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:
I made this and substituted the 1 cup crushed tomatoes plus 1 cup water with a 698 ml bottle of passata. Gives it a stronger tomato flavour, but the consistency turned out the same. I also sprinkled some cheese on top and served with avocado – perfect meal. It is as easy as Katie said, one bowl plus one pan and I love that the quinoa does not have to be pre-cooked.
Just made quiona when taken out of oven was very loose in middle what should I do
Cook longer.
I subbed refried beans for the black beans. It took about twice as long to cook because of the additional liquid, but it’s stoll delicious!
I just want to report back about cooking this in the instant pot. Eight minutes seems way too long considering I’ve seen other recipes cook it for 1 minute, with natural pressure release. I followed my instinct and cooked for 5 mins, also with slightly less water, and it still came out a little over cooked – the quinoa at the bottom of the pot was mushy. I would probably just sauté the onion and pepper, then cook the quinoa for one minute and stir in the rest of the ingredients at the end for a fresher flavor. Personally, my family loves the oven version best because the quinoa on top gets all crunchy and it has a better texture throughout the dish.
Made this over the weekend exactly as the recipe was written. I used cheddar for the cheese component. The quinoa cooked perfectly (despite it not being precooked) and the flavour was quite good! I made it on Saturday evening and packaged it into air tight containers for lunch Mon-Wed. It’s now Wednesday and it still tastes fresh 4 days later! Yay. Will definitely make this a staple.
So good! I cooked it about 10 minuets longer and everything was more tender. I also top it with salsa, avocado slices (and an over easy egg if you aren’t doing this vegan style) It’s become one of my favorite go to meals for the week. Thanks!
It also works with scrambled egg with spinach ?
Has anyone tried this with refried beans instead of black beans? Or maybe in addition to? My daughter loves refried beans and we like quinoa, so trying to combine! Thanks!
Just made this with a few adjustments (mostly to use up what I had on hand)
Chicken broth > water
Pace Salsa > crushed tomatos
Mixed frozen veggies defrosted > canned corn
Paired it with guacamole and unflavored Greek Yogurt ? one of my new favorite easy meal preps!
I don’t usually comment on recipes I find online, but this one is a real hit with my family. My husband asked for leftovers, topped with an egg, for breakfast. I’m making variations of this each week, by adding different veggies and spices. Thank you for the inspiration!
I had eyed this recipe for some time now but finally got around to it. Didn’t bake it though, I just cooked everything on a normal pot in the stove top, delicious! Even my father who has never like quinoa before liked this! So thank you Katie! <3