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You are here: Home / All Recipes / Taco Casserole

July 17, 2020 By Nancylynn 47 Comments

Taco Casserole

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Taco Casserole uses tons of veggies, quinoa, and ground turkey to make a simple and delicious Mexican meal.  Use your favorite Crock Pot or Instant Pot, for the perfect lunch or weeknight dinner! Perfect as a filling in tacos, on nachos, or in lettuce wraps for some extra veggies! This post contains affiliate links for products I am obsessed with.Three lettuce wraps filled with Crock pot taco casserole topped with avocado.

**This post (formerly named 21 Day Fix Quinoa Taco Casserole) was originally published on 6/5/16 but is getting an update with new pictures and FAQ.**

Confession #86 – I’m getting a little anxious about the start summer.  Which is crazy.  I have always looked forward to being home in the summer, especially since I was able to pull my kids out of daycare and spend two glorious months pretending to be a stay at home mom.  We all loved it.

Especially my husband.

Mexican quinoa casserole in a black crock pot with a wooden spoon.

Now that I am officially a stay at home mom, I should be even happier about summer starting…but I was spoiled this year with my daughter in pm kindergarten.

I had the best of both worlds, you see.  We were able to spend all morning together, but everyday at 12:30, my daughter went to school and I was able to put my son down for his rest time.

And therefore I had some sanity.  For about an hour or two a day.

This, people, will exist no more.

And trying to convince my 6 year old that we need to leave the pool, playdate, or park NOW to keep my son’s rest schedule in tact will be no treat.

Stay at home moms – any advice for me?

Three lettuce wraps filled with crock pot taco casserole on a white surface. Surrounding the wraps are a white and blue striped towel, half an avocado, sliced limes, and a ramekin full of shredded cheese.

Anyway, while I typically think of winter being crock pot season, I envision using my crock pot a ton this summer for quick and easy meals to help me through the chaos.

Overhead photo of crock pot taco casserole made with ground turkey, quinoa, diced tomatoes, corn, and black beans.

And it’s easy to put a summer spin on them.  Like this Crock Pot Taco Casserole.  Delicious on it’s own, it feels a little more summer-ish served in a lettuce wrap with a bit of fresh lime.  Yum!

Close up photo of crock pot taco casserole in a lettuce wrap and topped with avocado.

This is super simple (you don’t even need to cook the quinoa first!!) and perfect for lunch or even dinner throughout the week.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Overhead photo with lettuce wraps filled with Mexican crock pot taco casserole on a white surface. Surrounding the wraps are a white and blue striped towel, half an avocado, sliced limes, and a ramekin full of shredded cheese.

Can I make this Crock Pot Taco Casserole in the Instant Pot too?

Yes!  I love the Instant Pot version because it makes it even easier!  You still don’t need to precook the quinoa, AND you can saute the meat right in the instant pot!  Less dishes makes those long summer nights easier!

What seasoning makes this Mexican Crock Pot Casserole so delicious?

First, the diced tomatoes with green chilies makes this casserole super yummy, but don’t be scared they are not too spicy!  Just give it a ton of flavor.  Next, if I have homemade Salt Free Taco Seasoning made in the pantry, I use that.  Lots of spices and gives it a ton of flavor.  If I am all out of homemade taco seasoning, I will just use 1 Tbsp chili powder and 1 tsp cumin.  It’s just as delicious, so use what you have!

 

Close up photo of lettuce wraps filled with Mexican crock pot casserole topped with avocado.

How do I serve Instant Pot | Crock Pot Taco Casserole?

Making it a lettuce wrap is my favorite way to sneak in some extra veggies to this meal.  It’s really delicious as a taco filling or on top of nachos too.

I also love using avocado on top- just don’t forget to count some more blue!

photo collage with black and pink text overlay. lettuce wraps filled with mexican quinoa and topped with avocado; Middle text overlay- Taco Casserole with Quinoa | Instant Pot | Crock Pot | 21 Day Fix | WW

 

Looking for other Mexican inspired dishes? Try one of these-

21 Day Fix Mexican Street Corn Salad

21 Day Fix Mexican Lasagna

21 Day Fix Enchilada Beef Dip | Stove Top | Instant Pot

21 Day Fix Lazy Zucchini Enchilada Skillet

Healthy Instant Pot Mexican Favorites (21 Day Fix | 80 Day Obsession | Weight Watchers)

21 Day Fix Healthy Mexican Recipe Roundup

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Taco Casserole [Crock Pot | Instant Pot]

★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Nancylynn Sicilia
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Instant Pot
  • Cuisine: Mexican
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Description

Taco Casserole uses tons of veggies, quinoa, and ground turkey to make a simple and delicious meal.ย  Use your favorite Crock Pot or Instant Pot, for the perfect lunch or weeknight dinner! Perfect as a filling in tacos, on nachos, or in lettuce wraps for some extra veggies!


Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 lb organic ground turkey or chicken (be sure cook through for crock pot version)
  • 2 cups of bell peppers, diced
  • 1/2 cup of canned black beans, rinsed
  • 1/2 cup of corn
  • 1/2 of a red onion, diced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 can of tomatoes and green chilies
  • 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
  • 1–2 Tย Salt Free Taco Seasoning (or sub 1 Tbsp chili powder and 1 tsp cumin)
  • organic chicken broth (1 cup for crock pot; 1/2 cup for Instant Pot)
  • 2/3 cup of shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican blend
  • sprinkle of salt and pepper
  • fresh lime
  • optional lettuce wraps or corn tortillas

Instructions

Crock Pot

  1. Saute ground meat until cooked through.
  2. Place all the ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high 3 1/2 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. For the last half hour, add cheese and allow to melt.
  3. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding a sprinkle of salt and pepper, if desired.
  4. Serve alone, or as a taco filling. I used lettuce wraps for extra green and topped with a squeeze of fresh lime and a bit more shredded cheese. Yum!

Instant Pot

  1. Turn Instant Pot to saute and brown ground turkey. Once it’s cooked through, add in veggies and saute for an additional minute.
  2. Stir in quinoa, beans, tomatoes, broth and seasoning.
  3. Set to manual for 4 minutes, then let steam release naturally. Once you can safely open the pot, top with cheese and place the cover back on to melt it.
  4. Serve alone, or as a taco filling. I used lettuce wraps for extra green and topped with a squeeze of fresh lime and a bit more shredded cheese. Yum!

Notes

Makes 4 servings

21 Day Fix: 3/4 GREEN (I used lettuce wraps for a perfect 1 GREEN), 1 YELLOW, 1 RED, 1/2 BLUE per serving

WW: Green – 7 points, Blue – 4 points, Purple- 2 points (per serving)


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe

Keywords: casserole, tacos, turkey, ground turkey, dinner, mexican, instant pot, slow cooker, mexican

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @confessionsofafitfoodie on Instagram and hashtag it #confessionsofafitfoodie

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Filed Under: All Recipes, Cooking Method, Courses, Diet, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Hidden Veggies, Ingredient, Lunch, Poultry, Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Elaine says

    March 1, 2017 at 6:56 pm

    Hi Nancy
    how do you make quinoa made once, but don’t think it turned out good
    I have a reciepe for quinoa chicken enchilada casserrole it is a 21 day fix recipe.

    Any tips on making the quinoa/

    Elaine Guerriero

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      March 1, 2017 at 11:46 pm

      For this recipe, you just put it in raw. If you want to make the quinoa, just follow the instructions on the box or bag, but be sure to rinse it first! It can taste bitter if you don’t rinse it! Hope that helps ๐Ÿ™‚ My quinoa has the following instructions – The ratio is 1 cup of uncooked quinoa to 2 cups of liquid. Bring quinoa and liquid to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

      Reply
  2. Momof3 says

    April 26, 2017 at 2:31 am

    Please disregard my comment… I purchased a different brand of cups, and the purple for it is proteins. I was so worried that I had missed counting the protein.

    Reply
  3. Jessica Arnzen says

    May 8, 2017 at 12:24 pm

    Hello!
    I had a question for when you make serving what container did you use to measure?

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      May 8, 2017 at 5:47 pm

      Divide the recipe into four equal portions – the container counts are: 3/4 GREEN (I used lettuce wraps for a perfect 1 GREEN), 1 YELLOW, 1 RED, 1/2 BLUE each

      Reply
    • Desiree ferrer says

      January 6, 2021 at 2:27 am

      Did you use can beans ? When I put regular beans in the beans didnโ€™t cook .

      Reply
      • Nancylynn says

        January 7, 2021 at 7:25 pm

        Yes, canned. Thank you for asking, the recipe is now updated for clarity!

        Reply
  4. MacKenzie says

    May 31, 2017 at 12:39 am

    How large is the serving size? One cup? 2 cups? I can’t quite eyeball 1/4th of the whole thing.

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      May 31, 2017 at 12:59 am

      I usually portion it out before serving. I would say about 1 – 1 1/4 cups.

      Reply
  5. Andrea says

    August 10, 2017 at 2:24 pm

    I can’t have dairy products. Do you think you could make this without adding cheese into the slow cooker? Otherwise it sounds great!

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      August 10, 2017 at 7:48 pm

      I do! It will have a different flavor, but still very yummy!

      Reply
  6. Sara says

    September 24, 2017 at 3:40 pm

    Do you have to sautรฉ the ground meet first or could I cok in the crock pot?

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      September 24, 2017 at 3:57 pm

      I am not a huge fan of the texture of ground meat in a Crock Pot unless it is browned first. That being said, you the meat will cook through in the crock if you put it in raw.

      Reply
  7. Selene says

    November 6, 2017 at 11:16 pm

    Black beans and quinoa are place in cooker uncooked right??

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      November 6, 2017 at 11:36 pm

      Yup!

      Reply
      • Selene says

        November 7, 2017 at 2:27 pm

        Thank you. Iโ€™ll try it today ?

        Reply
  8. Courtney says

    November 8, 2017 at 2:16 am

    Is this recipe spicy?? I noticed the green chilis and wanted to ask.

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      November 8, 2017 at 3:50 am

      It’s really not ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  9. Brenda says

    January 4, 2018 at 10:06 pm

    Are the black beans canned or dry?

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      January 6, 2018 at 9:47 pm

      Canned

      Reply
  10. Angela says

    January 5, 2018 at 3:33 pm

    Can you use chicken breasts in this recipe instead of ground and just shred it up at the end of cooking?

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      January 6, 2018 at 9:39 pm

      That should work! Let us know if you try it!

      Reply
  11. Amber says

    January 10, 2018 at 5:07 pm

    How do I figure out the nutritional count if you arenโ€™t following the colors?

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      January 11, 2018 at 3:19 pm

      Have you ever used myfitnesspal? It’s super helpful for this!

      Reply
  12. Sarah says

    January 11, 2018 at 9:44 pm

    Are the portions the same for containers if you double the recipe? I just doubled everything and put it in crockpot , will the containers be the same each serving ?

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      January 16, 2018 at 1:22 am

      Yes, but you need to portion 8 servings. Make sense?

      Reply
  13. Aaron says

    January 11, 2018 at 10:24 pm

    What if I double or tripled the recipe will the container numbers be the same

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      January 16, 2018 at 1:22 am

      As long as you keep the portion size, then yes!

      Reply
  14. Ali says

    January 29, 2018 at 1:31 am

    Hi! I just made this and you’re saying that it serves 4 but I divided it using the green container ,3/4 but got 8 eervings. Did I measure wrong?

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      January 29, 2018 at 2:26 am

      Hi! The serving size is more like 1 1/2 cups each! So yes, four servings ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  15. Hattie says

    July 15, 2018 at 8:06 pm

    If I double the recipe, do I double the time in the instant pot?

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      July 16, 2018 at 9:21 pm

      Nope! Same time ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  16. Tricia says

    August 23, 2018 at 6:39 pm

    I am eating this right now for lunch and it is delish! I am having it over shredded lettuce with avacado and green onions. Looking forward to enjoying the leftovers!!
    Thank you for sharing!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      August 23, 2018 at 6:50 pm

      I am SO happy to hear, Tricia!! Thanks for the awesome feedback!! <3

      Reply
  17. Ashley Seraphin says

    February 10, 2019 at 7:38 pm

    This is my first instapot attempt! When you say set the pot to manual for 4 minutes, do you mean set instapot to pressure cook? Hopefully, bc that’s what I just did…i dont see a manual button.

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      February 10, 2019 at 8:13 pm

      Yup! They are interchangeable!

      Reply
  18. Katie says

    April 30, 2019 at 1:08 am

    My toddler so loves your Zuppa Toscana and Beef and broccoli (ok stretching on the broccoli) recipes. I have all these ingredients and will be putting it to the toddler taste test tomorrow!

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      May 1, 2019 at 11:50 am

      Awww…I hope that sweet babe enjoyed this!

      Reply
  19. Megan says

    January 30, 2020 at 2:22 am

    I made this for dinner tonight and it was so good! I entered the recipe into the recipe builder on the Weight Watchers site and it says it is 8 points (Freestyle Blue plan), but worth it!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      January 30, 2020 at 2:44 am

      I am so thrilled this was a hit!! Now I need to figure out why my counts are so off..what kind of meat did you use?

      Reply
      • Megan says

        February 29, 2020 at 5:39 pm

        I used ground turkey 93% lean.

        ★★★★★

        Reply
  20. Katie says

    March 2, 2020 at 10:09 pm

    What happened to the version with cumin and chili powder? Could I have those amounts please?

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      March 2, 2020 at 11:51 pm

      Sorry – it was 1 tablespoon of chili powder and 1 tsp cumin.

      Reply
      • Katie says

        March 3, 2020 at 10:09 pm

        Thank you!! Love this recipe!

        Reply
  21. Ashley says

    July 23, 2020 at 3:01 pm

    Do you think you could add in shredded zucchini (like the Taco Bake) or would it make it too watery?

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      October 17, 2020 at 5:00 am

      It’s worth a try! You can always shred the zucchini in a bowl, sprinkle with salt, and squeeze all the water out before adding to the taco mixture.

      Reply
  22. Gracie says

    December 5, 2020 at 5:41 am

    Could you make this with rice instead of quinoa? How would you adjust the liquid/cook time for brown rice?

    Reply

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