Quinoa Enchilada Casserole
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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!
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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
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.
i have soooo many quinoia recipes…but this was REALLY GOOD!! will make again!
I made this and it was so good! I added shredded chicken for a little extra protein and it was really tasty. I loved the use of quinoa instead of enchiladas. To check out how I used chicken see my blog: http://huntershealthykitchen.com/2015/02/23/quinoa-and-chicken-enchilada-bake/
i made this tonight…my first time with quinoa. Unfortunately, my enchilada sauce can was 14 oz, which I didn’t notice until it was too late. In retrospect, I should have added more beans and corn to balance that out. I only used one cup of the cooked quinoa, too. I think that was a mistake. And I didn’t have chili powder, so I substituted with red pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. The end result was soupy, as you might expect. However, it was tasty, and my husband certainly ate plenty of it (he used tortilla chips to assist in eating). I had plenty of leftover quinoa, and I mixed a generous dollop into the leftovers when I was putting them into a storage container, and it made a big difference in the consistency. Feeling rather stupid over that. But a definite keeper! A nice, healthy recipe to add to my repertoire!
Hi Frances, I came across your comment while looking for an answer to a similar question that I had. I wasn’t sure if the added quinoa was cooked or uncooked. It seems that you need to cook 1 cup of uncooked quinoa as directed on package. This will yield about 2 cups of cooked quinoa that is to be added to this recipe. I am not an experienced quinoa user either so I wasn’t sure. I also noticed that you should always rinse and drain the uncooked quinoa to get rid of toxins before you cook it. I hope this helps if you make this recipe again.
My husband found this recipe when he was searching ideas for dinners. We’ve made it so many times now and it’s one of our favorites!
Spotted this recipe last night and made it for dinner today. I am very pleased with the results. I followed the recipe to a “t” and I think its a delightful addition to my recipe box and so does my husband.I served it with a frilly green salad containing black slices olives, baby tomatoes, marinated artichokes cut up and Zesty Italian dressing. I used half the avocado in the salad and half on the casserole. Lovely meal! Many thanks for sharing with us.
Wowzah!! This was amazingly delicious!!!! And super easy to make! Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe!!!
Considering the nutrient density of quinoa, I really wanted to like it. But honestly I never liked the taste of it anytime I made it, until now. I am so happy to have found a way to make quinoa that is actually not only appetizing but incredibly delicious. With the fresh chopped tomatoes and avocados on top this just tasted ridiculously good! My whole family liked it which was even better. All the recipes I have tried on your blog have been nothing short of awesome. I wish I had come across it sooner!
Do you think I can add cooked shredded chicken to the recipe? It all sounds delish!
Yes, that sounds like a great addition – however, you may have to adjust the ingredients as needed to compensate for this addition.
Made this for the fam. They loved it. We didn’t use El Paso though. Just made our own enchalada sauce from a packet. You don’t have to use El Paso.
Instead of putting the cheese throughout the mixture I just made a layer of it in the middle and some on top. Sort of like a lasagna.
Made this last night. It turned out great. I was out of chili powder so I substituted with garlic powder and crushed red pepper. Planning on eating leftovers for lunch served cold over shredded lettuce.
I made this tonight and was seriously bummed! It looked so good in the pictures, but it was far from it. It was too soupy–the recipe calls for 10 oz. of the sauce, but I think it would be fine with half of it! It is far too bland and really, it’s just not a good combo of ingredients. After making it exactly like the recipe, I needed to go back and add more beans, more corn, onion, jalapenos, and pepper jack cheese for it to be eaten by my family. After everyone ate, I had a unanimous vote to please not make it again.
Make this recipe at your own risk, ask quinoa is an expensive ingredient!
I’m sorry that this recipe did not turn out the way you had imagined. I only post recipes that have been successfully tested in my own kitchen, and as you can see from the comments here, many of these readers have had great outcomes in the final dish as well.
However, recipes are a base and can be adjusted to your preferences – so yes, if the mixture is not thick enough, try adding more beans, corn, etc. or reducing the amount of sauce. I’m also not sure how it is “far too bland” as there are a TON of fun goodies happening here, but we all have different taste preferences.
I really do hope you get a chance to try this again with a more successful outcome!
3$ a pound in bulk is expensive?
Maybe baking it longer in the oven would help thicken things up for you.
I made this tonight. Very tasty! It came out thick and seems more like a dip or burrito filling. We ate ours with some tortilla chips and extra avocado. I will definitely make it again…delish!
Yes. Using it as a dip sounds awesome. How about on some Triscuit crackers? Yes. It was so good.
Everyone always leaves comments about how good recipes LOOK but I just want to share that this recipe is amazing and delicious!!! I have tried so many of your recipes and I love them all. You have helped me mix up our typical dinners. I will definitely make this again. I think I added meat into this but I can’t totally remember at this point. Quinoa is totally new to me (thanks to one of your other recipes) so I am always looking to try more recipes with it. Thank you for always sharing your new recipes with us! =) HAPPY BELLY’S HERE! =)
LOVING your recipes! I’ve cooked “Damn Delicious” recipes four times in the last week or two and we’re loving them all. A double batch of Quinoa Enchilada Cass is prepped and ready to bake as soon as my oven preheats. Its that fast! (cooked the quinoa up last night) I can’t wait to try more Damn Delicious food!
I love your quinoa recipes. We eat a lot of quinoa in our house and I have a suggestion for people who are new to cooking it. In all my recipes after the amount of quinoa in the recipe I print (wash and rinse well) because there are toxins that need to be washed off. I even do that to recipes I get from your site, which I love, in case I pass the recipe on to a person new to quinoa.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing! Thank you so much for the recipe! We added a little dollop of sour cream and it really added a nice creamy element. I will be making this recipe often! Thanks again!
yummy! I just found your site through pinterest! this looks so good, totally going to make it!
I made this last night and it was absolutely delicious!
I used a full cup of black beans and corn and added extra beans, and was cooking for 3men who all survived without meat – will definitely make this again!
Such a delicious meal! I never know what I’m going to get when trying random recipes off pinterest, but this was wonderful. I have never had quinoa, and I’m glad this was my first experience with it! 🙂
In the oven right now, looks great. May have added to much cheese.;)