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

ADD YOUR REVIEW

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.

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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

Ingredients