This healthy Mexican quinoa casserole is the perfect weeknight dinner – Just mix the ingredients together and throw it into the oven!
With just 5 minutes of prep work, you could even try it out for dinner tonight!
The recipe is super easy to make and is sure to satisfy both meat eaters and vegetarians.
High in protein, it’s a meatless meal that’s filled with superfoods such as black beans, quinoa, and red peppers, yet tastes like pure comfort food at the same time ♥.
The best part is that you don’t need to cook the quinoa beforehand, which saves you time and also means fewer dishes to clean.
Serve it in bowls or on plates – the casserole is firm enough to slice into squares.
It also makes a delicious savory breakfast!
I adapted this quinoa casserole from an unlikely source: Banana Bread Quinoa Breakfast Bars.
Proof I do sometimes think about other things besides chocolate and dessert. The recipe takes just three easy steps, which I’ve posted below with accompanying photos.
Step-By-Step Photos:
Step One:
Gather all of your ingredients.
Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper, and preheat the oven to 350 F.
Step Two:
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
Stir together until well-mixed, then spread the quinoa mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
Step Three:
Bake 28 minutes on the oven’s center rack.
Turn off the heat, and let sit in the closed oven to firm up. Serve hot, or cover and refrigerate overnight.
Leftovers can be refrigerated 3-4 days.
While I’ve only made this quinoa casserole as listed, please feel free to experiment with other ingredients or spices.
You can try substituting chopped carrots for the corn, zucchini for the bell pepper, white beans or even lentils for the black beans, or perhaps even rice for the quinoa.
Leftover beans? Make these easy Black Bean Burgers
With any recipe, whether it be mine or someone else’s, it’s always a good idea to make the recipe exactly as written the first time so you know what it’s supposed to taste like.
Then you can experiment and see how using different ingredients changes the taste and texture of the recipe.
Edible experiments can be a risk, but sometimes that risk pays off big time!
In this particular case, I took a risk by adapting a dessert recipe to make a savory one… and I could not be happier with the results.
Cheesy Mexican Black Bean Quinoa Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 can black beans, or 1 1/2 cups cooked
- 1 can corn, or 1 1/2 cups cooked
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes, canned or fresh
- 1 bell pepper, diced (1 cup)
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup cheese, such as Daiya vegan, OR nutritional yeast
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8-inch pan with parchment paper, and set aside. Drain the beans and corn. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients until well-mixed. Spread into the prepared pan, and bake on the center rack 28 minutes. Without opening the oven door even a little, turn off the heat and let the casserole sit in the closed oven for an additional 25 minutes. Remove, and serve. The casserole will firm up more overnight as well – store leftovers covered in the fridge for 3-4 days.Instant Pot Version: Add an extra 1/2 cup of water and set it to manual for 8 minutes. Thanks to reader Louise who came up with this version and left a comment to let us know it can be made in an instant pot!View Nutrition Facts
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More Healthy Savory Recipes:
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Blog Update:
There are some exciting things coming to the blog in the next few months, including a brand new ebook coming out very soon that may or may not be 100% devoted to breakfast recipes! I’ve also hired a full-time media director and updated the FAQ page:
A healthy dinner that takes only a few minutes to prepare, makes very few dirty dishes, and tastes great? What kind of demons do you summon to come up with these things, becuase they can’t be natural!!! 😉 I can’t wait to try this!
I LOVE one-pot dishes. Also, congrats on all the new developments!
I love these kinds of recipes! I live alone and I like to cook something that I can eat for dinner for about 4 nights. I don’t really get sick of things, so this will be a good addition to my regular rotation. And who doesn’t love a casserole??
Thanks for the new recipe, Katir! Looks wonderful!
I can’t wait for your next cookbook!!! But, I’m a little confused; I thought you said the next one will contain a savory dish section?
Well, no biggie. Just curious. I’m still gonna buy it! 😀 Thanks!
Oops! I misspelled your name! Katie, not Katir! Sorry about that!
That one is a little way’s away, but it’s also still in the works! I like being busy 🙂
Yay! More to look forward to, then! You’re great, Katie! Thanks for replying.
Anyone made this dish at home yet? I’m curious how the quinoa comes out without cooking it first. Thanks!
Otherwise this dish looks delicious and I already have everything for it in my pantry!
Hey!! Just took it out of the oven. It probably could have used a stir half way through…because the quinoa on top didn’t open up…but most of it did!! This is super tasty! Can’t wait to see it after it sits over night! Yum!!
I haven’t made this yet, but it sounds like the Stirring it sounds like the extra texture of the few pieces that don’t pop might offer a fun texture to the dish. Otherwise, stirring it like Catherine said also sounds like a great idea.
It tasted great but the quinoa didn’t open at all and the whole dish was soupy. I’m a novice and couldn’t spell keenwah a month ago. I’ll keep trying.
The quinoa in the photo looks uncooked to me. There is not enough liquid in the recipe to get it thoroughly cooked. Seeing as I am not a fan of uncooked quinoa, if I were to make this, I would precook the quinoa in my rice steamer.
Reporting back: It might not seem like it, but there IS definitely enough liquid to cook the quinoa through. I made the recipe last night and the quinoa came out soft and fluffy just as if I’d precooked it, except I didn’t have to! 🙂
I’m here to report back. I made the casserole and it was delicious! A hit with my partner too. The quinoa on top definitely looked crunchy and undercooked when I pulled it out of the oven, but the quinoa on the inside looked all opened up and cooked. I covered it and put it in the fridge overnight to portion out for weekday work lunches and when I microwaved them at work and then ate them I didn’t notice any crunchiness at all.
So though I had my doubts the short answer is, yes, it works to not cook the quinoa first. 🙂
I followed the instructions but used canned tomatoes instead of fresh and only partially drained them. I thought it was going to be too wet but was happy that it didn’t spill over. I am surprised that my quinoa did not cook – I thought it was just the quinoa on top, but when I stirred it the quinoa in the middle wasn’t cooked either… I think next time I will precook it and maybe omit the water and see how that turns out.
Yes. I ve made a few times. I now cook quinoa before adding it to the mixture. It s worth having to clean an extra pot. Also, I have omitted quinoa and used brown rice I stead.
I’m in UK, what would be a substitute cheese type for that vegan cheese in the recipe please? (It doesn’t need to be vegan for me) is it a cream cheese type? Maybe a sour cream?
I am planning on using shredded colby-jack cheese instead…I hope that helps you! 🙂
Shredded cheese.
Perhaps a mild cheddar or mozzarella cheese, you can mix them for a milder gooey flavor and texture. I used mozzarella.
Try the nutritional yeast instead if you can get it there. It has a great cheesy flavor. Or, alternatively just use real cheese if you’re not vegan.
Do you use an entire cup of nutritional yeast?
The Daiya cheese she used is like a shredded low fat cheddar. It is vegan but if you want to sub with milk cheese I would suggest low fat cheddar shreds.
this looks so good! i wonder if it would work with whole grain rice vs quinoa?
She says in the post that you can definitely try it.
This look so good!! It just needs a big dollop of guacamole;)
We doubled it and just are it for dinner…SO Good and so easy! Thank you!
How did you double it? Did you make it in a 13×9 and how long did you cook it for/let it sit in the oven for afterward to let it firm up?
All my favourite flavours in one bowl…yum! I make quinoa at least once a week (with enough leftovers to eat at least 2-3x) but I’ve never thought to make a casserole. Thanks for the idea! I love making these quinoa recipes (same flavours but different prep!);
http://www.bitesforfoodies.com/recipes/tex-mex-quinoa-burritos/
http://www.bitesforfoodies.com/recipes/southwestern-quinoa-stuffed-peppers/