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:
Made this for dinner tonight, it was super delicious! I used real garlic and fresh corn on the cob. Can’t wait to try more of your non-dessert recipes!
Just made this by the directions and the quinoa was not cooked. I’ve just added more water and put back in the oven in hope that my daughter will still eat it! ext time I would precook the quinoa.
Me too the quinoa never cooked. So pissed rn. I don’t get how people succeded to do this recipe!!
On my to-make list forever and finally made this week. Doubled and put in 9×13. My quinoa protesting oldest ate it happily. My littlest asked for just the polka dots (quinoa)! The rest of us happily gobbled it up. I ate leftovers a couple times straight from the fridge with s fresh scoop of nutritional yeast bc it’s my fave. Only mods were chicken stock for water and mostly nutritional yeast but s little cheddar mixed in. Would def be good with an egg or maybe make indents and crack an eggs into the wells to cook while it bakes. Yummo! Thanks for the recipe!
I really dont get how you could do this prep in 5 mins! Took me AT LEAST 15 minutes, maybe more!!
Hi! If I’m planning to freeze this, should I bake it first? Or freeze it unbaked and bake it after?
Hmm, I would say bake first!
Made this last night, it is incredible! So easy and tasty! I ate one serving with some vegan queso I made and half an avocado and was stuffed! Looking forward to leftovers today. Thanks Katie for making my transition to plant based eating so enjoyable!
This is such a great quick recipe. I use only one a teaspoon of chilli powder and it’s still spicy enough for me. I used frozen mixed vegetables instead of just corn, and onion powder instead of onion. Half vegan cheese if I have some and half nutritional yeast.
Followed the cooking instructions to the letter and the quinoa is well cooked.
Have eaten it hot and cold. Good with salad or on a sandwich. Nice for breakfast,lunch or dinner. Thanks for such a nice recipe.
I meant I use only one half teaspoon of chilli powder…
Thank you for making it!
To address the issues raised by the comments below (uncooked quinoa, soupiness), I reworked the preparation while using the same ingredients. I precooked my quinoa and let it chill in the fridge for 6 hours. I sauteed all the other ingredients (minus the cheese and beans) and then added that mixture to the cold quinoa and stirred. The resulting mixture was cool enough to then add the beans and cheese without causing the cheese to melt. Then I transferred the mixture to a 9×9 glass dish and put it in the oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, covered. The result was really delicious! It’s 3x the dishes and prep time but worth it in my opinion to avoid uncooked quinoa!
This is one of my new favorite meal prep dishes. I didn’t have a bell pepper so I used a can of green Chiles which added really good flavor!
I am going to use Nutritional Yeast instead of cheese. Will it still be one cup?