Take a trip to the border with this ground beef casserole! Tomatoes, spices, corn, black beans, and cheese make this a filling meal. This dish is pretty hot, so cut back on the spice quantities for a milder version.
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What Makes This Recipe Tex-Mex?
Mexican and Tex-Mex cooking share a lot of similar ingredients and flavors. But there are two things that clearly separate Tex-Mex from traditional Mexican recipes: beef, and coriander. Coriander is a Mediterranean spice that was brought to the Americas by the Spanish.
They also brought cattle, which was not a native species. While there were huge herds of bison in North America, they preferred the northern plains and river valleys to the arid environment of Mexico.
I've used Mexican oregano in this recipe, instead of the more common Mediterranean variety. Although they share the same name, the two herbs are not related. Mexican oregano is a member of the mint family and is closely related to marjoram. It has a citrusy flavor with undertones of licorice.
Ingredients You'll Need
- water
- butter
- cornbread stuffing mix
- ground beef
- onion
- diced tomatoes
- Ro*Tel
- chopped green chiles
- chipotle chile powder
- ground cumin
- ground coriander
- Mexican oregano
- hot sauce (your preference)
- black beans
- corn
- Mexican blend shredded cheese (or your favorite cheese)
Make This Tex-Mex Casserole
The ingredient list includes ground beef, cornbread stuffing mix, onions, Ro*Tel, diced tomatoes, butter, chopped green chiles, spices (chipotle chile powder, cumin, coriander, and Mexican oregano), hot sauce (I used habanero hot sauce), Mexican blend cheese, corn, and black beans.
Most of the prep is just opening cans and measuring, the only chopping involved is the onion. I love recipes like this!
If you've been following us, you know that we like a lot of spice! If you're not used to highly-spiced food, cut the amounts to ½ or ⅓. As you get used to using more spices and build up your tolerance, you can gradually increase the amounts. Someday you might be surprised to find that you've become a chile-head too!
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Get the stuffing going while you do the rest of the prep work. Follow the instructions on the package. The stuffing I used says to boil 1 ½ cups water with ¼ cup butter.
Add the stuffing mix.
Give it a good stir.
Remove the pan from the heat and set aside for five minutes. Set a timer while you do the prep work.
When the timer beeps, fluff the stuffing with a fork. Go back to finishing the prep work.
Put the ground beef and onion in a large skillet and cook until the beef is browned. This should take about 5 minutes.
Add the diced tomatoes, Ro*Tel, spices, and hot sauce.
Stir well and simmer for a few minutes.
Add the black beans, corn, and shredded cheese.
Mix it up until the cheese is melted.
Pour the mixture into a greased 9x13 baking pan. (If you use non-stick pans you can skip the greasing.)
Top with the cornbread stuffing. It will likely be a bit wet and sticky, but do your best!
Bake for 30 minutes. Here it is out of the oven.
This is a meal in itself, but if you can serve a salad on the side if you want something fresh and crisp to compliment it.
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📖 Recipe Card
Tex-Mex Casserole with Cornbread Stuffing Topping
Special Equipment Needed
- 1 medium saucepan
- 1 Large skillet
- 1 9x13 baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups water
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 (6-ounce) package cornbread stuffing mix
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (10-ounce) can Ro*Tel
- 1 (4.5-ounce) can green chiles
- 1 tablespoon chipotle chile powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce or to taste
- 1 (14-ounce) can black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 (14-ounce) can corn drained
- 1 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Bring the water and butter to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in the stuffing mix. Remove the pan from the heat and let it stand stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.1 ½ cups water, ¼ cup butter, 1 (6-ounce) package cornbread stuffing mix
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the ground beef and onion until the beef is browned, about 5 minutes.1 pound ground beef, 1 small onion
- Add the diced tomatoes, Ro*Tel, green chiles, chili powder, cumin, Mexican oregano, and hot sauce to the skillet. Simmer for 2 minutes.1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, 1 (10-ounce) can Ro*Tel, 1 (4.5-ounce) can green chiles, 1 tablespoon chipotle chile powder, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon coriander, 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- Add the beans, corn, and Mexican cheese to the skillet and stir until the cheese is melted completely.1 (14-ounce) can black beans, 1 (14-ounce) can corn, 1 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese
- Pour the mixture into a 9x13 baking pan and spread the cornbread stuffing evenly over the top. Bake for 30 minutes
Nutrition Estimate
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Elaine says
I used the spices at full strength, and we loved the heat level of this dish. The flavor and texture of the cornbread topping complement the casserole ingredients very nicely.
Grey says
Glad you liked it! We love Tex-Mex, and I'll be posting more "on the border" recipes in the future.
Food Blog Confession: The first time I made this I grabbed the wrong box from the pantry and used cornbread mix instead of cornbread stuffing mix. It was edible, but it's a lot better with the correct mix!