Easy Oven-Baked Tex Mex Lasagna
This Tex-Mex Lasagna is what happens when you can’t decide between a cheesy pasta bake and a big plate of tacos! It’s a hearty, “dish-it-up-and-go” kind of dinner made with seasoned ground beef, creamy refried beans, and thick layers of cheddar that bubble up perfectly over oven-ready noodles. You get all that deep, savory Southwest flavor in a single baking dish!
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- ✅ Recipe Name: Easy Oven-Baked Tex Mex Lasagna
- 🕐 Ready In: 1 hour
- 👥 Serves: 6 servings
- 🥣 Main Ingredients: Ground beef, Taco seasoning, Beans, Green chilies, Salsa, Tomato sauce, Oven-ready lasagna noodles
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: Easy and delicious, this Tex Mex Lasagna is a crowd pleaser!
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When a Casserole Dish Meets a Taco Bar
I’m a firm believer that almost any problem can be solved with a hot pan of lasagna, but sometimes the traditional Italian version feels like a whole day’s work. This recipe is my favorite way to cheat that system! We’re swapping out the slow-simmered marinara for chunky salsa and trading the ricotta for smooth refried beans, which sounds a little wild until you take that first bite.
The best part about this “Southwest makeover” is that it actually stays together better than a standard taco, so you can sit down and enjoy a proper meal without half your dinner falling into your lap. Since we’re using those handy oven-ready noodles, you don’t even have to wait for a pot of water to boil. You just stack it, bake it, and let the oven handle the heavy lifting while you catch your breath!
If you want another easy lasagna dish, check out my Crockpot Lasagna Soup recipe!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ground beef
- Small onion
- Taco seasoning
- Dried or fresh cilantro
- Whole corn kernels, drained
- Refried beans
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Black beans, drained
- Diced green chilies
- Salsa
- Tomato sauce
- Oven-ready lasagna noodles
Tips for the Perfect Tex-Mex Bake
- Since we aren’t pre-cooking the noodles, they need moisture to soften. Don’t be afraid if the meat mixture looks a little “saucy” before it goes in the pan. The pasta will soak all that flavor up while it bakes.
- Don’t worry about keeping the noodles perfectly whole. I often have to break a few pieces to make sure I’ve got good coverage in the corners of my 9×13 baking dish.
- It is so tempting to dive in the second that timer goes off, but giving it 5 to 10 minutes to sit helps the layers set, so you get those nice, clean slices.
- This is great on its own, but it really shines with a few toppings. A dollop of sour cream, some sliced green onions, or a squeeze of lime juice makes it feel like a fiesta makeover!
How to Make Tex-Mex Lasagna
1. Cook the Beef
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown your ground beef and chopped onion. Make sure to drain off any grease once the beef is no longer pink, so the lasagna doesn’t get oily.
2. Build the Sauce
Stir in the refried beans, green chilies, taco seasoning, cilantro, and half of your salsa. Add the tomato sauce and stir with a wooden spoon until it’s bubbly and well combined. This usually takes about 4–5 minutes.
3. Add the Bulk
Remove the skillet from the heat and fold in the drained corn and black beans. This meat mixture is what makes the lasagna so hearty!
4. Layer it Up
Spread the remaining salsa onto the bottom of your baking dish; this acts as a moisture barrier for the bottom layer of noodles. Lay down your first set of noodles, top with half of the filling from the skillet, and sprinkle with half the cheese. Repeat the layers one more time.
5. Bake to Perfection
Cover with aluminum foil if you want to keep the cheese extra melty, or leave it off for those crispy edges. Bake at 350°F for about 45 minutes. You’re looking for bubbly edges and tender pasta.
Serve warm with a side of Creamy Cranberry Jalapeño Cream Cheese Dip or flavorful Mexican Street Corn Pasta for a Tex-Mex feast!
Storage and Leftovers
If you have leftovers, they stay great in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, I just pop a slice in the oven or air fryer for a few minutes to keep that cheese nice and gooey.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 1.25-ounce packet taco seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried or fresh cilantro
- 1 15-ounce can whole corn kernels, drained
- 1 15-ounce can refried beans
- 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained
- 1 4-ounce can diced green chilies
- 1 16-ounce jar salsa
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 9-ounce package oven-ready lasagna noodles
Instructions
- In a large skillet, brown ground beef and onions until beef is no longer pink in the center. Drain off any grease.
- Add refried beans, chiles, taco seasoning, cilantro, 1/2 of the salsa, and tomato sauce. Stir and place over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until bubbly (about 4-5 minutes).
- Remove from heat and stir in corn and black beans.
- Spread the remaining salsa into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Top with a layer of lasagna noodles, breaking to fit if need be. Spread 1/2 of the filling from the skillet over the noodles. Top with half the cheese. Repeat.
- Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until bubbly and the pasta is tender. Allow to sit for five minutes before cutting. Enjoy!
Printing this and will be making it but have to leave out the chilis, but everything else will be in it. Looks and sounds yummy!
I made the S’mores Kits for Christmas gifts for each of my sorority sisters and their husbands, plus a few extra for us and our friend from Atlanta that spent the past week. All were put in zip baggies with the title and Santa’s hat “fudded up” stapled on and put in snowman bags I found at Wally World for 20 for $2. Everyone loved the idea as a gift.
OH MY! It looks wonderful and I’m going to put it on my meal plan for this coming week!
And I just wanted to tell you what a lovely pattern of dishes that isthat you used for your Christmas this year!. In fact, we’ve used that exact same pattern for every big event we’ve had in our family for the past several years! 😉
God Bless Christy and I hope you and yours have a very blessed year!
At our place no one cares what it’s served in just so it’s served…lol. Missed you, Christy but so glad you had good times with your family.
Happy New Year to All!
Pinning this one! Love the disposables. We used paper plates and cups and the occasional plastic silverware for 8 days while our five kids and their families were here. I would surely rather spend time with them than in the kitchen loading and unloading the dishwasher.
Christy – I think I’ll just substitute homemade corn tortillas (no, not me making them, but one of the local restaurants makes them and they are yummy) They are a little thicker than the store bought corn tortillas but I bet they would be awesome in this dish. You know, if you sub shredded chicken for the ground beef it would be a lot like King Ranch Chicken!!! My mind can’t stop thinking of uses for this great recipe!! Thanks so much, you are an inspiration!
I have to try this … we generally gobble down most things Mexican and any lasagna that comes our way.
Did you know that you can use the ‘regular’ lasagna noodles without precooking them. Just add a little extra liquid to the meat mixture and be sure you cover the noodles completely. I do that all the time.
Christy, loved this idea! Just would left the beans out…not my favorite…but the rest look so good! Great to know you had a wonderful time with family and everything is well! May this new year bring you and your family lots of joy, peace, fun, health and most of all, love! Thanks for sharing your great findings! Cheers from Brazil!