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.
I made this a few weeks ago, its delicious!! My husband LOVED it too, he had seconds and never has seconds! Great flavors. We are more green enchilada people so I used that instead. It came out a little runny, which was mu fault, just make sure everything is drained well! A must try recipe 🙂
Also, I always fry up some corn tortillas, add a little salsa and ranch, and that’s how we eat it. SO GOOD!
I make this so often. My husband LOVES it and so do I. The left overs are delish. I attend a small group and I’m bringing this for dinner tomorrow night. I’m so excited. Also, I always buy Old El Paso™ because they taste the best! Thank for for this recipe. WE LOVE IT!
Amazing recipe! Made it last night with a side of avocado, came out absolutely incredible. Thanks for an awesome, yet totally easy, recipe!
Made this last night minus the corn because I didn’t have any. It was EASY and so FAST! My kid who is 12 doesn’t like quinoa so i figured this would be the best bet because it’s mexican flavors. Still a no go for her. WIN for me. I can eat this all day. Topped with sour cream/greek yogurt and tomatoes/avocado. YUM! Thank you!
just had this – made a few changes based on what we had on hand, but it was delicious! I’m adding this to our normal rotation for sure. I love how flexible it is – you can really add whatever you want to it.
Sarah
Midwest Darling
This Quinoa Enchilada Casserole is amazing! This meal is very delicious, healthy, and colorful. We added avocado and tomato to it after we cooked it and it made it extra fantastic. This is definetly the meal to beat!
I made this for a potluck lunch today (Dining for Women meeting) and it was a huge hit! Several people asked me for the recipe. I accidentally used a 14 oz can of enchilada sauce without checking, and it was pretty soupy, so I added a couple of tablespoons of instant masa (corn flour) to the mix, and it came out perfectly – I baked it for 30 minutes instead of 20 to make sure it would be fully cooked. I also added the whole can of beans, because, well otherwise I would have just tossed the other half. It was delicious! I haven’t cared for quinoa before, it looks like bird seed and was bland, but this recipe disguised that perfectly. One lady who lives in a retirement home and struggles with getting the place to serve her vegetarian meals asked if I would come by one day a week and bring this!
This was very, very good. My kids ate it up (although they picked out the green chilies). Thanks!
I made this last week and I am making it again tonight! This turned out great. Super easy and pretty healthy! I also added in some diced bell pepper too!
My family absolutely loves this dish. The kids gobble it up and it was even requested for his 4th birthday party meal! Whenever I make it now I double the recipe and freeze the other half (without the extra cheese on top, avocado or tomatoes, of course). I let it thaw in the fridge and it’s as fantastic as it is when it’s fresh. I do use an entire can of black beans and I use an entire *can* of corn (white shoepeg usually). Great when scooped up with tortilla chips and even wrapped in a tortilla as a burrito.
Love the idea of adding quinoa to a casserole!
This was good
I made this tonight and I was surprised at how fast it all came together. All I had to chop was cilantro, and some nights you just need a little less chopping. I served it with sour cream, olives, avocado and tomato on top with a side of warm tortilla wedges. All my picky kids LOVED it. AMAZING!
This was amazing! We are not normally into ‘meatless’ meals but this is a keeper. It was easy, satisfying, health-full and the flavor was over the top.
I just made this and had for lunch today. It was sooo good. Only thing is and I read so many comments and nobody that I saw seemed to have this issue, but mine was really runny? I don’t know if I did something wrong. I did use precooked quinoa from trader Joe’s that I heated up and put in but everything else was the same. Any suggestions on what I did? Taste was great and I’ll definitely make again!!!
I’m not entirely sure. But you can always add more quinoa as needed to soak up some of the “runniness”. Hope that helps!
I have tried this recipe and love it!
This is such a great way to enjoy quinoa! I can’t wait to try it out!
Well it was certainly delicous! I wouldnt call it “healthy” or “guilt-free” though, as that enchilada sauce is loaded with MSG. Definitely good though!
Really loved it! Great option for our gluten free family. . Used pinto beans and fresh corn. Next time will add more of both, along with green chili. Looking forward to reading the reviews for other ideas.