Healthy Mexican Lasagna Recipe

Mexican Lasagna is comforting healthy Mexican food at its finest! You may also know it as Mexican casserole, stacked enchiladas, or taco lasagna. No matter its name, it features tortillas, layers of meat, veggies, and cheese. Baked in the oven, it’s hearty, savory, and oh-so-good! 

Up close photo of layers of Healthy Mexican Lasagna in a baking dish.

What is Mexican Lasagna? 

Not exactly Mexican food, Mexican lasagna is a Tex-Mex recipe that combines classic lasagna with Mexican-inspired flavors. Instead of lasagna noodles, we use tortillas to form the base of layers. 

Then, ground meat, veggies, and cheese stack on top of each other for a savory, high-protein casserole. It’s like all your favorite meals rolled into one crowd-pleasing dish! 

Ingredients You Need

This recipe is a healthified version of a Mexican lasagna recipe handed down by my mom. I kid you not, the name on her recipe card was “Really Great Mexican Bake,” but she wasn’t joking! 

Photo showing the layers in Healthy Mexican Lasagna topped with fresh lettuce and tomatoes.

Here’s what you need: 

  • Meat – I prefer to use lean ground beef, but ground turkey, beef, venison, or even ground chicken will work. 
  • Fresh Veggies – Use a bell pepper and a white or yellow onion. 
  • Chili Beans – These are seasoned pinto beans. Find them in the canned section of your local grocery store. 
  • Tomato Sauce – This acts as the “marinara sauce” adding rich flavor and combining the ingredients. 
  • Chopped Green Chiles – These add just a touch of spice. Find them in the Mexican section of your local grocery store. 
  • Seasonings – Sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper enhance the savory flavor and add just a touch of spice. 
  • Tortillas – Use any soft, flour tortillas you like best! If needed, opt for gluten-free varieties to keep this recipe gluten-free. 
  • Cheese – Use Cheddar cheese, Mexican blend, Pepper Jack, or any variety you have on hand. 
  • Toppings – Feel free to experiment with any toppings you like best! I use black olives, lettuce sour cream, salsa, and avocado (or guacamole)!  

Full ingredients, instructions, and nutrition information in the recipe card below. 

Up close photo of Mexican Lasagna on a fork with lettuce, shredded cheese and tomatoes.

Substitutions and Variations

  • Seasonings – Swap the individual seasonings, and taco seasoning instead
  • Tortillas – Feel free to swap the flour tortillas with corn tortillas. 
  • Tomato Sauce – Enchilada sauce also tastes great.
  • Mix-Ins – Incorporate more ingredients to make this recipe even more filling! Some great options include corn, black beans, jalapeños, or chopped tomatoes. 

How to Make Healthy Mexican Lasagna

Before you begin, preheat the oven, and grease a square baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. 

Overhead photo of a piece of Mexican Lasagna on a black spatula.
  1. Brown the meat. Heat a large skillet on the stovetop. Then, add in meat, veggies, beans, tomato sauce, chilis, and seasonings. Then, stir to combine, and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally. 
  2. Assemble the lasagna. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with the beef mixture. Then, layer tortillas on top. Repeat, until you use all the ingredients, ending with a layer of meat. 
  3. Top the casserole. Sprinkle the top of the dish with cheese. Then, add all your favorite toppings. 
  4. Bake. Transfer the baking dish to the oven. Bake until the cheese melts and the meat mixture is brown and bubbling around the edges. 
  5. Cool. Allow the casserole to cool slightly. Then, slice it into pieces, add your cold toppings, and enjoy! 

Can I Make This Recipe in Advance? 

Yes, just keep in mind that the tortillas will be softer once baked. To make this healthy Mexican lasagna in advance, combine all the ingredients in the baking dish. 

Cover the dish with foil, and store it in the fridge for up to one day. Let the lasagna come to room temperature. Then, bake as the recipe card states, and enjoy! 

Up close photo of a slice of Healthy Mexican Lasagna on a spatula.

How to Store and Reheat

  • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for two to three days. 
  • Freeze the lasagna for up to three months. 
  • Thaw your recipe in the fridge overnight. Then, warm it in the microwave or oven just until heated through. 
Side view of a piece of Mexican Lasagna topped with sour cream and cilantro.

 

Healthy Mexican Lasagna Recipe

Make this healthy Mexican lasagna recipe with simple ingredients for a nutritious comfort food that’s full of flavor and ready in under an hour!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: casserole, family friendly, healthy, healthy mexican food, healthy mexican recipes, lasagna, mexican lasagna
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 500kcal
Cost: $13.00

Equipment

  • 1 skillet
  • 1 cutting board
  • 1 knife
  • 1 8x8 pan

Ingredients

Meat Mixture

  • 1 lb ground meat (turkey, beef, venison)
  • 1 bell pepper, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 can 15 oz chili beans, don't drain
  • 1 can 15 oz tomato sauce
  • 1 can 4 oz chopped green chiles
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/16 teaspoon cayenne powder (optional)

Toppings and Tortillas

  • 4 to 8 flour tortillas (see notes)
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
  • 1 can 2.25 oz sliced black olives. drained
  • lettuce, sour cream, salsa, avocado

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8x8 oven-safe pan with non-stick cooking spray.
  • Brown ground meat in a large skillet on the stove top. Add in remaining "meat mixture" ingredients and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The mixture will begin to thicken and the flavors will combine.
    1 lb ground meat (turkey, beef, venison), 1 bell pepper, diced, 1 onion, diced, 1 can 15 oz chili beans, don't drain, 1 can 15 oz tomato sauce, 1 can 4 oz chopped green chiles, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/16 teaspoon cayenne powder
  • Assemble the Lasagna: Place just enough of the meat mixture to barely cover the bottom of the greased 8x8 glass pan then cover with 2-4 tortillas* (depending on their size and the shape of your baking pan). Cover the tortillas with half of the meat mixture then cover with 2-4 more tortillas. Cover the top tortillas with the remaining meat mixture. Top with the cheese and as many black olives as desired.
    4 to 8 flour tortillas (see notes), 1 cup shredded cheese, 1 can 2.25 oz sliced black olives. drained
  • Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and meat mixture is bubbling around the edges.
  • Let the casserole cool for 15 minutes and then cut into pieces and serve. Top with shredded lettuce, sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, salsa, lettuce, or avocado!
    lettuce, sour cream, salsa, avocado
  • Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Video

Notes

Tortillas - Use 8 fajita-sized tortillas or 4 to 6 taco or burrito-sized tortillas in this recipe. If using taco or burrito sized tortillas, cut the tortillas in half or quarters and stack them so they cover the meat mixture evenly. This is not typically needed if using fajita-sized tortillas. (You cannot mess up this recipe, if you want to use more or less tortillas than what I suggest, the casserole will still turn out well!) Gluten free tortillas or corn tortillas can be substituted!
Meal Prep - This meal is perfect to double! Either make two pans to eat during the week or prepare one casserole to enjoy immediately and place the other half of the meat mixture in the freezer. Defrost the meat and assemble the casserole per instructions above. 

16 Comments

  1. I am a nut for Mexican food and this looks DELICIOUS! Thanks for the recipe. I’m trying this for sure.

    • Hi Pattie! I really think you will like this recipe if you are crazy about Mexican food too. 🙂 This is definitely one of our favorites! Happy Cooking!

  2. I truly love this recipe and the specific spin that you’ve placed on it.
    Pretty clever. I’m gonna be preparing this for my husband next week and
    I’ll report back on how I get on. Thank you for the
    great idea!

  3. Your Mexican Lasagna sounds amazing! I can’t wait to give this one a try. I love it when delicious is healthy too! Thank you for sharing it with us at the Heath and Soul Hop.

  4. Love this idea! Both Lasagna and Mexican food are very popular at our house but we never thought to combine them. Yum!! Thanks so much for sharing on the Healthy Living Link Party 🙂

    • Well you know, sometimes combining works and sometimes it doesn’t…but this time it TOTALLY worked!! I’m craving this meal again already. I may have to make it this weekend 😉

  5. Sammi ,Love this healthy version of Mexican lasagna , thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop, pinning and tweeting.

  6. Hi Sammi,
    Yum! I love Mexican food and lasagna as well! I appreciate the turkey version, I am not a fan of cooking with beef. 🙂 Thanks for sharing at Talented Tuesday.
    Cheers,
    AJ

  7. This sounds great! I want to try it – and I bet my boys will love it too! Thanks for sharing on the Healthy Living Link Party!

  8. This looks delicious!

  9. Looks yummy. Thank you for sharing with us at #HomeMattersParty. We would love to have you again next week.

  10. I need to make this! Thanks for sharing on the Healthy Living Link Party.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




*