Taco Meets Italy: This Mexican Lasagna recipe is the love child of a special union of flavors. This easy Mexican lasagna recipe is an amazing combination of our favorite taco flavors and comforting Italian lasagna.
Serve this Mexican lasagna with Mini Jalapeno Popper Corn Muffins, a salad with Italian Dressing and top off your meal with a simple Rhubarb Galette!
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Follow Our Zesty Life on Pinterest for more great recipes and ideas!
PIN this Mexican Lasagna to your Meals Board!
As they say in Mexico: “Barriga llena, corazón contento,” loosely, Full stomach, happy heart. Well your heart will be very happy after eating this incredible Mexican lasagna. If you like traditional Mexican flavors, then you will love this taco lasagna dish. This is one of our favorite Mexican lasagna recipes, and is an incredible twist on lasagna that will be a big winner with the family. When I make it, even before it’s in the oven, my husband tells me, “It smells so good already!”
We found that this recipe for Mexican Lasagna, or “Mexican Lasagne” if you’re trying to get the right accent, tasted even better reheated the next day for lunch. What’s not to love?
This cheesy Mexican lasagna may well become a weekly menu item in your household. Make a big dish because Mexican lasagna with noodles is a big hit with the kids. They will gobble up piece after piece of this lasagna and they love having it for their lunches the next day. My little one sweetly calls it “Mexican lasanga.” When we made this dish for friends, they were so impressed that they made it for us when we went over to their place.
What to Serve With Mexican Lasagna
Add a nice crispy green salad made with my Copycat Italian Salad Dressing Mix or Quinoa Caprese Salad to bring you back to the Piazza San Marco, the Italian side of this dish. Oh the memories! We also serve this Mexican lasagna with tortilla chips and homemade salsa on the side.
Dos Sangrias por favor! We really love to have a cold drink with the easy taco lasagna, and sometimes choose Strawberry Margaritas or Cherry Margaritas instead of the Sangria!
How to Make Taco Lasagna
You’ll have no trouble figuring out how to make Mexican lasagna because this recipe is super easy to make!
- Brown meat. I like to use the meat chopper to break up the ground meat as it is cooking, especially if the meat is not quite defrosted. That’s when the meat chopper comes in especially handy!
- Mix with beans, seasonings, and salsa
- Layer meat sauce, uncooked noodles, mushrooms, and cheese
- Pour mixture of salsa mixed with water over top
- Bake, then shortly before the Mexican style lasagna is ready, add sour cream and cheese and bake for a few minutes more
- Let stand before cutting
That’s it!
Just like when ordering tacos, this Mexican lasagna recipe can be made with chicken, or you can make a vegetarian Mexican lasagna. To make the Mexican lasagna vegetarian, replace the beef with a vegetarian “meat” or black beans. Mexican chicken lasagna is my daughter’s favorite version. She likes this easy Mexican lasagna because of its juicy flavor and texture. It’s so good!
My mom is a big turkey lover and really loves to make turkey Mexican lasagna. You can use ground turkey, or it would be perfect for after the Thanksgiving holidays when you have an abundance of leftover turkey to use for a seasonal Mexican turkey lasagna.
Try and mix up the cheese topping with a tex-mex, traditional Italian mozzarella or Parmigiano-Reggiano (parmesan) – make it a very cheesy Mexican lasagna. If you want equal parts Mexican and Italian flavor, you could try Mexican lasagna with corn tortillas and ricotta cheese.
Sometimes when we make this dish, we like to kick it up a notch and add more chili flakes to the meat sauce. This adds a nice heat to the dish and brings you back to poolside at a Cancun resort in the middle of summer! If you really want it Picante or spicy, you could try this taco lasagna recipe made with Rotel Tomatoes instead of tomato sauce or replace the mild salsa with medium salsa. Trust me, these changes make this taco lasagna delish!
Buen Provecho! (Enjoy your meal!)
Mexican Lasagna
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 14 ounces beans in tomato sauce 1 can
- 4 ounces chopped green chilies 1 can
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning 1 envelope
- 2 tablespoons hot salsa
- 1 can sliced mushrooms drained
- 12 ounces lasagna noodles uncooked, 12-13 noodles
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- 2 cups water
- 16 ounces mild salsa 1 jar
- 2 cups sour cream
Garnish
- 2 ¼ ounces black olives 1 can, sliced, optional
- 2 green onions chopped, optional
- 1 tomato chopped, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 9x13 baking pan.
- In a large skillet, fry beef over medium heat until fully cooked and no longer pink. Drain (rinse if desired). Add beans, chilies, taco seasoning, and hot salsa and stir well.
- Layer 4 noodles, ⅓ of the meat mixture, ⅓ of mushrooms, and 1 cup of cheese. Repeat layers, adding two more layers, ending with cheese. I had 5 noodles on my top layer of noodles.
- Mix water with mild salsa and carefully pour over top of the cheese. Cover baking pan and bake 1 hour or until heated through.
- Top with sour cream and remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes. Let stand 10-15 minutes before cutting.
- Garnish with sliced olives, green onions, and chopped tomatoes.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information does not include optional ingredients or garnish and is an estimate. It may change based on actual ingredients and cooking methods used.
Pin this Mexican Lasagna Recipe!
Adapted from Taste of Home Mexican lasagna.
I am definitely making this again! My daughter LOVES taco anything so this is one meal I know she will happily eat!
I agree, this is a major hit with kids (and their parents!). Enjoy Holly!!