Cheesy Quinoa and Black Bean Casserole
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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.
That’s where this recipe comes in 🙂
A lightened-up, healthy quinoa bake 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 (fresh or frozen/defrosted) taste even better!
This was super kid-friendly – Layla could easily eat it up with a spoon, and she asked for seconds!
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.
The Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1.5 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
- 1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
- 1/2 cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
- 2 15oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 yellow peppers, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1.5 cups mexican shredded cheese
- 3 Roma tomatoes, diced
- green onions, sliced
The Directions
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.
Cheesy Quinoa and Black Bean Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 15 ounce tomato sauce 1 can
- 1 1/2 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
- 4.5 oz chopped green chiles, drained 1 can
- 1/2 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
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 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.
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!