Easy Baked Enchilada Casserole

Layers of beans, cheese and tortillas.

I wanted enchiladas for dinner, but I knew that the schedule wasn’t going to accommodate going to my favorite Mexican restaurant. I was going to make them myself, but hand-rolling enchiladas was pretty much the last thing I wanted to do while supervising the Tiny Kitchen Assistant’s homework. So I decided to wing it and make an enchilada casserole.

This wasn’t an entirely new idea. I’d made a sort of Mexican lasagna last winter, but it didn’t hold together very well. Whatever I decided to do, it needed to have a little bit more substance. The addition of rice and sour cream made all the difference.

Ingredients

• 12 or more corn tortillas
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese (or cheddar, or Monterey Jack), divided
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 large can enchilada sauce

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, mix together rice, sour cream, 1/2 cup cheese, cumin and black beans. Set aside.

Coat the bottom of a baking dish (9 x 9 or 13 x 9) with a layer of enchilada sauce. Dip tortillas in enchilada sauce and place a base layer in the dish, with the tortillas overlapping. Top with a layer of bean mixture. Repeat the process one or two more times until all bean mixture has been used.

Top the mixture with a final layer of tortillas. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top, covering the tortillas. Cover with a generous handful of shredded cheese.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned and enchilada sauce is bubbly.

Easy and adequate, but you won’t mistake it for your favorite Mexican restaurant.

Results

Ok, nobody’s going to mistake this for their favorite Mexican restaurant. However, it’ll do in a pinch.

The Tiny Kitchen Assistant declared it “too spicy,” and instead ate leftover black beans and rice with tortilla chips. He is, however, extremely reluctant to eat spicy foods (which this wasn’t, really) and your kid’s mileage may vary.

Tags: black beans, casserole, meatless, mexican, oven, Recipe

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