Brown The Beef: Cook the ground beef, diced yellow onion, salt, and black pepper until no pink remains. Drain any excess fat from the skillet.
Make The Meat Mixture: Stir the taco seasoning, water, green chilis, and black beans into the browned beef. Turn the heat down and allow the meat mixture to cook for a few minutes until most of the moisture has evaporated. Remove from heat.
Assemble: Place 2 flour tortillas into the bottom of the baking dish. Spread the meat mixture over the tortillas, top with salsa, and sprinkle with cheddar and Monterey jack cheese.
Middle Lasagna Layer: Place 4 flour tortillas (2 on top of each other) over the cheese layer, followed by more meat mixture, salsa, and cheese.
Bake With The Last Layer: Add the top layer of 4 flour tortillas (2 on top of each other), meat mixture, salsa, and cheese. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-35 minutes or until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and browned.
Serve: Cool on the counter for 15 minutes before garnishing. Serve and enjoy!
Substitutions and additions for Mexican Lasagna with Flour Tortillas
Change The Cheese: You can substitute the Monterey jack cheese for pepper jack cheese. You can replace the cheddar and Monterey jack cheese blocks with all Colby jack cheese. Any of these combinations will work nicely with this Mexican lasagna.
Taco Toppings: Top your Mexican “taco” lasagna with guacamole diced tomatoes, fresh cilantro, pico de gallo, sour cream, lettuce, sliced black olives, or chopped fresh jalapeños for a spicier kick.
Make it Meatless: For a vegetarian version of this meal, swap in an equal amount of your favorite plant-based meat alternative, like Beyond Beef or Impossible Burger. It has a similar texture to ground beef and cooks up much the same way. Tempeh is another plant-based option that will work for Mexican Lasagna. Simply break it into crumbles and follow the recipe as written.
Lower-Fat Lasagna: You can use lean ground turkey, ground chicken, or cooked shredded chicken instead of beef for a lower-fat version of this Mexican Lasagna.
Lasagna Layers: I use flour tortillas in this recipe; however, if you prefer, you can substitute with corn tortillas, actual lasagna noodles, or even use layers of crushed tortilla chips.
Swap The Salsa: Chunky salsa is a great shortcut addition to dishes like this one. You can swap it out for 1½ cups mild Rotel tomatoes or any brand of canned tomatoes that have onions and peppers added. Fire-roasted diced tomatoes also work great as well as your favorite taco sauce or enchilada sauce.
Tips for making this Mexican Lasagna Recipe with Tortillas
I doubled up on the center and top layers of the flour tortillas to give them extra structure, as the flour tortillas tend to get very soft when they absorb the liquids when baked.
You can swap out the larger flour tortillas for the smaller-sized ones if that is what you have. You need to note that you will need to use more tortillas for each layer if using the smaller ones.
You can swap the flour tortillas for white or yellow corn. They will add a slightly sturdier texture and a corn flavor to the lasagna. While they may taste slightly different, they will still make a great substitute.
When using seasoned black beans, I like to get the ones that say “Cuban style.” You can certainly use any brand of seasoned black beans you desire. Drain them but do not rinse off the seasoning before adding them to your meat mixture. If you use a standard can of unseasoned black beans, you will want to drain and rinse those.
I suggest baking this lasagna in a disposable aluminum pan if you plan to freeze it.
How to store Mexican Lasagna with Tortillas
To Store: Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To Freeze: You can freeze this lasagna tightly wrapped, in the freezer, for up to 2 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator before reheating.
To Reheat: Reheat your lasagna in the oven or microwave until warm.
