This chorizo tortilla casserole is a wonderful weeknight dinner, and it’s also perfect for dinner parties! Leftovers freeze beautifully.
Since my days consist of cooking, baking and photographing countless recipes, I’m often completely spent by the time dinner rolls around. I’ve reached my limit of dirty dishes and wiping off the counter top.
I can’t even look at the oven. For this reason, I love meals I can prepare in bulk and reheat through the rest of the week.
This cheesy chorizo tortilla casserole is everything I want in a weeknight meal; it’s hearty, flavorful, fast, and satisfying.
The recipe includes a nice mix of protein and vegetables, but it also pairs well with a simple side salad, especially when I’m not too hungry and just want a little something to avoid the 9pm snack attack.
Recipe Notes and Variations
- I like serving this casserole with a variety of toppings, though I don’t always use everything at once. It goes well with standard Mexican condiments: salsa, sour cream, guacamole, hot peppers, cilantro, etc.
- I typically use standard corn tortillas to prepare this recipe, but recently I came across “jumbo” corn tortillas, which is what you’ll see in the video. They fit perfectly in my casserole dish, whereas the standard size is slightly small (though it has always worked just fine for holding the casserole together). I have no idea if these are easily available, but I loved using them.
- You don’t have to use ground chorizo if that’s not your thing. Any ground meat will do. Ground beef, turkey, pork, chicken, veal, etc. It gives you some options for lightening up the recipe if you’re trying to watch fat and calorie content (I rarely pay attention to these things; I’m more of a small portions gal).
- Other sausages will also work, though you may want to avoid experimenting if you’re not familiar with their spices and whether they’d be complimentary with the other flavors.
- If you’re interested in a vegetarian version of this recipe, be sure to check out my Mexican Tortilla Casserole!
Chorizo Tortilla Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound uncooked loose chorizo (other ground meat such as beef or turkey may be substituted)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained, 1/4 cup juice reserved
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 2 (15.5 ounce) cans black beans, drained
- 3 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach (baby or regular)
- 1 1/2 cups corn (fresh or frozen)
- kosher salt and ground black pepper
- 8 corn tortillas
- 3 cups shredded Monterey jack/cheddar cheese blend
- Optional toppings: salsa, sour cream, fresh cilantro, fresh jalapeño peppers
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a Dutch oven or heavy bottom saucepan, cook the chorizo, starting over low heat to render out the fat. Once there's fat in the pan, turn up the heat to medium and continue to cook, breaking up any larger pieces of meat. Once the chorizo is brown, approximately 4-5 minutes, drain through a fine mesh strainer and set aside.
- Wipe down the pan and add the olive oil. Over medium-low heat, add the onions, garlic, cumin and chili powder. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft, 3-4 minutes.
- Add the diced tomatoes, reserved juice, tomato paste, black beans, spinach, and corn. Continue cooking and stirring until the spinach has wilted, 1-2 minutes, then add the chorizo back to the pot. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Place 2 corn tortillas in the bottom of the casserole dish and top evenly with 1/4 of the chorizo filling. Sprinkle 3/4 cup of cheese on top. Repeat this 3 more times, ending with the cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Use optional toppings if desired.
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
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OMG my husband will love this! Saving!
All my faves in one :)
Perfect easy weeknight dinner!
I’m the same – by the time I’m done working, dinner becomes such a chore so meals like this are great!!
This casserole is everything I want in a weeknight meal too! So easy and packed full of flavor!
Yum! I love chorizo! This casserole sounds delish!
Casseroles are one of my favorite dishes! This one looks amazing!
I love all of these ingredients, I usually make them in a quiche, but spinach and other ingredients don’t really work as well in a quiche as they do in this recipe, so glad I found it, a nice way to add spinach into the mix, thank you for this recipe!