If you like cheese-topped tacos and also enjoy eating beef chili, try combining the two in one dish, as I did in today’s recipe for taco chili casserole.
It’s an easy creation that uses a convenience item: a jar of store-bought tomato salsa. That salsa is rich with such things as bell peppers, onions, tomatoes and seasonings, items often added to chili. But in this case, instead of having to chop and measure all those ingredients, all you need to do is open the jar of the salsa and add it the pot containing the chili’s other ingredients — ground beef, beef broth and drained, canned beans. The latter could be bean medley, a mix of beans and chickpeas, or red kidney beans, depending on your preference.
The chili is then simmered a short while, before being spooned into eight-square baking dish. The next step is to tastily top the chili with coarsely crumbled tortilla chips and a generous amount of grated cheese, which, again, depending on your preference, could be plain or jalapeño flavoured Monterey Jack or havarti cheese, or aged white cheddar cheese.
This taco chili casserole is then baked in the oven 20 to 25 minutes, until the cheese is melted and light golden, and the chili below it is bubbling hot. The end result is a hearty casserole that all ages will enjoy.
Taco Chili Casserole
This is an easy, tasty, hearty casserole where meaty chili is baked with a topping of crumbled tortilla chips and a generous amount of cheese.
Preparation time: 20 minutes tortilla chips
Cooking time: 40 to 45 minutes
Makes: four servings
1 lb. (454 grams) extra lean ground beef
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 (420 mL) jar tomato salsa (see Note 1)
1 (14 oz./398 mL) can bean medley or red kidney beans, drained well, rinsed in cold water, and drained well again (see Note 2)
1 1/4 cups low sodium beef broth
• pinch or 2 granulated sugar
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
36 tortilla chips, coarsely crumbled (see Note 1)
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups grated plain or jalapeño flavoured Monterey jack or havarti cheese, or aged cheddar cheese (about 125 to 150 grams)
2 to 3 Tbsp chopped cilantro or sliced green onion
• sour cream, hot pepper sauce and tortilla chips, to taste
Place beef in a pot set over medium heat (my pot was eight inches wide and four inches tall). Cook beef, stirring it occasionally, until cooked through and crumbly. Drain away the excess fat/liquid from the meat. Set the pot back over the heat. Mix in the tomato paste and cook one minute. Now add the salsa, beans, broth and sugar. (The sugar will help balance the acidity in the tomatoey salsa.) Bring this chili to a gentle simmer, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Taste and season chili with salt and pepper, if needed, and then remove it from the heat (see Eric’s options).
Preheat oven to 375 F. Spoon the chili into an eight-inch square baking dish. Top the chili with an even layer of the crumbled tortilla chips. Top those chips with the cheese. Bake the casserole, uncovered, 20 to 25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and light golden and the chili is hot and bubbling.
Sprinkle the casserole with cilantro or green onion. Serve the casserole with sour cream and hot pepper sauce, for spooning and sprinkling on it once plated, and additional tortillas chips, for dunking into it.
Note 1: When testing this recipe I used BC made, Que Pasa brand, mild Mexicana tomato salsa and that company’s triangle-shaped, thin and crisp tortilla chips. Other brands of jarred tomato salsa similar in volume will also work here, including spicier ones. Other brands of tortilla chips will also work here. When coarsely crumbled, which means to break them into 1/2- to 1-inch sized pieces, you’ll need about one generous cup of them for this casserole, no matter what type you use.
Note 2: Bean medley is a mix of different canned pulses, such as beans and chickpeas. You’ll find it at most grocery stores.
Eric’s options: You can make the chili part of the recipe in advance, let it cool in the pot to room temperature, and then cover and refrigerate it up to a day before needed. When needed, uncover the chili, make it warm again on the stovetop, thinning t with a bit more stock if you find it too thick. Now spoon the chili into the baking dish and top and bake as described in the recipe.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
