A Healthy Vegetarian Mexican Casserole that you need in your weekly meal planning that's easy and delicious!
Do you have a lot of vegetables in your fridge that you need to use up?? Or do you need an easy way to include MORE vegetables to your dish? You need this Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole in your life ASAP. I make this really often in my household when I feel like we have a lot of sad looking vegetables that are still safe to use but I know I need to eat before they see the trash can. Above all, it's loaded with vegetables and incredibly packed with nutrients!
What do you need for this Vegetarian Mexican Casserole?
- All different veggies can go in here. In other words, use whatever you need to finish up in your fridge! In this particular one, I used cauliflower (I know this sounds crazy but you can't taste it chopped up and has a LOT of essential nutritents!), bell peppers, onions, zucchini, frozen spinach, and frozen corn. Check out the nutrition label at the end of this post to see all the different vitamins included in this dish!
- Beans. I like to use canned refried beans and black beans. I always have canned beans on hand which makes this such a quick meal. However, don't forget to use reduced sodium or no salt added beans! (I explain my note about no salt added or reduced sodium beans in my Phyllo Chaat Cups post).
- Enchilada Sauce. You can make a great homemade one (recipe coming soon!) or use a good ole canned one to make it quick and easy!
How to make my casserole:
- Chop the vegetables. I don't waste time chopping these pretty since they are going into the casserole. Which is why I LOVE to dump all of the vegetables that need to be cut into to my small chopper on a lower speed (affiliate link).
- Cook the chopped and frozen vegetables with some paprika, cumin, and garlic powder.
- Add the canned refried and black beans to the vegetable mixture and a little bit of water to thin it out.
- Heat some tortillas (about 8, 6-inch works great), layer tortillas, beans and vegetable filling, cheese until the final layer. Arrange and cut the tortillas any way that you need to fit in your casserole dish.
- Pour enchilada sauce over the top (I like mine saucy!) and sprinkle with cheese.
- Optional toppings: guacamole or this Easy Avocado Cilantro Dressing, cilantro, green onions, sour cream, or anything else you want!
Enjoy this easy casserole during your social distancing! I hope everyone is doing well and love this recipe as much as my household does!
Did you know that only 1 in 10 American adults get the required amount of fruits and vegetables, according to the CDC?! The required amount of vegetables is about 2.5-3 cups per day and 1.5-2 cups of fruit per day for the average adult. To get the essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber to help prevent chronic conditions, we should try to include a variety of fruits and vegetables in our diet. Think about eating all the colors of a rainbow!
Vegetarian Mexican Casserole
Ingredients
- 3 cups vegetables; chopped; see notes
- 1 can black beans; reduced sodium, 15 oz.
- 1 can refried beans; reduced sodium, 15 oz.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup water or low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 can enchilada sauce, 28 oz.
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 8 small tortillas; flour or corn; I used 6 inch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
Prep the Vegetable and Bean Mixture:
- Chop vegetables and thaw the frozen ones if using.
- Heat olive oil in a large pan.
- Add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until translucent. Add the rest of the vegetables, and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add the canned refried beans and black beans and then the paprika, cumin powder, and garlic powder. (See note about salt below).
- Add the water or vegetable broth to thin out the mixture slightly for easier spreading.
Assemble the Casserole:
- Heat tortillas in a small pan (this is optional but I prefer to heat mine on both sides before layering) and cut them accordingly to fit your pan.
- Grease a 9x9 or a 9x13 and spread a little bit of sauce at the bottom.
- Place the tortillas at the bottom, then layer with beans, sprinkle some cheese. Complete this for all the layers of tortillas except the top (I did 3 layers in a 9x9 pan).
- On the final layer of tortillas, add the beans, pour the sauce over the entire dish (I use the whole can as I like mine saucy!), and then sprinkle with cheese.
Bake it and Serve:
- Bake in the oven for about 20-30 minutes until cheese and sauce is bubbly.
- Let it cool for about 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving.
- Top it with guacamole, cilantro, green onions, sour cream, crushed chips for an added crunch, or anything else you want!
Notes
- I don't add any extra salt in the vegetable and bean mixture due to the sodium in the sauce, canned beans, and cheese. I find this balances the entire casserole really well!
- Make this dish vegan by using vegan cheese.
- You can add sauce between the layers but I felt it held together with all the sauce poured over the top.
Well balanced and nutritious
Thank you! Yes, it really is very nutrient-packed!
Absolutely love Mexican casserole. This looks yummy!!
Thank you!
So flavourful and love the pictures. ❤️💞
It really is so flavorful! Thank you!
Really enjoy Mexican. Such a colourful dish
Me too 🙂 Thank you so much!
I made this tonight and it was a TOTAL HIT! We had a hard time not going for thirds and used so many veggies (including a frozen veggie back I had from a long time ago). Totally agree with the recipe that don’t need the additional salt and definitely use that can of sauce at the top (and skip in the middle). We tried to cut into it a little too quickly and it was still runny so would just recommend waiting 10-15 minutes and letting it cool down before cutting!
Thank you so much! I'm so glad you loved it. I went ahead and added a note in there about cooling it 🙂