This post is sponsored by USA Pulses & Pulse Canada.
This Vegan Enchilada Casserole makes a fast weeknight dinner. You can prepare it all on the stove top in just about 30 minutes, and it’s loaded with plant-based protein.
The key to this quick-cooking casserole is the use of quinoa and red lentils, both of which become tender in just about 15 minutes. Quinoa is a complete source of plant-based protein, containing all of the essential amino acids the body needs, and it also helps keep this meal naturally gluten-free.
Red lentils are one of my favorite types of pulses to work with, because they cook so quickly. Lentils contain high levels of soluble fiber, which is thought to promote heart and digestive health, and it may also help to stabilize blood sugar. Lentils make a great vegetarian meat substitute, because their small size makes them an easy ground beef substitute that will pick up the flavor of the seasonings you use.
I also added black beans to this dish for added texture, protein, and fiber. Black beans are thought to help promote healthy bones, thanks to their mineral content, including iron, calcium, magnesium, and zinc. They also contain potassium, which is thought to help lower blood pressure, but if you buy canned beans make sure to look for options with no salt added.
Cooked with chopped tomatoes and Mexican spices, this skillet meal has all the enchilada flavor you love, without much work. I hope you’ll enjoy it!
Vegan Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion , chopped
- 1 bell pepper , chopped and seeds removed
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 (25 oz) box chopped tomatoes (nothing else added)
- 1.5 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1/2 cup red lentils
- 1 cup water
- 1.5 cups cooked black beans (or one 15 oz. can, drained and rinsed)
Optional Toppings
- fresh cilantro
- avocado
- sliced radishes
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a 3.5 quart skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Sauté the onion and pepper until softened, about 8 minutes.
- Add in the garlic, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne pepper, if using, and sauté until fragrant, about one more minute.
- Add in the chopped tomatoes (with their juices), salt, quinoa, red lentils, water, and black beans. Stir well and bring the liquid to a boil. Cover and lower the heat to a simmer, cooking until the quinoa and lentils are tender, about 15 minutes.
- Remove the lid and fluff with a fork. Serve warm with a topping of fresh cilantro, avocado slices, and radishes, if desired.
Nutrition
Per Serving (4 large servings): Calories: 368, Carbohydrates: 60, Fiber: 16, Protein: 17, Fat: 6
Recipe Notes:
- As written, this recipe is properly combined for better digestion, but you can add a sprinkling of cheese to the top if you want a more decadent casserole. It will melt on its own in the hot skillet, or you can place it under your oven’s broiler for 1-2 minutes, until bubbly.
- I don’t recommend using a different type of lentil in this recipe, as green and brown lentils take longer to cook when compared to red lentils.
Half-Cup Habit
This vegetarian main course is a great way to make sure you’re reaching your Half-Cup Habit goals. This 4-week challenge encourages readers to add 1/2 cup serving of pulses (beans, lentils, chickpeas, or dry peas) to their diets three times a week. In other words, you simply have to eat 1 1/2 cups of cooked pulses a week. By participating, users will receive free recipes, pulses cooking tips and more.
Click here to join me in taking the Half-Cup Habit today!
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite vegetarian dinner lately?
Delicious! I’ll definitely add that cheese on top when I try it 😉
I made this last night and it is absolutely delicious! The flavors are perfectly balanced. I had an 18.5 oz jar of diced tomatoes on hand, so used that and upped the water to 2 C and it worked perfectly. Thank you for introducing a new recipe to the rotation!
I love enchiladas! I love Mexican food, in general, so when I was diagnosed with a pretty severe corn allergy, my life became very sad. I crave it, and I crave it often. I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting this recipe to be so delicious. Maybe it’s because it’s so simple, or perhaps it’s because there isn’t any corn, but I LOVED it! Being a single lady who is supposed to rotate her food, I ended up freezing a couple of servings of it, and I’m really looking forward to thawing them out next week. I reheat it a couple of times over spinach, which wilted and mixed in quite nicely, and I was feeling extra decadent once and ate it with plantain chips — which I think is what I’m about to do right now for my last non-frozen serving. I wasn’t really paying too much attention when I was cooking and I think I added in the wrong size of tomatoes so it took me a bit longer to cook, but it was well worth the minimal effort. Highly recommend this dish!
My family loves this meal and it is great on a rainy cold night. I do add in roasted corn and it seems to add a good splash of color and texture!
I just made this. I added chipotle chili powder, sriracha and some chipotle salsa. It was really good and really filling. Thanks for the recipe!
This is really, really good. We’re not vegan but are trying to eat significantly more plant based meals. I made this mostly as written (subbed poblano pepper for bell pepper; used fire roasted tomatoes), but I also made a homemade enchilada sauce to top it with – I just wanted it a bit saucier and it looked from the photos like it would be a “drier” casserole. For the enchilada sauce – toast two dried chiles (I used New Mexico chiles) in a skillet and then Vitamix it with a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes – in the same skillet, saute a diced onion & some garlic in EVOO until well softened, then toss into the Vitamix with the tomato mixture. Blend until really smooth. Season with a bit of salt and add a little vegetable broth if too thick. I stored the casserole and sauce separately, and just spooned on the amount of desired sauce for each serving (have been eating this over the course of the week for lunches and dinners). Definitely serve with diced avocado on top – so good. Thanks for a great recipe, will make this again!
I LOVED this dish! I also added in some frozen corn which really added some extra color/crunch. It re-heats extremely well for work, etc and is so filling. Great, easy dish I will definitely be making again.
Very tasty recipe! I’ve made several of your recipes over the years, but have never commented before. The flavors were great, and it’s chock full of plant-based protein sources!
I’m recently trying out a Vegan diet to see if it helps with my energy levels and mood. I loved this Vegan enchilada casserole and so did my 15 month old son. I just made my 2nd batch last night and sometimes I eat it as a salsa with sweet potato tortilla chips. It really is great and I can’t wait to try more of your Vegan recipes. Thank you!
This is your first recipe that I have tried. My two year old told me it was AWESOME!!! Yay! Thank you for the delicious, healthy meal! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Thanks so much for NOT writing paragraphs of unnecessary chatter as most people do……
Another easy and delicious recipe! My whole family loved this. I doubled the chili powder cause we like spice and added zucchini since I had some to use up. I topped mine with sour cream and cheddar while my husband did not since he is dairy free;)
THIS IS AWESOME, CHEAP and easy. We topped with cilantro and fresh avocado and the non vegans added cheese. YUM
So good! I made it today and my whole family lived it, including my 5year old! Can’t wait to try more recipes!
Very yummy! Made it exactly as recipe stated last night and it was a hit!
Made this recently. Doubled the spices and veggies and topped with a homemade enchiladas sauce. Tastes great, easy to make and leftovers for the next day. 🙂
I want to make this but I have to ask; what is a box of tomatoes? Can I use canned and reduce the water?
I made this using a 28 oz can of organic whole tomatoes and it came out great with the 1 cup of water. I also added some frozen corn, 1/2 jalapeno, 1/2 pulsatilla pepper, 3 cloves of garlic and just a tad more spices since we love spicy food. Topped with cilantro and a small amount of grated cheddar cheese. Everyone enjoyed it but didn’t rave about it as they have with other recipes.
Although I’m not vegan, I eat a mostly plant based diet and am trying to move my carnivore husband in that direction. He & I both really liked this dish. Instead of bell pepper (which we don’t care for), I used half a poblano and half a red pepper (next time will just use a whole poblano); omitted the chili powder and cayenne and added 1/4 tsp smoked paprika (next time will use at least 1 tsp); added frozen corn like another reviewer did. We wrapped it in a tortilla with vegan cheese, avocado slices, cilantro and fresh squeezed lime juice–very tasty & satisfying. Will definitely be making this on a regular basis.
I made this last night. We have always had success with Megan’s recipes, so I never hesitate to try a new one. It was fabulous! I used a poblano instead of bell and added half a bag of frozen corn per my husband’s request. I used two pinches of cayenne and it didn’t feel spicy at all (but we live in Texas!) This one goes in the rotation! I wonder if this can be done in the Instant Pot…?
Amazing!! Love all your recipes. Thank u
So delicious! The flavors are wonderful and it is easy to make! Leftovers reheat nicely.i have made this twice and each ice the quinoa has been a bit crunchy. I have cooked it 5-7 minutes more and the quinoa still does not burst open. Any suggestions!
Many thanks for a great recipe even if a bit crunchy’
Is there a chance you might include the Veggie Enchilada casserole with “an instant pot” way of cooking?
Love your instant pot vegan quinoa burrito bowl.
This was great. I doubled the recipe, used roasted garlic, and added oven-roasted corn. Topped with a Chipotle enchilada sauce. Will definitely make again. Thanks!
Delicious flavors! I personally didn’t want to include the tomatoes so I used some salsa and cooked it a little different. The whole family was able to enjoy the same dinner which is rare at our house. Will def make this again!!
New to vegan cooking and I have tried some meals that definitely were embarrassing but this recipe is fabulous. I used tri-color quinoa but everything else stayed same in the recipe. Thanks for sharing
I made this Monday and it is lasting me all week! I think I might add a bit more spice to it next time to give it a bit more flavor. It was so easy to make, but I did notice that it took me much longer, probably twice the time that the recipe suggested, to cook the quinoa and lentils.
Sadly, this recipe did not work for me. I had to triple the water content to 3 cups of water, cooked it for an hour and the lentils and quinoa were still not cooked through. A sad waste of ingredients, time and my family left starving for dinner, so we had to rummage around in the freezer to see frozen dinner alternatives I had left. Super disappointed. 😕
Easy and delicious! We ate it with a few tortilla chips for added crunch. It was mild in spice, so more cayenne could be added for someone who likes it spicy.
Next time, I would put the lentils and quinoa in the before the tomatoes, black beans and water. It took closer to 30 minutes to cook. My husband who prefers steak went back for seconds.
So yummy! Enjoyed the flavours