Chef notes
This delicious dish is everything you love in a taco. Every meaty, cheesy, and bean-filled bite will burst in your mouth and deliver finger-lickin’-good Tex-Mex flavors. Each spoonful can be loaded and layered with extra toppings, such as sliced black olives and jalapeños, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, salsa, guacamole, sliced scallions, a dollop of Greek yogurt or light sour cream … the garnish options are endless. This casserole is definitely something to taco 'bout!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey (90-94% lean)
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 2 cups salsa (mild or spicy)
- 1 can (16 ounces) black beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1 can (16 ounces) corn (rinsed and drained)
- 4 ounces tortilla chips
- 2-2½ cups shredded Mexican blend or sharp cheddar cheese
- optional sides and toppings: sliced black olives and jalapenos, chopped lettuce, chopped tomatoes, extra salsa, guacamole, sliced scallions, chopped cilantro, light sour cream or Greek yogurt
Preparation
1.Preheat oven to 375 F. Mist a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish with nonstick oil spray and set aside.
2.Coat a large, wide skillet with nonstick olive oil spray (or add 1 tablespoon bottled olive oil) and warm over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey and cook until no pink spots remain, crumbling the meat into small pieces with a spatula or wooden spoon as it cooks. Add the taco seasoning packet, salsa, black beans and corn. Mix and simmer over the heat until everything is well-combined and warmed through.
3.Add a layer of tortilla chips to the base of the casserole dish and layer meat mixture on top.
4.Sprinkle 1 cup shredded cheese over the top, along with optional jalapeños and olives.
5.Layer on the remaining tortilla chips (slightly crush them up or you can use broken-up hard taco shells) and sprinkle on remaining cheese evenly over the top.
6.Add optional scallions, additional olives and jalapeños.
7.Bake in oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese is super melty and the edges of tortilla chips become lightly browned and toasty.
8.Garnish with anything you like: cilantro, drops of hot sauce over the top, anything goes. Serve with side bowls of shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, salsa, guacamole, light sour cream or Greek yogurt, additional hot sauce, scallions and jalapeños.
