Mexican potato bake with crispy potatoes, beef and cheddar.
Mexican potato bake with crispy potatoes, spiced beef and plenty of melted cheddar – this is proper comfort food that the whole family will love. A really easy and delicious dinner, where crispy oven-roasted potatoes are topped with juicy Mexican-spiced beef and cheddar before the whole lot goes back into the oven until the cheese is melted and golden.
I start with the potatoes, which are cut into bite-sized pieces and tossed with olive oil, paprika and salt. They get plenty of time in the oven so they turn properly crisp, and meanwhile I make the filling. Minced beef is browned well and mixed with onion, peppers, tomatoes, jalapeño and garlic. The meat is seasoned with Mexican spice mix or taco seasoning, and finally I add tomato purée and parsley.
When the potatoes are golden and crisp, I spread them out on a baking tray I can serve from and top them with the spiced beef and plenty of freshly grated cheddar. I really do recommend buying a block of cheddar and grating it yourself – it melts so much better than the ready-grated kind.
Then my Mexican potato bake just goes back into the oven until the cheddar has melted. I serve it with ice-cold crème fraîche and plenty of parsley on top. If you have a bag of tortilla chips in the cupboard, crush a handful over the dish just before serving. It adds a wonderful crunch – the potatoes will naturally lose a little of their crispness once they are covered with meat and cheese.
It takes a little time to get the potatoes crisp, but the dish itself is really easy to make. Perfect for a cosy Sunday when dinner is allowed to be extra gooey, crispy and indulgent.
You can also add a tin of beans to bulk it out, add more protein and make the dish more filling – kidney beans or black beans work beautifully here.
Mexican potato bake with crispy potatoes and beef
Ingredients
- 800 g potatoes
- Oil
- Salt and paprika
For the meat
- 500 g minced beef
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 2 peppers, cut into small dice
- 100 g tomatoes, cut into small dice
- 1 fresh jalapeño, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3-4 tbsp Mexican spice mix/taco seasoning
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Oil
To serve
- 140 g block cheddar, grated
- Chopped parsley or coriander
- Crème fraîche
- A few crushed tortilla chips (optional)
Method
- Scrub the potatoes, leaving the skins on, and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
- Toss them with oil, salt and paprika – spread them out on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and roast in a preheated conventional oven (top and bottom heat) at 210°C for about 50 minutes.After about 20 minutes, start on the filling.
- Heat a good splash of oil in a frying pan and brown the meat thoroughly. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Add the onion, peppers, tomatoes, jalapeño and garlic and fry along with the meat for about 10 minutes.
- Add the spice mix and tomato purée and heat through for a couple of minutes, then stir in the parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper – and a little chilli or pickled jalapeños if you want more heat.
- Spread the potatoes out in a large ovenproof dish – or on a baking tray you can serve from. Top with the meat and scatter the cheese over.
- Don’t make the layer too thick, or the potatoes will lose their crispness. Spread it out over a large surface instead for the best result.
- Return the dish to the oven for 6-8 minutes at 220°C until the cheese has melted and turned golden – then serve with chopped parsley and ice-cold crème fraîche. A few crushed tortilla chips on top add a lovely crunch.
Nutrition
Premium
Lavede denne, dog med flank steak i små stykker, i stedet for hakket kød. Og det smagte så godt! Slet ikke sidste gang jeg serverer dette!
Hej Helle
Hvor gør det mig glad at høre – tak for de søde ord 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna
Der står bønner i teksten, men ikke i opskriften. Jeg tænker kidney bønner vil smage godt blandet i kødet. Har I erfaring med det?
Hej Susan
Du har helt ret – jeg droppede faktisk bønnerne, men glemte at rette det i teksten 🙂
Men du kan sagtens bruge en dåse bønner – det vil give endnu mere volumen, protein og mæthed.
Warm wishes, Dianna
Fantastisk – det smagte så godt
Hej Susanne
Ej hvor er det dejligt at høre altså – tusind tak 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna
Vi lavede en korianderdip til, det var lækkert
Hej Frank
Ihhh hvor dejligt du skriver det – tusind tak 🙂
Warm wishes, Dianna