There’s no slow cooker needed for this delicious and super easy Healthy Mexican Casserole! It’s packed with protein, loaded with fiber, has a ton of flavor, can be made multiple ways, and really doesn’t take that long to make. If you’re looking for a new meal prep, this one is definitely worth a try!
I haven’t asked a question here in a while. That question today? Since this recipe uses beans, what are your favorite kind of beans? Let me know below!
We’re going to start our Mexican casserole by preparing our mix. To do this, add a tablespoon of oil into a large stovetop pan over medium heat and let that heat up. If you don’t have a good large stovetop pan you can find one of ours in the recipe card.
Add in 1 1/2 pounds of a lean ground turkey, beef, or chicken and break it up once your pan heats up. I’m using 93/7 but will make sure to include the macros for multiple variations below.
Vegetables
Continue with 1 chopped up green bell pepper, 1 chopped up yellow bell pepper, 1 chopped up red bell pepper, 1/2 a chopped up red onion, and 2 teaspoons of minced garlic.
Keep everything moving until whatever ground meat you’re using has browned then drop your heat to low. Browning your meat should only take around 5-8 minutes.
Add in 1 1/2 tablespoons of chili powder, 2 teaspoons of ground cumin, 1 can of diced tomatoes & green chiles, 1 can of drained & rinsed black beans, 1 cup of corn (fresh, canned, or frozen all work great), and 1/2 can of your favorite enchilada sauce.
Pro tip? Look for low or no sodium ingredients. This should be fairly easy to find for your canned ones.
Don’t you have chili powder or ground cumin? Want to switch this up? Use a packet of taco seasoning mix or make your own:
Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix
*Double or triple this recipe and have access to it whenever you need it!
- 1 1/4 Tablespoons Chili Powder
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Cumin
- 3/4 Teaspoon Black Pepper, Paprika
- 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Oregano, Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
Mix all of those ingredients together thoroughly and take your pan off the heat.
Mexican Casserole Dish
From here, take out at least a 9×13 oven safe dish. Into the bottom of it, add the other 1/2 of your enchilada sauce.
On top of your enchilada sauce we’re going to put 6 mini tortillas that have 1/2 can of refried beans spread over the top of them. I use either a knife or the bottom of a spoon to do this. Optionally you can heat your refried beans up a bit to help spread them easier.
Speaking of tortillas, who makes your favorite store bought ones?
Place refried bean tortillas over the top of your sauce, overlapping as needed.
On top of your tortillas, pour in your mix. I almost never layer this however if you’d like to layer it with another 6 tortillas you could pour in 1/2 your mix and repeat that step.
To finish this healthy Mexican casserole off I like to crush up a few tortilla chips for texture and sprinkle on 1 cup of a Mexican blend cheese.
Throw it into the oven on 350F/176C for around 30-35 minutes or until your cheese on top has melted and your sides have started to bubble. If you’re worried about your cheese burning (or don’t like any crisp) you can put some aluminum foil over top of your dish prior to throwing it into the oven.
Top this with salsa, guacamole, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, shredded lettuce, and so on!
I usually cut this one up into 8 pieces and will reheat my servings in the microwave for around :90 seconds. Keep in mind this will depending on how powerful your microwave is so make sure to keep an eye on it.
Ready for dessert? How about some Protein Cornbread Cookies!?
Healthy Mexican Casserole
What We Used
- Oven
The Protein Chef is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- 1 ½ Pounds Ground Meat - Lean / Turkey, Beef, or Chicken (I used 93/7)
- 1 Green Pepper - Chopped up
- 1 Yellow Pepper - Chopped up
- 1 Red Pepper - Chopped up
- ½ Red Onion - Chopped up
- 2 Teaspoons Minced Garlic
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Chili Powder
- 2 Teaspoons Ground Cumin
- 1 Can Diced Tomatoes - Low Sodium / 10 Ounces
- 1 Can Black Beans - Low Sodium / Drain & Rinsed / 15.5 Ounces
- 1 Cup Corn - Fresh, canned, or frozen
- 1 Can Enchilada Sauce - Low Sodium / 10 Ounces
- 6 Mini Tortillas - Mine were 25 calories each
- ½ Can Refried Beans - Low Sodium / 8 Ounces
- 1 Cup Mexican Cheese
Instructions
- Add your Oil into a large stovetop pan over medium heat
- Once it heats up, add in your Ground Meat and break it up
- Add in your Bell Peppers, Onion, and Garlic
- Keep everything moving until your Ground Meat has browned (usually 5-8 minutes)
- Turn your heat to low
- Mix in your Chili Powder, Ground Cumin, Diced Tomatoes, Black Beans, Corn, and 1/2 your Enchilada Sauce
- Add the other 1/2 of your Enchilada sauce into the bottom of at least a 9×13 oven safe dish
- Spread your Refried Beans evenly over your Mini Tortillas
- Place your Mini Tortillas into your oven safe dish over the top of your Enchilada Sauce (they may overlap)
- Pour in the mix you made
- You can optionally layer it by pouring in 1/2 of your mix and adding in another 6 Mini Tortillas
- Top it with some optionally crushed up Tortillas Chips and your Mexican Blend Cheese
- Put it into the oven on 350F/176C for around 30-35 minutes or until your cheese has melted and your sides have started to bubble
- If you're worried about your cheese burning you can cover your dish with aluminum foil
Video
Notes
- Calories: 364
- Fat: 14.8g
- Saturated Fat: 5.2g
- Sodium: 525.5mg
- Carbs: 30.1g
- Fiber: 10.6g
- Sugar: 4.1g
- Protein: 27.6g
- Calories: 2919
- Fat: 119g
- Saturated Fat: 42g
- Sodium: 4204mg
- Carbs: 241g
- Fiber: 86g
- Sugar: 33g
- Protein: 221g
- Calories: 2919
- Fat: 83g
- Saturated Fat: 30g
- Sodium: 4323mg
- Carbs: 241g
- Fiber: 86g
- Sugar: 33g
- Protein: 236g
- Calories: 2766
- Fat: 98g
- Saturated Fat: 39g
- Sodium: 4103mg
- Carbs: 241g
- Fiber: 86g
- Sugar: 33g
- Protein: 230g
Used a no salt taco seasoning packet as suggested and this turned out amazing! I know it’s a “meal prep” but our family ate most of it for dinner. Will definitely be making this one again.