If I have the opportunity to turn anything into lasagna, you can bet I’m going to do it! This Southwestern Lasagna was a weekly occurrence for us growing up in Arizona.
Back in the day, my mom took advantage of a few easy store bought ingredients and layered it up to make the most delicious and easy weeknight dinner! BONUS - this doubles as leftovers for lunches too! I've give it a bit of a What's Gaby Cooking makeover the past few years and honestly, it's never been better!
Ok so, what is southwestern lasagna and is it anything like regular lasagna?
The answer is kinda-sorta. Unlike regular lasagna which is layers of ricotta, bolognese and lasagna sheets, this Southwestern Lasagna is made up of layers of tortillas, Mexican cheeses and taco meat. Same concept but totally different flavor profile. It's basically a cheesy chicken Mexican lasagna and I am here for it.
I use flour tortilla instead of pasta, ground turkey mixed with taco seasoning instead of a bolognese sauce and tons of refried beans and green chiles, plus tomatoes and corn as the filling. Top it off with your favorite cheese and it’ s game time! You’ll love this one!
Can you swap ground chicken for the ground turkey?
Yes - in almost any recipe you can swap ground turkey for chicken and vice versa! You could also do ground beef if that's more of your style.
Flour or corn tortillas?
I'm partial to a flour tortilla in this case, but corn totally works as well. It's a personal preference - you do you. Also any other kind of tortilla would work too. Spinach tortillas, why not.
How to properly season the Southwestern Lasagna...
You can make a bulk batch of my homemade taco seasoning!
AND.... if you're feeling fancy, smack a big spoonful of guacamole on top when it's time to eat!
Southwestern Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey meat
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes and green chiles
- 1 5.25 ounce can whole green chiles drained and roughly chopped
- 3 small flour tortillas
- 1 cup fresh corn
- 1 16-ounce can refried beans
- 1 ½ cups shredded Colby jack cheese
- ½ cup chopped tomato
- ½ cup chopped green onions
- 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F and coat an 8-inch skillet with baking spray.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add some olive oil and sauté the turkey meat and onion until the turkey is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add the taco seasoning, salt and garlic and mix to combine. Add diced tomatoes and green chiles continue to cook until the liquid evaporates.
- Spoon ½ of the taco meat into the skillet. Lay the tortillas in an overlapping fashion on top of the taco meat. Carefully smear a layer of refried beans on top of the tortillas. Followed by the remaining taco meat. Then add a layer of corn.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove and add the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for an additional 10 minutes until the cheese is melted. Garnish with the chopped tomatoes, chopped green onions and cilantro. Serve
Notes
Can you swap ground chicken for the ground turkey?
Yes – in almost any recipe you can swap ground turkey for chicken and vice versa! You could also do ground beef if that’s more of your style.Flour or corn tortillas?
I’m partial to a flour tortilla in this case, but corn totally works as well. It’s a personal preference – you do you. Also any other kind of tortilla would work too. Spinach tortillas, why not.Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking
Such a good recipe, the whole family was obsessed with this one.
The whole family - from baby to dad loved this. I made everything in one skillet. Just took out half the Turkey meat when making the layers.
Loved this lasagna! The recipe was fun to make and the taste was superb! Loved it. Every recipe of yours that I have made has been great! Liked by me and friends! Wish I could post a pic as it is beautiful!
Ok, this recipe is DELISH!!! Only comment is you would have to have all ingredients diced, chopped, drained, etc ahead of time to prep this in 5 minutes.
Made this for dinner last night and it was a hit! It makes a bunch so we have leftovers for several more meals.
I made this last night...DELICIOUS! I went back for seconds....and thirds. The flavor is absolutely perfect and the addition of the sweet corn & refried beans really elevates this dish to the next level. Can't wait to make this again!
What can I substitute green chiles with as I cannot find any in the supermarket (in Australia)?
I recently found Gaby’s site and last week all of my dinners were from her! Nothing disappointed me. And this recipe was one of them!! My fiancé and i made a half size since it’s just the two of us.. honestly we could have finished it, but i wanted some for lunch the next day so we had to stop eating it!!! It’s just sooooo good and simple!!!
I made this twice in one week. Once for my husband and I to have and then again for my Bunco group as I liked it so much. My Bunco friends loved it as much as I did. Thanks for sharing.
I loved loved loved this recipe!!!! Thank you for sharing!
My eleven year old and I made this today. We added a can of rinsed black beans, along with the corn. Delicious!
This is quite simply the BEST!!
Looks delicious!
Can't wait to make this! We love Mexican food!
This recipe looks amazing! Looking forward to trying it.
Do you think it would be ok to assemble the day before cooking or do you think the tortilla will get too mushy? I make this all the time and would love to find a way to make it ahead of time.
ya I think that would work! tortillas will be soft no matter what 🙂