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Make a hearty, healthy, tasty vegetarian enchilada casserole with black beans, sweet potato, and more roasted vegetables. A satisfying meal-prep family dinner!
Roasted Vegetable Meatless Enchilada Casserole
Ditch the meat and load up on tasty, satisfying veggies in this low-budget yet crowd-pleasing roasted vegetable vegetarian enchilada casserole. Perfect for holidays, gatherings, or weeknights, it’s a hit with everyone, meat-eaters included!
In this hearty vegan/ vegetarian enchilada casserole, black beans, sweet potato, bell peppers, corn, and onion are nestled between layers of enchilada sauce and corn tortillas. By stacking the layers, this dish becomes a kind of hearty Mexican lasagna twist. PLUS, you get to skip the extra ‘rolling’ stage of making regular enchiladas like these sweet potato enchiladas.
It’s simple to assemble and customize and makes an impressive, freezer-friendly, make-ahead meal that’s comforting, high-protein, and great to add to a weekly rotation of comforting family meals—like quinoa bean casserole, sweet potato lasagna, and baked mac n’ cheese.
The Ingredients and Substitutes
Pull together this vegetarian enchilada casserole recipe with just 7 simple and inexpensive, easy-to-find ingredients.
What Could I add to a Vegan Enchilada casserole?
- Vegetables: Add to or adapt the veggie mixture with cauliflower, mushrooms (white or brown), eggplant, zucchini (check out this guide to zucchini), yellow squash, and/or spinach.
- Green chilies: A can of diced green chiles are fairly mild but adds extra flavor.
- Seasonings: Add depth to the roasted vegetable enchilada casserole filling with garlic powder, paprika, cumin, oregano, and/or chili or cayenne pepper. Add to taste.
- For spice: i.e., Chili or cayenne powder or with minced jalapeno.
- Vegan cream cheese: Mix some dairy-free cream cheese with the veggies for creaminess.
- Vegan cheese: Add dairy-free Mexican shreds/ sharp cheddar alternative over the top and/or between the layers of this sweet potato enchilada casserole.
How to Make A Vegan Enchilada Casserole
Step 1: First, preheat the oven to 400F/200C. Meanwhile, rinse, then dice the sweet potatoes, bell peppers, and onion into ½-inch pieces. Roast for 30 minutes or until the sweet potato is tender.
Step 2: Then, add the beans, corn, and ½ cup of enchilada sauce to the baking sheet, mix, and set aside. Then, pour one cup of enchilada sauce into a deep 9×13-inch casserole dish with a single layer of corn tortillas on top.
Step 3: Then, add the roasted vegetable mixture, pressing them down into a compact layer.
Step 4: Then, add ½ cup of enchilada sauce and cover with the remaining tortillas.
Step 7: Evenly pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top, then cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 15 minutes, then remove the baked enchilada casserole from the oven and set aside to cool for at least 5 minutes on a cooling rack. Finally, slice, serve, and enjoy!
FAQs
Yes, though flour tortillas don’t hold up quite as well as corn tortillas, so their texture within this enchilada casserole may vary.
You can prepare the roasted vegetable filling up to 3 days in advance, storing them in an airtight container in the fridge until needed.
You can also store the assembled veggie enchilada casserole in the fridge for 1-2 days. Alternatively, freeze the unbaked vegan enchilada casserole wrapped tightly in plastic wrap/foil for up to 2 months.
Either bake it from frozen, adding extra time, or thaw it overnight in the fridge, then bring it to room temp for 20-30 minutes before baking.
Pro Recipe Tips
- To save time: Optionally use pre-prepared diced sweet potato and/or onion, etc.
- For more flavor: Optionally toast the tortillas to add depth to this simple vegan Mexican casserole.
- To adjust texture: Optionally mash a portion of the beans.
- Leave it to rest: Just a few minutes help it set slightly so it holds better when sliced/served.
Topping Options
- Avocado slices, easy guacamole, or avocado crema
- Pico de Gallo, other fresh salsa, or chopped tomatoes
- Diced red onion
- Vegan sour cream or dairy-free yogurt
- Hot sauce
- Sliced fresh or pickled jalapeños
- Sliced black olives
- Vegan shredded cheese or vegan feta
- Cilantro, parsley, or green onions
- Lime wedges
Serving Recommendations
Enjoy a portion of this hearty layered enchilada casserole either alone or with:
- A simple leafy green side salad
- Crunchy ‘vegan slaw‘
- Spanish or Mexican rice (or low-carb cauliflower rice)
- Skillet cornbread
- Corn salad or roasted chili corn salsa
Storage Instructions
Leave the vegan enchilada bake to cool, then store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Reheat individual portions either in a microwave (1-2 minutes) or the oven (about 10-15 minutes at 350F/180C or 25-35 minutes from frozen). Larger amounts will take longer to heat.
Vegetarian Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 red or green bell peppers, diced
- 1 large sweet potato, diced
- 1 white or yellow onion, diced
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 (15-ounce) cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups of frozen or canned corn
- 3 cups of red or green enchilada sauce
- 12 corn tortillas, cut in half
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. and line one large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Place the pepper, sweet potato, and onion in the middle of the baking sheet in an even layer. Drizzle with the oil, mix well to evenly coat the vegetables.
- Roast for 30 minutes or until the sweet potato is tender.
- Once the roasted ingredients are ready, remove them from the oven and lower the heat of the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add the beans, corn, and ½ cup of enchilada sauce to the baking sheet. Mix well on the baking sheet and set aside.
- Add 1 cup of enchilada sauce to the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking casserole dish.
- Place a single layer of corn tortilla on top of the sauce.
- Add all of the ingredients from the baking sheet and press them down to make a compacted layer. Evenly pour ½ cup of enchilada sauce and cover with the remaining corn tortillas.
- Evenly pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the corn tortillas covered with aluminum foil, and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and cook for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and set it on a cooling rack.
Notes
- To save time: Optionally use pre-prepared diced sweet potato and/or onion, etc.
- For more flavor: Optionally toast the tortillas to add depth to this simple vegan Mexican casserole.
- To adjust texture: Optionally mash a portion of the beans.
- Leave it to rest: Just a few minutes help it set slightly so it holds better when sliced/served.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Although plantbasedonabudget.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Plantbasedonabudget.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
So yummy!