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
.
More Healthy Savory Recipes:
.
.
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:
I made this successfully with 1 cup brown rice instead of quinoa! So good!
Made this last night exactly how the recipe followed and it was delicious!
How much nutritional yeast would you use in place of cheese?
I would go with an equal amount, cup-wise.
So colorful and tasty, I can’t wait to try it 🙂
Your pics are so cool.
Didn’t have quinoa, used barley instead. Added 1lb of seasoned ground beef. Did one 1tsb of chili powder and 1tsb of extra hot mexican chili powder and added a 1/4tsb of lime salt. It was delish, also had to cut back on the water added
Hi Katie! I just took this bake out of the oven and it is soo delicious! The ingredients are so wholesome, which I really appreciate 🙂 I made enough for the week and cannot wait to continue to enjoy it. Thank you so much for putting together such a yummy and nutritious recipe. Sending lots of love your way
I made this for dinner tonight. I forgot to turn the heat off after 28 minutes so I ended up baking it for 50 minutes before I realized my mistake. It was a little brown around the edges but otherwise turned out great! At least the extra time made it firm up nicely. I’ll definitely make this again.
Literally made this so many times since you posted this recipe! such a hit at home, there’s never any left overs 🙂 I look forward to even more savory options from you <3
I tried this recipe today and it was delicious. I took it to work and shared it with a couple friends who were amazed at the taste….I think it’s the cumin….lol. My only substitute was that I used cream-styled corn for whole kernel corn, which is what I had on hand. And since I had all the other ingredients, I didn’t think it should have mattered too much. The next time I make this dish, I’ll add some cheese on the top, sprinkled with some breadcrumbs for an extra crunch. Thanks for the work you put in. This will be a definite hit with my vegan friends!
I make this over and over – it’s a great casserole for a pot luck or serving mixed company – vegan and non-vegan. When just eating at home (all vegan) we still make this because it’s easy and always turns out great. I follow the recipe with no changes and use Daiya shredded cheddar, which I don’t really like on its own but mixed in this dish it’s actually perfect. (Not canned beans or corn – dry soaked and cooked beans and frozen corn.)