This recipe is a guest post by Andrew, our “Tech Guy” who also has a real food blog of his own called Eating Rules…to learn more about Andrew check out our team page!
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Thank you Lisa for inviting me to share another guest post with your readers! We’re currently in the middle of the October Unprocessed challenge, and this is a perfect “unprocessed” recipe to make for your family – or for yourself, with plenty of leftovers!
I may not yet have kids of my own (I added that “yet” in there to give my mom hope), but I sure do know how to feed a crowd. Every year I throw a big New Year’s party in which we do a lot of cooking and eating together… oftentimes we’re making dinner for about 30 people.
So we’ve learned how to feed a hungry group quickly and efficiently. A few years back, my friend Dan made “Enchilada Casserole” for the crew, and it immediately became a part of our holiday dinner rotation. It’s easy to prepare, and barely any extra work to double or triple the recipe. You can also prepare the casserole in advance and just throw it in the oven an hour before dinnertime.
It’s easily adaptable to special diets, too. Already vegetarian (adding meat is so not necessary — it’s hearty enough!), we usually make one “regular” version and one vegan version (just skip the cheese), and most people have trouble deciding which they like more. If you use corn tortillas, it can be gluten-free, too. A couple of years ago, I started using 100% whole wheat tortillas instead of white flour tortillas, and people didn’t even notice.
It helps to think of this dish as sort of a “Mexican Lasagna.” You’re basically layering the bean mixture, tortillas, veggies, and cheese the same way you’d build a lasagna. As you layer things together, tear the tortillas in halves or quarters as necessary to create a single layer. I usually start with one whole tortilla in the middle, and then tear another in half to create flat edges, which go on the outside of the pan. I may tear a third one in quarters and use that to fill in the gaps. It’s good if they overlap a little. Like so:
Unprocessed Enchilada Casserole
This recipe is a guest post by Andrew, our "Tech Guy" who also has a real food blog of his own called Eating Rules…to learn more about Andrew check out our team page!
Ingredients
Sauce Base & Tortillas
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cups enchilada sauce, or one large can
- 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups refried beans, low-sodium if canned, or see note for Lisa's recipe
- 10 corn tortillas, or wheat
Extra Goodies
- 1 can green chiles, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 jalapeño, diced (check for spiciness; jalapeños vary considerably)
- 1 cup mushrooms, quartered
- 1 bunch spinach, (frozen or canned works too)
- 1 cup corn
- 1 cup potatoes, sliced into 1/4″ rounds and then parboiled for 3-5 minutes
- 1 cup cheese, shredded
- 1 avocado, sliced
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute the diced onion for 3-4 minutes until it starts to soften.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add the enchilada sauce, black beans, and refried beans to the saucepan. Stir slowly until mixed thoroughly.
- Add any “extra goodies” to the sauce (except cheese or avocado) and continue heating and stirring until it starts to simmer. Be sure to stir continuously, else it may start to splatter as it comes to a boil.
- Once everything is mixed well, turn off the heat and begin layering the casserole in a lightly greased 9×13 baking pan. Start by adding a thin layer of the sauce to the bottom (if you start with tortillas first, they may burn). Next add a layer of tortillas (see diagram above). Then alternate sauce and tortillas until there’s about 1/4″ of space left (or you run out of sauce or tortillas!), ending with a layer of sauce on top. Be sure all the tortillas are covered by sauce; any tortilla that’s not covered will dry out.
- Sprinkle the cheese on top and cover with aluminum foil. "Tent” the foil so it’s not resting on the cheese (this makes it easier to remove later).
- Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes. (If doubling the recipe or using a deeper pan, you may want to bake a little longer.) Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes, until cheese begins to brown. Allow to cool for at least ten minutes then serve with a few slices of avocado on top.
Recipe Notes
Lisa's refried beans recipe - Easy Slow Cooker Refried Beans
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
Andrew Wilder is a self-proclaimed “Healthy Foodie,” and he writes about the confluence of healthy and delicious on his blog, Eating Rules. He also leads the October Unprocessed challenge each year, trying to get as many people as possible to eat no processed food whatsoever for the entire month. 6,000 people have taken the pledge so far, and it’s not too late for you to join in, too! You can also find Andrew on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
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I was wondering why you think cheese, oil and corn tortillas is unprocessed?
Wow! These were AMAZING! I’ve had my eye on this recipe for some time because I’m a huge fan of enchiladas. I finally cooked up some refried beans a few days ago so last night I made my own enchilada sauce (which was way better than any store bought that I’ve found in Aus) and used pre-cooked sliced potato for the layers instead of corn tortillas. I added plenty of extra vegetables and the amount of sauce was perfect. Thank you for the recipe, I’ve had the idea in my head that it would be too much work but it all came together very quickly. Loved it! I still need to convince the kids they loved it too though!
Meh… I usually love these recipes; this one was just ok.
I SEE THAT SINCE MY PREVIOUS POST THAT WAS REMOVED SOME OF THE INGREDIENTS HAVE BEEN CHANGED. PRETTY SNEAKY….A FOLLOW UP EMAIL REGARDING SUCH WOULD HAVE BEEN THE APPROPRIATE THING TO DO.
I’m fairly certain you asked this question on another recipe which was answered and NOT removed You can find it here: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/slow-cooker-mexican-lasagna/
IT SEEMS AS THOUGH MY COMMENT POSTED YESTERDAY HAS BEEN REMOVED. JUST AS I CONSIDERED ORDERING LISA’S COOKBOOK I CAME ACROSS THIS RECIPE. THIS RECIPE IS NOT WHOLE FOODS. I WILL ASK THE QUESTION AGAIN AND HOPE TO GET AN ANSWER AND NOT HAVE MY QUESTION REMOVED. WHY WOULD LISA ACKNOWLEDGE AND ENDORSE THIS RECIPE? MAKES ME WONDER IF THIS BLOG IS ALL A SCAM JUST TO MAKE MONEY. I WOULD APPRECIATE AN ANSWER AS I FEEL THAT MYSELF AND OTHER FOLLOWERS DESERVE IT.
Can this be premade and frozen to use during the week?
Never mind. I found a previous post about freezing
Hi there. Yes, corn tortillas do hold up better when making enchiladas. They just don’t absorb liquid like flour.
Ok, did I do something wrong? I used flour tortillas b/c I’m not a fan of corn. The tortillas are mushy. Any suggestions? Thanks
I’ve recently found your site and have become very interested in following the idea of making a lifestyle change! Eating less processed foods and more foods from scratch! Has anyone considered developing recipes for diabetics?
Thank you very much
Sincerely,
Vincent Reagan
:-)
Hi Vincent. Lisa typically designs her recipes for her family and then encourages people to adapt them to their own needs.
I would definitely double the “sauce”. This barely made enough for two layers. In the oven now so hopefully it doesn’t dry out.
Made this last night and it was very good, be careful if using double the sauce. It definitely needs more sauce but double was too much. Ours ended up more like an enchilada chili or stew rather than a lasagna. It was still delicious and we ate it over tortilla chips, but it wasn’t quite what it was supposed to be :)
I am confused. Aren’t canned beans, canned enchilada sauce and shredded cheese all processed foods? Maybe I don’t understand what processed foods are? Someone please explain. Thanks!
This is a great and versatile recipe. We subbed diced summer squash for potato (because the garden is running over) and leftover roasted chicken for the black beans. Using leftover crock pot pinto beans. Made homemade corn tortillas and enchilada sauce (made extra to freeze). I don’t really understand all the comments about this not being real food. Pretty much any recipe is as real as you want to make it. For me this is a Sunday dinner, not a quick weeknight meal. Will definitely make again! Thanks.
This is so good!!!! Did a little variation though… I oven roasted yellow tomatoes and garlic then puréed the tomatoes with a quarter cup of fresh cooked back beans (thickener) and then when cooking in a pan, added fresh green chili, paprika, chili powder and cayenne. Then for filling, fresh spinach, fresh mushrooms & bell pepper, black beans and oven roasted chicken (about 1 cup chicken)… Delish!!!
This was delicious! We used Lisa’s beans and it had so much flavor to it (we added quite a few of the mix-ins.) Thank you both for posting recipes like this. For those of us who are still trying to convert to all whole foods all the time, I appreciate shortcuts (such as canned enchilada sauce, canned beans) once in awhile. We have made huge progress this past year but sometimes I feel like I can’t make one more thing from scratch in a week and taking a shortcut here & there is helpful. Next time I will try one of the gravy enchilada sauces from scratch that your readers linked to.
Made this for my family last night and they loved it!
Yay! Glad to hear it, Dot. :)
Really???
THIS IS NOT HEALTHY!
And with a title like that “Unprocessed…” I would re-title this at least so you’re not sending mixed messages to the people who need better guidance….
Love your site! We have made the decision to not wait for Prop 37 to pass here in CA, and make changes now! I’m finding that if we cut the empty calories and processed junk, we can buy locally raised meat and organic/non-gmo products for the same amount we would typically spend each week! :)