This deliciously cheesy Mexican vegan layered taco casserole recipe is made with red kidney beans, gluten-free tortillas, enchilada sauce and seasonings. Make this simple, easy and quick meal in just 45 minutes.
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What is an enchilada
An enchilada is a classic Mexican dish made with rolled corn tortillas stuffed with a beans filling and covered with a savory tomato sauce. I have tweaked this Mexican recipe and made a layered taco casserole using red kidney beans, and red enchilada sauce. It's a fun and easy way of serving enchiladas.
My first time with Mexican cuisine
The first time I ever tasted Mexican food was way back in college. The world cuisine was just making its entry into the Mumbai food scene and the local restaurants began serving dishes like pasta, tacos, enchiladas, and pizzas to name a few.
My bestie was gung-ho about Mexican food so I decided to try this cuisine out for myself. And I am so glad I did! In fact, an enchilada was the first Mexican dish I ever had!
That day I discovered a cuisine that eventually went on to become one of my favorites! It's flavors are very similar to the Indian cuisine. I now enjoy making a variety of Mexican recipes like Mexican Pani Puri, and Taco Boats!
Mexican weeknight dinners
I have so many readers write to me asking for easy to make weeknight meals that are vegan or vegetarian. Mexican cuisine is definitely one of the go-to cuisines when you need to cook up something real quick that's also loaded with flavors. Cooking Mexican food need not be daunting at all.
It is one of the easiest and simplest cuisines with some appetizing flavors. Take this Mexican layered taco casserole recipe with red kidney beans for example. I call it the Mexican Lasagna. The red sauce used in this enchilada is perfectly tangy and spicy, the beans are juicy and the gluten-free tortillas are moist yet crisp. All in all, a winning dish. It all gets perfectly baked together in the oven! No more rolling enchiladas again!
Why make this
- Vegan and gluten-free
- Protein-rich
- Oil-free
- Is made with red enchilada sauce
- Cheesy and delicious to taste
- Super easy to make
- Layered like a lasagna
- Quick and cozy weeknight meal
- Easily customizable
Ingredients needed
Tortillas - Use mini gluten-free corn tortillas in this recipe. I prefer these because they have a sturdy texture perfect for layering in a casserole. You can also use flour tortillas. Just ensure the tortillas are gluten-free if you are particular about that.
Beans - I have used red kidney beans in this Mexican recipe. You can either use canned beans or dry ones. If using dry ones, soak them overnight and then cook them the next day.
Tomatoes - Canned whole tomatoes are what I have used. You can also use fresh tomatoes.
Veggies and aromatics - Bell pepper, onion, garlic and green chillies/serrano peppers or jalapenos.
Cheese - I have used vegan Mexican cheese blend in this enchilada recipe. You can also add vegan Cheddar, Jack, Mozzarella, or Mexican Cotija cheeses.
How to make it
The first step is to make the vegan red enchilada sauce. This homemade sauce is so easy to make and delicious that you will never buy it from the store ever again.
- Grind the tomatoes with garlic and green chilies to make a smooth puree.
- In the skillet, add the ground tomato-garlic paste. Bring it to a boil and reduce the flame to a medium. This could take 12-15 minutes. Chef Tip - Keep scraping off the sides of the pan as it cooks.
- Add salt, coriander powder, cumin powder, paprika, mixed herbs and enchilada seasoning. Mix, and cook for a minute. Reserve 1.5 cups of this sauce for later use.
- Then add cooked/canned kidney beans to the pan. Mix it all together lightly and mash some lightly. Cook it for 5 minutes. Take it off the pan. Vegan red enchilada sauce is ready.
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- Heat a skillet and toast the mini gluten-free tortillas for 1-2 minutes. This is a low-fat option than frying.
- Mix chopped bell peppers, onions, and cilantro in a bowl and keep it aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush a baking tray with oil. Smear some reserved enchilada sauce (without the kidney beans) on it.
- Place 4 toasted mini tortilla on the baking tray. Chef Tip - If you want you can also cut the tortillas in half and arrange them in a crisscross manner to ensure there are no gaps.
- Spread some of the prepared vegan enchilada sauce over it.
- Sprinkle the mixed veggies all over it.
- Follow it by adding shredded vegan Mexican cheese blend all over.
- Place another tortilla over it and follow the same steps until the casserole fills up. I added up to 12 mini tortillas in total because of the size of my baking tray.
- Lastly, spread half of the reserved sauce all around the tray. Top it with some more cheese. You can either bake it immediately or later. Bake them for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese melts.
- Once done, garnish with chopped cilantro along with some vegan sour cream on top. Allow it to cool a bit, then cut them and then dig in. Repeat all of the above steps to make another batch with leftovers. This recipe will yield a total of 2 batches.
Serving suggestions
Vegan Beans Enchilada Mini Casserole is ready! To add more flavor, garnish with chopped cilantro and mixed herbs along with some green onions, vegan sour cream and/or guacamole on top. Allow it to cool a bit and then dig in.
This crunchy, flavorful and cheesy vegan enchilada casserole is perfect for parties, weeknight dinners and even meal prep for the week. You can also serve some Cucumber Salad on the side.
This vegan enchilada casserole can also be served as an entrée for Thanksgiving, Christmas, parties, festive occasions, potlucks, Diwali, date nights, brunches, etc.
Top recipe tips
Use fresh tomatoes instead of canned ones. If doing so, you will need around 5-6. Grill the tomatoes and garlic before grinding them for a smoky flavor to the enchilada sauce. Adding guacamole or enchilada sauce at the bottom prevents the first layer of tortilla from sticking to the tray.
If you don't have one big baking dish, you can make it in mini casseroles. The measurements that I have provided should yield 2 batches (each with 12 tortillas). If you can fit all the 24 tortillas in one big tray then use all of the sauce, chopped veggies and cheese.
Recipe FAQs
These vegan lasagna tortillas can be refrigerated for up to 3-4 days. Reheat leftovers for the next day. This enchilada sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for 4-5 days. You can also assemble the casserole and store in the fridge. Bake it fresh as and when needed.
You can also make and cook it all the way through, wrap, and freeze it for a few days until you want to serve it. Thaw it overnight. Then reheat the full casserole in the oven. It will become little soggy though. It tastes best when baked fresh. Leftover enchilada sauce can be used as a pasta sauce, pizza sauce, or over a bowl of grains/salad.
Feel free to add more veggies to this, like onions, potatoes, mushrooms, spinach, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, eggplants, corn, broccoli, zucchini, black olives, or even other beans like black beans or black-eyed peas. Basically, you can add whatever leftovers you have in this layered taco casserole!
If you are missing meat in this vegan enchilada casserole, add meatless crumbles, TVP or soya granules, lentils, tempeh, crumbled tofu, jackfruit carnitas, or vegan shredded chicken along with the beans.
A layer of homemade salsa or vegan mayo makes this layered taco casserole taste great! Throw in a layer of flavored rice/cooked alternate grains/cauliflower rice at the bottom to make it more hearty.
You can prepare your own enchiladas seasoning by mixing oregano, paprika, cumin powder, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, sugar, salt, coriander powder, and Chipotle chili powder. Add this prepared enchilada seasoning while making the sauce.
You can fry these mini gluten-free tortillas till they turn slight crisp. Then dip them completely in the reserved sauce before placing them in the baking tray.
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Recipe 📖
Vegan Enchilada Casserole
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
To prepare the enchilada sauce
- 28 oz canned tomatoes
- 6 garlic cloves
- 3 green chilies or 1 jalapeno
- salt
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon mixed herbs
- 1 tablespoon enchilada seasoning
- 29 oz canned kidney beans
To prepare the enchilada casserole
- 24 mini tortillas gluten-free
- 1 bell pepper finely chopped
- 1 onion
- ½ cup vegan cheese grated
- 2 tablespoon Cilantro chopped
- 2 tablespoon vegan Sour cream
Instructions
To prepare the enchilada sauce
- Grind the tomatoes with garlic and green chilies to make a smooth puree.
- In the skillet, add the ground tomato-garlic paste. Bring it to a boil and reduce the flame to a medium. This could take 12-15 minutes. Chef Tip - Keep scraping off the sides of the pan as it cooks.
- Add salt, coriander powder, cumin powder, paprika, mixed herbs and enchilada seasoning. Mix, and cook for a minute. Reserve 1.5 cups of this sauce for later use.
- Then add cooked/canned kidney beans to the pan. Mix it all together lightly and mash some lightly. Cook it for 5 minutes. Take it off the pan. Vegan enchilada sauce is ready.
To prepare the enchilada casserole
- Heat a skillet and toast the mini tortillas for 1-2 minutes.
- Mix chopped bell peppers, onions, and cilantro in a bowl and keep it aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush a baking tray with oil. Smear some reserved enchilada sauce (without the kidney beans) on it.
- Place 4 toasted mini tortilla on the baking tray.
- Spread some of the prepared vegan enchilada sauce over it.
- Sprinkle the mixed veggies all over it.
- Followed by shredded vegan Mexican cheese blend.
- Place another tortilla over it and follow the same steps until the casserole fills up. I added up to 12 mini tortillas in total because of the size of my baking tray.
- Lastly, spread half of the reserved sauce all around the tray. Top it with some more cheese. Bake them for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese melts.
- Once done, garnish with chopped cilantro along with some vegan sour cream on top. Allow it to cool a bit and then dig in.
- Repeat all of the above steps to make another batch with leftovers. This recipe will yield a total of 2 batches.
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Mony says
Was not in a mood to make regular lunch. So Tried this with my sons. Didn’t imagine it could be so tastyyyy. We all liked it. Going to make it again n again. Thanks for the simple yet tasty rcp😄
Priya says
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you. 🙂
Annissa says
What a colorful and tasty dish! I really appreciate the process photos and clear instructions. You make cooking easy!
Priya says
Thank you so much