tomatoes and extra jalapenos. Enjoy!
Looking for more enchilada style dinners?
- Enchilada chicken bake
- Instant Pot enchilada soup
- Instant Pot chicken enchilada pasta
- One pan creamy chicken enchilada pasta
- Crock-Pot enchilada chicken sliders
Recipe for Southwestern Lasagna (Enchilada Casserole)
Southwestern Lasagna Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 15-ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 cups shredded Mexican-style cheese or cheddar and Monterey
- 6 large flour tortillas
- 1 large can of enchilada sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large skillet, brown the ground beef, and drain fat, if necessary
- Add onion, pepper and jalapeno pepper, and cook until slightly soft.
- Season with sea salt, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika and pepper
- Stir in corn, and 1 cup of enchilada sauce, and cook until heated through. Remove from heat
- Grease the bottom of a 13X9 pan with cooking spray or olive oil, and then add some of the enchilada sauce to the bottom.
- Place 2 tortillas in pan over the enchilada sauce. The ends will overlap
- Add half of the meat mixture and 1 cup of cheese over the tortillas
- Place 2 more tortillas over the first layer, then add the remaining meat mixture and 1 cup of cheese over meat.
- Add last 2 tortillas, and spoon enchilada sauce over tortillas and around the sides. Top with remaining cheese, and bake for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese is completely melted.
- Remove from oven, and allow to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I hope you enjoy this easy Southwestern Lasagna enchilada casserole as much as we do!
How would I add rice? Cook it before?
You can use leftover rice or make rice to add to the casserole.
Made this yesterday, and it’s awesome! Makes great leftovers, too.
The leftovers are so good, right?! Thanks, Diana!
Great recipe! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday, your post is awesome. Hope you are having a great week and come back to see us soon!
Miz Helen
I need to try this immediately, it looks so good!
Made this last night and it was great!
Glad you liked it, James. Thanks! 🙂
Love this for lasagna night! Love trying new ways to eat a classic dish!
Oooh! I think we need to have regular lasagna nights! 🙂
This is one of my favorite meals!!
My family would eat this up! Looks so yummy!
Thanks, Jamielyn. It’s one of our favorite comfort food dinners!
Looks beautiful and tasty! Cannot wait to try this. This recipe looks incredible! Thank you.
Thanks! I hope you get a chance to try it
This recipe blows Taco Tuesday out of the water!! What a fun and tasty dish!