When it comes to hearty meals that the whole family is sure to enjoy, it’s hard to beat a nice lasagna dish. Unlike other pasta dishes, lasagna is a layered, casserole-style meal that includes sheets of noodle, plenty of sauce, meat, cheese and whatever else we might choose to include. Still, the process of making it can seem a little daunting. On the other hand, sometimes we just want to take a familiar recipe and add a twist to it. Which is exactly what we’re doing today.
For today’s recipe, we’re going to show you how to make a slow cooker Mexican-style lasagna, a delicious fusion of Italian and Mexican cuisine. Although this recipe may seem a little unusual, it uses all the same elements as a standard lasagna and still packs all the meat, cheese and carbs you want. With some different flavors added in, though, it becomes a new dish entirely—and one that you’re sure to want again and again. So let’s get started.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 15 soft corn tortillas
- 1 pound of ground beef
- 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups of cheddar
- 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella
- 1 15-ounce can of salsa
- 3 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1 15-ounce can of black beans
- 1 12-ounce bag of frozen corn
- 1 white onion, diced
- 6 cloves of minced garlic
- 2 diced red bell peppers
- 1/4 cup of cilantro, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- pepper (to taste)
Here’s what you do:
1. To get started, get out a sauté pan and set it over medium high heat. Add your oil and let it get hot before adding your onions and garlic. Keep cooking everything together until the onions turn translucent before adding your ground beef, taco seasoning, salt and pepper. Continue cooking it all for about five to 10 minutes, cooking the meat all the way through.
2. Add your salsa and tomato paste after that and let it all simmer on a low temperature for another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring throughout the process. After that, turn off the heat and transfer everything into a bowl.
3. Next, add your bell peppers, corn, beans and cilantro to the mixture, stirring everything up so it’s well-combined.
4. After that, you can line the bottom of your slow cooker with five of your soft tortillas, topping that off with about a third of the meat mixture. Sprinkle the top of that with a third of your cheddar and mozzarella. Repeat this process until you run out of ingredients, ending with a top layer of cheese.
5. When it’s ready, set the slow cooker on high and let it cook for three and a half hours. When the time is up, turn the heat off, open it up and let the lasagna cool for about 10 minutes. Garnish it with cilantro, radishes and sour cream and you’re ready to serve!
As you can see, this recipe is simple to put together and is still full of all the familiar ingredients that you’re sure to love. While traditional lasagna has Italian seasoning in it, this one switches that out for taco seasoning and the results have to be tasted to be believed. As always, have fun with this recipe and let us know what you think!
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