I love recipes that are…quick to make, can be made in one pot, are easy to adjust to different food preferences, and are delicious! Such is the case with this Mexican Lasagna Bake. It’s a fusion of layered Italian lasagna with Mexican (well, Americanized Mexican) flavors. And it is so good. When Marshall first saw it he said, “That looks like a burrito cake!” So, of course, we have to call it “burrito cake.” When he tried it, he pretty much claimed the leftovers for himself, although I did sneak a couple of slices for a quick lunch.
I followed a recipe card that came with my Ninja Kitchen Possible Pan but adjusted it so it would suit our family’s flavor preferences.
For the vegetables, I used three red peppers, one large sweet onion, several small tomatillos, and a bag of frozen sweet corn. I also added a can of black beans, leftover white rice, a large seasoned chicken breast, cooked and shredded, flour burrito-sized soft tortillas, and some mild cheddar cheese to stick it all together.
I served the finished Mexican Lasagna Bake with sour cream, avocado, lime, and chopped romaine lettuce. You could really add any toppings you like, though – cilantro (or parsley) and/or green onions or chives, salsa, guacamole, queso, fresh tomatoes, etc…
It was a little tricky to turn the Mexican Lasagna Bake out of the pan (like a pineapple upsidedown cake), but I was able to coax it out with a large spatula once it had cooled for about 10 minutes. When I make it again, I would layer more tortillas on the bottom so they wrap around the sides to hold all of the fillings in better.
As I said in the beginning, this Mexican Lasagna Bake is awesome because you can customize it in so many ways. You can make it vegetarian or use whatever shredded or ground meats you like. You can add or subtract vegetables to suit what you like. You can use refried beans instead of black beans or add a layer of tortilla chips for crunch. All of the ingredients are cooked before they are added to the layers, so there is a lot of flexibility to swap, omit, and replace. And it’s a great way to use up leftovers or things in the fridge that need to be cooked up.
Here is the printable Mexican Lasagna Bake recipe that can also be uploaded to an app like My Fitness Pal if you want to track your portions and nutrients.
You can find more of our favorite recipes HERE.
While this blog post isn’t a sponsored post, I prepared this recipe as a part of a collaboration with Ninja Kitchen. Share your own Recipe of Me now through June 15 with #recipeofme and tag @ninjakitchen on Instagram for a chance to win The PossiblePan and a $100 grocery credit.
Mexican Lasagna Bake
Equipment
- 1 large stove-to-oven pan
Ingredients
- olive oil
- 1 large chicken breast, cooked and shredded (or rotisserie chicken)
- 3 fresh red peppers, chopped
- 1 large sweet onion, chopped
- 6-8 small tomatillos, peeled, rinsed, and chopped
- 1 pack low sodium taco seasoning
- 1 clove garlic chopped (or 1 T prechopped garlic)
- 8 ounce frozen sweet corn (or fresh cut off the cob)
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup white or brown rice, cooked
- 8 ounces mild cheddar cheese shredded (or any preferred shredded cheeses)
- 1 pack burrito-sized flour tortillas
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350
- Preheat pan with olive oil to medium-high heat. Sear chicken and cook through. Set aside. Once cooled, shred with a fork.
- In the same pan, add a little more olive oil and chopped peppers, onions, tomatillos, and garlic. Cook over medium heat until veggies are soft and releasing their liquid.
- Add taco seasoning, corn, black beans, and cooked rice. Cook for an additional 2-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Put veggies in a bowl and mix with shredded chicken.
- In the same pan, add a layer of cheddar cheese (about 1/4 cup.) Place a tortilla on the cheese. (add additional pieces of tortillas along the side of the pan to create a "crust", if desired.)
- Add 1/3 of the veggie/chicken/bean filling and top with 1/4 cup of cheese and another tortilla. Repeat this process until all of the filling is used.
- Top last layer with 1/4 cup of cheese and one final tortilla. Transfer pan to oven and bake for 20-30 minutes until lasagna is bubbly and starting to brown.
- Remove pan from oven. (I like to keep a hot pad on the handle while it's cooling, so I don't forget it's hot!) Let the lasagna cool for about 10 minutes. Turn out onto a large platter, plate, or cutting board. Garnish and serve with your favorite Mexican toppings - salsa, fresh tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, green onions, chives, romaine lettuce, sour cream, queso, guacamole, lime, etc. Refrigerates and reheats well for leftovers.
Do you really put a layer of cheese in the pan before the first tortilla?
I wondered the same thing. Am I reading it wrong?
I’ve never made this either, but assume that first layer of cheese melts and is part of what holds the whole thing together and makes a nice topping when the whole thing is turned out of the pan.
Thanks. After looking at the pictures again I think you’re right!
Yum! This will be going in to the next week’s recipe rotation…..Thank you 🙂
Next time use a springform pan and you don’t need to turn it out onto a platter! You can get an inexpensive set of 3 non-stick springform pans (8, 9, and 10 inch) at W-mart that are the perfect size for the different tortillas on the market. I just spray the pan and put salsa in the bottom first so it doesn’t stick. Then just cut it in wedges and serve. Thanks for sharing your recipe. Mine doesn’t have the rice in the layers, but I always make some to serve on the side.
Whenever I make Mexican lasagna I place the layers in a 13 x 9 x 2 baking pan. You can cut the tortillas in half and place the straight edges to the 4 sides of the pan. Corn tortillas and enchilada sauce are good as well. You can serve it right out of the pan, just like “real” lasagna! My kids love this recipe too.
We make this layered taco bake all the time. I cut it like a pizza when it’s done and use a mini spatula and just leave it in the pan.
Sounds yummy and it is a visual feast too! I suppose it could be quite delish without the chicken for our vegetarian daughter! Thanks for sharing.
PINNED! NUM 🙂
This sounds delish and I’m enjoying all of the comments on how to tweak it if you don’t have Marian’s exact pan.
Looks delicious. Going to try it for supper tonight.