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.
This looks so good!! The only issue I have is that I cannot find Enchilada sauce in the supermarkets in my area.
Would salsa or another sauce type item work?
Thanks!
Here is my recipe for homemade enchilada sauce: https://damndelicious.net/2022/02/20/homemade-enchilada-sauce/.
Thank you for the recipe! Just wondering, how long does this keep in the fridge?
It should keep for at least 1-2 days.
Chungah,
This was very tasty, comfort food! Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Made this and it was really good. You can always add one of the cheeses as fat free to help with less calories.
Chicken would be good mixed in it
I added the whole can of black beans and corn. Felt like what the recipe calls for on those 2 was too little.
It’s a keeper!! Remember that this is 1 cup uncooked quinoa. So you are adding about 4 cups cooked quinoa.
I’m so glad you tried this recipe! And yes, I am all about adding more black beans and corn. As for the 1 cup uncooked quinoa, it should actually yield about 3 cups cooked.
I am a full time nursing student with limited time and funds. I am also a mother of 3 little girls. Making something that everyone will eat and that we can afford can sometimes be tricky!! This one was a winner!! The only complaint I got was that my pickiest thought it was a little too spicy. Maybe less green chiles next time.
Im anxious to try this out! I was wondering if anyone served anything with it for a side dish? I would want to make a side with it but I just don’t know what all would work with it 🙂
Green beans with almonds would compliment this dish .An additional touch of green will add color to this already attractive presentation.
I love this recipe as we are huge fans of mexican food. I also love the comfort feel of this and the fact I can make it ahead and put it into the oven half an hour before we want to eat. In the past I have done something very similar except have used 4 whole wheat tortillas and layered the veggies and sauce and cheese in an 8 inch cheese cake pan. It looks fancy and we all love it served with sour cream and salsa on the side. This, however, removes the tortillas and incorporates more plant protein. I also tend to put most of the cheese into the casserole and just a thin layer on top. Seems less greasy and more creamy that way.
I find it hard to find mild enchilada sauce so I just threw in a large jar of medium salsa instead. That plus the chilies gave us the perfect heat level.
I served it over a thin layer of mixed greens just to make it look interesting on the plate. Drizzled with a tiny bit of salsa ranch dressing…. otherwise my husband would complain about a “dry” salad.
Making this dish turned into a two step assembly; my daughter began the preparation; cooking the quinoa and making her own enchilada sauce, clock was ticking- time to head off to work. I was left with “step two” instructions…, which I followed (or so I thought!) Assembled all ingredients in a 9 x 13 pan (we had doubled the recipe) and baked as recommended. Oops… I had not added the enchilada sauce. The final product was Delicious!! We topped the dish with avocado pieces and diced red and yellow tomatoes. Gorgeous!!
This is amazing! I took it to a pot luck, and it was a hit!! Definitely going to make this again soon.
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I love that it is so healthy also. My son went back for thirds. We won’t have any left to freeze and I am looking forward to the little bit of leftovers. The only change I made was using Fire Roasted green chilies because that was all I had. Thanks for a wonderful filling recipes.
This recipe is fantastic, everything you could ask for – easy, filling, quick and delicious! Have made it several times for my family, heats up and tastes just as good (if not even more flavorful) the next day. In fact I’m making it tonight for a dinner party we are having!
So yummy! Made this tonight. Used dairy free cheese. My family loved it so much i had to make a second batch!
Made this last night…all I can say is WOW!!!! So easy!!! I doubled corn, black beans and enchilada sauce. Added 1lb of lean ground beef and put in a 9×13 pan. So easy!!! Next time I will add onions and chopped peppers!!!! SO in love ! Thanks again!
WOW!! This dish was absolutely delicious. Nice twist to enchiladas. We love Mexican food so it was a treat to try something new. Although, it did not need it, I added 1 cup of diced up chicken. My family loved it. Even my picky eater.
I look forward to making your other recipes 🙂
I made this for women’s gathering at my house. It was so easy and simple to make a great dish. Everybody loved it whether they are vegetarian or not.. Thanks for sharing great recipes!
this is in the oven right now and I can’t wait to eat it!!
This was absolutely delicious. It was so cheesy. I loved it. I’m making it again right now! The first time I made it, I had a piece of tilapia with this on the side. It tasted better and better each day. Great recipe!
I made this last night and it was delicious! I did adjust the ingredients as mentioned by adding a bit more quinoa and corn and beans and I absolutely LOVED IT! I will definietly be making this again!
Is it okay if the quinoa is still warm when mixing with the other ingredients, or should it be cooled before proceeding with the recipe?
Yes, it should be fine.
OMG. This. is. Delicious. I made it last night as a side to shrimp tacos.. We loved it! So much that I ate it for breakfast!
Thanks for sharing!
This was soooo delicious, the entire pan was eaten! I love the texture of the quinoa. The only thing I did differently was add extra cheese 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe!
This was a great recipe for a busy weeknight! Just toss all ingredients together and pop it in the oven. I added a small can of California olives and instead of 1 cup of beans I tossed the entire can, plus 1 cup of corn and half of a green bell pepper. Turned out great! You really can play with the ingredients.