Cheesy Taco Casserole

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Growing up in the Minnesota meant that I ate lots of casseroles growing up.  Except we called them “hot dishes”.  Since I’m no longer living in Minnesota I thought casserole was a more universal term than hot dish so the recipe title reflects casserole, even though in my heart, it will always be a hot dish to me.

Cheesy Taco Casserole with chips


Growing up, we needed hearty and warm food in our bellies to sustain us through those cold, long winters.  Hot dishes were the way to go.  Not to mention, they made planned leftovers, and were an inexpensive way to feed a family.

Cheesy Taco Casserole with chips

It wasn’t gogi berries and dulse flakes and locally grown avocados and lemon trees in the backyard where I grew up.

Cheesy Taco Casserole with chips

It was food like this.

This casserole reminds me of my mom’s weekly taco night and my grandma’s rice-based hot dishes.

Cheesy Taco Casserole with chips

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Cheesy Taco Casserole

2 c cooked rice (cook 1 c dry rice with 2 c water for a 2 c rice yield)

1 jar salsa (I used a 12 oz jar of salsa that was corn and bean based, not red sauce based.  Use something you like or have on hand)

optional: 1/2 c to 1 c diced veggies such as carrots, bell peppers, olives, mushrooms, onions (whatever you’d add to tacos)

optional: 1 can beans (red, black, pinto, etc.)

2 tbsp taco seasoning (about 1/2 packet of commercially prepared taco seasonings, or the whole packet if you want extra taco flavor)

1 c sour cream (8 oz)

2 c shredded cheese + 1/2 c

Directions:

After cooking the rice, combine all the other ingredients with the rice in a large bowl and stir until combined.  Pour mixture into a foil-lined 9 x 13 pan.  Sprinkle remaining 1/2 shreeded cheese on top.  Bake at 375F for approximately 35-40 minutes, or until cheese and the top is beginning to brown.  If you added extra beans, veggies, or your salsa was watery, this could lengthen cooking time.

Allow casserole to rest and cool for about 10 minutes to make slicing easier.

Yields: 12 hearty squares of casserole from the 9 x 13 pan.  Store leftovers in fridge or freeze squares in individual sized containers in the freezer for your a homemade, fast, “tv dinner”.

Notes: To make this vegan (and it’s already gluten-free)

For the sour cream, use a vegan/soy-based sour cream such as Follow Your Heart, or use a vegan/soy-based cream cheese such as Tofutti + splash of almond mik or water to thin it out.

For the shredded cheese, use a vegan cheese such as Follow Your Heart or Daiya.

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Cook the rice

Rice in pot

Add all ingredients into a bowl and stir to combine.

Peppery Sweet Corn Salsa jar

Carrots, corn, and cheese in green bowl

Press into a foil-lined 9 x 13 pan, and top with extra cheese before baking.

Cheesy casserole in pan

After baking….

Casserole baked in panCasserole baked in pan

…Garnish with sour cream and a bit more cheese, and serve with your favorite chips, if desired.

Cheezy Casserole with chips

It combines flavors of my childhood into an easy meal.

Cheezy Casserole with chips

And Scott and Skylar raved about it. 

Then again, anything with cheese and real sour cream is off to a good start, right?

Cheezy Casserole with chips

Cheezy Casserole with chips

Planned leftovers save the day.  Refrigerate or freeze, as I suggested in the recipe portion, for a hectic workweek meal option to have on hand.

Cheezy Casserole in pan

Cheezy Casserole in pan

Cheezy Casserole with chips

From my last posts, a big thank you to everyone who continues to wish us a Happy 10 Year Anniversary.  I am blown away by how many of you have commented and how touching your comments are.  Thank you.

And, thanks for congratulating me on being featured in Women’s Health Magazine.  I am pretty excited about that one!

Questions:

1. Did you grow up eating casseroles or hot dishes?

Oh, you know I did!

Cheap, easy, leftovers, can make in advance.  They were a mom’s best friend.  I understand that all better now that I’m a working mom.

2. Any favorite casserole recipes or go-to dishes that are your salvation for when you’re busy?

I’m all ears!  (One or two links, max, or your comment will go into moderation.)

3.  Best thing you’re eaten or done over the weekend?

Getting to Aruba, celebrating my 10 year anniversary, and being featured in a magazineIt’s been a great weekend for me!

P.S. If you’re just catching up on posts, here are mine since Friday:

About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

Comments

  1. This looks so great! I can’t wait to make it!

    PS. Are you in Aruba yet? If you are, is it amazing?!

    1. yes we’re here…did you catch my last post before this one? I posted about it :) And yes, its amazing. We have a house here we love it so much!

  2. The casserole looks great, awesome job!

    1. Growing up in the bay area of California, we called them casseroles and my mom had a few regulars she made – my favorite was a creamy tuna spinach one that used cream of mushroom soup.
    2. At the moment no, lentil stews and huge salads seem to be my busy night faves/
    3. Ate way too much avocado mousse at a baby shower. :-)

  3. I used to make the most delicious hash brown casserole. I got the recipe from my friend while I was living in Tennessee. I used to make it for work potlucks and church functions. My friends and family still rave about it. I haven’t tried to veganize it yet.

    1. Im sure you could, easily. Just sub in/out for the likely sour cream/cream cheese with soy-based and if there’s egg in in, flax eggs, etc…it sounds like great comfort food!

  4. My fiancee is from central Minnesota and his favorite comfort food is the hot dish he and his dad used to make. I had no idea hot dish referred to all casseroles!

    1. well every hot dish has a name, like hamburger and rice hotdish, or hot dog and rice hotdish, or tune noodle hotdish..all that can be called “casserole” at the end, but Minnesotans call them hot dishes :)

  5. 1.YES! my grandmother lived in the south, sour cream and mayo were her middle names
    2. my go-to is http://hautetotsbos.com/2011/04/26/hummus-recipe-whole-foods-and-hey-who-stole-my-shopping-list/ takes two seconds and i can eat a bucket of it.
    3. the best thing about my weekend was taking some kids(with my own) to boston who had never been + experiencing it through a child’s eyes. and today im off to a pet fest in the park with my fur child. sunday funday:D enjoy!!

  6. This sounds SO good!! I need a sub for the sour cream though… hmmmmmm

    Your pictures are GORGEOUS! Better every day! I hope you give us more tips one day!!

    1. isnt there soybased sour cream?

      or just use tofutti cream cheese, i know that’s soy based. it will work just fine…thin with a little extra water or nut milk if it’s uber thick but you’ll be good to go with that. sort of a failproof recipe, id say.

      thanks for the pic taking compliments. secrets? TAKE TONS!! of pics. play with composition, lighting, props and spend hours doing it. no shortcuts, just practice is what’s worked best for me…and i still learn daily. and shooting this food was HARD. It’s hard to make “comfort food” look pretty and not a big sloppy mess!

  7. This casserole looks delicious…we’ll be adding some sliced avocado to the plate!

    1. i made this in san diego right AFTER i finished all your avo’s but had i had any left, you KNOW i would have added them to this!

  8. That looks SO GOOD!!

    I grw up in an Italian household; our casseroles were only baked zit or lasagna, lol. Never had a tuna casserole or Mexican food until my 20s. I was sheltered, haha. There are still many American foods I have never had in my life…. Like Manwich, spam, green bean casserole, etc. Probably for the best!

    1. manwich…it’s actually vegan! the can of stuff is. i added it to lentils and it was soo good! :) i could eat it with a spoon…very few savory foods do that to me. but i love manwich! haha!

  9. my mom was never really the cassarole type person…she cooked more family style dinners like roasted chicken with a bunch of sides…I do remember that sunday was make your own pizza night! We each had boboli pizzas and we covered them in whatever toppings we could find LOL…she also made a KILLER ziti, but I would say that was the one memorable ‘cassole’ like dish…I think she is not a huge fan of cassaroles, so she just never made them! that one looks DARN good…doesn’t mean I dont like ’em :)

  10. THIS LOOKS SO GOOD! And from now on, in honor of you, I will forever call casseroles ‘hot dishes’! Sometimes nothing satisfies like a piping hot, cheesy, creamy bowl of yummy casserole/hot dish goodness. I was wondering what to make for dinner, now I think I know! Thanks love.

    1. “piping hot, cheesy, creamy bowl of yummy casserole/hot dish goodness”- you got that right. i made this in san diego when it was chilly out. not really aruba food. lol

  11. My mom used to make us tuna noodle casserole (or tuna nuna casserole as my sister and I called it). It was a box of pasta combined with a can of campbell’s cream of mushroom soup and a can of tuna. So simple to make and we loved it, though I’m sure it wouldn’t fly these days!

    1. your mom and mine have the same recipes…can of campbells mushroom was a staple in tons of things!

  12. Congrats on the Women’s Health magazine feature, that’s awesome :D
    That casserole looks really yummy actually. I have to admit I love stuff like that. Before my daughter was born I made a few casseroles and froze them but they were more noodle based. We especially like baked ziti. I don’t have a link but they’re all fairly similar I think.
    My sister in law who’s staying over this weekend and I made strawberry rhubarb crisp and rhubarb cupcakes yesterday with rhubarb from our farmers market :D The crisp was amazing and the cupcakes were really good too. We had so much fun in the kitchen together. I can’t wait to do it again :D

    1. keep the casserole, i want strawberry rhubarb crisp and rhubarb cupcakes! YES!

  13. Oh yes, I used to love Taco Pie casserole back in the day :)

    Went to a REALLY fun party last night!!

  14. You know I grew up eating Hot Dish. I love thinking about potlucks at school where there were a million different ones to choose from!

    I have always loved tater tot hot dish — super unhealthy and loaded with calories but so good. Layered with ground beef, corn, cheese, sour cream, veggies and topped with tater tots.