Quinoa Enchilada Casserole
by Chungah
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A lightened-up, healthy enchilada bake that you can enjoy guilt-free, chockfull of quinoa, black beans and cheesy goodness. And the leftovers taste even better!
Featured Comment
I think it’s safe to say that I have somewhat of a love affair with Mexican food. Whether it’s fish tacos, cheesy enchiladas or a giant burrito the size of my forearm, I could honestly live off of all of these for the rest of my life.
So when Old El Paso asked me to be their brand ambassador for the next year, well, how could I say no? It just gives me an excuse to make even more of my favorite Mexican-inspired dishes to share with you all! And to start things off, I just had to share my favorite Mexican comfort food lightened-up.
Now this is a super easy enchilada bake with quinoa instead of tortilla. By using quinoa, we’re adding in some fun healthy goodies, like protein and fiber, and there’s absolutely no rolling or wrapping of any kind. You can simply throw everything into a bowl, mix it up, and bake it from there. Yes, it doesn’t get easier than that!
After you let this bake through, you’ll have the most amazing cheesy enchilada bake! It’s so good, you’ll never want to have traditional enchiladas ever again!
Quinoa Enchilada Casserole: Frequently Asked Questions
You can use about 2 cups cooked quinoa.
Absolutely! This is our favorite recipe for homemade enchilada sauce.
Mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, and/or carrots would be great additions.
Ground taco meat and/or leftover rotisserie chicken can get mixed in with your quinoa-enchilada-sauce mixture.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat in the oven until completely warmed through.
You can substitute vegan cheeses for the cheddar and mozzarella cheeses to make this a vegan quinoa enchilada casserole.
Quinoa Enchilada Casserole
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles, drained
- ½ cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
- ½ cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
- 1 Roma tomato, diced
Instructions
- In a large saucepan of 2 cups water, cook quinoa according to package instructions; set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine quinoa, enchilada sauce, green chiles, corn, black beans, cilantro, cumin and chili powder; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.
- Spread quinoa mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with remaining cheeses. Place into oven and bake until bubbly and cheeses have melted, about 15 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with avocado and tomato, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Old El Paso. All opinions expressed are my own.
This is delicious! Can you freeze leftovers for another time?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
I used different brands since I shopped at Whole Food, but this was AMAZING!!
I made this tonight and we loved it. I cooked the quinoa in vegetable stock instead of water for added flavor. My husband said to add jalapenos. I am going to use a mexican cheese blend next time so I don’t to buy two packs of cheese.
This was dinner tonight. Absolutely loved it. The only change I made was increasing the spices by about 3 times the amount called for. The is definitely a keeper and SO easy.
Thank you for this delicious recipe! We substituted an equal amount of rice for the quinoa, and it turned out great! It will be a new go-to favorite for us.
Made this last night and my husband and I enjoyed it. Great flavors! We accidentally added the tomato in before baking, and we used white rice instead of quinoa. Enjoyed it! The lunch leftovers heated up well at work too.
Do you think it would still work if I added some cooked ground beef to this recipe before baking?
Yes, absolutely, but you may have to increase the amount of the other ingredients to adjust for this addition.
My fiance has asked me to make this week after week. He LOVES it. I actually tried it with the recommended enchilada sauce and then the Trader Joe’ss brand and I’m going to say that I’ll actually stick with the sponsored enchilada sauce. It tastes more authentic and flavorful. Sometimes substitutions are the word and sometimes they are duds. Definitely sticking with this recipe though.
I made this recipe last night for my family and we absolutely loved it! My kids and husband couldn’t believe it didn’t have any meat! I doubled the amount on the recipe, as I have a big family, and wanted to have a little more left over for the next day. Thanks so much for posting this! I am looking forward to seeing and making more of your recipes =)
instead of cooking in oven, can you use a crock pot? Plan on taking to a potluck.
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate a traditional stovetop recipe to be used in a slow cooker without further recipe testing. However, here is an article worth checking out on a possible conversion guide: http://www.thekitchn.com/5-tips-for-converting-recipes-to-the-slow-cooker-189343.
I just made this and it turned out great! I added some sautéed onions and peppers and it turned out relish. Thank you!
What is the serving size for this recipe? It says yields 6 servings but does not say the size of an individual serving.
A serving size is roughly 1-2 cups.
If you have leftovers and reheat them would you recommend microwaving them or putting them back in the oven to heat up?
Thanks!
I prefer reheating in the oven but either option should work just fine.
Think I can use brown rice instead of quinoa? And if so, would you say the same amount (1 cup dry rice). I have all the other ingredients on hand but no quinoa.
Yes, the same amount of brown rice can be substituted.
We featured an adaptation of this recipe in a weekly meal plan at http://www.themenumaster.com!
This looks so delicious! I bought quinoa on an impulse, and have been looking for a recipe that I can incorporate it in. I love mexican dishes, and the fact that it’s a healthier option really appeals to me. I honestly prefer cooking to eating at restaurants, so I know what I’ll be trying tonight 🙂
I made this tonight, and it was amazing! I used a little more beans and corn, and ate it with corn chips. So yummy 🙂
Question on the green chiles. if i can’t find that in the store; how many chiles can i use to make up for it? want to make it tonight!!! by the way love your website!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would estimate anywhere from 2-4 chiles depending on the size.
I have made this a few times as written never disappoints. I thought that I would try a pizza version, using pizza sauce and my favourite toppings in place of beans, corn and chilis….OMG!
LOVE THIS. I’m making it for the second time to serve to guests. I did end up using the whole can of beans because I didn’t want to waste half a can, and subbed vegan cheddar shreds for the cheeses to make it vegan. Still delish, especially with extra cilantro (you can never have too much cilantro).
I’m single, so last time I ate it for a week and I didn’t mind a bit–it was even tastier on day 4! Awesome, awesome recipe–thanks!