You need an easy dinner recipe to help stop the urge of ordering out. A busy weeknight and hungry family is tempting to quickly place an order but trust me, it’s worth spending just 5 minutes assembling this easy biscuit casserole with ingredients you already have in your kitchen. 

This biscuit casserole only takes 5 minutes to assemble with ingredients you probably already have: I found two cans of chili hidden in the back of my refrigerator, a bell pepper that was almost ready to throw out, and the can of biscuits was one day shy of expiration, so I wanted to use them ASAP. It really can’t get any easier than this. 

How To Make Enchilada Casserole

1. Because the chicken is already cooked, you just have to saute the bell pepper, onion, and garlic until soft. To complete the chicken mixture you just stir in cream cheese which adds so much creaminess to the chicken casserole.
2. The enchilada sauce is made with the salsa and sour cream (you can use any fat content).
3. Then it’s just about layering the pan – instead of rolled enchiladas this is a stacked casserole like my southwestern lasagna or bean stuff casserole.
4. Cut the tortillas in half as needed to fit in the pan. Make sure to top it all with more cheese!

Why You’ll Love My Taco Lasagna Recipe

I got this recipe from the wife of a teacher colleague when I first started teaching, back in 2000. She brought it to a party and I immediately had to have the recipe. I’ve been making it ever since, and it’s my go-to meal to take to a friend in need.

It’s layered just like a traditional lasagna but instead of lasagna noodles you use corn tortillas like you would for enchiladas. Add some other favorite southwestern ingredients like seasoned ground beef, cheese, and green chiles and you end up with family-friendly dinner that’s easy to make.

It’s so much easier than making enchiladas or lasagna, too. No boiling pasta required and instead filling and rolling the tortillas you just layer everything in your baking dish. You still get all the great flavors but without all the work – this is an epic casserole recipe!

Ingredients Needed

• Ground Beef: You can also substitute ground turkey. I’ve made it both ways.
• Taco Seasoning: Use your favorite packet. Because we’re using the packed you don’t need to add any chili powder or spices – makes life so much easier! Feel free to use a homemade taco seasoning if you have one!
• Canned Diced Tomatoes: I love using petite diced but either one works fine.
• Tomato Sauce: Use a small can
• Diced green Chiles: The kind that come in the can – add so much spice!
• Corn Tortillas: You can swap mini flour tortillas if you prefer, but corn soaks up the filling better.
• Monterey Jack Cheese: Can’t have lasagna without cheese! I’ve also made this with cheddar cheese – pepper jack cheese would be fantastic too!

Years ago I had a friend who introduced me to this easy baked pasta recipe. She made it for a 4th of July barbecue one time and we sat eating it for hours. I’ve been making it for potlucks and family dinners ever since.

When I researched baked penne pasta recipes online before making it, I found that so many of them have meat in them. I thought that was strange, because I’ve only ever had THIS Baked Penne, which is vegetarian. My friend didn’t eat meat, so neither did her pasta recipe. As a result, I’ve always made this without meat. And you know what? I don’t miss the meat at all – plus I often serve it with a side of baked or grilled chicken or some meatballs for protein. After all, it makes a HUGE batch, so we’re often eating it at a potluck.

The recipe is easy, using just a handful of ingredients, and comes together in minutes. Plus, do you see how cheesy this baked penne is??? OMG.

Baked Penne Pasta Secret Ingredients

There are two secret ingredients in this baked penne pasta. Can you guess what they are? They’re two things I’d never seen in a pasta recipe before, but they make the end result so cheesy and creamy I just never leave them out. They might seem strange but now I use them in recipes like Cheesy Egg Casserole.

• The cottage cheese adds body (and protein) to the dish. You don’t taste it at all, plus it makes it even more cheesy. There’s TONS of mozzarella to make you forget about the cottage cheese, but this dish wouldn’t be as good without it.
• Sour cream adds so much creaminess to this easy baked penne recipe. This result is almost like a creamy tomato sauce.
• What other ingredients are there? Just pasta, spaghetti sauce, and garlic. You can use any jarred pasta sauce you like (I’ve used a variety of brands). OR, you can make your own red sauce.
• I always kick it up by adding TONS (5 cloves) of pressed garlic. If you’re not a garlic lover, you can leave that out, but it gives a wonderful flavor to the dish. (Plus, it wards off vampires.) Then you add tons of cheese and bake it up.
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese for topping – shred your own so it melts better

Bean Stuff Tortilla Casserole

In my house, my Nana’s tortilla casserole recipe has always been called “bean stuff”. Believe it or not, my family has been chowing down on bean stuff since before I was born. Maybe it’s in my blood, because this was just about the only food I would eat as a child. No, seriously – growing up, I refused to eat basically everything. I wouldn’t even eat red sauce and noodles! 

Luckily for my poor mom, she could always count on me being eager to eat a big helping of tortilla casserole. To this day, I still love a plate (or two) of of bold chili, sharp cheddar cheese, and soft flour tortillas, all baked together to perfection. I’ve passed on my love for bean stuff not only to my daughter, but to my husband as well! While this recipe is intended to serve six, my family could easily make this dish disappear in one sitting. 

Ingredients Needed

• Chili – with beans or without, although we love chili with beans.
• Tomato sauce – one small 8 ounce can.
• Flour tortillas – soft taco-sized so they’ll fit in a 9-inch square pan.
• Cheddar cheese – shredded and a whole lot of it!

How to Make Tortilla Casserole

1. Combine ingredients: In a bowl or large measuring cup, mix the chili and tomato sauce together.
2. Create layers: In the bottom of a 9×9” pan, place a portion of the chili mixture, then top with a tortilla. Then, scoop a few spoonfuls of the chili mixture onto the tortilla and sprinkle it with cheddar cheese. Repeat this process until you have used all of your ingredients, finishing with a sprinkling of cheese. 
3. Cover: Once you’ve assembled the casserole, cover the dish with plastic wrap and chill for three hours or more. In this case, the longer you chill it, the better. So feel free to assemble it the day before and let it sit overnight!
4. Cook the casserole either in the oven or the microwave until the cheese is melted and the whole thing is hot throughout.

Several years ago I attended a potluck that had a fantastic cheesy potato recipe. It had chunks of potatoes and was creamy and cheesy and super flavorful. When I asked what it was called the host answered, “Funeral Potatoes” and I was confused. I mean…it was the middle of a summer barbecue and no one had died so the name was weird to me. Fast forward to today and Funeral Potatoes are a real thing. I guess the name stems from the fact that this easy casserole is perfect for a potluck or for bringing to a funeral because it serves a lot of people.

Most recipes call for frozen hash browns or frozen potatoes. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love me some frozen hash brown potatoes but I didn’t have any and I wanted cheesy potatoes ASAP. I did, however, have real potatoes in my pantry…so this easy cheesy potato recipe is a spin on the classic Funeral Potatoes: it’s made with fresh potatoes!

Ingredient Notes

• Real Potatoes – that is, fresh potatoes. We’re going to partially cook them by boiling so they fully soften in the oven. Dice them in small squares. If you want to substitute frozen potatoes you do not need to par-boil them, just thaw before making the casserole.
• Condensed Soup – You can use any flavor, like cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom soup. There are several condensed soup flavors, so choose your favorite.
• Sour Cream – Adds flavor and body to the sauce. You can substitute greek yogurt.
• Spices – onion and garlic are my favs but you can add anything you want!
• Cheese – obviously! I used shredded cheddar cheese. Shred your own for best melting.

How to make Cheesy Potatoes

1. Dice your potatoes into small bite sized pieces. I chose to leave the skin on my potatoes because the skin is where all the healthy stuff is, plus I’m lazy, but you can peel them if you prefer.
2. You must pre-cook your potatoes. This will ensure they’re done in the final dish. I’ve talked a little bit about par-boiling potatoes before, but it’s a simple step that makes the best potato recipes!
3. Once they’re cooked, drain them and then mix them with the other casserole ingredients in a large bowl. Place in baking dish and top with more cheese and bake until golden, bubbly, and cooked through.

Storage

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can make the casserole up to 24 hours ahead and bake when ready to eat (like make ahead mashed potatoes, it makes life easier), or freeze it well wrapped with plastic wrap.

Serving suggestions:

• Crockpot Pot Roast
• Mom’s Thanksgiving Turkey is my go-to!
• Crockpot Turkey Breast is a great way to make a smaller turkey.
• I serve Roasted Green Beans with bacon at every holiday.
• Parmesan Roasted Brussels Sprouts – you’ve never lived until you’ve roasted them.
• Roasted Carrots are my favorite way to eat cooked carrots.

My cheesy egg casserole is something I make every year for Christmas morning and adding hash browns just seemed like a natural progression. One of my readers told me about her epic egg casserole with hash browns, sausage, and cheese so I decided I NEEDED to recreate it.

This recipe works because it’s a variation of one I’ve made so many times – and it’s basically dump and bake. It’s an easy recipe anyone can make!

Ingredient Notes

• Hashbrowns: I used about half of a 30 ounce package of frozen hash browns.
• Sausage – you can use bulk sausage or remove the casings from breakfast links. Either pork sausage or turkey sausage will work. You’ll need to brown it and drain the fat. I also use sausage in my sausage egg casserole!
• Eggs – 6 large eggs went into this casserole.
• Cheese – I used 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese that I shredded myself – shredding it yourself makes the cheese melt better. Use medium or sharp cheddar cheese.
• Spices – A teaspoon onion powder along with garlic, salt, pepper and dried mustard add tons of flavor.

Storing and Making Ahead

• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge (or even in the freezer).
• You can make this the night before and store it in the refrigerator. Allow to come to room temperature while the oven preheats then bake as directed.
• You can freeze hash brown breakfast casserole whole in the pan or slice it and freeze as individual servings.

I’ll never forget Chicken Pot Pie night in my house growing up. We usually had two different kinds of chicken pot pie: the kind that was like chicken and dumplings but wasn’t soup or the kind that was an actual pie filled with chicken pot pie filling. Those were two of my favorite meals growing up; can you guess why?

(If you said I loved the dumplings and the pie crust, you’d be right. #carbloveralways)

I’ve been making chicken pot pie or some version of chicken and dumplings for years now and it’s one of my husbands favorite meals. It has a no-cook chicken pot pie filling, starts with rotisserie chicken, has homemade drop biscuits and is done FAST which makes it perfect for every day of the week.

How to make Chicken Pot Pie Casserole

1. Mix together the condensed soup and softened cream cheese – this is why it’s important the cream cheese is softened.
2. Once all the vegetables and chicken are mixed in, place it in a baking dish or 9×13-inch pan.
3. When making biscuits, be sure to use a light hand – you don’t want to over work them.
4. All your ingredients should be COLD when making biscuits.
5. The best thing about this casserole is it’s semi-homemade but doesn’t taste that way because of the homemade topping!

Favorite Casseroles

Casserole

Chicken and Rice Casserole

Recipes

Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole

Main Dish

Easy Baked Penne Pasta

Casserole

Bean Stuff Casserole

Other casseroles we love:

• Sausage Mac ‘n Cheese
• Penne Pasta Casserole
• Easy Meatball Casserole

This was sponsored by Challenge in 2019. All opinions are my own.