Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole is a fun and easy Mexican-inspired recipe that the whole family will love. 

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Whenever we have dinner at our favorite local Mexican restaurant, my husband frequently orders enchiladas. His love of them has rubbed off on our kids, evidenced by how they spend most of the meal going between what they’ve ordered and (much to hubby’s chagrin) taking repeated bites off of his plate. Given that my family’s appetite for enchiladas is greater than how often we eat out, I decided to learn how to make them. And then I came up with the Enchilada Casserole. A total game-changer. 

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I love making Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole because you save time by not having to roll up enchiladas. Layering the tortillas with the fillings gives you the same satisfying bite without the extra time it takes to perfectly roll up the tortillas. It makes it a little more kid friendly so they can help you layer the filling with the tortillas. Getting kids involved in the kitchen is always a huge goal for me. 

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If you’re not used to preparing enchiladas at home, making homemade enchilada sauce might seem a bit intimidating, but it’s actually quite easy (or at least my version is simple!). The list of ingredients may seem long, but they are all very likely things you already have in your pantry, spice drawer, refrigerator and freezer. 

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Mexican-inspired dishes are one of the easiest to make vegetarian, which is great for our family since Kenya is vegetarian, and the rest of us try to eat as much plant based food as possible. There are several recipes on Weelicious that are great for families that have a mixture of vegetarians or meat eaters like Vegetarian Baked Taquitos, Vegetarian Chimichangas and Vegetarian Sheet Pan Nachos.

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If you’re like me and have a house full of enchilada lovers but want to save a few bucks by making dinner at home, you’ll be happy to discover how easy it is to do — and you can make enough so that no one has to pick off of anyone else’s plate!

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Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole

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Author: Catherine McCord
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients  

Enchilada Sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup water

Filling:

  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup corn kernels
  • 1-15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 1/2 cups shredded mexican blend cheese, divided
  • 6 corn tortillas

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350 F.
  • Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a small saucepan over medium heat and sauté the onions for 4 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, cumin and chili powder and sauté an additional minute.
  • Add the honey, diced tomatoes and water. Stir, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Allow mixture to cool for 10 minutes then place in a blender, puree and set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the onion, garlic, cumin powder, salt, sour cream and egg.
  • Stir in the corn, black beans, bell pepper, cilantro and 2 cups of cheese to combine.
  • Pour 3/4 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 7×11 baking dish. Cover with 2 corn tortillas.
  • Spread half of the mixture on top of the tortillas and top with another ½ cup of sauce followed by 2 more tortillas.
  • Spread the remaining mixture on top of the tortillas, top with the remaining 2 tortillas, sauce and cheese.*
  • Bake for 40 minutes uncovered.
  • Serve.
  • *At this point the casserole can be covered and frozen. When ready to serve, bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 210kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 550mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 3g
Did you make this recipe?Mention @Weelicious or tag #weelicious!

Published August 4, 2022 by Catherine McCord

Categorized in , , , , , , , , , ,

About the Author

Catherine is a mama of three. A Kentucky girl living in California. Here’s what I know: all kids can be great eaters and mealtime must be easy. I create simple, healthy recipes the whole family will love.

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Comments

  2. Serves 12?? Umm… not to sure about that… In a 7X11 pan, you might feed 4 – 6 with rice and beans side dishes. Is this incorrect?

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  3. This was delicious! They don’t have corn tortillas or black beans where I live so used flour tortillas and red kidney beans instead. And also layered some cilantro lime rice into the mix! Very hearty and filling meal, will be making again and again!

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  5. Hi Catherine, how would you suggest incorporating ground turkey into this meal? i..e. should it be fully browned before sprinkling in as a layer? Thanks in advance!

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  6. I tired this last night as well as the sweet potato enchilada recipe. The sweet potato black bean enchiladas won over everyone, hands down. I made this exactly to recipe except that I rolled them into enchiladas. They were good, but not as easy or special as the sweet potato ones. I do recommend the enchilada SAUCE recipe here. It was very nice, as I don’t like many canned versions. Thanks for a new dinner option!

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  10. […] Wednesday – Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole […]

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  12. […] has some leftover Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole, Jay has a leftover cheeseburger and some of last night’s chicken parm casserole, and I have the […]

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  13. […] Veggie Enchilada Casserole – I don’t normally use this sauce recipe though.  Instead, I use the one in the next recipe: […]

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  14. […]   Rezept adaptiert von Weelicious. […]

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  16. I have been making this recipe with variations for a few years now. It has served me well! Something that I do occasionally is add TVP for some extra protein. I also use Trader Joe’s chunky salsa instead of canned tomatoes. It adds some great spice to the dish and saves cooking time!

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  17. I made this recipe mostly as is – I added shredded chicken, shredded carrots, and fresh spinach. I did, however, follow the enchilada sauce exactly. The dish turned out perfect and it was not watery at all. My 16 month old (plus me and my husband) loved it!

    I have found that some brands of chili powder are VERY spicy depending on which kind you purchase. Or maybe I’m crazy?

    Anyway, thanks for another great recipe!

    Reply

  19. This is now a favorite of my kids ages 8, 10 and 13. I have to admit that I use considerably more corn tortillas than the recipe calls for. Perhaps that is why mine isn’t too watery. I also added a can of sliced black olives. We love olives!

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  20. Yes! Either let it come to room temperature before baking, or add about 7 minutes to the bake time!

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  23. I was looking forward to making this but I have to admit, I wasn’t very happy with how it turned out. It turned into mush for me as well and it was very spicy. So spicy my husband was complaining and I couldn’t feed it to my 14 month old. This was after I halved the amount of cayenne pepper. I’m not sure that I would want to try it again which was surprising because we usually love weelicious recipes 🙁

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  24. A hit with the 15 mo old! I let the sauce cook longer to thickened up, and used less of it. Still on the mushy side, but tasty, and the kid is happy.

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  26. This is one of the most delicious paleo meals for me to date. For real I ate it while it was still so hot I burnt my tognue then kept eating it. The flavors work so well together, big fan! I want this cookbook of yours STAT!

    Reply

  27. Could you bake this in a 9×13? That’s the only larger size dish I have. Would this alter the cooking time? ALso, I am allergic to black beans. What would be the best bean substitute? Thanks!

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  28. I omitted the cup of water in the sauce. This turned out wonderfully! Tastes great! I couldn’t find corn tortillas so I used flour and they worked well.

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  30. Tried this last night and loved it! Featuring it on my blog today as the Casserole of the Week! Thanks for all your awesome recipes!

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  31. Made this dish last night and it was great! I made a few adjustments by ctitung all ingredients in half except for the chicken and made more of an enchilada shredded chicken instead of a stew. Enjoyed it with some cilantro/lime rice and a little guacamole. Highly recommend this recipe.

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  32. It was delicious.
    I did have some changes- canned corn (drained) and used wheat tortillas. And I didn’t add water.
    But it was still watery. My 2yr old had seconds. Okay, so did I 🙂 I’m hoping it will do what most casseroles do– get better as leftovers.

    Reply

  33. I made this last night and had the same experience as Summer (#18 above). 🙁
    I followed the recipe almost exactly: the only difference was that I used a “small saucepan” per the instructions and then ran out of room! I added the can of tomatoes with the water/juice in the can and did not add the extra 1 c. water. But, if anything, that would make it LESS watery, right? I cannot figure out why this turned into one big pile of mush. Delicious mush, but mush nonetheless. My daughter (nearly two) looked at it on her plate and cried. Needless to say, she didn’t eat it 🙁

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  34. This was great. I made it with Trader Joe’s fire roasted frozen corn and some diced zuchinni that I needed to use up. Everyone loved it. Thanks!

    Reply

  37. Does anyone have any substitutes for corn tortillas? Apparently they aren’t popular in my grocery stores. Can I use flour tortillas or will they not be dense enough?

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  38. I made this recipe following the instructions to the letter but it came out watery. Not sure why..

    It looked like mush so my kids wouldn’t even taste it but I thought it was delicious.

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  41. Made this tonight. Absolutely delicious! My 5 year old loved it and so did we. Will be making it again for sure. thanks for another great recipe! I make at least one of your recipes every day.

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  43. I made this for dinner tonight and wow! So delicious! The best part: my 13-month-old son, who’s quite the picky eater, LOVED it. Thank you for another great recipe!

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  44. Made this last night – it was great! My husband is always skeptical that vegetarian dishes will be filling, but he liked it too.

    I am especially glad to have a simple recipe to make homemade enchilada sauce! I hate using mystery sauce from the can, and this was so easy and tasted just like I expected it to. Thank you!

    Reply

  47. This is the recipe that is good for those who are health conscious and would not like take or eat meat.

    Reply

  48. This looks great! I make a similar recipe and call it Mexican Lasagna. I cut the corn tortillas into triangles (for ease of serving mostly) and layer them. I also add zucchini…and chicken once in a while for a change. I’ll definitely try this one, thanks!
    P.S. Thanks for the enchilada sauce recipe. Never tried making that myself, but will take the plunge with your version.

    Reply

  53. SHORT CUT: I use a can of tomato sauce (and throw in some salsa from the fridge)-add all spices above for enchilada sauce and then follow steps for layering.

    When it cooks all the flavors will blend.

    Reply

  55. I make a similar recipe and you just reminded me that I haven’t made it in a while and need to! Your recipe looks fantastic. 🙂

    Reply

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