Christmas Tree Taco Bake

December 15, 2016

Put a festive twist on taco night with this easy and adorable Christmas Tree Taco Bake!

We’ve been celebrating Taco Tuesday a lot lately!  Tacos are just so easy to make, one of our favorite meals, and a cheap weeknight dinner.  This past week, I decided to give Taco Tuesday a fun holiday twist by making a taco bake with a tortilla tree on top!  Do you remember the Boo-rito Bake I made last year around Halloween? It was a taco bake with tortilla strips and olives on top made to look mummies.  I used almost the same recipe to make this taco bake, but added a Christmas spin to it instead.  

This taco bake reminds me of the tacos my mom makes.  Taco night was always something I looked forward to when I lived at home!  Mom makes the best tacos! And she always made two types of tacos for dinner – beef and shredded chicken.  She would mix the meat with refried beans, which thickened up the mixture, gave it a nice texture, and added some extra flavor.  Using refried beans in this taco bake makes all the difference!  After cooking, this taco bake turns out almost like a dip.  This taco bake is perfect to serve with tortilla chips, which is great for us since we usually skip the taco shells on taco night and dig in with tortilla chips. 

A tortilla Christmas tree makes this taco bake look merry and bright.  I cut three triangles out of a spinach tortilla to create my Christmas tree.  Then, I topped the tortilla tree with black olive “ornaments” and red pepper strip “garland.”  Every Christmas tree needs a star on top, so I used a small star cookie cutter to cut a star out of a red pepper.  This is such a fun way to enjoy taco night around the holidays and it’s perfect for a festive fiesta!

Christmas Tree Taco Bake

Ingredients

  • 1 pound 80/20 ground beef
  • 1 packet low-sodium taco seasoning
  • 1 can fat free refried beans
  • 1 can green chiles
  • 1 spinach tortilla
  • Shredded Mexican cheese blend
  • Sliced black olives
  • 1 small red pepper, cut into thin strips, plus extra to make a star
  • Tortilla chips, for serving
  • Sour cream and hot sauce, for topping

Instructions

  1. In a skillet, brown the ground beef over medium heat. Drain.
  2. Place ground beef back onto heat and stir in taco seasoning (prepared according to package).
  3. Mix in refried beans and green chilies. Stir to combine.
  4. Lightly spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking oil.
  5. Spread ground beef mixture evenly in casserole dish and sprinkle Mexican cheese on top.
  6. Use a pizza cutter to cut three triangles out of a spinach tortilla.
  7. Layer triangles on top of one another to create a tree.
  8. Add olives for ornaments and red pepper strips for garland on top of the tortilla tree.
  9. Use a small star cookie cutter to cut a star out of red pepper and add it to the top of the tortilla tree.
  10. Bake taco bake 20-30 minutes, or until cheese starts to bubble.
  11. Serve the taco bake with with sour cream, hot sauce, and tortilla chips.
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How do you put a holiday twist on everyday meals?

27 Comments

  • Reply allisonarnone December 15, 2016 at 11:31 AM

    I told you this on Snap already but I really love this idea! I love these dips but this is so much more festive looking for the holidays 🙂

    • Reply Jessica December 15, 2016 at 4:17 PM

      Thanks so much! It’s so easy to make, too, so you won’t be scrambling to feed your holiday guests! 🙂

  • Reply Cris of Kiss My Tulle December 15, 2016 at 12:56 PM

    This is ADORABLE! My daughter was trying to eat the “twee” through the computer screen.

    • Reply Jessica December 15, 2016 at 4:16 PM

      That’s possibly the cutest thing I’ve ever heard about one of my recipes! Thanks so much! 🙂

  • Reply Andrea Bai December 16, 2016 at 1:26 PM

    Oh my goodness this looks so yummy! I love the holiday spin! We are so going to make this.

    • Reply Jessica December 16, 2016 at 2:16 PM

      Thanks so much, Andrea! I hope you enjoy this festive taco bake! 🙂

  • Reply corinanika December 17, 2016 at 10:21 AM

    This looks so crazy delicious!!

    • Reply Jessica December 17, 2016 at 2:52 PM

      Thank you so much! Enjoy! 🙂

  • Reply Kendra December 20, 2016 at 12:58 AM

    I love pretty much anything “taco”! Love the holiday twist on this.

    • Reply Jessica December 20, 2016 at 2:10 PM

      Thanks so much! I love a good taco dinner, too!

  • Reply Valentine's Day Taco Bake - Living La Vida Holoka January 24, 2017 at 9:15 AM

    […] making my Halloween and Christmas taco bakes last year, I wanted to continue to create taco bakes for other holidays. […]

  • Reply Heather November 20, 2017 at 9:24 AM

    We also love taco Tuesday around here! We make tacos all the time, they’re one of our favorites. We don’t usually make a baked casserole like this though. Your design is so cute! What a great idea!

    • Reply Jessica November 20, 2017 at 2:43 PM

      Thanks so much! I hope you enjoy this recipe as a fun and festive alternative to taco night!

  • Reply Helen at the Lazy Gastronome November 20, 2017 at 9:48 AM

    What a fun buffet idea! I have to pin this one – Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party!

    • Reply Jessica November 20, 2017 at 2:29 PM

      Thanks so much for pinning! Enjoy!

  • Reply Jamie November 20, 2017 at 11:37 AM

    So festive. My family has a taco dish about once a week. I’ll have to add this one in sometime next month. Thank you for linking up to More The Merrier Monday.

    Jamie
    http://diyhsh.com/

    • Reply Jessica November 20, 2017 at 2:42 PM

      I hope you enjoy this recipe for one of your weekly taco nights!

  • Reply Fabiola Rodriguez November 21, 2017 at 9:29 AM

    This is soooo cute! I could make this for a holiday dinner and my kids would probably eat it up. I’ll be pinning and tweeting this! Greetings from the Inspire Me Monday Linky.

    • Reply Jessica November 21, 2017 at 11:55 AM

      Thanks so much for the shares! I hope you and the kiddos enjoy this festive taco bake!

  • Reply Akaleistar November 25, 2017 at 8:59 PM

    Those tacos are so cute and festive!

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  • Reply Miz Helen November 27, 2017 at 3:05 PM

    What a great idea for a delicious casserole! Thanks so much for sharing with us at our Thanksgiving Edition of Full Plate Thursday! Hope you have a great week and come back soon!
    Miz Helen

    • Reply Jessica November 27, 2017 at 8:39 PM

      Thank you so much! Enjoy this dish!

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