Tex Mex Lasagna

Nothing says love like a cheesy, flavorful lasagna. Am I right? Layers upon layers of noodles, taco meat, salsa, and cheese move this Tex Mex Lasagna to the top of your favorites list. When you want all the flavor of tacos in an easy hands-free baked dish, pull out a pan of this recipe from your freezer — I call that a quick win.

This freezer meal dish is a little different from our usual, in that we build it and freeze it right in the pan you will bake it and serve it in. How convenient is that? If you buy disposable baking pans, you can throw away the mess when you are done and have zero clean-up. While we don’t always love this less environmentally friendly approach — it’s perfect for those crazy days when everything feels out of control and exhaustion reigns.

Want more baked in the pan freezer meals for the insanity season? Try our Freezer Meal 101 Club for instant access to all of our recipes. If you enjoy Tex Mex flavors, you might also enjoy our One Pot Taco Spaghetti or Southern Style Ground Beef Casserole.

Tex Mex Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef, browned and cooled
• 3 Tbsp. taco seasoning
• 1/2 onion minced
• 4 oz. green chilies
• 10 oz. cheddar cheese soup
• 1 cup chunky salsa
• 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
• 1 box oven-ready lasagna noodles
• 1 9×13 foil tray or freezer safe casserole dish
• plastic wrap
• aluminum foil

How to Make Tex Mex Lasagna

Assembly Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine browned ground beef, onions, green chilies, soup, salsa and 1/2 cup of each of the cheeses.
2. Put a very thin layer of the sauce on the bottom of the 9×13 pan. Add one layer of lasagna noodles.
3. Lay 1/3 of the sauce, more noodles, 1/3 of the sauce, more noodles and then finish with remaining sauce.
4. Drizzle with 2/3 cup water.
5. Top with remaining cheeses.
6. Lay plastic wrap and then a layer of tin foil before freezing.

Cooking Instructions

1. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
2. Remove plastic wrap and replace tin foil.
3. Bake in preheated oven at 350°F for 50 minutes.

I can’t find oven-ready lasagna noodles. What do I do?

Depending on your location, these convenience noodles may be difficult to find at the local supermarket. You can buy them in bulk on Amazon if that’s your jam. If you want to go with what you have on hand, par-boil regular lasagna noodles until not quite al dente and then layer them in the pan just as the recipe describes.

Tex Mex Lasagna Recipe Ideas

You can buy inexpensive disposable baking pans at your local warehouse store, or stock up when the grocery store has the disposable pans discounted. If you have a smaller family, (1-3 people), you can split this recipe into three loaf pans, or two 8 x 8 pans instead of the 9 x 13 we recommend.

We recommended ground beef or the Mexican flavored veggie beef for this recipe. To avoid excess grease, I would recommend using 90/10 or 93/7 lean beef. Another option is to use a mild ground sausage in place of the ground beef. If you need to go lighter, try ground turkey or ground chicken.

Freshly minced cilantro is a nice finishing garnish.

Change the flavor and heat in the dish by adjusting the type of salsa used. You can go mild, medium, or hot. Pick a pureed salsa, a chunky salsa or even a green salsa.

If you really want to bump up the heat, add diced hot peppers in with the ground beef when you cook it or add red pepper flakes or ancho chili powder to the mix. A little bit of hot taco sauce will also help amp it up.

While we spelled out specific cheeses in the recipe, a Mexican cheese blend or mix of colby jack and cheddar would also work.

How do I store Tex Mex Lasagna?

Keep leftovers in the fridge for up to three days in an airtight container. Since the ground beef was already cooked before freezing it the first time, it should not be frozen a second time or kept in the fridge for more than a few days.

Microwave leftovers for 2-3 minutes and make sure the temperature reaches greater than 165ºF for food safety assurance.

What to Serve with Tex Mex Lasagna?

This delightful and comforting dish works perfectly on its own but can be served with sour cream, guacamole, and pico de gallo if you want to offer a choice of garnish.

A side of tortilla chips, sweet corn cake, or a light salad would be a nice touch. I often serve this with a simple avocado salad. It’s just diced avocados, fresh diced tomatoes, sliced green onions, lime juice, a splash of hot sauce, salt, and garlic.

A local Mexican restaurant recently started serving a fresh fruit salad alongside many of their entrees and it surprised me what a perfect light touch it was to finish off the meal. Toss a variety of fresh, washed, and cut fruit in a small amount of orange juice to make an amazing fruit salad and fast. We recommend any combination of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, banana slices, mandarin oranges, diced apples, kiwi and grapes.

Print

Tex Mex Lasagna

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

48 mins

Total Time

1 hr 10 mins

 

Servings: 6

Calories: 502 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb lean ground beef, browned and cooled
• 3 tbsp taco seasoning
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 4 oz green chilies
• 10 oz cheddar cheese soup
• 1 cup chunky salsa
• 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
• 1 box oven-ready lasagna noodles

Instructions

Assembly Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine browned ground beef, onions, green chilies, soup, salsa and 1/2 cup of each of the cheeses.

2. Put a very thin layer of the sauce on the bottom of the 9×13 pan.

3. Add one layer of lasagna noodles.

4. Lay 1/3 of the sauce, more noodles, 1/3 of the sauce, more noodles and then finish with remaining sauce.

5. Drizzle with 2/3 cup water.

6. Top with remaining cheeses.

7. Lay plastic wrap and then a layer of tin foil before freezing.

Cooking Instructions

1. Thaw in the fridge overnight.

2. Remove plastic wrap and replace tin foil.

3. Bake in preheated oven at 350°F for 50 minutes.