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.
I made this for dinner tonight and my husband and I both loved it!
I made a few changes. Less quinoa, more black beans and corn.
For condiments we had sour cream, shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, chopped avocado, cilantro and limes. I’ll be making it for the family next time. Yummy!!
1. I made your enchiladas at the beginning of the year, which caused me to return to your site when looking for something to prepare for a dinner party. LOVE your enchiladas, but I was hesitant to go with tortillas. Oh, well (I thought).
and then!
YOU HIT ME WITH THIS! I’m so looking forward to making this. I was giddy when I saw this and my plan was changed.
YOU’RE AMAZING!
Made this for supper tonight. I loved it. It was delicious. Will definitely be making it again.
Made this for a Girl’s Game Night potluck – no leftovers. Three friends took a copy of the recipe and I’ve just emailed the recipe to another friend. I used the whole can of corn & black beans and full teasp of Cumin, with lots of chopped cilantro. Used the green enchilada sauce, will give it a try with red enchilada sauce next time to see how it changes the flavor.
Omg! This recipe was absolutely amazing and DAMN delicious! Lol it was so easy to make and my entire family has fallen in love with it!
This is great! I have been making quinoa with black beans and then using taco seasoning to make veggie tacos.. this is along the same lines but way better! And also works in a tortilla!
LOVE THIS! only added nice minced beef from local butcher! great dinner. now if I could only make my own Enchilada sauce?!
So I made this last night…and it basically changed my opinion on quinoa completely. I’m not usually a huge quinoa fan, but as a college student, I’m always looking for easy, healthy things I can make in batches and eat for later. I topped mine with Cherubs cherry tomatoes and crushed tortilla chips, and I’m eating it as we speak alongside a big bowl of edamame seasoned with Mexican seasoning and sea salt. YUM such a fan of your blog!
Xo,
Tay
acupoftay.com
Just made this for dinner tonight and the boyfriend and I LOVED it! I used all cheddar cheese bc that is what I had and once it was plated, we put extra cilantro on top and a swueeE of fresh lime juice skin with the avocado and tomatoes. Sooo yummy!
And that shouldn’t say “lime juice skin” I don’t know where that came from! 🙂 a squeeze of fresh lime juice along with the avocado and tomato.
Hi, the can of chopped green chili’s… would that be the same as chopped jalapeños? Thats all i can get in Ireland! Recipe looks fabulous!
Tara, these two are actually not the same but the chopped jalapeños would still be a great substitute!
LOVED IT!!! Used home made enchilada sauce, one 19 oz. can of drained black beans. 1.5 cups frozen corn and doubled the cilantro. Mine was a bit dry and will add a bit of water next time. I saluted 1 cup of finely diced onion with 1 lb. of ground turkey in a large high sided Teflon coated pan. Added the spices and remaining ingredients, topped with the cheese and covered on low for 5 min. which melted the cheese and made it a one pot meal. YUMMO!
I want to make this tonight for dinner but I do not have quinoa and with my twins it’s hard getting to the store. Can I substitute just brown or white rice?
Yes, that should be just fine.
I’ve made this several times and my whole family enjoys! I’ve added taco seasoned cooked ground turkey or beef before for variation and it makes for a great well rounded dinner!
I made this tonight. I wasn’t sure about using the OEP enchilada sauce. It was an excellent recipe. Everyone in our house says to keep the recipe in the top drawer. Thanks for sharing.
Can I substitute pearl couscous for the quinoa?
You can certainly substitute pearl couscous but I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish as further recipe testing is needed. Please use your best judgment for this substitution.
I discovered Quinoa by accident and fell in love with it. Thank you for creating another recipe for me to try. I have already had dinner tonight but this recipe is making me hungry. 🙂
I made this tonight and I am so stuffed and satisfied! It’s easy to put together, and super tasty! What a great way to use quinoa. It’s healthy and filling. I’m trying to incorporate it more and more into my family’s diet. Thanks for the recipe!
Super easy to make and extremely delicious! I didn’t have enough quinoa so I mixed it up with some green lentils. Yummy!
I just made this. It was easy, quick, and delicious! FIY. I am JUST now learning to cook because I have a son, so if I can make it, ANYONE can 🙂
Thank you!
I’m trying this tonight, looks great! But was wondering if I add ground turkey, would that be a substitute for the quinoa or can I make it with both in the dish?
I recommend adding in the turkey instead of eliminating the quinoa entirely.