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This Vegetarian Mexican Casserole is a quick and easy recipe. It’s full of flavor and hearty enough that even the biggest carnivore won’t miss out on the meat.
Most casseroles are full of canned cream of something soup, which contain saturated fat and lots of preservatives. This fresh and healthy Corn Tortilla Casserole contains no canned soups or heavy ingredients, and the cheese is optional. Keep it in this recipe, replace it with a plant based cheese mixture, or omit the cheese altogether if you’d like.
Where is the recipe?
Here at My Crazy Good Life, we like to make our recipes easy for everyone to follow. In the article below you’ll find lots of information including recipe tips and ingredient substitutions. If you’d like to skip past that and jump to the recipe, simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you’ll find the easy to print Vegetarian Mexican Casserole recipe.
Ingredients in this layered tortilla casserole
- Olive Oil: You can use any oil, or lightly spray with cooking spray.
- Red Onion: Anthocyanins are antioxidants that help prevent cell damage, keep your heart healthy and give red onions their purple color. I prefer using red onions because of this and because they’re less inflammatory than yellow or white.
- Bell Pepper: I use a red and a green, but any colors will work.
- Zucchini: You can also use yellow crookneck squash or omit this entirely if you don’t care for zucchini. Mushrooms would be a great substitute.
- Black Beans: A great source of vegan protein. If you prefer refried beans and your eating plan allows it, add them in between layers–on top of the tortillas would be easiest.
- Corn: Corn is high in fiber and protein so it keeps you full for longer. I also love the crunch it gives this recipe.
- Avocado: Avocado contains many heart-healthy nutrients including healthy fats, fiber, potassium, and magnesium
- Corn Tortillas: I prefer the extra thin tortillas.
- Spices: Garlic, cumin, chili powder, and oregano create your homemade taco seasoning.
- Optional ingredients: Shredded cheddar Jack cheese, Unflavored Greek yogurt, diced cilantro, chopped green onions, sliced black olives.
How to make this healthy vegetarian tortilla casserole
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Finely mince your garlic. Chop red bell pepper, green bell pepper, red onion, zucchini, and slice the avocado. Set aside.
- Drain and rinse the corn and black beans, then set aside. Rinsing canned foods allows you to reduce some of the sodium in them, which is often added to help preserve the food.
- Cut your corn tortillas into squares. If you’re short on time, you can use full tortillas.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add garlic, bell peppers, onions, and zucchini. Saute 2-3 minutes until fragrant and just starting to soften.
- Next add cumin, chili powder, oregano, black beans, and corns. Stir everything together and remove from heat.
- In a large baking dish, layer the bean and vegetable mixture, sliced avocado, corn tortillas, and cheese (if using). Repeat the layers until your ingredients are gone. The amount of layer will depend on how large your pan is.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 10 so the top can brown.
- Remove from the oven and and serve immediately. Top with unflavored Greek yogurt, cilantro, green onions, and black olives if you’d like.
Recipe Tips
- You can add ground meat to this dish if you’d like–I’d add 1 pound of cooked ground turkey or beef as a layer after the beans.
- If you’re missing sour cream, add plain Greek yogurt on top for a healthy alternative.
- Omit the cheese for a vegan taco casserole recipe. We also use this mixture (minus the tortillas) as a taco filling, quesadilla filling, a filling for vegetarian enchiladas, or dip when served with tortilla chips! Serve the veggies, corn, and beans with spices on top of a tortilla to make a tortilla pizza!
- Looking for more veggies? Diced tomatoes and green chilies are a delicious addition to this casserole.
- I find a pizza cutter works great for cutting a stack of corn tortillas.
- Swap the corn or beans with cooked rice to turn this into a Mexican Rice Casserole–this recipe is super versatile and easy to swap ingredients in.
Healthy Eating Plans
This vegetarian taco casserole is great meal when following Weight Watchers, 2B Mindset, or the 21 Day Fix/Ultimate Portion Fix.
Weight Watchers: The points have been calculated on the WW website using the recipe as written with no cheese. I calculate points based on ingredients, not nutrition information, which is the most accurate way according to WW.
- One serving of this casserole is 4 Blue Plan Points | 7 Green Plan Points | 4 Purple Plan Points | 3 Points on the 2023 Plan without the optional fat free cheese and yogurt, 4 points with it.
21 Day Fix/Ultimate Portion Fix:
I also give you the counts for the entire recipe so it’s easier for you to recalculate the containers if you make changes to the recipe.
- Traditional Plan Containers (entire recipe): 6 Green Containers, 9 Yellow Containers, 2 Blue Containers, 2 Teaspoons. Be sure to count additional containers for cheese, and other toppings. Per Serving: 1 Green Container, 1 1/2 Yellow Containers, 1/3 Blue Container, 1/3 Teaspoon.
- 21 Day Fix Vegan Plan Containers (entire recipe): 6 Green Containers, 2 Red Containers, 3 Yellow A Containers, 3 Yellow B Containers, 2 Blue Containers, 2 Teaspoons. Per Serving: 1 Green Container, 1/3 Red Container, 1/2 Yellow A Container, 1/2 Yellow B Container, 1/3 Blue Container, 1/3 Teaspoon.
Delicious Sides
- Instant Pot Brown Rice: I love adding chopped cilantro and fresh squeezed lime to my cooked rice.
- Instant Pot White Rice
- Rotisserie Chicken Tortilla Soup with Salsa
- Brown Rice & Quinoa Blend
- Calabacitas
- Healthy Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes
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Vegetarian Mexican Casserole Recipe
Approximate Serving Size: 1/6 of casserole
Servings 6
This Vegetarian Mexican Casserole is layered with filling and fresh vegetables, black beans, and corn tortillas. Enjoy as a weeknight dinner or a side dish–even the meat eaters will love this one. Also works great as vegetarian enchiladas!
Equipment
- Kitchen Knife
- Olive Oil Spray
Ingredients
- 2 tsp garlic minced
- 2 bell pepper diced, red and green
- 1 red onion diced
- 1 zucchini diced
- 1 avocado sliced thin
- 14 oz corn, canned drained and rinsed
- 14 oz black beans low sodium, drained and rinsed
- 6 corn tortillas 6 inch
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp oregano
- 1 ½ cups Monterey Jack cheese shredded , optional
- 2 cups Greek yogurt unflavored, optional topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF
- Finely mince your garlic. Chop red bell pepper, green bell pepper, red onion, zucchini, and slice the avocado. Set aside. 2 tsp garlic 2 bell pepper 1 red onion 1 zucchini 1 avocado
- Drain and rinse the corn and black beans, then set aside. 14 oz corn, canned 14 oz black beans
- Cut your corn tortillas into squares. If you're short on time, you can use full tortillas. 6 corn tortillas
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add garlic, bell peppers, onions, and zucchini. Saute 2-3 minutes until fragrant and just starting to soften. 2 tsp olive oil
- Next add cumin, chili powder, oregano, black beans, and corn. Stir everything together and remove from heat. 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp chili powder ½ tsp oregano
- In a large baking dish, layer the bean and vegetable mixture, sliced avocado, corn tortillas, and cheese (if using). Repeat the layers until your ingredients are gone. The amount of layer will depend on how large your pan is. 1 ½ cups Monterey Jack cheese
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 10 so the top can brown.
- Remove from the oven and and serve immediately. Top with unflavored Greek yogurt if you'd like. 2 cups Greek yogurt
Notes
Recipe Tips:
- You can add ground meat to this dish if you’d like–I’d add 1 pound of cooked ground turkey or beef mixture as a layer after the beans.
- If you’re missing sour cream, add plain Greek yogurt on top for a healthy alternative.
- Omit the cheese for a vegan taco casserole recipe.
- I find a pizza cutter works great for cutting a stack of corn tortillas.
Nutrition
Calories: 273kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 280mg | Potassium: 766mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1092IU | Vitamin C: 58mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 3mg
Make This Recipe?
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I love your website!!.
I will make many of your recipes, since I am starting the WW Blue Plan on my own.
Thank you!!.
This is “what’s for dinner?” I love it when you post a recipe that I happen to have all the ingredients for,
that is yummy, healthy and is sure to produce some clean plates!
Thank you also for your easy to understand website that is so thoroughly and thoughtfully put together.
Love the PRINT RECIPE link and all the tips that make this recipe so versatile.
Thank you!! This is totally what’s for dinner over here ;) <3
Wonder when you put the zucchini in?
Right along with the other veggies! :)
You cook the avocado? Does it come out mushy?
I do! It does, creamy sort of. If you’d rather skip cooking it and add it to the top instead, it won’t do anything to the recipe or cooking time.