Quinoa Enchilada Casserole
Quinoa Enchilada Casserole! If you love the taste of enchiladas, then you must try this simple vegetarian casserole. Quinoa, corn, beans, homemade enchilada sauce baked to bubbly, cheesy perfection. Easily vegan!
Quinoa Enchilada Casserole! This one is for all you busy parents out there who want to get a healthy, protein and vegetable packed meal on the table without a lot of effort.
My husband is the king of casseroles; he loves nothing more than platters of casserole-type food that he can eat (and reheat) throughout the week. You can take the boy outta the midwest, but you can certainly not take the midwest out of the boy.
This vegetarian quinoa enchilada casserole is based off my Instant Pot Quinoa Enchiladas— so many of you LOVE that recipe, and I wanted to make one that you didn’t need an Instant Pot for.
How to Make Quinoa Enchilada Casserole
This casserole is packed with late summer vibes: corn, zucchini, red bell pepper, beans and a homemade enchilada sauce to coat everything in. I know the idea of homemade enchilada sauce sounds complicated, but it really only requires a handful of ingredients and a few spices. I’ve yet to find an enchilada sauce that I actually like from a can, and this homemade version is ready in less than 10 minutes.
To cut down on the overall prep of this recipe, do what I do– triple the sauce recipe, then freeze for whenever you need extra enchilada sauce without the additional effort.
Stir it all together, throw on some more enchilada sauce and cover with a little cheese. We don’t eat too much dairy these days, but I do enjoy the occasional cheese topping. For my vegan friends, you can use a dairy-free version for this. I really like the Violife cheese — it’s delicious! Or, you could skip all together.
While I haven’t tried it, I think drizzling in my vegan cheese sauce after baking would also be an awesome dairy-free alternative.
Can you freeze this casserole?
Yes! As a busy mom, I’m a big fan of making a double batch of recipes like this and freezing one. It’s also a great casserole to gift to a new mom (I’ve got 20 more freezer meal ideas here)
You’ve got two options to freeze. You can freeze uncooked and then cook from frozen (you’ll need to extend it by 15-20 minutes) or, partially cook it, let cool completely and then pop into the freezer. Let thaw in the fridge overnight, then heat up right before serving.
If I’m freezing a casserole, I tend to add in extra sauce and cheese as I want to make sure there is plenty of both with reheating.
You know what the best part about casseroles are? They are very, very forgiving. Feel free to throw in your favorite cooked vegetables to this quinoa enchilada casserole mixture, or sub out the zucchini and bell pepper for something else.
I will occasionally throw in chopped cooked faux chicken (I really like the one by No Evil) — really, as long as it tastes good while you are assembling it and you have enough sauce to cover, you can mix and match the ingredients to your hearts content! Isn’t that the best part about cooking meals like this?
More One Pot Meals:
One Pot Pasta Puttanesca
One Pot Vegan Chili Mac
One Pot Vegetable Pasta
Instant Pot Quinoa Enchiladas
Instant Pot Lentil Soup
If you try this quinoa enchilada casserole recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge . I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
Quinoa Enchilada Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 white or yellow onion, diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 1 large zucchini, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon each: chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin
- 1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15 ounce can corn, drained and rinsed
- 1 batch homemade enchilada sauce, (or 2 1/2 cups enchilada sauce)
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese of choice.
Instructions
- Place quinoa and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, then cook until tender, about 12 minutes. Turn off stove and let sit for 2-3 minutes, then fluff with a fork and add to a large bowl.
- While the quinoa is cooking, make the vegetables. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion, bell pepper and zucchini until soft, about 10 minutes, then sprinkle in the chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
- Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly grease a large casserole dish.
- Add the cooked vegetable mixture to the bowl along with black beans, corn, and 1 cup enchilada sauce. Stir together, then place in the prepared dish and cover with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle cheese on top, then lightly tent with foil.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes until hot and bubbly.