Enchilada Casserole is such a classic. I’ve seen a million different interpretations of this dish over the years. Why? Because it’s easy and it’s satisfying. So I figured I’d make a vegetarian version, full of colorful vegetables, but still every bit as warm and comforting. This Vegetable Enchilada Casserole hits two birds with one stone.
What’s In Vegetable Enchilada Casserole?
For this version of enchilada casserole, I began with a simple mix of black beans, corn, green chiles, green onion, and cilantro. To up the vegetable content, I also added a diced zucchini. I layered the vegetable mix between corn tortillas, cheese, and my Easy Red Enchilada Sauce.
After a little time in the oven to make sure the vegetables are nice and tender and everything gets infused with the flavorful sauce, you’ve got a warm, filling, and insanely delicious casserole. And that’s something that everyone deserves at the end of the day.
What Other Vegetables Can I Use?
Don’t like zucchini? Other vegetables that would be quite good in this include: red bell pepper, poblano peppers, or avocado. Mix it up and make it your own! :D
Take Your Enchilada Casserole to the Next Level
If you want to go the extra mile and really take this vegetable enchilada casserole to the next level, there are a few more steps you can take:
- Stir 1/2 cup of sour cream into the enchilada sauce to make it extra creamy.
- Toast the corn tortillas in a dry skillet until golden brown before layering them into the casserole. This will heighten the toasty corn flavor of the tortillas.
- Add ground beef or diced chicken to the layers.
Vegetable Enchilada Casserole
Servings 6Ingredients
- 12 small corn tortillas ($0.64)
- 1.5 cups shredded “taco blend” cheese ($0.94)
- 1 zucchini (about 3/4 lb.) ($0.95)
- 1 15oz. can black beans, drained* ($0.55)
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels ($0.63)
- 1 4oz. can diced green chiles ($0.87)
- 1/2 bunch (3-4 each) green onions ($0.38)
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro (optional) ($0.22)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
Enchilada Sauce
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- 2 Tbsp chili powder ($0.30)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.02)
- 2 cups water ($0.00)
- 3 oz. tomato paste ($0.33)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 3/4 tsp salt ($0.03)
Instructions
- Cut the zucchini into small cubes. Rinse and drain the black beans. Slice the green onions (both green and white portions). Pull the cilantro leaves from the stems and give them a rough chop. Combine the zucchini, black beans, frozen corn kernels, green onions, cilantro, and diced green chiles in a bowl. Add 1/4 tsp salt and stir until evenly combined.
- To make the enchilada sauce, combine the oil, chili powder, and flour in a small sauce pot. Whisk them together over medium heat and allow it to begin to bubble. Let the mixture bubble while whisking for about one minute. Add the water, tomato paste, cumin, garlic, cayenne, and salt. Whisk until smooth. Heat the sauce until thick and bubbly (about 3-5 minutes).
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9×9 casserole dish by coating lightly with non-stick spray. Spread a 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of the dish. Arrange 1/3 of the tortillas over the sauce, followed by 1/3 of the vegetable mixture. Drizzle 1/2 cup of the sauce over the vegetables, then top with 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat these layers two more times, or until the vegetable mix, sauce, and cheese are gone.
- Bake the casserole for 40-45 minutes, or until the edges are bubbly and the cheese just begins to brown on top. Slice into six portions and top with extra green onions and cilantro, if desired.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Vegetable Enchilada Casserole – Step by Step Photos
Cut a 3/4 lb. zucchini into a small dice. The small size of the cubes is important so that they cook through and don’t create huge lumps in the casserole.
Combine the diced zucchini (they’re on the bottom) with a 15oz. can of black beans (rinsed and drained), 1 cup frozen corn, 4oz. can diced green chiles, 3-4 sliced green onions, and about 1/4 bunch chopped fresh cilantro in a large bowl.
Add 1/4 tsp salt and stir the vegetables until they’re well mixed.
Next make the enchilada sauce. In a small sauce pot combine 2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil, 2 Tbsp chili powder, and 2 Tbsp flour.
Whisk the oil, flour, and chili powder together over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Let it bubble, while whisking, for about one minute.
Next add 2 cups water, 3oz. tomato paste (half of a 6oz. can), 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, and 3/4 tsp salt. Whisk until smooth and heat over medium flame until it thickens. It will begin to thicken as it approaches a simmer (thanks to the flour-chili powder roux created in the first step).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and begin to layer the casserole. Start by coating the inside of a 9×9 casserole dish with non-stick spray. Spread 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce over the bottom.
Next, add a layer of corn tortillas. I like to cut some in half so that I have a straight edge to line the dish. I used four tortillas per layer.
Add 1/3 of the vegetable mixture on top of the tortillas, then drizzle 1/2 cup of the sauce over top.
Finally, add 1/2 cup of shredded cheese on top of the vegetables and sauce. Repeat these layers two more times (tortillas-vegetables-sauce-cheese).
Until all the vegetables are used up and the casserole dish is full.
Bake the casserole in the preheated 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the edges are really bubbly and the cheese just begins to brown on top. Warning: it smells AH-MAZ-ING. Top with extra cilantro and green onion if desired.
Holy yum.
This was pretty good but mine turned out a bit dry… any tips on increasing gooey-ness? I like the idea that one of the other reviewers mentioned of adding sour cream into the layers. Or perhaps I left it in the oven too long?
Yep, for more gooeyness you’ll need something like sour cream and *definitely* more cheese. :)
Family favorite!!!! Best part is you can literally throw whatever veggies you have on hand in it. We regularly make this, it’s delicious!!
I have been making more of your recipes lately, and I was craving Mexican food. Since I had most of the items on hand, I decided to give this a try. However, I was a skeptic with the enchilada sauce. Having lived in TX for a few years, I have my own recipe for enchilada sauce that I was prepared to use. However, this one wasn’t as involved, so I figured I had a stash of sauce if I needed it, so I would give this a try. I have tried a couple of other sauces before with flour and they turned out horrible, but I figured I would have an open mind and give this a try. Worse case if I didn’t like the sauce, I would use the filling for something else. Hubby was working late, so this was on the menu last night for a quick and healthy dinner for me.
Your sauce shocked me…in a good way! I am gluten intolerant, so I used corn starch instead of flour to make the sauce. We eat Mexican food pretty regularly, so I doubled the sauce just to give it a try. I am truly amazed how well this turned out. Normally, I soak dried chiles and go through a bigger ordeal for my sauce, but this was really flavorful in no time at all! I am happy glad I doubled it, because I now have a quart jar of this tasty sauce waiting in the fridge. This sauce is a keeper, and will definitely be my go-to recipe when I don’t feel like hunting for the ingredients for my other recipe!
Now onto the casserole! The only changes I made to the filling were to add mushrooms, since I had some in the fridge I needed to use or lose. I wasn’t sure this would soften up enough and I wanted some color on the mushrooms, so I heated the zucchini and mushrooms in a pan first for about 5 minutes, turned off the heat and threw in the other veggies while I toasted my tortillas. I think next time I will toss in a diced red bell pepper for the color in the mix! My diced green chiles were hot and they helped to flavor the pan of veggies. I did add salt and black pepper to the pan of veggies, even though it just called for salt. i always add salt and pepper together :)
I toasted my corn tortillas in a dry skillet to give them some texture, and to hold up to the sauce. To cut down on the cheese, but give the enchilada casserole a little twist, I used up the last of some reduced fat sour cream I had in the fridge (again, I needed to use it up soon, so why not). I layered the casserole in the pan as follows: sauce/ tortillas/ 1/2 the filling/spread a thin layer sour cream like icing a cake/ sauce/ tortillas/last of the filling/another thin layer of sour cream/ sauce/ tortillas/ sauce/cheese! Since I warmed the filling on the stove, I baked it in the oven for about 25 minutes until bubbly.
This turned out to be a use up stuff in the fridge casserole, and it was delicious! I had 1.5 servings before I realized it, and this is going to be my dinner tonight again! When my husband got home from working late, he had a bag of fast food for his dinner. However, I asked him to try this casserole and tell me what he thought. After the first bite, he said, “This is really good, honey. I bet it was killer right out of the oven! You should make this again” He ate the other 1/2 serving right out of the pan, then snatched 1.5 pieces in a container for his lunch today. Since he pretty picky about vegetarian dishes, that means this is going on the rotation. Very nice recipe for a meatless meal!!!
Made this tonight and it was fantastic! The only changes I made were to add a chopped pasillo pepper to the filling, and I put cheese on top rather than throughout (only had a little chunk of cheese to use). So yummy and filling. I’ve never made my own enchilada sauce before and it was easy and tasty (plus the bonus of knowing exactly what’s in it!) Thanks, Beth for another great recipe!
I prepared this this afternoon with my 4-year-old helper. I subbed cooked sweet potato for the zucchini because that is what I had on hand. Also, I don’t own a microwave so I heated tortillas over the stove. I plan to serve this with avocado and either sour cream or cotija (I have both). I’m trying to serve vegetarian meals 3 nights a week. Happy to add this to my arsenal. *for some reason I am only able to click on 3 stars. Otherwise, I would give 5.
I never write reviews but this was AMAZING! Thank you soo much for sharing your recipe online. I was cooking this with my vegetarian daughter and she failed to include the chilles but they were not missed. In fact, I’m sure if we had remembered, this dish would have been even better! I will repeat this dish for many more dinners to come. Simply the best!
Does anyone know if you can freeze this dish?
Hi! I’ve made this a few times and love it! How do you think this would fare if I assembled the casserole earlier in the day and then baked it at night? Should I cover it?
Hmm, I didn’t cover mine when I baked it and I don’t think having it refrigerated should make that much of a difference, so I’d say no. :)
I want to make this for a friend as her father just passed away. Think this would be OK freezing for a few days?
This one should freeze fairly well. :)
Delicious!! I used whole wheat tortillas and shredded the zucchini and it worked great.
I just became vegan…..best freaking recipe out there for beginners. Thank you!
Took some of Beth’s and reader’s tips– toasted the corn tortillas, sautéed the zucchini and yellow onions to avoid the watery issue, then doubled the spices. Squeeze a lime wedge over a serving makes a world of difference! As with all of Beth’s recipes, we would definitely make this again!
Made this last night for dinner – very good, although my zucchini was not as softly cooked as I would have hoped. This is a very filling recipe and pretty healthy too. I’ll make this again!
I’ve made enchilada sauce before that was way too bitter. This was the bomb!
This is a fantastic dinner and I’ve made it several times now. A few changes- I ended up using the whole can of tomato paste with a bit more chili powder and oil (otherwise the half of the can goes to waste). This was great because I was able to freeze half the sauce for the next time! Also, I didn’t have zucchini so I cut up cherry tomatoes and having since used zucchini, I prefer the cherry tomatoes! They add a sweetness to the dish. So so great. Love this blog!!!
If you ever have leftover tomato paste in the future, you can also freeze the tomato paste on its own and use it for future recipes. I’ve almost always got a little Ziploc bag of frozen tomato paste kicking around in the freezer.