Cheesy Beef Taco Lasagna

Cheesy Beef Taco Lasagna puts a Mexican twist on an Italian classic, creating a fun, delicious cheesy dinner the whole family will love! Thank you to Hunt’s Tomatoes for sponsoring this post.

Two of my favorite types of cuisines are Italian and Mexican. I am not a purist by any means and often enjoy them in nontraditional ways (such as these Mexican Quinoa Bites). When I saw this Cheesy Beef Lasagna recipe, a tasty-looking Italian-inspired recipe, I could not wait to put a Mexican spin on the recipe to create Cheesy Beef Taco Lasagna!

This Cheesy Beef Taco Lasagna is a fun Italian-Mexican mash up – think delicious cheesy beef enchiladas layered lasagna style. Cheesy Beef Taco Lasagna is filled with cheeses, vegetables and spices, all simple ingredients, all super tasty!

While some lasagna staples remained, like ricotta cheese, lasagna noodles and meat sauce, the meat sauce is where things start to go south-of-the-border. Instead of a traditional lasagna meat sauce, chili powder and cumin replaced any Italian herbs and jalapeno and bell peppers were added to a tomato-based meat sauce.

For the tomatoes, I used Hunt’s diced tomatoes and Hunt’s tomato sauce. Hunt’s cans their tomatoes within hours of harvest using steam from simple hot water to peel its tomatoes, while some other companies peel with chemicals like *lye.

I made the recipe as noted below, however with this recipe there is flexibility to add some of your favorite taco toppings, such as black olives, green onions, cilantro or add black beans with the beef. For the cheese, I used cheddar but colby or pepper jack would be delicious as well. So many possibilities! Cheesy Beef Taco Lasagna was a hit with my family, and I hope it will be with yours as well!

Cheesy Beef Taco Lasagna

 

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Author: Alida Fischbach

Yields: 12 servings

Ingredients

• 12 lasagna noodles, uncooked
• 2¼ cups shredded cheddar cheese

Sauce:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces) Hunt's diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (29 ounces) Hunt's tomato sauce

Filling:

• 15 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2. SAUCE: In a large nonstick skillet, add beef, onion peppers, chili powder and cumin and cook over medium-high heat until beef is browned and crumbled (about 7 minutes) Add garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. FILLING: In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese, egg, chili powder and cheddar cheese.
4. ASSEMBLE: Pour 1 cup meat sauce in the bottom of prepared baking dish. Place 4 lasagna noodles over sauce, top with 2 cups meat sauce, half the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup cheddar cheese. Repeat layers, ending with 4 lasagna noodles topped with remaining sauce and cheese.
5. BAKE: Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes, then remove foil and bake for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly. Remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

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Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hunt’s® tomatoes. *Lye peeling is generally recognized as safe by the FDA and has no adverse effects on the healthfulness of tomatoes.