This Mexican Keto Taco Bake is made with ground beef, diced tomatoes, black beans, corn, onions, bell peppers, seasonings, and lots of cheese.

This is a Tex-Mex dish that really is comfort food to me. I absolutely love the end product, especially when you serve yourself and the melted cheese pulls. You can modify this any way you prefer and serve with tortillas or tortilla chips. This is absolutely kid friendly and can feed a family of 6 people.
If you love this recipe, feel free to try my Chicken and Shrimp Fajitas or my Cream Cheese Stuffed Poblano Peppers.
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Why you will love this recipe
Versatile: Feel free to use any variety of beef, beans, pepper, onion, corn, and cheese.
Full of flavor: The taco seasoning used in this recipe is so full of flavor and fully compliments the beef, beans and vegetables.
Hearty: The portion size is very big and the beef and beans combination make this dish super hearty.
Kid Friendly: I grew up eating taco casserole so this is such a delightful recipe to introduce to your children.
Great for all weather: I grew up eating this in the winter and summer evenings. It is perfect for every season.
Serves a crowd: The portion size for this is already big and serves a huge crowd.
Ingredients
You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Bell pepper
- Ground beef
- Taco seasoning
- Diced tomatoes
- Corn
- Black beans
- Cheese
- Avocado
- Cilantro
- Jalapeños
- Scallions
See recipe card for Mexican Keto Taco Bake quantities.
Instructions
In a large cast-iron skillet over medium high heat, add the oil and wait for it to shimmer. Add the onions, bell peppers, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the ground beef and cook, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Add the taco seasoning, salt and pepper, and stir to combine.
Pour in the diced tomatoes, corn, black beans and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, until liquid has reduced.
Sprinkle the cheese over the meat mixture, cover, then turn the heat off and leave for a few minutes for the cheese to melt.
Serve with avocado, cilantro, and tortillas.
Substitutions
Oil: Feel free to use olive oil or any oil like sunflower, canola, or vegetable oil. You could even use butter if you prefer.
Onion: I used yellow onion but you can use red or white onion.
Bell pepper: I love using bell peppers, but you could use poblano or even one serrano pepper if you prefer more heat.
Beef: I love using ground beef for this, although you can use ground turkey or chicken for a lighter variation.
Tomatoes: I used diced tomato for a can with the green chilies, but you can use regular canned tomato as well.
Corn: I used corn from a can but you can use fresh corn as well.
Beans: I used black beans but you can use pinto beans instead.
Cheese: I used mozzarella cheese but any shredded cheese that melts well will work, like pepper jack or Monterey cheese.
Variations
Cooking is a chance to be creative! Have fun with it and feel free to make your own variation.
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes in with the taco seasoning and top with jalapeño slices.
- Deluxe - add guacamole, crispy onions or fritos on top.
- Kid friendly - add crushed tortilla chips on top.
Check out my friend Kristi's Vegan version of this!
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Stone bakeware takes longer to heat up than metal pans, and also retain heat for longer, which could make the recipe more watery, or burnt on the outsides.
I love using my Caraway pots, pans and baking sheets for best quality.
Storage
This will be good in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
These ingredients don't stand up well to freezing.
Top tip
Make sure to simmer in the skillet until all the liquid has reduced.
Mexican Keto Taco Bake
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This Mexican Keto Taco Bake is made with ground beef, diced tomatoes, black beans, corn, onions, bell peppers, seasonings, and lots of cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 bell peppers, chopped
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (or regular salt)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
- 1 cup corn kernels (frozen or from a can), drained
- 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained
- 1 to 2 cups shredded mozzarella or Mexican-blend cheese
- Garnish
- Avocado slices
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- Sliced jalapenos
- Chopped scallions
- Tortillas or tortilla chips
Instructions
- In a large cast-iron skillet over medium high heat, add the oil and wait for it to shimmer. Add the onions, bell peppers, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the ground beef and cook, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Add the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, ground cumin, salt and pepper, and stir to combine.
- Pour in the diced tomatoes, corn, black beans and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, until liquid has reduced.
- Sprinkle the cheese over the meat mixture, cover, then turn the heat off and leave for a few minutes for the cheese to melt.
- Serve with avocado, cilantro, and tortillas.
Notes
- To melt cheese, you can just add on the skillet, cover, and remove from heat. If you prefer a crispier cheese, you can bake in the over at 400 F for 10 minutes.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 336.7
- Sugar: 1.3 g
- Sodium: 1,473.7 mg
- Fat: 15.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 6.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 25.0 g
- Fiber: 10.3 g
- Protein: 33.0 g
- Cholesterol: 80.0 mg
Food safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
Chip Andrews
Do you drain the corn and black beans
Maxine Dubois
Yes, I did. I will include it in my notes, thanks!