Black Bean Casserole with Quinoa
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.This incredible one-pot Black Bean Casserole is going to please the entire family! It’s vegetarian, gluten-free, packed with Mexican flavors, simple to throw together, and can be made in under 30 minutes!
I’m always looking for delicious one-pot meals — the kind that I can just stick in the oven, not worry about, and know that it will turn out to be absolutely delicious.
If you are a fan of enchiladas, I am confident you are going to love this easy cheesy quinoa and black bean casserole. The flavors are out of this world thanks to the Mexican spices, not to mention all the hearty goodness you get from the quinoa, corn, peppers, black beans, and gooey cheese.
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This is a lightened-up, healthy Mexican black bean casserole that you can enjoy completely guilt-free. Reminiscent of enchiladas, slightly spicy and super satisfying, full of black beans, veggies, and cheesy goodness. And the leftovers taste even better!
I like this twist on enchiladas because we’re using quinoa instead of tortillas – which makes this dish gluten-free as well. Also, by using quinoa we’re adding some extra protein and fiber, and you save on prep time because you don’t have to assemble individual enchiladas! Just throw everything into a pot, mix it up, and bake in your favorite casserole dish.
Super kid and family friendly, your mouth will water just thinking of this drool worthy dish!
Tools and Equipment You’ll Need
How to Make The Best Black Bean Casserole
Recipe Ingredients and Notes
- Quinoa: You can use any type of quinoa you like! White, Red, Black, or a tri-color quinoa would all work great.
- Sauce Ingredients: You’ll need tomato sauce, vegetable broth and a mix of Mexican spices: chili powder, ancho chili powder, chipotle chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano and salt.
- Veggies: I used corn, bell peppers, onions and green chiles, but you can add in any veggies you like!
- Black Beans: The star of this plant-based casserole!
- Cheese: I used Mexican shredded cheese, but any shredded cheese you like will work well.
- Toppings: Diced fresh tomatoes and green onions round out this dish!
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Cook quinoa according to package directions. Meanwhile saute onion, peppers, corn, cumin, salt, black beans and green chiles in a pan.
Step 2: While that’s cooking, make the sauce: combine the tomato sauce, vegetable broth, chili powders (all 3 of them), garlic powder, onion powder, and dried oregano in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk to combine, then turn the heat down to low and let simmer 5 minutes.
Step 3: Mix quinoa, sauce and half of the cheese in the pan with the black bean / veggie mixture.
Step 4: Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish, top with cheese, and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Top with diced tomatoes and green onions.
What Makes This Mexican Black Bean Casserole Healthy?
- Vitamins and Nutrients: Every bite of this black bean casserole is filled with lots of yummy nutrient-rich ingredients. You will get vitamin C, folate, vitamin K, zinc, iron, potassium, and more!
- Low Calorie: Each helping is large and only has 242 calories! How awesome is that?
- Fiber and Protein: The combination of fiber and protein is fantastic in this quinoa enchilada casserole. 12.2 grams of protein and 7.5 grams of fiber in each serving.
Will Kids Enjoy This Black Bean Enchilada Casserole?
This beautiful and vibrant black bean quinoa casserole was made with kids’ taste buds in mind. I wanted something that mine would eat well and enjoy the flavor of. It’s a huge hit, and I rarely come across a kid that doesn’t eat it.
How to Store and Keep
Make sure the black bean quinoa casserole has cooled. After it has cooled, place it in an airtight container with a tight lid.
Refrigerator: Store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Freezer: Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw before reheating.
Reheating: Place leftovers on a microwave-safe dish and heat for 1-2 minutes at a time. Check and reheat if needed. You can also bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until hot all the way through.
Top Tips For Making This Black Bean Casserole
- Dice the tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers small, and the same size. It makes it easier to eat, and they will cook more evenly too.
- You can meal prep this ahead of time and store it in the fridge up to one day in advance. Bake when ready to serve.
- Skip the cheese to make it vegan.
- If you’re feeding a large crowd, you can easily double this recipe.
Check Out These Other Mexican Inspired Recipes!
- Vegetarian Stew Recipe With Beans and Rice
- Mexican Black Bean Soup With Tortillas
- Vegan Black Bean Soup
- Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash
- Healthy Guacamole Recipe
- Vegetarian Mexican Recipes
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🎥 Watch How to Make It
Black Bean Casserole with Quinoa
A lightened-up, healthy black bean casserole that you can enjoy completely guilt-free. Reminiscent of enchiladas, slightly spicy and super satisfying, full of black beans, veggies, quinoa, and cheesy goodness.
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 242kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 15 ounce tomato sauce 1 can
- 1½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ancho chili powder
- ½ tsp chipotle chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 4½ oz chopped green chiles, drained 1 can
- ½ cup corn kernels frozen, canned or roasted
- 30 oz cans black beans drained and rinsed (2 cans)
- 3 yellow peppers diced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ cups Mexican shredded cheese
- 3 Roma tomatoes diced
- green onions sliced
Instructions
- Cook quinoa according to package directions. Meanwhile saute onion, peppers, corn, cumin, salt, black beans and green chiles in a pan.
- While that’s cooking, make the sauce: combine the tomato sauce, vegetable broth, chili powders (all 3 of them), garlic powder, onion powder, and dried oregano in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk to combine, then turn the heat down to low and let simmer 5 minutes.
- Mix quinoa, sauce and half of the cheese in the pan with the black bean / veggie mixture.
- Transfer the mixture to a casserole dish, top with cheese, and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Top with diced tomatoes and green onions.
Notes
Top Tips For Making This Black Bean Casserole
- Dice the tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers small, and the same size. It makes it easier to eat, and they will cook more evenly too.
- You can meal prep this ahead of time and store it in the fridge up to one day in advance. Bake when ready to serve.
- Skip the cheese to make it vegan.
- If you’re feeding a large crowd, you can easily double this recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 242kcal | Carbohydrates: 34.3g | Protein: 12.2g | Fat: 7.1g | Saturated Fat: 3.7g | Sodium: 460mg | Fiber: 7.5g | Sugar: 2.1g
This is a great healthy recipe! Thank you. I have a question about how much quinoa to use. Does the recipe call for 1 cup of ‘cooked’ quinoa or are we to cook 1 cup of quinoa (which makes more than 1 cup of cooked quinoa) and use all of the cooked quinoa? It seemed like a lot of quinoa to use all of it so that is why I am asking. Thank you.
Thanks so much Coni! Oh yes, use 1 cup of cooked quinoa in this recipe. You can use 1 cup of dry quinoa and cook it if you want it to be more quinoa forward, but when I made it I used 1 cup of cooked quinoa. Hope that helps!
This is a great recipe. I had too much cauliflower so I added a head of cauliflower florets to the recipe. Also, I made the tomato sauce from scratch. What I like about this recipe is that you can simultaneously cook the quinoa, tomato sauce (if you’re making it from scratch) and saute the vegetables while the oven is preheating. Once everything is ready, you move the cooked ingredients into a baking dish and bake it in the oven. This is a fast, easy to make recipe.
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that Bill, and I love the modifications you made too!
Served this for dinner last night and it does not disappoint! So delicious and hearty; the whole family loved it!
Yay!! So happy to hear how much you all liked it Sara!
This casserole meal sounds appetizing and inviting. I am thinking of giving it a try tomorrow. I just hope it will look and taste like yours 🙂
It really is so delicious!! I’m sure yours will turn out perfectly! 🙂
I made it tonight, and it turned out deliciously!
Awesome! So happy to hear that Jo!
I also love a good one-pot recipe, who wants to do all of those dishes after you’ve already cooked? This looks absolutely delicious, can’t wait to give it a shot!
Totally!! I’m all about one pot meals these days! I’m sure you will love this recipe Nathan! 🙂
We tried this recipe last night and it was delicious. Quick question though, you said it serves 10 but do not list the serving size. What is the serving size for those of us keeping track of our calories? Thanks!
Hi Carolynn! I’m so glad you liked this recipe! One serving should be about 1.5 cups of food, but what I usually do when I make this dish is divide the casserole into 10 equal parts before serving to ensure each portion is the same size! So I’d recommend doing that next time so you can be sure you’re getting the right portion! Hope that helps!
Awesome recipe Anjali! It Looks yummy, worth giving a try… The only challenge here is the availability of Quinoa in my area, having said that this recipe is worth sharing and its something my audience would love it… a quick question, for how long can we refrigerate it? I mean I am planning to take this with me as a tiffin.
Hi Hemant! This recipe will last in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Hope that helps! Oh and if you don’t have access to quinoa, you can replace it with 3/4 the amount of brown rice. I’m sure you will love this dish!
Made this with a couple tweaks and it was to die for. Son ate all was given and I was so thrilled. Thanks for this recipe I think it will become a regular!
Yay!! This is a regular favorite in our house too – so glad you and your family loved this recipe!
Love your collection of healthy recipes — all of them look great! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Vaishali! Hope you love this one in particular!
Looks so delicious! Thanks for the yummy and healthy organic recipe Anjali 🙂 I love eating nutritious and healthy recipes more 🙂 Keep up the good work 🙂
No problem Chris! I’m sure you’ll love this recipe!
Wow Healthy and tasty recipe Anjali, That’s what I am looking for now a days with some Indian taste. Hopefully I will get most of the ingredients in my area. Right now, I am trying to lose some weight and need some tasty recipes with full of carbohydrate, proteins, fat and fiber . And you know, for that I need to eat many things separately. Your casserole is like one stop solution for my needs, haha. What do you think, can I freeze it for 2-3 days and then can use it later?
Seema
Thanks Seema! This recipe will freeze great – you can freeze it for up to 3 months and it will still taste amazing and fresh when you defrost it. Hope that helps! Enjoy!
3 months… that’s Great, Thanks 🙂
No prob!