A cheesy ground beef taco filling sandwiched between layers of crescent roll dough and baked until golden brown. This fun Crescent Roll Taco Bake will please both kids and adults, alike.
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Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. Ever. It’s the official kickoff to the holiday season and what a great way to start things off. Costumes, parties, spooky decorations, all things pumpkin, and lots of candy. There are no gifts to buy and no big, elaborate meals to cook. It’s a time for fun family traditions and fun food.
This Crescent Roll Taco Bake is a Mexican-inspired take on my beloved Sloppy Joe Squares. I always depended on my collection of kid-friendly recipes when I had groups of kids descending on my house on Halloween night before they headed out for the big candy grab.
The buffet would consist of things like my Cheeseburger Pizza, Baked Macaroni and Cheese, fresh fruit, and I found that pretty much anything sandwiched between crescent roll dough was always a big hit.
This recipe is fun to put together. And, even more fun to eat.
Ingredient Notes
- Ground beef: I use 90% lean ground beef.
- Diced white onion
- Canned goods: A can of diced green chiles, chopped olives, and tomato sauce.
- Seasoning: A little salt, freshly ground pepper, and taco seasoning. I highly recommend making your own Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix for the best flavor. I also like to add some red pepper flakes for a little kick.
- Crescent roll dough: A couple of containers of refrigerated crescent roll dough.
- Cheese: Shredded sharp cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack cheese.
- Sesame seed topping: Milk and sesame seeds.
- Optional for serving: Sour cream, tomato, avocado, lettuce, salsa, or hot sauce are all delicious choices!
How to Make Crescent Roll Taco Bake
- Cook the ground beef and onions in a large skillet until the meat crumbles and no pink remains. Drain off the excess grease and return the skillet to the heat. Add the olives, green chiles, taco seasoning mix, pepper, and red pepper flakes (if using).
- Stir to combine and then stir in the tomato sauce. Bring just to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Press one sheet of crescent roll dough into a greased baking dish, pressing with your fingers to cover the bottom of the pan and pinching the seams together.
- Spoon the meat mixture on top of the dough and sprinkle evenly with the cheeses.
- Lay the second sheet of crescent roll dough out onto a cutting board and stretch and press it out lightly so it will fit over the top. Carefully transfer the dough and place on top of the cheese, lightly pressing the seams together and pulling the dough out to the edges of the pan. Brush the top of the dough with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake, uncovered, in a preheated 425 degree F oven for 13 to 15 minutes until nicely golden brown.
Variations
There is a lot you can do with this taco filling to make it your own!
Protein Swap: Substitute ground turkey for the ground beef.
Enchilada Style: Try using enchilada sauce in place of the tomato sauce for a slightly different flavor profile.
Tex-Mex Flavors: Add diced red bell pepper, frozen corn, and black beans to the filling for a Southwest twist.
Serving Suggestions
Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to two to three days. Reheat servings in the microwave or in a conventional oven preheated to 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until warmed through. Cover with foil, if needed to prevent overbrowning.
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Crescent Roll Taco Bake
Ingredients
- 2 pounds 90% lean ground beef
- 1 cup diced white onion
- 4 ounce can diced green chiles, undrained
- 2.25 ounce can chopped olives
- 3 tablespoons Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 16 ounces refrigerated crescent roll dough, 2 8-ounce containers
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Optional Toppings
- sour cream, tomato, avocado, lettuce, salsa
Instructions
- In a large skillet over MEDIUM heat, cook the ground beef and onions until the meat crumbles and no pink remains. Drain well and return the skillet to the heat. Add the olives, green chiles, taco seasoning mix, pepper, and red pepper flakes (if using). Stir to combine and then stir in the tomato sauce. Bring just to a boil then reduce the heat to LOW. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and coat a 13- x 9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Press one sheet (one container) of crescent roll dough into the prepared baking dish, pressing with your fingers to cover the bottom of the pan and pinching the seams together. Spoon the meat mixture on top of the dough and sprinkle evenly with cheeses.
- Lay the second sheet of crescent roll dough out onto a cutting board and stretch and press it out lightly so it will fit over the top. Carefully transfer the dough and place on top of the cheese, lightly pressing the seams together and pulling the dough out to the edges of the pan. Brush the top of the dough with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake, uncovered, for 13 to 15 minutes until nicely golden brown. Serve immediately with toppings.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
Like this? Please rate & comment below!
Whoa, this is so cool!! I never thought of using crescent dough for the bottom and top! Love this, Valerie!
This is so calling my name! I just made a recipe with croissants today and I am convinced they make everything better – and taco filling is already one of my favs so I bet this is amazing!
What a great easy recipe! Esp good for tonight!