Mexican Casserole

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

I also used a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes (drained) instead of chopping. I also dusted the crumbles with some taco seasoning I had. The bean mixture was a bit dry so i added some additional lime juice and olive oil to get to the consistency I wanted. Good flavor. Kids loved it too!

I love mexican food and was going for something on the lighter side. I cooked it with ground beef but regardless, it was very very dry. It would be much better with a sauce. My husband said it tasted like mediocre nachos.

I made this with many of the modifications suggested here and it was excellent. I used flavored tortilla chips, doubled the spices, used "taco seasoned" soy crumbles, and substituted a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes with chiles for the chopped tomato (and stirred it into the mashed pinto beans, along with the lime juice, cilantro and salt). I also used a mixture of pepper jack and reduced fat Mexican four-cheese blend on top and added a few pickled jalapeno slices to the garnishes. I realize these are a lot of changes, but good vegetarian recipes that will satisfy meat-eaters are hard to come by! This one is definitely worth salvaging.

This was very dry. I think it needs some sort of sauce to bind it together (as any casserole dish needs). I had some leftover roasted pepper/tomatillo sauce (from CL Spiced Tilapia with Roasted Pepper-Tomatillo Sauce) that I poured in the container with the leftover Mexican Casserole and had it for lunch the next day, I thought it was very good. Adding the right sauce gives this recipe potential.

I thought this was just ok, but really nothing special. I should have doubled the spices. I think the dish really lacked flavor as it was. I used MorningStar farms grillers crumbles, which really had no taste, reduced fat monterey jack cheese, and had to use 2 cans of beans. My husband liked it, but it's not worth making again to me.

I thought this recipe was excellent! Guiltless nachos!

This recipe is way too dry as is. Instead of being one cohesive serving, it all sort of fell apart in a big crumbly mess. We had to add a lot of salsa to the end result, whcih did improve the flavor. I might try adding canned tomatoes or a can of diced green chiles to combat the dryness. Also, we used 2% cheese, which was a mistake. Use the real stuff, as the lower fat version does not melt properly.

With tomatoes out of season, I pureed a large can of plum tomatoes and used that instead. The results were excellent and might have helped the dryness that other reviewers mentioned. Good flavors, nice use of non-meat protein and just spicy enough for my teenagers without complaints. My husband says: A keeper!

Oh my gosh, this is the best vegetarian dish I have ever had. I have been dabbling at trying more meatless meals and this one was a hit. My husband still doesn't know he wasn't eating any meat and he even sampled some of the crumble mixture out of the pan before it was put together!!!! Please put more like this in your magazine!!!!

If this recipe gets more people to eat a vegetarian meal, then more power to it, but I found it tasty but dry. And I think the problem lies with the bean layer more than the crumble layer. My solution: either serve with salsa or use canned diced tomatoes in place of the fresh and toss them with the pinto beans instead of layering them separately or use salsa in the dish in place of the tomatoes. I also recommend doubling the spices.

I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe! I had never used veggie crumbles before and have given up meat just recently so I thought this would be a great way to start. I would add more spice when I make again. My boyfriend loved it even after I told him it wasn't really meat!

I really liked this recipe. The only changes I made were to add the olives and scallions over the meat mixture as opposed to being a garnish. It is a little dry and perhaps using canned diced tomatoes with their juice instead of fresh would eliminate the problem. Or putting salsa on top instead of the sour cream or in addition to it. I had never used the meat substitute and was a little hesitant but I was amazed at how much it tasted like ground meat. I would definitely recommend trying this!

Prepared this as directed with no modifications. My family enjoyed the meal but thought it was nachos. They also didn't notice that it was meatless, I have yet to spill the beans :) I really enjoyed the lime flavor.

Loved this! I have some vegetarian friends and am always looking for something besides pasta to make when they come over! This is delicious and my husband didn't realize there is no meat in it. I subbed black beans for the pinto beans and used light sour cream since we don't like the FF. It is delicious.

I agree.....tasty, but dry. It did take a bit of prep work, but I don't mind when it is for fresh ingredients. This is my first time using "crumbles"....is there a way to make meals and not have them be so dry? I would like to try it again, but perhaps with some changes? I also think I might just use re-fried black beans out of a can or at least black beans - we just prefer them.

This has all the right ingredients but it's dry. Followed the recipe except I used 2% Kraft Mexican Cheese. Probably won't make it again.

My family loved this recipe and I loved the fact that they didn't realize it was totally vegetarian. I will agree that this was quite the casserole to put together but well worth the time. I would make this again.

This was a great, easy recipe. My vegetarian daughter loved it: "excellent" and my son and his friends didn't notice that the crumbles weren't meat. I will certainly make this again. I didn't alter anything.

This is a great recipe - relatively fast, very tasty, and healty. This is a good weeknight meal - add a salad and you can have a good, balanced meal on the table in an hour.