Mexican Breakfast Casserole
When tortilla chips, spiced ground turkey, veggies, eggs and cheese are all baked up together in the oven, only good things can come of it! This Mexican Breakfast Casserole is a wholesome breakfast dish to serve a crowd or prepared for an easy grab-and-go meal. Either way you dish it, this gluten-free and optionally dairy-free dish will be a new morning favorite.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado or olive oil
- 2 pounds ground turkey
- 1 red bell pepper diced fine
- 1 green bell pepper diced fine
- 1 yellow onion diced fine
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning plus 1 teaspoon, divided
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 2 cups red store-bought salsa
- 1 14 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 handfuls of baby spinach about 2 ounces
- 8 eggs
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce optional
- 1 12 ounce bag corn tortilla chips
- 1-2 cups shredded cheddar
- 1/3 cup scallions chopped, for garnish
- 1 bunch cilantro chopped, for garnish
- 1 avocado for garnish/serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF and lightly grease a 9x13” (or similar sized) baking dish.
- Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add turkey, and cook until no longer pink. Add peppers and onion, and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add taco seasoning and a big pinch of salt and pepper and cook for 1 more minute. Set aside until ready to assemble.
- Heat salsa, beans and spinach in a saucepan until spinach has wilted. Set aside until ready to assemble.
- Whisk together eggs, 1 teaspoon taco seasoning, hot sauce and a big pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl.
- Now it’s time to assemble the layers: First, place a layer of tortilla chips in the bottom of the baking dish, as close together as possible, overlapping where necessary. Next, layer half of the turkey mixture, then half of the salsa mixture, then half of the egg mixture, and finally top with half of the shredded cheese. Repeat these layers one more time, ending with the remaining cheddar cheese on top.
- Bake in the preheated oven in the middle for 30 minutes uncovered, until the casserole is puffy throughout.
- Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Top with desired garnishes, such as avocado, sliced jalapenos, cilantro, hot sauce or diced tomatoes.
Notes
This recipe was originally published in 2014, but updated with new photos and a new recipe in 2020.
Omit cheese for dairy-free.
This entire casserole can be baked, and then frozen for a future day, or it can be frozen in individual portions for meal prep. To freeze it, make sure the casserole has come to room temperature. Wrap the casserole twice with plastic wrap, and freeze. It will need to be defrosted overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
To reheat for 15-20 minutes in a 350ºF, or until it reaches a minimum temperature of 170ºF. If desired, you can bake it for a few extra minutes under the broiler to get the cheese extra melty.