Dorito Casserole with Ground Beef and Velveeta
This Dorito Casserole with Ground Beef will soon become a family favorite meal. Creamy, cheesy ground beef (thanks, Velveeta!) is layered over crunchy Dorito chips and cheddar cheese! Top with your favorite taco toppings and you’ve taken Taco Tuesday to a whole new level!
This Dorito casserole with ground beef is the ultimate comfort food the whole family will love!
It’s kind of the product of two of my family’s favorite meals: Creamy Tacos and Easy Turkey Taco Casserole. If those two dishes had a baby–BOOM! You’d pretty much have this Dorito taco casserole!
This hearty casserole totally stands on it’s own as a meal (no sides needed, really!) and is loaded with cheese, crunchy Doritos and mild Mexican flavors. Top it with your favorite taco toppings, and I promise you’ll be making this casserole over and over!
Love Doritos?! You HAVE to try my Mexican Chicken Casserole with….Doritos!!!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- Super simple–only six ingredients!
- Family friendly...crunchy Doritos in an easy casserole….need I say more?!
- So much fun to customize with your favorite taco toppings!
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
You’ll need the following ingredients to make this Ground Beef Doritos Casserole:
INGREDIENT NOTES
Ground Beef: I like using lean ground beef (90% lean or more)
Velveeta Cheese: The store brand processing cheese works, too!
HOW TO MAKE THIS DORITO CASSEROLE WITH GROUND BEEF: STEP BY STEP
Here are some quick visual instructions. Remember that full instructions with exact ingredients will be in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Brown ground beef, then add taco seasoning, diced tomatoes and Velveeta. Cook 4-5 minutes until cheese is completely melted.
Step 2: In your baking dish, add half of the Doritos.
Step 3: Then, layer on half the beef mixture.
Step 4: Top the meat mixture with about a cup of cheese. Then repeat layers ONCE. Bake, covered for 15 minutes at 400°F. Uncover and cook 10-15 minutes more!
RECIPE TIPS & TRICKS
- Crush the chips gently in your hands and don’t make the pieces too small–you want some good crunch!
- I like using lean ground beef in this recipe (90% lean or more). If you use beef higher in fat, just make sure you drain off the excess grease.
STORAGE & REHEATING
- Storage: Store leftovers in the fridge in your baking dish, tightly covered with foil for up to 3 days. You can also store individual portions in an airtight container for 3 days in the fridge.
- Reheating: Note that when you store and reheat this Mexican casserole, the chips aren’t quite as crunchy than when it was first baked. It still tastes amazing, though! Reheat individual portions in the microwave for about one minute on high power. You can also reheat it in the casserole dish, covered at 350°F for about 15 minutes until heated through.
- Freezing: I don’t recommend freezing this recipe as the chips can get soggy. If you MUST freeze it, I recommend freezing it before it has been baked for best results.
ADDITIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
There are lots of fun additions and substitutions for this dish!
Additions:
Beans: Black beans, pinto beans or even a layer of refried beans are delish and add a bit more protein.
Veggies: Onions, bell peppers or corn would be great stirred into the meat mixture!
Substitutions:
Meat: Ground chicken or ground turkey would work perfectly in this dish! You could even use chopped rotisserie chicken!
Chips: Cool Ranch Doritos…or another flavor of Doritos work great (flamin’ hot, anyone?!). I also make this dish with regular, thick tortilla chips, too!
Cheese: Freshly grated cheddar cheese works best and melts up so well, but any cheese will work! I like Monterey jack, too or even a good Mexican blend!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This casserole totally stands on it’s own, but if you throw some chips and homemade salsa on the side, I won’t complain! You can also serve a side of black beans, refried beans or some Spanish rice to round out the meal.
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OTHER CASSEROLE-TYPE DISHES YOU’LL LOVE
I hope you love this Dorito Casserole with Ground Beef! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Dorito Casserole with Ground Beef
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 lb. lean ground beef ideally, 90% lean or more
- 2 tbsp low-sodium taco seasoning or one packet (See Note 1)
- 8 oz. Velveeta cheese, cubed or store brand processed cheese
- 1 10 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles such as Rotel
- 3 cups shredded cheese use your fave, I like sharp cheddar and Monterey jack cheese!
- 7-8 cups crushed Dorito chips approx. 9.5 oz bag (See Note 2)
- taco toppings (optional): sour cream, tomatoes, green onions, iceberg lettuce, olives, cilantro
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat. Add beef and cook 2-3 minute, breaking up the meat as you go. Drain the grease, if necessary.Pro Tip: Using a potato masher when the meat is about halfway cooked works great at getting the meat broken up nice and fine 🙂
- When meat is browned, add taco seasoning, diced tomatoes and Velveeta. Cook 4-5 minutes more or until Velveeta is completely melted.
- Preheat oven to 400°F. In a 9×12 (or similar) casserole dish, put down a layer of Doritos.
- Cover the layer of crushed chips with half of the ground beef mixture. The easiest way to do this is just to dollop the beef mixture on top of the chips anad gently smooth it out with a spoon. Easy breezy!
- Layer on half the cheese over the beef layer. Then repeat the layering ONCE: chips, beef, cheese.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10-12 minutes more or until bubbly and chips are starting to brown around the edges.
- Allow a few minutes to cool and serve with your favorite taco toppings!
I love, love, LOVE all the beef and cheese in this recipe, and the Doritos are perfect with it. This is so good!
I love this! Will definitely try, thank you for sharing
Our grocery delivery brought us extra doritos lol so I made this and it was so good! Didn’t want them to go to waste and this was a hit!
You’re 100% right about the family favorite part! My family couldn’t get enough of this!
This is such a hearty and comforting casserole! I used half regular Doritos and half cool ranch for a little bit of different flavor and it turned out great 🙂
This recipe tasted great and we were pleasantly surprised on how easy it was, will make it again for sure!
This is a proper winter warmer and real family comfort food. I’ll be making this dish a lot in the next few weeks!
Wow, looks so luscious. I never used Doritos in a casserole, but I am intrigued. Thanks for the recipe.
Doritos and Velveeta in one tasty casserole?? Yes, please! 😉 Looks delicious.
This is just sinfully delicious, haha. So so cozy! I can’t wait to make a batch of this again when the temps are cooler. Stick to your ribs goodness!
Wow, you’ve combined all my kids favourite foods into one casserole, they are going to absolutely love this!
Yummmmm! My family loves this meal!
This was so yummy! Lots of fun to have this Dorito casserole with my kids!
This was a huge hit at my house!! Such a really comforting meal!
Ooo, reminds me of childhood! Dear family friends with a large family would make something like this often and I loved being for dinner those nights! Next time I’m making it with rotisserie chicken like you suggested.
This was so good and easy to make! My kids devoured it! Will definitely be on recipe rotation in my house.
Well, this looks like real comfort food! Perfect for Sunday family lunch! Thank you for this great recipe!
This is so unique! My mom made something like this when I was a kid, so this recipe brings up fond memories for me. I also love that there’s only 6 ingredients; super easy!
I love everything about this recipe! Only six ingredients!? My family will love this!