This vegan Taco casserole is made with your favorite Mexican flavors. It's a delicious layered casserole filled with veggies, refried beans, corn tortillas and vegan meat and cheese. It’s the perfect dinner on Taco Tuesday or any day of the week!
We love Mexican food in our house! DIY taco and burrito bars are frequent dinners that the kids never get tired of. But instead of making each taco by hand, this casserole puts it all together so you just need to take a slice.
While I normally stay away from vegan cheese (just a personal preference), I definitely always put it in this recipe. This is a great family dinner that's packed with protein and fiber that everyone loves.
It’s super easy to make Mexican food vegan-friendly. If you’re looking for more Mexican-inspired recipes, try out my easy flour tortillas, Instant Pot pinto beans, and Mexican casserole with rice.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Kid-approved: While my kids aren’t huge fans of casseroles, this is one that the whole family loves.
- Mexican flavors: Everyone loves Mexican food. This dish is completely customizable with your favorite veggies and protein. Check out some ways to switch it up below.
- Perfect for busy weeknights: This casserole is easy to make with not too much chopping. From start to finish, it can be on your dinner table in 45 minutes. Perfect for taco night!
Ingredient Notes
- Refried beans: Make sure you buy vegetarian refried beans or else it might contain animal ingredients.
- Vegan ground beef: I used Impossible Meat in this dish but you can use Beyond Beef or any other kind you can find.
- Corn: I use frozen but canned is fine as well. If you have fresh corn, that works too!
- Diced tomatoes: Do not drain.
- Vegan cheddar cheese: I don’t normally use dairy free cheese but I really like it in this casserole. I use Violife vegan cheese shreds.
- Corn tortillas: The recipe calls for 12 small tortillas. You may need more or less depending on the size you buy. I bought tiny street taco sized ones and used about 18 of them.
Please see the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and amounts needed.
Variations and Toppings
- If you don’t want to use vegan ground meat, you can substitute with 1-2 cans of black beans or pinto beans, drained and rinsed. Add them in when you are adding the corn. Or substitute a different plant-based protein like tofu crumbles, seitan, or even tempeh.
- Optional toppings to try include shredded lettuce, diced fresh tomatoes, green onions, guacamole, salsa, vegan sour cream, fresh lime juice and anything else you like on your tacos!
How To Make Vegan Taco Casserole
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375°. Spray a 9" x 13" casserole dish with oil spray and set aside.
Step 2: In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onions, peppers and vegan ground beef and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally, breaking up the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon.
Step 3: Stir in the corn, diced tomatoes (do not drain) and taco seasoning packet and cook for another 3-5 minutes. There won’t be a lot of sauce but if it seems at all dry, you could add a couple tablespoons of water.
Step 4: Now it's time to assemble. You will be creating 3 layers. First, spread about ⅓ of the refried beans on 4 tortillas. Lay them on the bottom of the baking dish, overlapping where necessary. Then, spread ⅓ of the meat mixture and sprinkle on about ⅓ of the black olives, if using.
Top with ½ cup vegan cheddar cheese.
Step 5: Repeat this process 2 more times, ending with 1 cup (instead of ½ cup) of vegan cheese sprinkled on top.
Step 6: Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil for the last 5 minutes.
Step 7: Let rest for about 5 minutes and then add all of your favorite toppings. Cut and serve with tortilla chips.
Expert Tips
- Try to make sure the bottom layer of corn tortillas is mostly covering the pan. If there are any big gaps in the middle, just cut another tortilla in half to cover it up.
- This dish is full of flavor but not spicy. If you want extra heat, you can add some red pepper flakes, sliced jalapenos, or your favorite hot sauce.
Storage Tips
Refrigerator
Once cooled, store leftover casserole in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave.
Freezer
You can easily freeze this vegan taco casserole. Once baked, let cool completely. Store in a freezer safe container in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you are ready to make it, thaw in the fridge overnight. You may need to add a little more baking time if it’s not completely thawed.
What To Serve With Vegan Taco Casserole
This is a hearty dish so I often like to serve it with greens or a simple veggie on the side. Try out my sautéed rainbow chard or smoky roasted cauliflower. Or for a kick, try my spicy cucumber and onion salad with sriracha.
Recipe FAQs
Sure! It’s easy to make your own seasoning. Use about 1 tablespoon of homemade seasoning. Check out this taco seasoning recipe from Allrecipes.com.
This casserole would be fine to assemble, keep in the fridge, and then bake the next day. It doesn’t have a lot of sauce so it shouldn’t ruin the texture.
More Vegan Dinner Recipes
If you tried this Vegan Taco Casserole Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Recipe
Vegan Taco Casserole With Corn Tortillas
Equipment
- 9 x 13 baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 12 oz. vegan ground beef
- 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes do not drain
- 1 cup corn kernels frozen or canned
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 1 16 oz. can refried beans (vegetarian)
- ¼ cup sliced black olives (optional)
- 2 cups non-dairy cheddar cheese
- 12 small corn tortillas
Toppings (Optional)
- shredded lettuce
- diced tomatoes
- guacamole
- salsa
- vegan sour cream
- tortilla chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. Spray a 9" x 13" baking dish with oil spray.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onions, peppers and vegan ground beef and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring and breaking up the meat.
- Stir in the corn, diced tomatoes and seasoning packet and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
- Now it's time to assemble. You will be creating 3 layers. First, spread about ⅓ of the refried beans on 4 tortillas. Lay them on the bottom of the baking dish, overlapping where necessary. Then, spread ⅓ of the meat mixture and sprinkle on about ⅓ of the black olives, if using. Top with ½ cup vegan cheddar cheese.
- Repeat this process 2 more times, ending with 1 cup (instead of ½ cup) of vegan cheese sprinkled on top.
- Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil for the last 5 minutes.
- Let rest for about 5 minutes and then add all of your favorite toppings. Cut and serve.
- Store leftover taco casserole in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Notes
- I sometimes use an extra tortilla cut in half in the bottom layer to make sure the center of the dish is mostly covered.
- Customize to your taste: If you don't like black olives, leave them out. Prefer red pepper? Swap the green pepper out. Don't want to use vegan meat? Add a can of black beans instead.
Lemarv says
Tried out the recipe for the family who loved it! Works really well as a dip with tortillas. I plan on making again as a Super Bowl offering. Thanks!
Jen Cardenas says
So glad you liked it. It's perfect for Super Bowl Sunday. Thanks for the comment!