Make this Tex Mex Dorito Casserole for a bold and flavorful dinner the whole family will love! Layers of chips, beans, salsa, and olives sandwiched between sour cream and cheese makes for a filling dish.
If you're a fan of Doritos or just love snacking, this meal feels like snack food for dinner! Best of all, it's easy to make and weeknight friendly, so you can make this amazing recipe any time.
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🩵 About This Recipe
There is so much about this recipe to love. The kids are going to love it, the grownups are going to love it - everyone is going to give it 5 stars!
And yes, one of the ingredients is junk food. But what I love about this recipe is that it can be lightened up and will still be delicious!
You may be wondering, how can a recipe that includes a snack food like chips be healthy-ish, but stay with me here.
Even though tortilla chips are not healthy, some of the other ingredients have some good nutritional value. Plus, you can choose tortilla chips that minimize the sodium content and also are multi-grain. The goal is to maximize the nutrition while minimizing empty calories!
Kinda like baked nachos, this Dorito Casserole is a spin on a recipe for which the traditional name is chilaquiles.
Pronounced chee-la-KEY-lays, it's actually a breakfast dish served with eggs. You can check out more information on chilaquiles in this Wikipedia article. But it's a great evening meal idea as well, and I promise you serving this for dinner is going to make you the fav in the family, come supper-time!
And for a couple more great casserole recipes, check out this tasty Easy Hamburger Casserole or this cheesy, crunchy Walking Taco Casserole!
What readers are saying...
Hey, snack food for dinner?! Sign me up!!
- Marion
🧂 Gather Your Ingredients
- salsa, tomato sauce, chopped green chiles, kidney, beans, olives - good chance you have all of these ingredients in your pantry, right?
- Doritos - use your favorite variety!
- cumin - this simple spice adds great earthy seasoning.
- light sour cream, reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese - no jack cheese? You can certainly substitute cheddar or other melty cheese.
- chopped cilantro - adds freshness to the baked casserole.
🔪 Let's Make Dorito Casserole!
(Or click here to jump right to the recipe card with measurements!)
Make Sauce
In a bowl, mix together the salsa, tomato sauce, chiles, kidney beans, olives, and cumin.
Prepare Baking Dish
Distribute half of this mixture in the bottom of the baking dish.
Add Chips
Layer about half of the Doritos, then dollop the sour cream over the chips and spread it out.
Layer Cheese
Sprinkle about half of the shredded cheese over the sour cream.
Finish and Bake
Layer the other half of the Doritos, then spread the rest of the sauce mixture, then sprinkle the rest of the cheese. Bake and serve!
💡 Expert Tips and Tricks
- Make the sauce the day before and store it in the fridge.
- When you get home from work, start the oven preheating while you assemble everything in the baking dish. That way, you cut out some of the prep time and you will have dinner on the table in 40 minutes tops.
- Do not crush the Doritos. Small pieces turn to mush when cooking. Just layer in the chips right from the bag.
- You can mix up the Doritos flavors and the cheese. Use your family's favorites!
❔ FAQs
Add some cooked ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken to make this more hearty and filling. Mix it with some taco seasoning after cooking for additional flavor.
Leaving the chips large rather than breaking them will help prevent them from soaking up too much liquid. The chips will almost always soften a bit in this casserole, but if you leave them whole, they should maintain at least a little bit of crunch.
Absolutely! Assemble a day or so ahead of time and store covered in the fridge until you're ready to bake. I do recommend waiting to add the final layer of chips until just before baking so they're still crisp. Another option is just to make the sauce ahead of time and refrigerate, then assemble and bake.
📝 Substitutions and Variations
- Use hot salsa for extra spice or mild salsa for less heat.
- Skip the green chiles if you are going for a super-mild casserole.
- Try pinto beans or black beans instead of kidney beans.
- Instead of Doritos, use plain tortilla chips. They even have a low-salt version you can try if you are watching salt intake.
- Substitute cheddar cheese or colby for the monterey jack.
- Skip the cumin if you don't have it on hand - it adds a nice dimension to the flavor, but it isn't absolutely necessary to the recipe.
- Top with avocado slices or guacamole. Yum!
Kristin's Kitchen Tip
Pair your Dorito casserole with a toppings bar for an amazing customizable dinner that's great for a crowd!
🥡 Storage and Reheating
If you have Dorito casserole leftovers, store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. I recommend reheating in the oven at 350, but individual portions can also be zapped in the microwave in a pinch.
Keep It Handy
Don't have time for this Dorito casserole recipe right now? Click on or tap the heart icon on the BOTTOM RIGHT of the screen to save it for later!
🍴 What To Serve With This Dish
Though chilaquiles aren't nachos, you can certainly use your favorite nacho toppings to finish off this meal! Spicy salsa will up the heat up this meal. Creamy sour cream will cool it down.
Sliced olives, red onions, avocados, jalapeños, or minced cilantro can all enhance the flavor of this casserole and create a super-delicious meal for your family!
A bright fresh fruit salad would be fantastic and easy to put together while the dish is in the oven. Potato and Grilled Corn Salad is lightened-up and tangy. This potato salad is made with grilled corn, green onions, and fresh dill. Cornbread Casserole would be a delicious side with this meal! It's creamy, crunchy and sweet. Mexican Roasted Zucchini is easy to make and roasting the zucchini gives it tons of flavor!
😋 More Mexican Inspired Recipes You'll Love
- Chipotle Shrimp Tacos with Asparagus - You'll love these juicy chipotle shrimp tacos with lime crema, wrapped up snugly in soft flour tortillas alongside tender asparagus spears.
- Crockpot Enchilada Casserole - This slow cooker enchilada casserole is super-easy to prepare using your slow cooker and pantry and freezer staples, and it's so tasty it is sure to become a long-time family favorite!
- Slow Cooker Veggie Fajitas - Learn how to make veggie fajitas with a simple recipe that requires virtually no prep but results in a flavorful and delicious dinner!
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Taco Casserole with Doritos
⭐ Did you make this recipe? Awesome! I would love to hear from you. Please give it a star rating and review below! 👇
📋 Recipe Card
Cheesy Dorito Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 cup salsa (medium or medium hot)
- 8 ounce can of tomato sauce
- 4 ounce can of chopped green chiles (do not drain)
- 14 ounce can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
- 3.8 ounce can sliced olives (drained)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 11 ounce bag of Doritos
- ½ cup sour cream (use light, if desired)
- 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (use reduced fat, if desired)
- chopped cilantro (as desired)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Combine the salsa, tomato sauce, chiles, kidney beans, olives, and cumin in a large bowl.1 cup salsa, 8 ounce can of tomato sauce, 4 ounce can of chopped green chiles, 14 ounce can kidney beans, 3.8 ounce can sliced olives, 1 teaspoon cumin
- Place half the sauce in the bottom of an 8 x 11 inch baking dish.
- Add a layer of Doritos.11 ounce bag of Doritos
- Spread the sour cream over the Doritos (use your fingers or a spoon to spread the sour cream somewhat evenly over the chips).½ cup sour cream
- Distribute about ½ the cheese over the sour cream.2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- Add remaining Doritos, then distribute remaining sauce on top, then add final layer of remaining cheese.
- Bake about 25-30 minutes.
- Sprinkle with cilantro if desired.chopped cilantro
Notes
- For easier prep, make the sauce ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the casserole.
- No need to crush the Doritos. It actually works best with larger pieces.
- Experiment with different Doritos varieties and cheeses!
- To avoid drying out, don't over bake. If you feel you didn't over bake but it comes out drier than you would like, increase the amount of tomato sauce next time.
- Top with avocado slices, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, pico de gallo, jalapeno slices, cilantro, or a combination of these. There's lot you can do with this recipe to mix it up!
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate. The nutritional values for your final dish may vary based on measuring differences and products used.
Update Notes: This post was originally published in February 2020, and was republished with tips, step by step photos, and a recipe change in May 2026.
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Cynthia says
I'm going to try this tonight and add some rotisserie chick chick with the sour cream! Yum!
Looks deeelish!
Tossing five stars because I just KNOW this will be tasty!
Kristin says
Adding rotisserie chicken is a GREAT idea! Thanks so much for stopping by. Enjoy! 🙂
Joanne T Ferguson says
G'day! This recipe has definitely given me a bit of ole Kristen! It is now on my list! Thanks for sharing!
Cheers! Joanne
Marion@Life Tastes Good says
Hey, snack food for dinner?! Sign me up!! This sounds amazing! It has all my favorite things! I look forward to giving it a try! Thanks, Kristin
Kristin King says
I will find just about any excuse to have chips for dinner LOL! Thanks for stopping by, Marion! 🙂
The Sketched Chef says
this looks extremely delicious !
Kristin says
Thanks! My kids definitely loved it, and we did too. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Tina Verrelli says
Looks yummy Kristin!! My thing 2 will be picking out the beans and tomatoes too!! LOL!!
Kristin says
Haha! I never realized how many recipes have tomatoes or tomato sauce! He doesn't even like spaghetti sauce, and he just barely tolerates sauce on pizza. Crazy kid!