Quick Taco Bake with Doritos
This Quick Taco Bake with Doritos will become a fast favorite in your household. Anything taco-flavored is a winner in my house, especially with my Homemade Taco Seasoning. I don’t know about you but when all my family members eat the same dinner, I win the Mom of the Year Award (maybe Mom of the Day…but I’ll take it!).
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What You’ll Need:
- 10-inch cast iron – I love using cast irons for cooking! This recipe it versatile though so if you don’t want to use a cast iron you can use a 9×13 or a 7×11 rectangular dish. Just make sure to adjust the cooking time if you use a larger dish as the ingredients will be spread thinner and will heat a bit faster.
- crescent rolls – You can grab a can of your favorite crescent rolls or make them yourself. Either way, the crescent roll crust is one of my favorite parts about this quick taco bake with Doritos.
- 1 lb ground beef – I love to batch-cook ground beef for quicker meal prep. Buying from local farmers is my favorite way to support small businesses and ensure that our food is being processed properly.
- 8 oz tomato sauce – garden fresh tomato sauce that’s canned at home is definitely the go-to for me
- 15 oz diced tomatoes – anytime I can use something that I canned at home I know I am adding that much more nutrients to my family’s diet and my hard gardening work is paying off! Save my Diced Tomato Canning Recipe for later.
- 2-3 tbsp Taco Seasoning or one packet – I love customizing my own seasonings. Taco seasoning is the first one I ever tried and I haven’t gone back since.
- 8 oz sour cream
- 1.5 cups shredded cheese
- Doritos or other chips – I know I know, I usually go with pretty healthy recipes around here and Doritos don’t really fit but we do sometimes have unhealthy things *gasp* We love Doritos and once in awhile we eat them! I haven’t found an alternative that we like so if you have one then please tell me in the comments.
Quick Taco Bake with Doritos Recipe Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Brown 1lb of ground beef or turkey until it is cooked through. Add 2-3 tbsp (or one packet) of taco seasoning, homemade if possible. Stir in 8oz of tomato sauce and about 15 oz off diced tomatoes. Stir until combined and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Some of the water from the sauce should evaporate, thickening the sauce.
Unroll crescent roll dough into the bottom of a prepared pan or cast iron. This recipe is very flexible so you can use a 9×13 or 11×7 rectangular pan or a 10-inch cast iron. Cover the bottom of the pan with crescent rolls and press it into the bottom.
Place the ground meat mixture on the dough. Spread out the sour cream layer and top with cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is browned. Top with crushed Doritos (or other nacho cheesy chips).
I have tried baking the Doritos into the dish, but they tend to get burned and too crispy, so I opt to add them at the end and use them as a scoop to eat the casserole with when it’s done!
More Taco Recipes
We really love recipes that I can use my favorite Taco Seasoning Recipe for. I love that it is customizable and doesn’t contain all the preservatives in it. You can make it spicey or milder based on your family’s tastebuds! Here are some other recipes to try it with:
How to Batch Cook Taco Meat – Meal Prepping Tips
Taco meat, or plain ground beef in general, is such an easy thing to start with if you’re new to batch cooking or meal prepping. Start with 3-5 lbs of ground beef and a little olive oil. Depending on how big your skillet is, you may need to brown the meat in a few different batches.
I have a Large 15-inch Cast Iron that I love to use for meal-prepping ground beef because I can brown a lot of it at once. Honestly, I don’t use this cast iron very often because it is huge but it is really convenient if you have a large cooking surface and big meals to make.
When I batch cook ground beef I use a FoodSaver and the 11-inch bags to vacuum seal the food. I use a really old model that has long been updated, so they definitely last a long time. It is essential for keeping food good for longer in the freezer. If you plan on using your taco meat fairly soon after freezer you can just put it in large zip lock bags, but for long-term storage, I recommend a vacuum sealer. Nobody wants to go through all that work and then have freezer burn on their food, am I right?
Storing in Plastic vs Glass
I don’t love keeping my food in plastic, which is why I prefer canning or storing in glass, but sometimes I do use these plastic bags to vacuum seal for the freezer. Something I don’t do with my vacuum-sealed food is boil it in the bag. A lot of people recommend this because it is so convenient (and it is) but I don’t want to heat my food up in plastic and increase the amount of contaminants in it. So, I opt to cut it out of the bag and heat it in a safer way. I know, I know, it’s super easy to toss the whole frozen bag of taco meat into boiling water and watch it magically thaw, but it’s not worth it to me.
If you’re making Taco Chili with your pre-cooked taco meat, you can toss it into the crock pot frozen and don’t have to worry about thawing at all. That’s a win-win.
FAQs for this Taco Bake Casserole
What are good Side Dishes for Taco Bake?
This casserole dish works great on it’s own but if you want to add some sides here are a few ideas:
- Corn & Black Bean Salad
- Mexican Rice
- Corn on the Cob
- Lime and Avocado Salad
- Grilled Veggies
- Jalapeno Cornbread
How can I make Taco Bake Vegetarian?
You can replace the ground meat with substitutes from Beyond Meat or Impossible Foods. They good and taste similar to real ground meats. You can also replace the meat with lentils or quinoa and ramp up the veggies in the recipe to make it more substantial. Make sure your seasonings are great so your dish is a yummy tacoy flavor.
Taco Bake for a Pot Luck
This is a great dish for a pot luck! It is easy to make and will be a crowd-pleaser. You can serve it with crushed chips on top or with whole Doritos or tortilla chips along with salsa in case anyone wants to make their taco bake a little more spicy.
How to make this Quick Taco Bake with Doritos Spicier?
I’m not a huge fan of spicy food so my taco seasoning and taco recipes aren’t filled with a lot of heat. To make this spicier, replace the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes with spicy salsa! Add peppers and hotter seasonings to your taco seasoning and you will love the added kick.
Taco Bake with Doritos
Equipment
- 10 inch Cast Iron or other baking dish
Ingredients
- crescent rolls
- 1 lb ground beef
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 15 oz diced tomatoes
- 2-3 tbsp taco seasoning or one packet
- 8 oz sour cream
- 1.5 cups shredded cheese
- doritos or other nacho chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Brown ground meat until it is cooked through.
- Add taco seasoning, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes. Stir until combined and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Some of the water from the sauce should evaporate, thickening the sauce.
- Unroll crescent roll dough into the bottom of a prepared pan or cast iron. This recipe is very flexible so you can use a 9×13 or 11×7 rectangular pan or a 10-inch cast iron. Cover the bottom of the pan with crescent rolls and press it to the bottom.
- Put the ground beef mixture on the dough. Spread the sour cream over the ground beef mixture. Top with cheese.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, until sauce is bubbly and cheese is browned.
- Top with crushed Doritos (or other nacho cheesy chips)
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