Welcome to Day 1 of the 12 Days of Healthy Dinner Recipes!
I’m excited to bring back the healthy meals over the holidays. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that the time I spend preparing dinner is redeemed with quick, effortless lunches in the days ahead. It all balances out in the end.
First up, is a delicious and versatile enchilada-inspired Mexican casserole that’s packed with vegetables, healthy proteins, grains, and a kick of heat. It’s pure comfort food, almost like wrapping yourself with a warm blanket by the fire. Or setting your blanket on fire, depending on how spicy you like it…
When we got back from our trip, Eric and I both found ourselves with a bit of a cold. You know the usual complaints this time of year- congestion, irritated throat, and dull headaches. It wasn’t a full blown cold, but could’ve potentially turned into one without the proper TLC. I knew I had to put away the sweets for a few days and get back to home-cooked nutritious meals. Green Monsters too! Eating out is fun and all, but there’s just something about a home cooked meal that feels amazing.
This dish was just what the doctor ordered. It’s vibrant, healthy, spicy, and comforting, while still feeling a bit naughty. We can’t be nice all the time.
Have you ever tried a canned enchilada sauce and loved it? This was the first enchilada sauce that I’ve ever purchased (it took me 2 grocery stores to find too) and I was so put off by the taste I almost gagged! I’m not one to gag over many foods, so I’m not really sure what it was that offended my taste buds so much.
Thankfully, enchilada sauce is really easy to make and ready in about 15 minutes. Of course, if you do have a canned enchilada sauce that you enjoy, feel free to use that instead. Just use something that tastes good as it will serve as the base of the entire casserole.
I made my sauce thick, but feel free to thin it out with water as necessary depending on what you want to use it for.
Oh She Glows
Easy Enchilada Sauce
This enchilada sauce is very “tomato-y” with a nice kick of heat (which of course, is relative, so adjust to your own tastes). I made the sauce quite thick, but you can thin it out by adding more water if you like. To save a bit of time, make it the night before and then store in the fridge until ready to use.
Inspired by All Recipes.
Yield: 2 cups
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp flour
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 (8-oz) cans tomato paste
- 1 cup + 1/4 cup water (or more as desired)
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- salt & pepper, to taste
1. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, flour, and chili powder until no clumps remain. Add this mixture into a pot over medium heat. Cook for a couple minutes.
2. In the same bowl you used previously, mix the cumin, cayenne, garlic powder, and onion powder. Whisk this into the pot mixture until no clumps remain and then whisk in the tomato paste and water. Whisk until smooth. Whisk, whisk, whisk…because I haven’t said whisk enough apparently.
3. Simmer sauce on low-medium heat for about 10-15 minutes. Checking it every 5 mins and whisking. Add salt to taste and adjust seasonings if desired.
While the pasta is cooking, chop and sauté your vegetables and cook for about 5-10 mins.
Now add half of the enchilada sauce (about 1 cup), taco seasoning, and drained & rinsed beans. The spicier you like it, the more taco seasoning you can add. I used a couple tablespoons of my homemade taco seasoning and it was quite spicy.
Stir it all up and taste test.
After cooking for 5 mins more, add in the chopped green onion and Daiya cheese.
Spread 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce over the bottom of the dish. Stir in the cooked pasta really well and place into a 2 quart casserole dish.
and for a little crunch…
In a baggie, crush 2 handfuls of your fav nacho chips (about 20 chips):
I recommend sprinkling on the crushed chips just before serving if you plan on having leftovers. The chips will get a bit soft while in the fridge so it’s best to put them on right before serving.
Bake for about 15-20 mins at 350F until heated through. Sprinkle on chips.
Top with avocado, salsa, sour cream….whatever tickles your fancy!
Serve with a big green salad and tortilla chips. Pretend you are on a beach in Mexico.
Oh She Glows
Naughty & Nice Vegan Enchilada Casserole
Eric summed it up quite well when he said, “If a restaurant near my work served something like this, I would eat it everyday.” I love that man.
Inspired by: Better Home & Gardens
Yield: One (2-quart) casserole
Ingredients:
- 8-ounces dry fusilli pasta (3.5 cups dry noodles or half a 16-oz package)*
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped*
- 3 bell peppers (I used 1 red, 1 orange, and 1 yellow), chopped
- 1-3 tbsp taco seasoning mix (I used my homemade taco seasoning), to taste
- 1 can black beans (or 2 cups cooked), drained and rinsed
- 1.5-2 cups homemade enchilada sauce (see above, or use store-bought)
- 1/3-1/2 cup Daiya cheese (or other non-dairy cheese)
- 1 cup chopped green onions
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 20 tortilla chips (about 2 handfuls), crushed
- Avocado, salsa, sour cream, etc, to garnish
1. Preheat oven to 350F and grab a 2-quart casserole dish. Add dry pasta to a pot of boiling water and cook for 7-8 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the pasta or it will get mushy in the casserole. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
2. In a large skillet, sauté the chopped onion, jalapeno, and peppers in the olive oil over medium heat for about 7-8 mins.
3. Add the taco seasoning, drained and rinsed black beans, and 1 cup of the enchilada sauce. Stir well and cook for another 5 mins.
4. Stir in the cheese, pasta, and chopped green onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
5. Spread 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce over the bottom of the casserole dish. Scoop on the skillet mixture and spread out evenly. Spoon on the rest of the sauce on top and sprinkle with cheese.
6. Bake for 15-20 mins at 350F until heated through. Sprinkle with crushed nacho chips, chopped avocado, salsa, and sour cream if desired just before serving. Serve with a big green salad and nacho chips.
Note 1: Be sure not to handle the jalapeno seeds as they can make your fingers (and anything you touch) sting badly. You can also wear plastic gloves too.
Note: Want a burrito filling and not a casserole? Try subbing the pasta for brown rice.
What I love about this casserole is how versatile it is!
Here are a few different ways you can enjoy it:
- Leave out the pasta and use it as a burrito filler
- Spoon the warm casserole over a big salad as a sneaky way to get in more greens
- Make a quick, rushing-out-the-door, breakfast wrap
- Use brown or wild rice instead of pasta, or other grain of choice to change it up
- Add more Daiya cheese (maybe another 1/2 cup), leave out the pasta, and use the mixture as a hot dip for nacho chips!!! It could potentially make quite the party dip with a few changes.
Sinuses clear.
Belly content.
Cold be gone.
Lunch today…
{ 186 comments… read them below or add one }
I finally got around to making this recipe and knew I was going to like it but WOW… I loved it. I completely forgot that I had already used my peppers up earlier this week when I started cooking this so I ended up substituting in spinach and mushrooms and it was still fantastic. Can’t wait to make it again with the peppers. Thanks for your wonderful blog and recipes.
Made this tonight with just a couple modifications (added chicken and regular cheese) but it was divine. The flavors were excellent and that enchilada sauce was amazing.
just made this, although i added a large sweet potato, carrots, celery and diced tomatos and subbed the pasta for 1 cup of brown rice. so i guess, i sort of made this. either way, you inspired me! thank you for the happy belly i have now :)
I made this for supper and it was incredible – the perfect amount of heat! I actually divided it between 2 smaller casserole dishes and plan to freeze the second one – we’ll see how that works out.
Do you just add the pasta to the skillet mixture before you put it in the casserole dish? I couldn’t find it in the directions
Nevermind Angela, I made this tonight and it turned out amazing!!! Sooo looking foward to the leftovers :) Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Awesome recipe!! I almost forgot to mix the pasta in though as I think you forgot that step in your directions!! Just pulled it out of the oven and about to enjoy! Thanks!
thanks for letting me know, I just updated it!
I’m so sorry if these are really dumb questions, but I’m eager to make this and want to make sure I get it right… If I’m subbing rice for pasta, do I still just use the same amount of uncooked rice as I would pasta (8oz)? Does it need to be quick-cooking pasta? Will using rice alter the baking time? Thanks so much!
There are no dumb questions when it comes to cooking! :)
The pasta is cooked before baking the casserole. I didnt use quick cook, just regular.
If using rice instead of pasta, I would probably use 1 cup dry rice (should yield about 2 cups cooked, maybe?). Rice is much more dense, so I wouldnt use much more than that as you dont want a dry casserole. I hope it turns out for you. You can also read the comments as someone may have already tried rice. Goodluck with everything!
I made this last night for my boyfriend and I. It was sooo good. They only thing I did differently was sub brown rice (cooked w veggie stock) for the pasta :) YUM
This is fantastic!
I made this tonight because I had a bunch of bell peppers hanging around and your beautiful pictures made me drool. Oh my gosh! I am stuffed, having eaten way more than I should have. I’m already dreaming of leftovers.
Thanks so much!
I’m happy you enjoy it Carmie!
Is it really 16 total ounces of tomato paste? The cans I found are either 6 or 12 ounces.
This was amazing!!! Thank You!!
Hi! I just wanted to say I absolutely LOVE your website! It is so inspirational! I just so happened to run across it while at work, and can’t wait to try so many different recipes! I tried this enchilada casserole last night and it turned out GREAT!! Thank you for all your hard work and amazing, healthy recipes!
Thank you so much Jessica!
Made this tonight, so tasty, everyone had seconds!!! I added some soy cream cheese to the sauce and whisked it through, which made it nice and creamy too…..a wonderful meal with a salad. Love your photos that inspired me to make it!! Thumbs up from my family of 7!!!
Just made this tonight for dinner. FABULOUS. For our plates, I had four avocado slices on the bottom and put a cup of the casserole on top of it, with a tbsp of sour cream on top. Hubby loved it, and there’s a ton left for tomorrow! Thank you, angela!! Another great recipe for my weekly lineup!
PS! I found Frontera enchilada sauce at our whole foods so I wouldn’t have to make the sauce….and it was GREAT.
Trader Joes makes a pretty good enchilada sauce. I also added zucchini to get moe veggies in the recipe. It was yummy!
Hi Angela,
My husband made this last night and it was fabulous!!! Thank you so much for your amazing recipes!
I made this and it was delicious! My 13 year old son, very much a meat eater, loved it too!
This is an awesome recipe! So simple, too – it seems like a meal you could whip up fairly quickly and easily. I wish my family liked spicy foods, black beans, and peppers. It’s way too much to make all for myself :( Maybe I’ll find something to make it for sometime, it’s really too good to pass up!
Made this tonight – soooo good! It’s hard to nail down my favourite recipe of yours, but this may be it!
P.S. I’m totally eating the leftovers for breakfast :)
i made this tonight! It was delicious and my kids loved it as well..
Do you think I could put all the ingridents minus the garnishes in a slow cooker and cook it that way? I want to make this tomorrow but am thinking it may be easy to throw together in the crock pot in the morning. Thanks!
I think my reply is now too late, Im curious what you ended up doing?
Well, I overslept Friday morning so ended up not having time to prep it. :) I still want to try it out though. I made it the regular way that night and even fooled my meat eating Dad. He really liked it!
This is delicious but I wished I was was warned of the hazards of jalapeño peppers. I am a novice vegan and had not cooked with jalapeño peppers before. I did not ware gloves and touched my face and now my hands and face and stinging so badly I may go to the ER. I googled what to do and nothing works. Please warn people of this with any recipes that call for jalapeños so they can avoid this misery.
Oh Susan Im so sorry to hear about this! I will be sure to add it into the recipe.
I made this tonight and it was fantastic. Manfriend said it was his favorite meal that I’ve made for him. Kudos on a delish recipe!
This was sooooo delicious. I think I’ve found my new go-to Mexican fix! I made this tonight for myself and my carnivorous hubby (he got some extra cheese to make up for the lack of meat) and we both LOVE it. It was a tad spicy, but I’m not sure if it was the jalapeno or the taco mix (I made my own), but I fought through the pain and it was totally worth it. I added some pico de gallo and guacamole on top and I didn’t even miss my usual sour cream. Tomorrow I’m going to make tortilla wraps out of the leftovers. Mmm-mmm!!
I just made this for dinner- it was delicious! Definitely spicy!
My employees are mostly Egyptian, and they do regular fasts (periods of being vegans). Every month, I throw a party for birthday celebrations, and this month they happen to be fasting on the day of the party. So, I decided to make this for them! The party is today and I hope they love it! Thanks for the great idea!
Thanks so much for this DELICIOUS recipe!! I made this yesterday, and we LOVED it!! My husband couldn’t stop raving about it. He said we need to put it “in the rotation.” :) This is a keeper, for sure!!
Found this recipe on Pinterest and made it tonight. It was DELICIOUS! Even my very non-vegan 16-yo proclaimed it to be a winner! I will definitely make this again! Thanks so much!!!
We tried this dish last night and all i can say it AHH..MAZING! So glad we made it
Let me just say “You are my hero!” I look forward to making your recipes because I know they will always be fantastic and tasty! I printed off this recipe a while back and had not made it, until last night…and my husband and I had left-overs for lunch, and I know it’s bad, but I’m thinking about having the same for dinner tonight:)
We omitted the non-dairy cheese just because I have still not found one that I am fond of, and omitted the sour cream.
I was so excited to eat it last night that I completely forgot avocado (my favorite!) and the salsa. I did remember today-wonderful!!
When is your book coming out?! I can’t wait to buy it!!!
I am still getting requests to make your wonderful chocolate cupcakes-from vegans and non-vegans alike!
Angela, this was so good! Your recipes are fantastic because even the meat-eaters in my family are eating them up and going back for seconds.
Hi Pam, so glad to hear that!
Just made these and have to say they were excellent! Added pico on top and had a watermelon smoothie with it.
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