Healthy Mexican Casserole with Roasted Corn and Peppers Recipe - Pinch of Yum
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Healthy Mexican Casserole with Roasted Corn and Peppers

108 reviews / 4.7 average

This Healthy Mexican Casserole has roasted corn, roasted bell peppers, cheese, enchilada sauce, and corn tortillas. Perfect leftovers for lunches!

A Mexican casserole that’s both healthy AND delicious? Filled with roasted corn and peppers? Yesss.

So, memes?

The weird pictures with the snarky, random text captions right on the photo? I am that person who tries to act smart and professional when using social media but is secretly obsessed with memes.

I mean, we’re talking meme LOVE. I don’t know what it is about them, because if I try to read them out loud and/or explain them to Bjork, they fall flat and I feel like a crazy person. But it’s like the magic has to happen in your head because when I see a good meme, especially involving animals, extra-especially involving kittens or baby animals or crazed dogs, there is an out-of-control laugh track going off in my brain. Er, in my face.

So naturally, this post is dedicated to all the meme greats of the world. You make us laugh uncontrollably and make social media 300% more fun; we salute you.

Prefer To Watch Instead Of Read?

Knife cutting a Mexican casserole in a white pan.

Like, for example, Grumpy Cat. I assume you know Grumpy Cat memes because I assume you are fellow time wasters who know spend the hours of your day looking and laughing at cat photos. But now I’m realizing maybe you’re people who use time appropriately and therefore don’t know Grumpy Cat?

Dang.

I don’t want to boss you around but Googling that right now might be THE MOST important part of your day. Become acquainted and enjoy.

Another example that will represent my meme love:

Meme of two dogs with the word "Selfie."

And just one more:

Meme of a witch with an apple that says "Trust me, it's organic."

Okayfinelastone:

Meme of winter in the south and in the north.

LOLZ! I love them so much.

Mexican casserole in a white pan.

So for today’s post I made one of my food photos into a meme.

NOT. That would have been weird.

More like I made this delicious casserole of vegetarian, naturally gluten-free Mexican goodness that has less than 250 calories per serving because it’s loaded with veggies and beans and those are things that are good to have in your life.

This was inspired by one of my favorite meals of all time, a frozen dinner by Amy’s Organic brand. Yeah, yeah, whatever. Judge me for loving frozen food. And memes. But I can’t deny the truth which is that those Amy’s Organic Mexican Bowls are delicious and a gift to my life when I don’t have time to make dinner (read: when I don’t have time to make dinner because I’m pages deep in the world’s best memes).

Mexican casserole in a bowl with a fork and guacamole.

How To Make This Healthy Mexican Casserole

So the layers go like so: corn tortillas, refried beans, roasted peppers and roasted corn, enchilada sauce, cheese, and repeat. Sort of. It gets pretty full even if you’re using your biggest pan, which I was, so I really only got 1.5 layers jammed in there and baked up to cheesy, veggie perfection.

You might be raising your eyebrows at the mention of the corn tortillas in there, but they actually end up being delicious when completely soaked with enchilada sauce. It just works. If Amy’s can do it, we can, too. Bjork loved this, I loved this, our friend who took some leftovers home loved this, and I super-loved that we all loved it.

Hey you guys? Just remember. Memes for life.

Now bake until bubbly, scoop onto plate, top with guac, and devour.

Mexican casserole being scooped out of a white pan with a spatula.

Oh and hey. Guacamole on top is not optional. You must you must you must.

Healthy Mexican Casserole: FAQs

Can I make my own enchilada sauce?

Yes, and that would be soooo good! We have a recipe here.

Can I freeze this and bring it to a friend?

Awww, love this idea! 💛 This totally works – just tell them to thaw before baking. If you need more freezer meal ideas to send to a friend, check out this post.

Is this spicy with the peppers in it?

The bell peppers don’t add any spice, and you’ll get a very minimal kick of heat from the jalapeño. You can always remove the ribs and seeds from the jalapeño if you want to take down the heat more.

Print
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A picture of Healthy Mexican Casserole with Roasted Corn and Peppers

Healthy Mexican Casserole with Roasted Corn and Peppers


  • Author: Pinch of Yum
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: 12 servings 1x

Description

This Healthy Mexican Casserole has roasted corn, roasted bell peppers, cheese, enchilada sauce, and corn tortillas. Perfect leftovers for lunches!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 red bell peppers
  • 2 green bell peppers
  • 1 jalapeno or 2 chipotle peppers (optional – just for more kick)
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 2 cups frozen corn
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
  • 2 cups Mexican cheese (mine was a Sargento blend)
  • 1820 corn tortillas
  • 1 can refried beans
  • 2 cups red enchilada sauce
  • cilantro, guacamole, or sour cream for topping

Instructions

  1. Pan-roast the veggies: Dice the peppers and mince the onions. Heat a large nonstick skillet with a little bit of oil over high heat (**note – I used to recommend using no oil, because that’s what worked best for my with my Swiss Diamond nonstick pan, but several readers have ruined their own pans doing that so I am no longer recommending that!). Add the onion and peppers, sprinkle with chili and cumin, and stir, rest, stir, rest until you get a nice browning on the outside of the peppers. Remove and set aside. Repeat the roasting process with the corn, sprinkling with chili and cumin, removing from the heat when browned and roasted on the outside. Sprinkle the roasted veggies with a little bit of salt and toss to coat.
  2. Prep the ingredients: Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tortillas into thin strips. Put the refried beans in a bowl and mix with a little bit of water to make them easier to spread.
  3. Assemble: Spread a little bit of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Layer in order: half of the tortilla strips, ALL the beans, half of the veggies, half of the sauce, half of the cheese. Cover with the other half of the tortilla strips, veggies, sauce, and cheese.
  4. Bake: Cover with foil (I usually spray mine with cooking spray) and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted. Serve with guacamole, fresh cilantro, sour cream, or anything in the world that you want.
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: Mexican

Keywords: mexican casserole, healthy casserole, veggie casserole, vegetarian recipe

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477 Comments

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Delish! I made this the other night, and while I would have kept the recipe as is, I had to accommodate my carnivorous boyfriend. I poached bone-in chicken breasts in vegetable broth, shredded the chicken, tossed the shredded chicken in some cilantro, garlic, a few spices- kept pretty bland. I then incorporated the chicken as a layer. Topped the finished product with some onions that I had left to pickle in some red wine vinegar, some avocado, and some cubed tomatoes, a dollop of sour cream. Absolute heaven! And it made enough for a few subsequent meals. LOVED IT.

          1. Pinch of Yum Logo

            I would use flour or corn tortillas which are what chips are before they are fried. So they should be soft, because you layer them in the casserole to bake.

          2. Pinch of Yum Logo

            Mmmmm….Lindsay. You had me at the first photo. This looks perfect and healthy for a weeknight meal!
            I’m so amused right now with these hilarious pics. I can’t even tell you how much time I waste laughing at pointless pics on Pinterest but somehow it makes my day brighter. Love the ‘spring break’ one. Never saw that. It’s great!

        1. Pinch of Yum Logo

          I have a question about the cooking time. In the recipe itself, it says bake for 15-20 minutes but in the footer, it says cook time 1 hr. It looks delicious! I just want to make sure how long to expect when I’m making it. Thank you!

        1. Pinch of Yum Logo

          No chicken in her recipe. Monique said that she added chicken. Poached chicken.
          That means cooked in liquid.

    2. Pinch of Yum Logo

      actually grumpy cat is a girl. the irrelative information of the day lol. just reffering to the girl that said that she loves him lol! oh and btw I am totally drooling all over the keyboard right now. love your recipe so much. just need to find a vegan veggie broth to use so i can make my own enchiladas sauce to use!

      1. Pinch of Yum Logo

        Why not use a vegi broth? I save all my vegi scraps in the freezer.. When I get a full gallon zip lock bag full I make broth and I can it, so I always have some in the house.. You can toss in extra veggies for more flavor if you wish I rarely do…

    3. Pinch of Yum Logo

      We tried this casserole tonight. Oh my heavens! Soooo good. We didn’t miss meat at all. Your website and social media is such a godsend! 🙂
      PS. She’s right, do not skip the guac!

      1. Pinch of Yum Logo

        We onky have 1 avocado/guac lover in this house 🤢. Tried our toddler and baby with it and they both hated it, especially the toddler. I think avocado tastes like soil and ruins evrrything it touches. I so want to like it, bit it overpoerrs everything. I have even tried very small amounts in smoothies snd avocado brownies. Soil is all I taste. Our teenagers think sinilar, though 1 is also put off by the texture

        1. Pinch of Yum Logo

          Louise fair…I have an idea, make this without avocado or guacamole! Also, FYI avocado and guacamole are two different things.

    4. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Just found your site. Can’t wait to try this. My husband and I love Mexican. Unfortunately I will have to leave out the jalapeno, my stomach won’t take it. One of the things of getting older, at one time the hotter the better,so enjoy while you can. I plan to go through the rest of your recipes to find more Mexican recipes to try. Thanks for your hard work so other people can enjoy it.
      Thanks and until I come to your site again may God hold you in the palm of his hand

  1. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Umm..Amy’s Burritos are a lifesaver when no one wants to cook in our house!! And I love them for lunch when there are no leftovers! So of course no judging..especially when that enchilada casserole looks that delicious!

    Thanks for another infinitely customizable dinner idea.

    Abby

  2. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I looooove Amy’s freezer meals … and I know EXACTLY which one this is inspired by – one of my faves! Yay! Can’t wait to make it – pinning double-fast! Oh, and I totally get how the meme thing has to happen in your head – they never sound even remotely great when I try to read them out loud to my husband! 😀

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Can I freeze this at the step before the oven then throw it in at a lower temp for longer the day I make it? I am planning a meal to take to friends with a newborn baby but don’t want this to come out gross if I freeze it – but I want to be prepared – thanks!

      1. Pinch of Yum Logo

        Did you end up freezing it? I’m thinking of doing the same thing and I’m wondering how it turned out!

        1. Pinch of Yum Logo

          I baked and then froze it and have not tried it! Hopefully it turns out okay as I am also giving it to new parents! Any idea what to recook it at/how long?

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Thanks Averie! Still trying to learn the ropes with the windows and set ups at our new house but every day gets a little easier. 🙂

  3. Pinch of Yum Logo

    LULZ Linsday, I’m such a sucker for memes too; I’m glad I’m not the only one.
    One of my fave ones is THE BABY (I just wish I could post it here!), do you know “him”?

    Loving this healthy casserole btw, looks so delectable!

  4. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I thought I was the only one who couldn’t look at just one meme! Your casserole looks amazing. I can’t wait to give it a try.

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Not to be a buzzkill on that meme, but those of us who transplanted to more rural parts of the South — you know, places where the snow/ice removal budget is nil — I have to admit, NO ONE can drive in winter precip here. I mean, you can try, but I wouldn’t recommend it. 😉

  5. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This looks amazing! Love all these flavours. And I’m totally with you about the memes – I always see people saying how immature they are and how they’re taking over the internet, and I just sit there quietly thinking how much I love them haha

  6. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This is so beautiful! I love colorful meals, especially when they’re absolutely cheesy and delicious, too!

  7. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Mmmmm….Lindsay. You had me at the first photo. This looks perfect and healthy for a weeknight meal!
    I’m so amused right now with these hilarious pics. I can’t even tell you how much time I waste laughing at pointless pics on Pinterest but somehow it makes my day brighter. Love the ‘spring break’ one. Never saw that. It’s great! 🙂

  8. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Oh, I love those Amy’s Mexican Bowls! I will give this recipe a try for sure. How well do you think it would freeze?

      1. Pinch of Yum Logo

        We absolutely love this recipe. It has been in our regular rotation for a long time now! It does freeze well. You just need to thaw it completely before baking. We always make one and freeze one with this dish!

      2. Pinch of Yum Logo

        Do you have suggestions for substituting whole beans for the refried beans in the recipe?

  9. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This looks absolutely amazing! I can’t wait to make this. I am always looking for healthier mexican options since it is one of my favorite types of food. I also love that you calculate the nutritional information for us.