This Cornbread Taco Casserole is made with simple ingredients like canned vegetables, cornbread mix, and ground beef or turkey. The casserole base is saucy, flavorful, and topped with fluffy cornbread! It’s a quick dinner the whole family will love – and it makes a great freezer meal!
This post is sponsored by Ello! All opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that make Blue Bowl possible!
Here’s what you need to make this casserole:
- Ground Beef or Turkey
- Corn (canned, frozen, or fresh)
- Canned Black Beans
- Canned Tomatoes
- Bell Pepper
- Onion
- Cheese
- Taco seasonings like Chili Powder, Cumin, Paprika, & Garlic Powder
- Salt + Pepper
This recipe is flexible so you can certainly add or omit things based on your preferences and what you have on hand!
This casserole comes together in a flash! First, cook your ground beef, then drain excess grease and set it aside. Next, sauté your onion and bell pepper. Stir the cooked beef (or turkey) back in, and add in the tomatoes. Simmer this for about 10 minutes to keep softening up that bell pepper!
Last, stir in the black beans, corn, and cheese. Spray an Ello DuraGlass 8×8 Baking Dish with nonstick spray and spread the casserole mixture into the pan evenly. These containers from Ello are amazing for dishes like this – they have lids that snap on extra securely (so those precious leftovers won’t dry out!), and they’re oven-safe, and freezer-safe!
Top the casserole with boxed cornbread mix (trust me – it’s SO, SO good!), and bake this up for about 15-20 minutes.
Top it with whatever assortment of toppers you can find in your fridge! We had some sad, half-eaten veggies in the back of the fridge that I gave new life to by throwing them on top of this casserole, along with a dollop of sour cream.
I know this casserole doesn’t seem fancy, but sometimes that’s just what we need. A simple meal that’s quick, full of flavor, and something the whole family will love!
Freezer Meal Tips:
Bonus! This recipe makes a great freezer meal! Since there are just two of us in my home, I made this recipe in an 8×8 pan instead of in a 9×13 pan, since that would’ve made more leftovers than we could eat before getting tired of the recipe – you know how that is! You try to be efficient by cooking one super large batch of something, but then you realize you overdid it and you’re tired of the food but there are still days of leftovers left. My solution to this is making the full batch of the recipe and freezing half for later! So, you can make double this recipe, bake half in an 8×8 pan now, and freeze the second half in an 8×8 pan for later.
When you’re ready to bake it, let it thaw in the fridge overnight, add the cornbread topping, and bake away! The Ello containers are great for freezer meals, since they come with lids that snap on super securely.
Happy cooking, everyone!
Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment!
Be sure to follow bluebowlrecipes on instagram and tag #bluebowlrecipes with your photo! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the bluebowlrecipes Facebook page. I’d love to see what you make!
Taco Cornbread Casserole
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb ground beef or ground turkey
- 1/2 large yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 a bell pepper, diced
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes I like using fire-roasted
- 1/2 can black beans
- 1/2 can corn
- 3/4 cup mexican cheese blend
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- pinch pepper
- 1 box cornbread mix
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Stir seasonings together in a small bowl.
- Make the Casserole: Cook ground beef or turkey in skillet, breaking it up as you go, until fully browned. Drain grease and set meat aside on a plate. Add olive oil to pan (if the pan is still a bit greasy from the beef go light on the olive oil or omit) and heat over medium heat. Add bell pepper, and onion, and cook for a few minutes, stirring, until onion is transluscent and softened. Add the garlic and cook 2 mins more. Add the beef back to the pan and add half the seasonings along with the canned tomatoes (don't drain them! we want the liquid to make a saucy casserole filling here). Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the corn and beans, and simmer 2 minutes more. Add the remaining seasoning and the cheese, and stir to mix everything together. Taste and add more seasoning if desired.
- Bake: Spray an Ello 8x8 DuraGlass baking dish with nonstick spray and evenly spread the casserole mixture in the pan. Whisk up the cornbread mix, egg, and milk in a bowl and pour over the top of the casserole. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until cornbread appears done (it will be lightly golden around the edges).
- Serve + Store: Enjoy immediately! Top with extra veggies and sour cream, if desired. Store leftovers in the baking dish with the lid on, in the fridge for 4-5 days.
- Freezer Meal: This recipe makes a great freezer meal! You can double the recipe, and freeze half (without the cornbread topping) in an 8x8 pan for later, while cooking the rest in another 8x8 pan for now. You could also make a double batch and freeze the whole thing in a 9x13 pan for later. When ready to cook, let thaw in the fridge overnight, top with the cornbread topping, and bake as directed above! The Ello DuraGlass bakeware is completely freezer and oven safe!
Order my new book:
Leave a Reply