This Enchilada Casserole is one of my family’s very favorite meals! It is so easy to whip together, taste delicious and is super kid-friendly. The quinoa and black beans provide plenty of protein making it a very nutritional vegetarian dish, plus the avocado for healthy fats if you choose! You could easily add chicken to it if desired but it is so tasty on its’ own.
A few years ago when we started our real food journey there were no clean options for things like store-bought enchilada sauce without the icky preservatives so I have always made my own. With that being said, recently I have found some clean store-bought options on the shelves with clean ingredients and certified organic that I don’t mind using to save a little time. I still attached my homemade version below because it is so fresh and tasty and incredibly easy! We love serving this meal with clean tortilla chips (our favorite linked below). I hope your family enjoys this meal as much as mine does!
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
- 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
- 1 10 oz can mild enchilada sauce
- 1 4.5 oz can diced green chilies, drained
- 1/2 frozen corn kernels
- 1/2 can black beans, drained and rinsed well.
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp pink salt
- pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup raw monterary jack cheese
- 1/2 raw cheddar cheese – **(alternatively you could use 1 full cup Mexican cheese blend but I always opt for raw cheeses and grate them myself!)
- Optional toppings : cilantro(highly rec), avocado(highly rec), roma tomato.
Directions:
- Take quinoa and properly rinse (I always rinse my grains in a strainer before cooking). Heat a large saucepan on medium-high heat, add quinoa, 2 cups broth (or water but cooking grains in broth adds so much flavor and extra nutrition!), a dash of salt.
- Cook covered for roughly 15-20 minutes until all liquid is absorbed, turn stove top off, and set quinoa aside for 10 minutes to finish (still covered).
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees, Lightly spray an 8×8 size baking dish with a little avocado oil.
- In a large bowl, mix together quinoa, sauce, chilies, corn, beans, seasonings and most of the cheese , saving a little extra to sprinkle on top. Spread quinoa mixture into baking dish evenly. Top with the last of the cheese.
- Bake in oven about 15-20 minutes until bubbly and cheese has melted. Serve with desired toppings (highly recommend!) and tortilla chips.
*Alternatively you can bake this at a much lower temperature covered with foil, about 300 for an hour or so. I did this when Lily had practice one night and it worked out perfectly. It was ready to eat as soon as we got home!
***Homemade Enchilada Sauce***
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour (whole wheat works fine)
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp pink salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 cup broth (or water but broth is more flavorful) *add 1-2 tbsp more if needed
Directions- Two Ways :
- Place all ingredients into high powder blender and blend for 30 seconds until all combined. Use immediately.
- Heat sauce pan on medium heat and pour olive oil, flour, and chili powder in. Stir all together for about 1 minute and then add in all the additional ingredients. Cook on low for 10- 15 minutes until bubbly.
*I have done this both ways and either way works perfectly and tastes delicious!
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