Welcome to The Storied Recipe, a podcast about food, culture, and love.
This super easy Tex Mex Lasagna is the best dish to bring to a family in need - quick, freezer-friendly, and adaptable to vegetarian, dairy-free, and gluten-free diets. I invite you to listen to my interview with Adina Bailey, founder of Take Them A Meal, while you make this dish!
Zero.
Zero is the number of times I've made this Tex Mex Lasagna for another family and *haven't* had them ask me for the recipe! It's creamy, hot and bubbly, full of flavor - comfort food at it's best.
Pair with this quick & easy Authentic Mexican Rice recipe - and add in a breakfast that will last for at least a week with this golden brown Crunchy Coconut Almond Granola!
Tex Mex Lasagna: Easiest Meal To Bring Families in Need!
(Or Make Ahead & Freeze For Your Own)
It's very rare for me to share a recipe on this site! Instead, 99% of recipes you'll find here come from one of my global guests on The Storied Recipe Podcast. I'm sharing this Tex Mex Lasagna in conjunction with an episode featuring Adina Bailey, co-founder of the incredibly popular sign-up service Take Them A Meal. This is my go-to dish when pulling together a meal for a family in need.
Tex Mex Lasagna freezes/defrosts without any trouble at all (you can even cook it from frozen). Leftovers are just as good as the first meal and kids usually seem to like it as much as adults. There are oodles of easy-to-no-prep sides that pair perfectly alongside the lasagna. Finally, this Tex-Mex Lasagna recipe is easily adaptable for gluten-free, vegetarian, or dairy-free families.
Best of all, the dish is easy on you, the meal provider. It takes very few dishes and multiples without any extra effort. Make one for the family in need, one for your own family - and maybe even one to freeze for later!
Questions About Tex Mex Lasagna
What can I serve with Tex Mex Lasagna?
Depending on the size of the family I’m feeding, how soon they’ll be eating the meal, and my time for prep, I’ve added any combination of the following sides:
- Mexican rice
- Pico de gallo (The Pioneer Woman has the best recipe!)
- Guacamole (or just avocados to slice)
- Pineapple, fresh (cut into chunks) or canned
- Canned peaches
- Fiesta corn salad - just saute corn with diced red pepper & red onion
- Jello (my mom always made Jello salad with Tex-Mex meals!)
- Premade or homemade Tex-Mex salads
- Tortilla chips
- Cornbread or cornbread muffins
Is Tex Mex Lasagna spicy?
It's not at all spicy the way the recipe is written. However, you can easily adjust it to your preferred spice level with any of the following adjustments!
One way to amplify the spiciness in the recipe is to choose to chop a jalapeno instead of using canned, diced chiles. The latter are extremely mild. Jalapenos are spicier.
Of course, you could also substitute a spicier pepper - perhaps a habanero or Scotch Bonnet.
You could also just adjust the amount of chili powder or choose a spicier chili powder.
How many layers in Tex-Mex Lasagna?
In keeping with the simplicity of this recipe, there are just two.
- Put a little salsa in the pan first, so the tortillas won't stick. Then layer tortillas, a thick layer of the hearty, creamy beef and sour cream mixture, salsa next, and finally cheese.
- Then repeat. Super simple, easy-peasy!
How can I make Tex Mex Lasagna gluten-free?
Super easy change! Just swap out flour tortillas and swap in corn tortillas. Frankly, I prefer it this way myself.
How do I make Vegetarian Tex Mex Lasagna?
Another easy change. Leave out the ground beef and add a can (or two) of black beans.
How do I make Dairy-Free Tex Mex Lasagna?
Typically, sour cream makes this dish smooth and creamy. However, it's easy to achieve the same texture by subbing refried beans (possibly thinned down with a tiny bit of salsa) for the sour cream. As for the cheese, either omit it or substitute your preferred dairy-free option.
Learn More About Take Them A Meal
Adina Bailey, Co-Founder of Take Them A Meal, shares how this service that blesses over a million people a month began from a crisis in her own life, then while she wasn't even paying attention. Once the growth became intentional, she and her co-founder chose to build in an incredibly thoughtful & ethical way. One of my most encouraging and hopeful interviews ever!
Ep. 80 Take Them A Meal Founder on Growing A *Truly* Service-Based Business
Follow The Storied Recipe in Your Favorite Player
Pair With
More Super Easy Meals to Take a Family in Need
Take Them A Meal Links
Instagram: @takethemameal
Pinterest: @takethemameal
PrintRecipe
Easy Tex Mex Lasagna
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
Description
Creamy, bubbly, seasoned Tex Mex Lasagna is easy to double and bring a friend in need. Vegetarian, dairy-free, and gluten-free adaptations included.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef (omit for vegetarian and double the black beans)
- Salt and pepper (for ground beef)
- 1 15 oz can black beans, drained (for vegetarians, double this)
- 8 oz sour cream (for dairy-free families, substitute refried pinto beans for your creamy element)
- 1/3 cup green onions
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
- 1 small can diced green chilis OR one jalapeno, seeded and chopped (the canned chilis are milder)
- 1 cup frozen corn (optional; not in the original recipe, but I like it)
- 1 tsp chili powder (to taste)
- 1 tsp cumin (to taste)
- 10 small corn or flour tortillas (corn for gluten-free)
- 16 oz cheese
- 20 oz jar of salsa (any flavor or heat)
Instructions
Cue Up The Episode!
Make sure you listen to her episode, A Conversation with Adina Bailey, Take Them A Meal Founder, while you make her Tex Mex Lasagna!
Make The Recipe
- Add the ground beef to a pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook until no longer pink. Drain.
- Chop the green onions and cilantro.
- In a bowl, combine everything except tortillas, cheese, and salsa.
- Pour a little bit of salsa on the bottom of a 9x13 pan or a half-sheet foil pan.
- Place a layer of tortillas over the salsa. You may have to tear and rearrange them a bit to get a layer that goes to the edges and doesn’t overlap too much.
- Top the tortillas with half the beef mixture. Top with half the cheese.
- For the second layer, go in this order: Tortillas, beef mixture, salsa, cheese.
- Bake at 350°F / 175° C until hot and bubbly. Will take about 30-45 minutes from room temperature. Will take about an hour from frozen.
Notes
- Make sure you listen to her episode, A Conversation with Adina Bailey, Take Them A Meal Founder, while you make her Tex Mex Lasagna!
- This recipe is totally adaptable! Feel free to make it your own!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Beef Dishes, Main Dish
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 3
- Sodium: 581
- Fat: 21
- Saturated Fat: 11
- Carbohydrates: 15
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 18
- Cholesterol: 78
Dana Padhla says
Enjoyed this recipe, but was a little bit confused on what to do with all the items mixed in the bowl and the remaining salsa...Ingredients were good, just didn't understand instructions
Thanks for sharing!
admin says
Hi Dana! Thanks for the feedback. Everything will be used twice - the salsa, tortillas, beef mixture, and cheese. Then you layer them in this order from the bottom up: salsa, tortilla, beef mixture, cheese, tortilla, beef mixture, salsa, cheese. Hope that helps!