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.
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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Old El Paso. All opinions expressed are my own.
Oh my goodness…I have never cooked quinoa, and I saw this recipe while on break…went and bought all the ingredients….I made a double batch, so I can also take for lunch. I also used some adobo sauce in mine, topped with avocado, tomato and lettuce. This is a keeper, will definitely be making again, may add some ground chicken or turkey to change it up sometime. Thanks this…no more rice for me- quinoa is a keeper!
I just made this dish for dinner tonight. My 8 year old son said, “Who ever thought of this recipe is a genius.” =) I told him after he was done that it was vegetarian and he looked shocked. He is a meat loving Korean boy. I have been using your website several times a week for dinners now. So glad I found you.
Turned out great! One question though. Is it one cup dry or cooked quinoa? The recipe talks about 2 cups water which would indicate 1 cup dray. Just seemed like a lot of quinoa when I made it last night. Thank youl
The one cup of quinoa in the recipe refers to dry, uncooked quinoa.
This was great. I added scallions and used a fresh jalapeno instead of the can of chilies. I also substituted queso fresco for the mozzarella, and smoked paprika for the chili powder. We love spicy, but I knew the enchilada sauce would be enough. I think next time I will just use the whole can of beans. What a great way to use quinoa and have a non meat dinner. Kudos.
I had kept a printed copy of this recipe on my fridge forever, knowing I would make it someday. Well today was the day! I made the quinoa first thing this morning and it sat in the fridge the whole day (just to get a jump on putting things together), then added everything else when we got home. My husband and I both loved this. Its a keeper. Thanks for posting.
I made this last night – so easy and soooo yummy! I added mushrooms and peas for a few more veg points!
This was, well, I hate to be just another cliche, but this was damn delicious!!
I am loving that you feature so many vegetarian-vegan-loving recipes. Most cooking sites and cooking shows just look over their designer reading glasses with scorn at us while they are slicing the veal or the coq as vin !! Lol!!
But seriously–I’m very grateful that you have that statement about quinoa and its complete value in a veg diet. We strict vegans have known this for a while. I’m excited that you are showing such delicious ways to eat and be healthy without eating our animal friends. You are great!
Some healthy recipes are deceiving because the pictures look far better than the actual taste. This is NOT the case with this delicious dish. The flavors and textures were spot on, and it was perfect for us paired with grilled chicken. I finally have a quinoa recipe that I LOVE. Thanks so much.
Just made this tonight. First time introducing the family to quinoa. It came out great! I couldn’t make enough for my suddenly ravenous family. Great recipe 🙂
I’m really excited to try this! Do you suggest a complimentary side to round out the whole meal?
Alana, please feel free to browse through the possible side dishes here. My personal favorite is the roasted vegetables.
This was so delicious! I subbed quinoa for barley just because I had some cooked already and it was wonderful. A real hit at Taco Tuesday with my girl and guy friends alike 🙂
Hey so, where I live the truth is quinoa is too damn expensive and for the moment I cant afford it. So in these recipe what would be a good replacement for the quinoa?
Rice or brown rice would be a great budget-friendly substitute.
Just made this as my first recipe from your website & it’s delicious! (I just found your website yesterday) I added organic beef; I only upped the spices to account for the increase in volume. I had to use canned “Rotel with lime & cilantro” since we didn’t have fresh but nonetheless, this was really, really good. I’m going to make it as written next time. Thanks for this! I’ll be checking out your recipes from now on. 🙂
I tried this tonight and loved it! First time I cooked with quinoa and it was very easy. I was very surprised at how well quinoa went with everything. I didn’t have green chiles, but it tasted just fine. I think next time I will mix all the cheese in with the rest of the ingredients. My cheese on the top just clumped together. I will definitely make this again!
This was absolutely fantastic! I held on to this receipe for awhile because I had never made Quinoa, and the reviews that I have read in preparing it was very scarey. I took out my rice cooker and used a trick from a recipe when preparing a rice dish from Alton Brown. The water that I put in the rice cooker was hot, therefore, the Quinoa was VERY flakey. This recipe will be doubled, at the minimum, from now on. An excellent dish, I can’t say enough.
Easiest dish I’ve ever made! So yummy too! Totally added more cheese cause I love cheese. definitely making it again!
I made this today for my family, and it was a hit! Made it exactly as the recipe stated. Only thing I’ll do differently next time is double it! =D
I love Quinoa and didn’t know it had amino acids–I can see now why it’s such a super food everyone raves about. I didn’t use to love Mexican food as a kid, but now I cook and eat it all the time. I’m definitely going to have to give this one a try!
Just made this! It tastes different without the tortillas obviously but with every bite I keep getting more and more addicted. This was pretty amazing! Although I probably ruined some of the healthy factor by adding a little sour cream, lol! This was the first healthy recipe I’ve ever tried and I will definitely make it again. So good! Thanks a lot!!
Just put this one in the oven. It smells delicious. Thanks for sharing!