Mexican Casserole

Name: Mexican Casserole
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided; 1 cup chopped onion; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 1 jalapeño pepper, minced; 1 teaspoon chili powder; 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1 (12-ounce) package meatless fat-free crumbles (such as Lightlife Smart Ground); 48 baked tortilla chips; Cooking spray; 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained; 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice; 2 cups chopped seeded plum tomato; 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro; 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese; 2 tablespoons fat-free sour cream; 2 tablespoons chopped green onions; 1/4 cup sliced ripe olives

29 Reviews

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Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Jan Gautro

Total Time

45 Mins

Yield

6 servings

This light and healthy vegetarian Mexican casserole gets its great flavor from tons of fresh ingredients, like cilantro, plum tomatoes, lime juice, and jalapeño peppers.

Ingredients

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (12-ounce) package meatless fat-free crumbles (such as Lightlife Smart Ground)
48 baked tortilla chips
Cooking spray
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 cups chopped seeded plum tomato
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 tablespoons fat-free sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1/4 cup sliced ripe olives

How to Make It

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375°.

Step 2

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 4 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and jalapeño; cook 1 minute. Stir in chili powder, cumin, black pepper, and crumbles; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Arrange half of tortilla chips in an 11 x 7–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; top evenly with crumbles mixture.

Step 3

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in skillet over medium heat. Add beans, mashing with the back of a wooden spoon until chunky and thick; cook 2 minutes or until heated, stirring constantly. Stir in lime juice.

Step 4

Combine tomato and cilantro. Layer beans and tomato mixture over crumbles mixture in dish. Top with remaining tortilla chips, pressing to slightly crush. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake at 375° for 13 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Cut casserole into 6 equal pieces; top each serving with 1 teaspoon sour cream, 1 teaspoon onions, and 2 teaspoons olives.

Chef's Notes

Look for veggie protein crumbles in the produce section, near the tofu. Zesty Mexican spices and flavorings sass up plain- (or original-) flavored crumbles.

Ratings & Reviews

CherCooks411's Review

2011-07-02T14:11:26-04:00 TheCynthia

This recipe receives stars for pleasing flavors and family friendliness. However, as other reviewers noted, it's exceedingly dry. In the future, I would bake the filling and serve the chips separately/dip-style. I think that perhaps pouring the filling over the chips and baking it is what dried it out - the chips absorbed the moisture in the filling, and not only made the entire dish too dry, but the base layer of chips was soggy/lost its crunch. There's potential in this dish, but the overall execution failed.

Good

2015-07-02T12:05:06-04:00 ehighland

We aren't vegetarians so I just used ground sirloin which I cooked ahead of the onions. To save time, I used canned refried beans. It was a bit of work and overall the finished product was tasty, however leftovers are problematic if using a microwave to reheat, as the chips get soggy. Not sure I'd make it again but the family enjoyed it.

Holly1's Review

2012-12-30T14:53:49-05:00 mommycol

We used soft tortillas that I ripped in pieces and it came out perfect!~

cableggroll's Review

2012-01-20T14:22:37-05:00 CherCooks411

This was ok but not that great. Probably won't cook again.

georgiegirl0404's Review

2011-12-27T18:21:11-05:00 KzooJennifer

Tasty, but seemed like a lot of work for backwards nachos with the filling on the inside and the chips on the outside. Used with 3/4 lb gr meat as substitute for protein crumbles. Next time would just use a can of heated refried beans instead of mashing the pinto beans.

starfroggie's Review

2011-11-13T12:38:25-05:00 georgiegirl0404

I substituted a can of vegeburger for the crumbles, which was about 5 oz more. I thought the layers were really flavorful. The only thing I didn't like about this dish were the chips. I was expecting them to soften up but they did not. They ended up being very chewy and hard to cut through, almost a stale consistency. Two thumbs up from the in-laws, who asked for the recipe.

Cando292's Review

2011-10-14T04:39:19-04:00 SnickelFritz

CandaceFri 10/14/11 08:27 AM Delicious! My hubby loves meat but I am meet free so it's difficult to find meals that we both find tasty and this did it! I just add picante sauce and the tomatoes to the bean mixture and it turned out great. I could see how if you did not it would be dry. My chips stayed crunchy too. Yum yum yum

liaruby's Review

2011-08-23T17:37:51-04:00 sltarch

This was my first time using the veggie crumbles in a recipe and it tasted great. My fiance is a meat lover and shuns vegetarian but he really liked the recipe and requested that it be put in our "use again" file. Very quick and easy. I substituted kidney beans for the pinto beans and it tasted just fine. I also used lemon juice instead of lime juice and didn't measure it- just threw it in. I see others stating that the recipe was dry. I did not seed the tomatoes as the recipe called for, so that might have made my casserole a little less dry.

charmer21's Review

2011-02-09T18:50:37-05:00 liaruby

Delicious! I replaced the jalapenos with a can of diced green chiles, did black beans instead of pinto, and used a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes instead of a fresh tomato. My non vegetarian husband loved it.

kspencer's Review

2011-02-07T00:06:13-05:00 charmer21

This was delicious the first time I made it and my carnivore boyfriend LOVED it but I thought it was a little dry so this time I drained a can of diced tomatoes and added them with the fresh. I also substituted chili beans with most of the chili sauce from the can, upped the spices and added some sharp cheddar with the Monterey Jack. This is a delicious, easy recipe that doesn't taste Vegetarian.

Mexican Casserole

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Ratings & Reviews

CherCooks411's Review

Good

Holly1's Review

cableggroll's Review

georgiegirl0404's Review

starfroggie's Review

Cando292's Review

liaruby's Review

charmer21's Review

kspencer's Review

Mexican Casserole

Ingredients

Nutritional Information

How to Make It

Chef's Notes

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