Black Bean Enchilada Bake – Gluten Free & Vegan
This black bean enchilada bake is one of my favorite gluten free and vegan casseroles! It comes together really quickly and has an amazing flavor!
Today I’m sharing another recipe that frequents our dinner table because it is so easy to make and extremely versatile.
It also features enchilada sauce and if you know me, you know I am all about that enchilada sauce!
Ever since I figured out how to make homemade enchilada sauce I have tripled the amount of recipes I have that feature it.
I loved enchilada sauce before, but the homemade enchilada sauce just can’t be beat.
Combine that flavor with lime, red onion, cilantro, bell pepper, and Mexican seasonings and you’ve got yourself a delicious meal.
Casseroles used to be one of my favorite things to make before food allergies. They are easy to put together and make a ton of food.
Almost none of my casserole recipes were already allergy friendly and honestly, most of them were pretty unhealthy.
Slowly but surely I’ve been coming up with allergy-friendly casseroles that are not only healthy but extremely tasty.
This black bean enchilada bake is one of my favorites. This also makes a wonderful filling for tacos or burritos.
Most of the time I eat it as is but I like to take the leftovers and make tacos later in the week or for lunches.
It also makes a yummy taco salad or nachos if you are wanting to splurge a bit.
What are some of your favorite allergy-friendly casseroles? I’m always looking for inspiration so I can’t wait to hear about them!
I hope you love this gluten-free and vegan black bean enchilada bake as much as I do!
♥ Don’t forget to rate this recipe and leave a comment below if you give this recipe a try! ♥
PrintBlack Bean Enchilada Bake – Gluten Free & Vegan
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 35 min
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 15 oz can enchilada sauce or homemade recipe listed below
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup red or white onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small lime, juiced
- 2 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tsp salt (I use “Lite Salt”)
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp gluten free flour (I use gluten free brown rice flour)
- 4 tbsp chili powder* (homemade chili powder recipe)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a small saucepan, combine quinoa and vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover the pan, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until quinoa is fluffy and no liquid remains.
- While the quinoa is cooking, chop the onion and pepper. Add olive oil to a pan and saute the onion and pepper until soft (about 5-8 minutes).
- Add garlic and saute for an additional minute.
- If making the homemade enchilada sauce, Heat olive oil in a small sauce pan over medium high heat. Add flour and whisk together for one minute. Add in the remaining seasoning and slowly pour in the vegetable broth whisking constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the enchilada sauce has thickened.
- Add quinoa, enchilada sauce, sauteed veggies, lime juice, salt, and black beans to a 9×13 Casserole dish and stir to combine.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until heated through.
- Optionally top casserole with chopped cilantro.
Notes
If you are making the homemade enchilada sauce, make sure you know EXACTLY how spicy your chili powder is. I recommend using a very mild chili powder otherwise your enchilada sauce may be too spicy.
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I totally love your recipes!! Thanks and blessings for sharing them! I was just looking at one that calls for vegetable broth. I’ve never heard of it before. Where do you get it? What section of grocery store? Is there a way to make your own? Or can I substitute it for something else? Thanks, Marlene
Thank you, Marlene! I usually find vegetable broth over by the chicken and beef broth in my grocery store. You can substitute chicken or beef broth if you would like. It’s used for soups and sauce bases often.
Hi Morgan,
This recipe was easy, delicious and a great appetizer served with tortia chips. Followed the recipe but substituted chicken Better Than Bouillon for the vegetable
broth and was great! Everyone raved about it and look forward to another party to enjoy it again. (next weekend)!
Thank you!
★★★★★
Hi Deb, I’m so happy to hear that it was a big hit with everyone! Thank you for sharing! ☺
I made your Black Bean Enchilada Casserole tonight for dinner and it was so good! I put it on corn tortillas. My husband loved it too! Thanks for the yummy recipe! I’m not a great cook but it was easy to follow the instructions and it turned out awesome!
Yay! You’re welcome! I’m so glad you liked it. It’s one of our favorites as well! ?
Hi Emily, This recipe calls for 1/2 cup of uncooked quinoa. Which should be about 1 and 1/2 cups of cooked quinoa. I apologize for any confusion.
The recipe says 1 cup uncooked quinoa, but above you say 1/2 cup. Please clarify.
Hi Amy, I apologize for the confusion. 1 cup uncooked quinoa is the correct amount.
This looks so good! I love easy to make meals like these that are good for large families. 🙂
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Erika!
Oh my! This sounds PERFECT! I’m currently obsessed with the enchilada sauce from Trader Joe’s and I’ve been putting it on everything.
★★★★★
Thank you so much! I could eat enchilada sauce by the spoonful! ☺
Delicious looking recipe and perfect for a family meal night, easy to put together and dish up! As always love your creations 🙂
★★★★★
Thank you, Angela! It’s one of our favorite quick meals!
Looks fantastic!! Also super flexible to add or take away preferred ingredients or in my case any veggies in the fridge that are going to go bad
Thank you so much! It’s definitely a great way to use up some veggies! I hope you enjoy it if you give it a try. ☺
If I were going to freeze and cook a few days later, how long would you suggest cooking? Thanks!
Hi Andrea, I haven’t tried cooking this from frozen before. I would recommend defrosting it overnight in the refrigerator before cooking. Then add 10-15 minutes to the cook time or until it’s heated through.
I made this tonight, it was so easy and so delicious! Thank you!
★★★★★
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for sharing!
Could these be made into a freezer meal?
★★★★★
Hi Marissa, this should work great as a freezer meal. I would prep everything without baking and then freeze. Then thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake according to the instructions. You may need to add 10 minutes or so to the baking time since everything will be going in the oven cold.
Easy to make, and the whole family loved it! Thank you!
★★★★★
How long does it reheat for?
Hi Amanda, you can store this in the refrigerator and reheat for 4 days.
Can I make this a day ahead and refridgerate until needed?
Hi Patty, you definitely can make this the day before. Just assemble everything in the dish and then refrigerate. Then just cook according to the recipe directions. You may want to add 10 minutes to the cooking time to account for the food coming right out of the refrigerator. I hope this helps!
Our family loves this recipe! I’ve made it several times and am going to make ahead a freeze for a crowd! Hoping it turns out as yummy!
★★★★★
I’m so happy that you all are enjoying this recipe! It should also freeze well! ☺
Can you substitute the brown rice for quinoa?
Yes, brown rice works great as a substitute for quinoa.