Walking Taco Casserole

It’s football season again and I still remember making Walking Tacos at the football game concession stand. But as a grown up – I don’t need to hold a bag of chips for dinner so I made this delicious Walking Taco Casserole!

It’s got all the yum of that original walking taco – taco meat, cheese, lettuce, sour cream and, of course, chips! You can use which ever your favorite is – I went for Fritos – but Cool Ranch Doritos are never a mistake either!

What is a Walking Taco?

Here’s a tidbit for ya – the walking taco started as a fair food in the 80s! Tennessee-based Petro’s Chips and Chili has a signature dish called the Petro and it’s basically a walking taco in a cup. It’s got Fritos chips or pasta on the bottom – then is topped with chili – then cheddar & jack cheese, tomatoes, sour cream and scallions. They started a booth at a fair and just skipped the cup and put all the toppings in a small bag of Fritos chips – boom! Walking Taco is born!

How to make Walking Taco Casserole

It’s pretty simple – take all of the elements of the walking taco and casserole it up! I used ground pork instead of ground beef for this one. Why? I think it has more flavor than ground beef and I had some in my freezer. It’s very economical and you can use it in place of ground beef in any recipe! I’ve been to visit Ohio Hog Farms before and like to support my farming friends.

First, preheat your oven to 350. Next, brown your ground pork and add taco seasoning and water – just like you’re making tacos. While the pork is browning, prep your toppings: shred cheese, chop lettuce and dice tomatoes. Then spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray. After the taco meat is ready – spread it in the bottom of the dish. Top with taco sauce, cheese and a couple of handfuls of your favorite chips (Fritos or Doritos). Bake for 20 minutes. Then, serve with lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream!

How do you reheat Walking Taco Casserole?

The thing is – you probably won’t have leftovers!!! But – if you do – the chips will quickly sog up along with the lettuce if you topped it all. I chop extra lettuce and tomatoes and keep them in the fridge. When I’m ready to reheat the casserole, I pick off any lettuce and chips and just pitch them (or give them to the dog) and then heat in the microwave for 1 minute. Then top with fresh chips, lettuce, tomatoes and sour cream. (Those tomatoes are from a local guy that sells them in his front yard every week – yum!)

Other recipes with Taco Meat

• Air Fryer Taco Stuffed Avocados
• Baked Taco Stuffed Tomatoes
• Air Fryer Taco Bombs
• Taco Pasta Salad