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 beans in the Instant pot to use in recipes like this. 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.
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 down in the comments section. I always appreciate your feedback! You can also follow along on my YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest or sign up for my newsletter!
📖 Recipe
Vegetarian Black Bean Quinoa Casserole
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.
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.
Allison
Absolutely delicious. It was so easy which made it even better! I forgot to buy corn so I substituted pinto beans. I really appreciate the tips in your recipes.
Cassidy Reeser
I'm glad you find the tips helpful! Thanks for making the recipe 🙂
Judy L
This is not only nutritious but yummy! I'm crazy about the 'dump and bake' recipes. Love how easy they are. This will definitely be on regular rotation in our house!
Cassidy Reeser
Thank you! I'll have to make more dump & bake recipes, they are just so convenient to have on hand.
JW
Wonderful dish. I didn't have enough quinoa on hand (2/3 C) so I tossed in red split lentils to bulk it up. Also didn't have onion powder but it wasn't missed. Delicious and a keeper.
Cassidy Reeser
Thanks for the review! I've been wanting to test another dump and bake recipe with lentils, so I'm happy to hear that worked 🙂
Emma
Hello! I haven't made this yet, but I'm wondering if I could add frozen spinach to the first step. If so, should I decrease the other liquid? I want to add some more iron. Thanks for your delicious recipes!
Cassidy Reeser
You could definitely add frozen spinach, but I would actually recommend thawing it first so that it doesn't cool down the mixture. Add the thawed spinach at step #4 so that it doesn't get overcooked. Enjoy! 🙂
Susan S
This tastes amazing. I've made it twice now. I decreased the chili powder to 1/2 tsp and it was oh so tasty. Totally recommend this recipe!
Cassidy Reeser
Thanks so much for the review! 🙂
Emma
It is possible to replace the enchilada sauce with something else as I can’t get store-bought enchilada sauce where I live?
Thanks!
Cassidy Reeser
The best option would probably be to make your own enchilada sauce or just combine equal parts tomato sauce and water in place of the enchilada sauce. It also has a few spices like chili powder, cumin, and garlic.
Suzanne Doeren
Very easy AND delicious! I love the casserole variation and what a great way to eat quinoa! I topped with avocado, and it was a great dinner.
Cassidy Reeser
I'm so glad you liked it! Thanks for the review 🙂
Heather
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! Followed to recipe exactly except I added some jalapeño pepper because I had it in the fridge. Thank you!
Cassidy Reeser
Thanks for the review! 🙂
Kristi
This turned out great! It is hard to find something my entire family (husband and 3 kids) enjoys. We will be having this regularly.
Cassidy Reeser
I'm happy to hear that! Thanks for the review.
Steph Oz
I followed the instructions, but it came out more like quinoa and black bean soup rather than casserole. I drained all cans and all broth was absorbed by the quinoa. The mixture did not seem too liquid until I added the tomatoes and enchilada sauce.I think limiting the enchilada sauce and the fire roasted tomatoes might help, but it is not likely I will make it again.
Cassidy Reeser
I’m sorry to hear that it didn’t work out for you!
Susan S
I'm thinking you might have gotten some of the measurements wrong? Perhaps didn't use 10 oz cans of tomatoes and enchilada sauce? I have made it twice now and it is delish! Turns out just as expected. I did cut the chili powder in half and may omit it next time for small kids, but oh so tasty!
Allison
Wow...this is so delicious! Followed the recipe exactly, and it was perfect. We froze some filling for a second casserole later. Husband approved too!
Cassidy Reeser
So glad that you liked it! Thank you 🙂
Lauren
Could I use lentils instead of quinoa?
Cassidy Reeser
I think the ratio of liquid to dry lentils would be fine, but it might take longer to cook than quinoa. If you're looking for something to use instead of quinoa I'd recommend white rice.
Lauren
Thanks, I used rice instead and it came out great! It had lots of flavor. I'll definitely make it again.
Cassidy Reeser
Glad to hear it worked!
Denise
This turned out amazing. I was super skeptical that all the liquid would get absorbed because it was total soup at 30 minutes but 30 minutes more uncovered and it was perfect. Substituted nutritional yeast for the cheese to make it vegan. So darn delicious!
Cassidy Reeser
Ha, when I was first testing this recipe I was also skeptical that it would be absorbed! Thanks for the review 🙂
Belen
This was so delicious! I didn’t have corn so I used zucchini. And I didn’t have enchilada sauce so I used a can of tomato sauce and 1/2 teaspoon of taco seasoning. Because I subbed sauce, cook time was around 40 mins!
Thank you sharing this recipe with us!!!!
Cassidy Reeser
Sounds like you made delicious swaps, thanks for making the recipe! 🙂
Alex
I also subbed tomato sauce in because I didn't have any enchilada sauce and panicked when I pulled out uncooked quinoa at 30 mins. After scrolling through comments and finding yours I was so relieved to cover, put it back in the oven and wait a little longer. Sure enough, 10-15 minutes later I pulled out a perfect bubbling casserole. I added ALL the toppings plus sour cream and crunched tortilla chips. **chef's kiss**
Lisa
Hi, is the nutritional info provided per serving or foe the entire recipe?
Thank you
Lisa
Cassidy Reeser
Hi Lisa, the nutrition info is for one serving (one fifth) of the casserole.
Natalie
Been looking for a way to include more quinoa in my diet. This recipe looks great! I'm making it as I type. 🙂 One strange thing I've noticed is that my quinoa package calls for 1.5c liquid for 1c quinoa; this recipe asks for 3c liquid. I'm curious to see how that will turn out.
Cassidy Reeser
Hi Natalie, I am curious to hear how it turned out. I should note in the recipe that you can drain off any excess liquid if the quinoa doesn't soak it all up (though in my experience it usually does)- I'll update it now to mention that!
Andrea
This recipe was so delicious! I can see it becoming a staple in meal plan. I love that the quinoa doesn’t need to be cooked first and that it’s all in one dish. Brilliant!!!
Cassidy Reeser
Thanks so much for the review!