All of your taco favorites combined into one healthy and comforting beef taco casserole! Made with just 10 simple ingredients, this taco casserole recipe is great for a satisfying meal, meal prep, and is also paleo and Whole30 approved!
Who else is a fan of casserole?!
To be honest, I don’t think I really knew what a casserole was until I really started getting into cooking a handful of years ago! I grew up in the northeast and my mom never really made them growing up.
But I now love them! They make a hearty and cozy meal all packed into one big baking dish. So today I’m taking one of our favorite meals (tacos!) and sharing a paleo and Whole30 approved beef taco casserole!
We love this casserole because:
- it’s made from only 10 simple ingredients
- is a good balance of protein, carbs, and fat for a balanced meal
- makes a decent amount so we usually have leftovers and/or is great for meal prep! You can totally double the recipe if you are feeding a larger family though.
- it’s easy to make
How to make taco casserole
The beauty of casseroles is you literally mix all the ingredients together, place them in a large baking dish, and bake until all the flavors are melded together. It usually has some kind of binding agent to help it hold together. This does just that, and you only need less than 10 simple ingredients!
Beef taco casserole ingredients:
- ground beef – I suggest 93/7 or leaner
- yellow onion
- bell peppers
- kale
- cherry tomatoes
- sweet potato noodles
- taco seasoning
- salsa
- mayo
- salt & pepper
First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a large baking dish.
Next, heat up a large saute pan (it needs to be large), add beef and cook for 3-4 minutes until slightly browned. Then add the onion and 1/2 tablespoon taco seasoning and sauté for 2 more minutes.
Next, add peppers, kale, remaining taco seasoning, and salt and pepper and sauté for 3-4 more minutes. Turn off heat and mix in raw sweet potato noodles and cherry tomatoes. Transfer mixture to the baking dish, leaving behind the grease.
In a small bowl, mix together 1 cup salsa and mayo. Pour over sweet potato and beef mixture, evenly distributing. Use a fork to make sure it is evenly spread throughout the casserole. Top the casserole with the remaining 1/4 cup salsa and bake for 35 minutes until firm and crispy on the top.
Let rest for at least 5 minutes to firm up. Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy! I love topping it with avocado, more salsa, cilantro, and hot sauce, but whatever you like will work!
If you find it a little runny (more on that below), you can eat it out of a bowl!
Can I use different meat?
Yes, any meat will really work! You can substitute ground chicken or ground turkey, which will make the recipe lower in fat. I think even shredded chicken will work just fine. This will save you a step as you won’t have to cook shredded chicken beforehand.
Do I have to use sweet potato noodles?
Others have tried this Whole30 casserole and have used diced or shredded sweet potatoes and it works just the same (check out the comments)! If dicing, make sure they are small enough so they cook through in the oven. You can also use already cooked diced sweet potatoes too.
To make it low carb
To make this taco casserole lower-carb and keto-friendly, swap our sweet potato noodles for zucchini noodles. You will have to be mindful of the water they release when cooking though, as it could make the end result a little more watery than with using sweet potato noodles.
You could also try hearts of palm pasta which would work great!
How to meal prep
Ground beef taco casserole is a great dish to prep ahead of time or meal prep for the week! Depending on how much prep you want to do, you can either meal prep it all or just a few components. Here are a few suggestions for prepping and storage:
- partial prep – first make the beef and veggie mixture and store it in the fridge. I would suggest leaving out the cherry tomatoes until you are ready to bake. Next, mix together the mayo and salsa and store it in a glass jar in the fridge. Then, when you are ready to assemble, just put it in a large glass baking dish, mix everything together, and bake.
- full prep – just follow the directions as written. After it bakes and you let it cool, store it in the fridge for a quick meal during the week.
- storage – allow to completely cool and either cover the dish you baked it in with saran wrap or move to a resealable glass dish. To heat it up, pop it back in the oven or in the microwave until warmed through.
How long with it last in the fridge?
Taco casserole will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge in a tightly sealed glass dish.
Can you freeze beef taco casserole?
Yes! Depending on how you want to serve it, you can freeze two different ways:
- Bake the whole casserole per the instructions and allow it to cool completely. Freeze in the same dish you baked it in. You will need to defrost the whole casserole when you are ready to eat, but makes a great option for an easy meal in advance. To reheat, let defrost and bake in the oven until warmed through.
- Bake it and then cut it into serving portions and freeze them individually. To do this, wrap them individually in foil or saran wrap, or you can freeze them in individual glass containers. Then, just defrost each serving in the fridge when you are ready to eat. To reheat, you can either put it in the microwave for a quick option or bake it in the oven until warmed through.
You can freeze it for up to 3 months.
Tips to avoid a runny casserole
A few factors play into how this casserole will turn out. The goal for it is to stay together and not be runny. You will have a little excess liquid, but don’t want too much.
- To avoid a runny beef taco casserole, try to use chunky salsa. If it has too much liquid, it will transfer over when you bake it. If you can only find a more liquid salsa, add more mayo for a binder.
- Make sure you drain all the liquid/fat from the beef before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients. And I mean all of it! I use a slotted spoon and shook it a little when transferring it over.
- Use a leaner cut of ground beef if you can. I like 93/7 for this recipe. Too much fat will cause too much grease when baking.
Substitutions for beef taco casserole
This taco casserole recipe is super customizable. Here are some substitutions you could try:
- beef – you can use any kind of ground meat you like
- sweet potato noodles – zucchini noodles or hearts of palm will work for a lower carb option
- kale – spinach will work instead
- mayo – I haven’t tried it, but I think greek yogurt would work instead. This will up the protein content as well! If using greek yogurt, the recipe will no longer be Whole30 approved or paleo.
- taco seasoning – honestly, to change up the favors, you can use can seasoning you like!
More healthy casserole recipes
- Buffalo Chicken Casserole
- Ground Turkey Spaghetti Squash Casserole (Paleo/Whole30)
- Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole
- Chicken Fajita Casserole
- Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole (Paleo/Whole30)
Beef Taco Casserole (Paleo/Whole30)
ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef (I like 93/7 or leaner)
- 1 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced (185 grams/about 1/2 large)
- 2 large bell peppers, diced (400 grams/4 cups)
- 3 packed cups kale, roughly chopped (90 grams)
- 4 packed cups raw sweet potato noodles (300 grams)
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved (300 grams)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning (divided)
- 1 1/4 cup salsa, divided
- 1/2 cup mayo
- salt and pepper, to taste
- optional toppings: avocado, cilantro, salsa, hot sauce...
instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a large baking dish.
- In a large sauté pan (it needs to be large), add beef and cook for 3-4 minutes until slightly browned. Add onion and 1/2 tablespoon taco seasoning and sauté for 2 more minutes. Add peppers, kale, remaining taco seasoning, and salt and pepper and sauté for 3-4 more minutes.
- Turn off heat and mix in raw sweet potato noodles and cherry tomatoes. Transfer mixture to the baking dish, making sure to leave behind the grease (as much as possible).
- In a small bowl, mix together 1 cup salsa and mayo. Pour over sweet potato and beef mixture, evenly distributing. Use a fork to make sure it is evenly spread throughout the casserole.
- Top with the remaining 1/4 cup salsa, evenly distributing over the casserole, and bake for 35 minutes until firm and crispy on the top. Let rest for 5 minutes to firm up some more. Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
nutrition
Recipe by Kelly Nardo, Eat the Gains | Photography by The Mindful Hapa
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Melissa Acker says
Not entirely sure how this recipe doesn’t have a full five stars from everyone. My hobby is making meals from food bloggers who dedicate their lives to creating awesome recipes and this one hands down takes the cake for best recipe I have ever made! It’s creative, it’s insanely easy to make, so nourishing and the best part, my boyfriend loves it just as much as I do! This is a staple in our household and we can’t thank you enough for sharing your genius with us! I can tell you right now we wouldn’t be so well fed without you!
Kelly says
Well this is the best comment ever! Thank you so much Melissa and I’m so glad you enjoyed it! THANK YOU for trying it!
Allie says
This sounded amazing, but I was surprised to learn it was even better than it sounded, Ive already recommended to all my friends. We had ours with tostitos for a little added crunch. As an added bonus, my genius husband added a fried egg and salsa one morning and it was all of a sudden a delicious breakfast taco bowl. We WILL be making this again!
Kelly says
Haha yay! Love the addition of Tostitos to it and a fried egg!! So glad you guys liked it and thanks for trying!
Julie Kemp says
OBSESSED. So easy and my husband loved it. Our grocery was out of SP noodles so we subbed in carrot noodles, which worked great. We will prob add this to our weekly rotation of recipes 😅 was also amazing as leftovers!!
Kelly says
Love the carrot noodle sub! So glad you everyone liked it Julie and thanks for trying!!
Jo says
This recipe is very simple but so tasty. My family couldn’t stop commenting about how delicious it was. I made my own sweet potato noodles as pre-packaged noodles aren’t something I can get in my town but they’re simple enough to make with a vegetable spiralizer. I also used a homemade Whole30 compliant tomato sauce instead of salsa as I had some in the fridge to use up. But other than that, I stuck to the recipe. It’s a recipe that is going into our family recipe folder so we can make it again.
Kelly says
Aw yay, I love hearing the whole family loved it! Love that you made it work for you too. Glad you guys enjoyed it and thank you for trying it!
Amber Orman Pugh says
So yummy! I can do much cheese/ dairy due to a milk allergy- this recipe doesn’t even need it!
Kelly says
Yay, so glad you like it Amber! Thanks for trying it!
Molly says
What type of salsa did you use?
Kelly says
Hey Molly, I don’t recall off the top of my head, but any kind you like should work. Just make sure it is Whole30 compliant if you are on the Whole30.
Jenna says
I have made this recipe over and over and over because it it that good!! I even got my mom hooked on the recipe! I slightly altered it to fit with what was in my fridge and my favorite is adding in some zoodles (cooked first and drained well) and using chipotle lime mayo. I always make this during a whole30 and make is frequently when not doing W30!! Thanks for the flavorful meal!
Kelly says
OMG chipotle lime mayo!? That sounds so good! Love that you add veggies and make it your own too! So glad you like it Jenna!
Karissa Hall says
Could cauliflower rice be used as a substitute to the noodles?
Kelly says
Hi Karissa! I think so, but I’m not sure how much you would need. You could also sub a different kind of noodle if needed. Let me know if you try it!