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Taco Pie

A baked pastry shell filled with layers of seasoned ground beef, refried beans, taco sauce, cheese, and corn chips.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Beans and corn match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,211 recipes. Both carry 2,3-pentanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Taco Pie

Oven400°F
Time20–30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the filling

  1. Cook ground beef and onion in a skillet until meat is browned, stirring to crumble meat.

  2. Drain the cooked mixture.

  3. Add taco seasoning mix and water, stirring well.

  4. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  5. Combine refried beans and 1/3 cup taco sauce.

Assemble and bake

  1. Spoon half of the bean mixture into the bottom of the pastry shell.

  2. Top with half of the meat mixture, half of the cheese, and all of the corn chips.

  3. Repeat layers with the remaining bean mixture, meat mixture, and cheese.

  4. Bake at 400°F for 20–30 minutes.

Serve

  1. Serve with shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, sour cream (if desired), and remaining taco sauce.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

484Calories
37 gProtein
26 gFat
27 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 10 ingredients. The other 6 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Corn1/2 cup kernels (82g)77
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Taconot in our table0
Waternot in our table0
Beannot in our table0
Saucenot in our table0
Pastrynot in our table0
Pie Crustnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Beans + corntop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,211 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

  2. Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,092 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Onion + beanstop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,242 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Beef + corntop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,028 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. Beans + cheddar cheesetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together525 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Ground beef
Provides the savory, meaty body of the filling.
Refried beans
Adds moisture and creamy bulk that holds the layers together.
Cheddar cheese
Melts into the layers, adding richness and binding the filling.
Corn chips
Add crunch and a toasted corn flavor to the baked layers.
Taco sauce
Adds moisture and tangy, spiced flavor to the bean layer.

The step that matters

Simmer the meat mixture until thickened. Simmering after adding the water lets excess liquid evaporate so the filling is not watery. A soggy filling would make the pie wet inside the pastry shell and weaken the layers when cut.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, beans, sauce, cheddar cheese, corn):

  1. Tomatofits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Potatofits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, beans, sauce, cheddar cheese, corn. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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