This crescent roll taco bake is easy to make with crescent roll dough, seasoned ground beef and gooey cheese then baked and ready in 45 minutes. It’s a comfort food casserole perfect for a weeknight dinner!
If you’re looking for some new taco Tuesday ideas, then you’re in the right place. Try taco casserole, Mexican lasagna and taco braid, too!
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Easy Weeknight Dinner
What’s on the menu for your next mid-week meal? This Pillsbury crescent roll taco bake will definitely win over your family! Serve it with a side of easy Mexican rice or cilantro lime rice and you have the perfect mid-week feast.
Nothing gets my family running faster to the dinner table than a delicious meal of Mexican-inspired food. This taco bake with crescent rolls is one of my newest creations and might be my easiest dish yet!
Just like crescent roll pizza and this chicken crescent rolls recipe, my taco bake with crescent rolls uses a quality shortcut to save time in the kitchen!
Why This Recipe Works
- Simple comfort food. In this fuss-free dinner, a layer of refrigerated crescent roll dough is topped with seasoned ground beef, cheese, and chilis and baked to golden perfection.
- Make it your own. Get as creative as you like for the toppings. We like ours piled high with chopped tomatoes, lettuce, salsa, and sour cream.
- Quick and easy. Ready in 45 minutes or less makes this the ultimate weeknight dinner for when you’re in a hurry.
Recipe Ingredients
You just need a few simple ingredients easily found at your local grocery store to make this crescent roll taco bake.
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Refrigerated crescent rolls: These are the ones that come in a tube. You can usually find these rolls in the refrigerated section of your grocery store.
- Ground beef: I use at least 80/20 which means 80% meat and 20% fat. The fat content helps to keep the taco meat juicy after its cooked.
- Chunky salsa: I like to use chunky as it’s less watery than regular salsa.
- Taco seasoning mix: You can make your own taco seasoning, or use a package from the store.
- Cheese: Shred your own cheddar cheese for this recipe. Pre-shredded cheese is usually coated in a non-clumping agent that makes it harder for the cheese to melt. Packages of shredded cheese are convenient for adding to salads or to use in cold sandwiches, but when you want your cheese to melt, shredding your own is the way to go.
- Toppings: You can let your imagination go wild here. Shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, green onions, cilantro, and avocado slices are all great choices!
Variations
Swapping out ingredients is easy to do with this crescent roll taco bake recipe. This way you can customize the recipe to your family’s taste.
Here are some suggestions:
- Meat: Lighten things up with some lean ground turkey breast or ground chicken. Ground pork would also be a great option.
- Cheese: Swap the cheddar for some Monterey jack or pepper jack cheese.
- Beans: Add some canned and rinsed black beans to the ground beef mixture or add a layer of refried beans to the casserole.
How to Make Crescent Roll Taco Bake
Make this easy casserole in no time at all by following the steps below!
- Unroll crescent dough. Open up your tube of refrigerated crescent dough and press it into an ungreased casserole dish. Remember to press the seams together with your finger and smooth the dough over the bottom and up the sides of your dish.
- Cook beef. Cook the beef in a large skillet for 8 – 10 minutes, then drain the excess grease. Stir in the salsa, taco seasoning, and green chiles and simmer for 5 minutes. Enjoy the amazing aroma!
- Bake. Spoon the beef mixture over the crescent roll crust and sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until golden.
- Serve. Let the casserole cool for a few minutes before serving it with your favorite toppings.
Make Ahead
Make-ahead recipes are real saviors in my kitchen! Busy days turn into even busier nights, so any time I can get ahead in my meal prep, I’m all for it!
You can cook the ground beef topping and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container. This way all you have to do is assemble the taco bake casserole and bake it in the oven when you want a quick dinner. So easy!
Expert Tips
- Toss an extra handful of cheese in with your cooked ground beef to give your bake even more cheesy flavor.
- Don’t forget to pinch the crescent roll dough triangles together so you cover the seams. This will help prevent holes in your dough as it bakes.
- Using a glass baking dish is a great way to see if the dough is cooked on the bottom.
- Loosely tent your dish with foil if it looks like the crescent roll dough is browning too quickly before it’s cooked all the way through.
Extra Toppings
Add some pico de gallo, homemade guacamole, corn, diced peppers, sliced green or black olives, pickled jalapenos, or crushed Doritos. If you like to serve it on top of tacos, add it to this casserole!
Recipe FAQs
For a lighter dish, you can switch the meat to ground turkey or chicken breast which is leaner than ground beef. Reduce the amount of cheese or use a lower-fat version and keep the toppings light and fresh like shredded lettuce, fresh tomatoes, and some homemade salsa.
Brown the meat first, drain, and then add the taco seasoning. If you add the seasoning before cooking the meat, some of it will be poured out when you drain the excess grease, and your meat will lose some of that bold flavor.
Yes! The fat in the meat keeps it super juicy, but it’s important to drain off any excess fat after browning and before adding the taco seasoning. If you don’t drain the fat, you’ll be left with greasy taco meat, and no one wants that!
A good general rule is to use 2 tbsp for every pound of meat. You can adjust it according to your tastes, but I find this ratio works well.
Yes, you can keep crescent roll taco bake leftovers in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw and follow reheating instructions.
Storing
Store your leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To reheat, cover the dish loosely with foil and warm them in a 350°F oven for 20 minutes until they’re heated through. You can also use your microwave to warm individual portions. Heat them on medium power in 30-second intervals until heated throughout. This will take a minute or two.
More crescent roll inspired recipes include this crescent roll breakfast casserole, pigs in a blanket and cinnamon crescent rolls.
More Mexican Inspired Recipes
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Crescent Roll Taco Bake
Video
Ingredients
- 1 (8-ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls (8 count)
- 1 pound ground beef (at least 80%)
- 1 cup chunky salsa
- 2 Tablespoons (1-ounce package) taco seasoning mix
- 1 (4.5-ounce) can green chiles , optional
- 1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (can sub 1 cup pepper jack cheese)
Optional toppings: Shredded lettuce, Chopped tomatoes, Salsa, Sour cream, Cilantro and Avocado slices
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Unroll the crescent dough and separate into 8 triangles. Place in ungreased 9×13 baking dish. Press over bottom and up sides to form crust. Press the seams together and press the edges up the sides if excess.
- In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cooked through. Drain any excess grease. Stir in salsa, taco seasoning, and green chiles, if using. Simmer 5 minutes. Spoon evenly over crust. Top with cheese.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until crust is deep golden brown and cheese is melted. Let cool a few minutes before serving with your favorite toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Beef, Casseroles, Dinner, Kid-Friendly, Nut-Free, Super Bowl
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is also the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook. Here you will find easy family-friendly recipes for every occasion.
We love Mexican food at home and this was a recipe that’s so worth doing! It was delicious, easy to make and I stored the leftovers, they were still super good the next day!
So glad you enjoyed the crescent roll take bake!
So easy to make and perfect to mix up taco night! Even my picky son loved it!