This black bean quinoa bake is a dump and bake casserole that uses dry quinoa, canned tomatoes, and black beans. No chopping is required in this recipe, just a casserole dish and pantry staples.
I first made this black bean quinoa bake a few years ago for an assignment during my dietetic internship at a hospital. It was such a hit among the patients that it got added to the regular menu at the hospital!
Fast forward a few years and all I want is an easy meal with minimal prep. That's when I remembered this quinoa casserole. It doesn't require any dicing or chopping and odds are you already have most of the ingredients on hand.
If you like my vegetarian black bean enchiladas, Southwest quinoa taco salad or rice and beans, then you'll probably want to make this recipe too. Like most of the recipes on the blog, this recipe is easy to customize.
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Recipe features
- Dump and bake: No boiling required, just add the dry quinoa directly to the baking dish with the other ingredients. The only chopping/dicing needed is for the garnishes. The result is a sliceable casserole!
- Quick & easy: You only need 5 minutes to prepare the recipe. It bakes for 45 minutes and needs to be stirred once during that time.
- Easy to customize: This recipe uses mostly pantry staples, but can easily be modified to include more fresh vegetables etc.
- Seasonings: This quinoa bake uses pretty simple Tex-Mex style taco seasonings like the kind you would find in a packet of taco seasoning.
- Dietary features: vegetarian, vegan-optional, nut-free, gluten-free, soy-free
Ingredients
The ingredient list is super flexible. You can add veggies, swap cheeses, etc. See more customization ideas below.
- Quinoa: I used white quinoa in this recipe. Red or a blend of quinoa colors will work. Frozen or pre-cooked quinoa does not work.
- Black beans: You can use canned black beans or cook them from dry. I usually cook black beans using my Instant Pot black beans recipe. One 15 ounce can of black beans = 1.5 cups black beans.
- Canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes with green chiles: The green chiles add a little extra heat. I use Rotel brand, but any kind works. A can of diced tomatoes with green chiles that isn't fire roasted also works.
- Corn: Frozen corn, fresh corn, or canned corn work. If using frozen corn you do not need to thaw it first.
- Enchilada sauce: Use red enchilada sauce and choose a heat that meets your spice preferences. Green enchilada sauce does work but is even better in these sweet potato enchiladas.
- Mexican blend cheese: This usually includes cheddar, colby and Monterey jack cheeses.
- Spices: Onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, and cumin. Alternatively, use a tablespoon of taco seasoning.
- Rice: Several people have tried this recipe with an equal amount of white rice in place of quinoa and reported that it works well. Another option is to try my rice and bean casserole.
Instructions
Most of this recipe is inactive time spent waiting for the quinoa to cook in the oven. It takes about 30 minutes to cook and 15 minutes to firm up the casserole.
Make sure to use very hot, almost boiling vegetable broth to speed the process along. I just heat the broth in the microwave, but you can also heat it on the stove until simmering.
Before you begin: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish. Rinse quinoa in a fine mesh sieve for 30 seconds. This will cut down on any bitterness that the quinoa may have.
- Combine all ingredients, except for the cheese, in the baking dish. Stir to combine.
- Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and stir. The quinoa should be cooked through but it will still be liquidy.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until the quinoa is firm and the excess liquid evaporates.
- Top with the shredded cheese and return to the oven for 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Let the casserole cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Customization ideas
- Protein: For extra protein, add in two cans of beans (any type of bean works), vegan tempeh taco meat, or tofu chorizo.
- Extra veggies: Diced bell pepper, diced zucchini, and diced tomato are all good options. You can add them directly to the casserole dish or saute them first for extra flavor. You can also just add extra veggies without removing the corn.
- Toppings: Avocado, cilantro, and salsa are all great additions.
- Beans: Kidney beans, pinto beans, or red beans work well in place of black beans.
- Dairy-free option: Use your favorite vegan shredded cheese to make this recipe dairy-free. So Delicious has a Mexican blend, but I haven't tried it out yet.
Storage
- Leftovers: Let the casserole cool to room temp, then cover with foil or a lid. Keep refrigerated for 3-4 days for best quality.
- Reheating: Reheat individual portions in the microwave. Reheat the entire casserole in the oven at 325 degrees F for 20-30 minutes, or until warmed through. Cover with foil if the casserole starts to dry out too much.
- Freezing: This freezes well as a full casserole or as individual slices. Cover the casserole in plastic wrap and foil or plastic wrap and a lid before freezing. If reheating in the oven, add an extra 10-15 minutes of cook time. The casserole can also thaw overnight in the fridge.
Similar vegetarian meal ideas
Did you try this recipe? You can leave a star rating in the recipe card or a review in the comments below. Or check out my cookbook and keep up to date with my YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, or newsletter!
Recipe
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Vegetarian Black Bean Quinoa Casserole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry quinoa
- 1 and ¼ cup vegetable broth
- 10 ounce can diced tomatoes and green chiles
- 10 ounce can red enchilada sauce
- 15 ounce can black beans drained and rinsed; about 1.5 cups
- 1 cup frozen sweet corn canned or fresh also work
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 and ½ cups Mexican blend shredded cheese
- optional toppings: avocado or guacamole, salsa, diced jalapeno, cilantro, lime
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish. Rinse quinoa in a fine mesh sieve for 30 seconds.
- On the stove in a small pot or in the microwave, heat the vegetable broth until simmering.
- Combine all ingredients, except for the cheese and garnishes, in the 9x13 baking dish. Stir to combine.
- Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes on the middle oven rack. Remove the foil and stir. The quinoa should be cooked through but the casserole will still be liquidy.
- Bake for 15 minutes, or until the quinoa is firm and the excess liquid evaporates.
- Top with the shredded cheese and return to the oven for 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serve topped with avocado or guacamole, fresh cilantro and salsa.
Video
Notes
- Mexican blend cheese: Usually includes sharp cheddar, colby jack and Monterry jack. Any of these three cheese can be used in place of a cheese blend. Use vegan cheese to make dairy-free.
- Storage and reheating: Let cool to room temp, then cover the baking dish with foil or a lid. Keep refrigerated for 3-4 days for best quality. Reheat individual portions in the microwave. Reheat the entire casserole in the oven at 325 degrees F for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
- Freeze for later: Let cool completely. Transfer individual portions into freezer safe containers or cover the casserole dish tightly with foil and a lid. Freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw completely in the fridge before reheating or add an extra 10-15 minutes to the reheating bake time.
Nutrition
Author's note: This recipe was originally shared February 2020 and was updated August 2022. The original recipe used cooked quinoa (one cup dry cooked in two cups vegetable broth) and no vegetable broth in the actual casserole. The updated version is more streamlined.
Lindsay says
We're currently renovating our kitchen so I made this in a crock pot instead of baking it. Increased broth to 1.5 cups to compensate. It is DELICIOUS and probably a new favorite go-to work lunch! Would be easy to add some chicken/shirmp whatever to it for us non vegetarians but it definitely stands on its own without!
Cassidy Reeser, MS, RD says
Awesome, I've been wanting to see if these dump & bakes convert well to crockpot recipes. I'm sure someone else will find this helpful as well!
Molly says
LOVE this recipe. I added a couple of handfuls of chopped spinach at the end (prior to melting cheese) and it was awesome. Definitely on my short list of easy, no-fuss meals.
Sandi says
I tried this exactly as written and it was fabulous. Looking forward to making it again tomorrow. I’m a quinoa newby and this is a great recipe to try it out. So flavorful and easy and I love that it’s vegan as another option for meatless Mondays. It’s going into our regular rotation. Thanks so much for sharing!
TJ says
First time to make this. I love the taste. but what I noticed was that the quinoa was soft but not fully cooked after the 45 minutes @ 375. So, mine is back in the oven for another 20. We'll see what happens. I noticed that no one else mentioned this. maybe may old oven??
Cassidy Reeser, MS, RD says
I've noticed that these recipes have a lot of variability. It could be your oven, I always suggest having an oven thermometer just so you can be sure it's the temp it says it is. It could be casserole dish material (metal will heat up more quickly than a thick ceramic) or not a tight enough fitting lid. But you did what I always recommend, just keep cooking! 🙂 Thanks for the review!
Shannon says
This was SO good and SO easy! Made it with my 5 yr old today and she was able to do most of it by herself, that's how easy it was! Definitely will be making it again!
Cassidy Reeser, MS, RD says
How sweet! I think that needs to be the new catchphrase for this recipe, "So easy a 5 year old can make it!" Thanks for leaving a review!
Judysara says
I made this but it was too dry. I guess I will add additional stock next time. I still enjoyed it, however and will make again. Thank you.
Cassidy Reeser, MS, RD says
Extra broth will definitely help. I would start with an extra 1/2 cup and go from there 🙂
CJ says
My first dump and bake - so simple! And, like all your recipes, delicious! I added some TVP (soaked in chipotle veggie broth) for added protein.
Cassidy Reeser says
Woohoo, welcome to the dump & bake club! I'm inspired by your chipotle marinated TVP, I'll have to try that.
Laura S. says
We loved this. I have fibromyalgia and I'm always looking for fast, easy recipes that taste good and that I can eat for a few days.
Sherry says
Won't be making this again. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't very interesting either.
Nina says
I’ve just made this & have to agree that it’s delicious - I could be accused of making an entirely different dish, but I followed the quantities for the recipe more than the ingredients & went with a more Italian-esque flavour as that’s what I had in the cupboards.
I swapped out the sweetcorn for frozen peas & spinach, the enchilada sauce for a tomato & basil pasta sauce, the cumin & chilli for Italian herbs. Also stirred in 2 tbsps of parmesan for extra flavour & topped with mozzarella.
It’s absolutely divine!!!
I do plan on following the recipe next time & trying the Mexican flavours as I’m sure it’ll be just as tasty!
Looking forward to enjoying this cold tomorrow with a tasty salad. I’m guessing it can also be frozen, win win!
Cassidy Reeser says
I'm all for folks using my recipes as a template, so more power to you for getting creative with it!! That's what I love about these dump & bake casseroles- as long as the ratios are right, you can adapt them. And yes, it freezes well!
Bridget says
Could I use vegan cashew based cheese? I've never baked it before.
Cassidy Reeser says
You can definitely use it! If it's one of those wheels/blocks, it probably won't stretch or have that cheesy feel, but it will still complement the casserole nicely. I've baked homemade cashew cheese before and it just firms up a bit.
A says
Hi, thanks for the recepies.
What could I use instead of enchiladas sauce? Not sure i can find it where I live
Cassidy Reeser says
I would use an equal amount of tomato sauce or slightly diluted tomato passata. And double the spices in the recipe and that should get you close.
Sooz C says
I thought the same thing and just kept it in the oven for a while. Turned out great.