Chili Lasagna

If you love a meaty chili, and you love cheesy lasagna (which I’m assuming you do), I’ve got a new favorite fusion recipe for you! My easy chili lasagna recipe combines the traditional Italian lasagna preparation with hearty American cowboy chili flavor. It starts with a quick homemade beef and chorizo chili, then I build the lasagna layers with no-boil noodles, rich and tangy cream cheese, and shredded cheddar cheese. I love this fun and delicious twist on two classic recipes, and think you will too!

Y’all know I love a great fusion recipe, bringing together 2+ favorite foods into one new, glorious dish. However, despite what you might think at first, “fusion” doesn’t have to mean complicated. Like my tamale pie recipe, at first glance, chili lasagna recipe may sound strange. But think about… Stewed meat and beans with hearty spices, noodles, and cheese. Just because it’s not traditional lasagna, or a bowl of cheesy chili, doesn’t mean it’s not a win. My kids’ favorite chili recipe is our slow cooker chili mac & cheese. They love the blend of rustic chili flavors mingled with macaroni noodles, and a generous amount of cheddar cheese, to make the chili base ultra-rich and silky. (We even entered their favorite chili recipe in a local chili cook-off and won!) So I thought I’d put together a fun combination of both our “award-winning” chili mac & cheese, and on our favorite classic lasagna recipe.

Helen – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a creative kind of lasagna and delicious! I wasn’t really sure there would be enough liquid in the chili to cook the lasagna in the casserole, but smearing it with cream cheese seems to have helped, and in the end it was perfect and one I’ll be making again.

Key Ingredients and Tips

• Meat – I use both lean ground beef (like a 90/10) and ground Mexican chorizo. These two meats together really epitomize the fusion of different food cultures we’ve got going on here!
• Veggies – I use a combination of red onion, red bell pepper, and garlic for a strong traditional chili taste. I prefer red peppers because they are sweeter with a nice bit of tanginess, but really you can use any color bell pepper you prefer. Same with the red onion. I like the bite, but you can totally use sweet onions if you can’t find or don’t particularly like red onions.
• Kidney beans – Canned red kidney beans are a lifesaver! They’re much faster to cook and obviously take way less effort to prepare versus dried beans. Be sure to drain and rinse them before using.
• Crushed tomatoes – I like canned fire-roasted tomatoes. That extra smoky flavor is delicious! But fire-roasted isn’t wholly necessary and regular ‘ol canned crushed tomatoes is still excellent.
• Canned chopped green chiles – You can use whatever level of heat your want: mild, medium, or hot. I go with mild if I’m feeding a group of people. If I’m just making it for the family, I’ll sometimes go all in and use the hot chiles. You know I like it spicy!
• Spices – I use both ancho chile powder, which is slightly spicy and sweet, and dried cumin. Both of these classic Mexican spices have a wonderful smokiness, and dried cumin adds a nice earthy flavor. If you don’t have ancho chile powder you can use just mild chili powder, but note that the flavor will be a bit different without as much sweetness or pop of heat.
• Cilantro – I add the chopped leaves to cook in the chili. So no worries if you’re not a fan of raw cilantro!
• No-boil lasagna noodles – Some brands call this “oven-ready” lasagna. This dried pasta is meant to soften in the oven, without boiling before hand, like classic dried lasagna. The noodles vary in size, so you will need 3-4 noodles per layer. 9 to 12 total.
• Cream cheese – I use this instead of ricotta cheese or cottage cheese. (Same as with my cream cheese lasagna with sausage.) It’s rich, tangy and smooth, so the filling is creamy and more prominent than mild ricotta. Let the cream cheese sit at room temperature for several minutes before using. This will help it soften and be much easier to spread on the noodles.

How to Make

Find the full ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, storage tips, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.

Make the Chili – I start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and get out my 9×13 inch casserole baking dish. I get out a large sauce pot and set it on the stovetop over medium heat. When the pan is hot I add the ground beef and ground Mexican chorizo. Continue to stir it around and break up the meat in clumps as it cooks, until there is no more pink left in the meat.

Then I push the meat to the sides of the pot and dump in the chopped onion, seeded and chopped bell pepper, and minced garlic. I saute those for a few minutes to soften before adding the canned ingredients: drained kidney beans, crushed tomatoes, and chopped green chiles. Next I stir in the ancho chili powder, cumin and a pinch of salt. Bring the chili to a simmer and let it cook for just 10 minutes, stirring every minute or so. Then I turn off the heat and stir in the chopped cilantro leaves.

Prep the Noodles – While the chili is cooking, I check my box of no-boil noodles and see if I can fit 3 or 4 noodles in the pan. It’s ok if they touch, but I don’t want them overlapping! Once I have this crucial detail figured out, I get out as many noodles as I need to make three layers (so either 9 or 12 noodles). Next, I spread the softened cream cheese onto 3-4 noodles and set aside. Then I use a spoon to scoop the a bit of the chili into the bottom of the baking dish, and spread it out evenly. I place the cream cheese-coated noodles on top of the chili, cream cheese side up, like in the picture below.

More Cheese – Now I sprinkle 1 1/3 cups of the shredded cheddar cheese evenly over the top of the noodles. And there you have it… The first full layer!

Keep Layering – I scoop more of the chili over the shredded cheese, smear cream cheese over the next 3-4 noodles, and sprinkle on shredded cheese. Repeat this one more time to make a total of 3 layers, with the shredded cheese being the final topping.

Bake! – I pop the chili lasagna casserole into the oven and bake it for 20 minutes. Then I check to see if the top cheese is melted and a bit golden, and the sides are bubbly. If it’s not quite there yet, bake it for another 10 minutes.

Recipe Variations

• Not a fan of cheddar cheese? Use another shredded cheese like mozzarella, a Mexican blend cheese instead, or spicy pepper jack cheese.
• Swap the ground beef and add ground pork, ground turkey, or ground chicken.
• Make it meatless by adding extra beans or a meat substitute like ground tofu.
• If you use gluten-free lasagna noodles, the recipe is completely gluten-free. Just note, most gluten-free pasta does not hold up over time, so I would make and serve this on the same day.
• Use any kind of canned beans you like. Pintos, black beans, and white beans are all good options.
• If you can’t find or don’t want to use no-boil noodles, you can use traditional lasagna noodles. I’ve given three preparation options in the recipe card below!

Serving Suggestions

You can never go wrong with a salad and breadsticks when pasta’s involved… Including chili lasagna!

I usually just put together a fresh salad with a variety of lettuces, some chopped tomatoes, and whatever veggies I have hanging out in the refrigerator. I especially love to use my avocado lime ranch dressing recipe to go with the Tex-Mex vibe.

Storage Notes

Leftover and reheated chili lasagna is fabulous! The flavors of the chili really settle in, and the whole lasagna sets together more firmly. Store the leftovers in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for 3-4 days.

I reheat individual slices in the microwave in short 10-second bursts at 50% power. This gets the lasagna hot without zapping it super fast with heat, which could make it too gooey. Another option is reheating pieces or the whole thing in the oven for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees F. Just be sure you’re not sticking a cold pan into the hot oven! (Please don’t make that mistake yourself, trust me when I say I made it for you loooong ago.)

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