A simple one pan vegetarian enchilada bake with smoky, spicy Mexican flavors. This easy recipe packs in lots of veggies which are roasted first for maximum flavor. Use canned or homemade sauce, and whatever veggies you like best and have available!
This recipe is kind of the Tex Mex version of my recent Roasted Vegetable Pasta Bake recipe, in that we can just take a big pan of roasted veggies, mix some other ingredients in with them, and end up with a hearty dinner. And only one pan to clean!
What we’re going for today is a kind of deconstructed enchilada vibe. Lots of melt in the mouth roasted veggies, some beans, broken up tortillas just mixed right into the casserole (we’re not even layering – the tortillas can just be in there alongside everything else), all in a smoky red enchilada sauce with a cheesy topping.
It does take around an hour to get this on the table, so it’s not right for the evening when you are rushing. But there is lots of down time in that hour and it’s hard to mess up, so consider it for the evenings when you’re around but you’re multitasking.
The best veggies to use for this enchilada bake
This recipe can take whatever veggies you enjoy in roasted form:
- Onions
- Peppers
- Mushrooms
- Eggplant (aubergine)
- Zucchini (courgette)
- Sweet potato or squashes (chop these very small so that the roasting times align with the other veggies)
PLUS a handful or two of greens, canned or uncooked veggies:
- Kale (my favorite, for the bulkiness)
- Spinach
- Canned corn
- Cherry tomatoes
You can make this with canned or homemade enchilada sauce
I personally use canned enchilada sauce for maximum ease, but I know some of you won’t want to use canned sauce and others won’t be able to easily find it (it is scarce in the UK but I have American relatives bring it over for me). If you want to make yours from scratch, the sauce from my cheese enchilada casserole recipe would work in this dish. Alternatively, an easy blender enchilada sauce would be the quickest way to go – and the recipe I linked to there uses ingredients that are easy to find outside the US.
Using Tortilla Chips vs Fresh Corn Tortillas
Typically, an enchilada casserole would contain fresh corn tortillas. If you have access to affordable corn tortillas, use them! I know they are incredibly cheap in the Southwestern US for example. Stale ones work well here, and you might even want to fry them first for the very best flavor.
However, they aren’t always easy to find outside of North America and can require an order from a specialist retailer. So I recently discovered a fantastic hack… using tortilla chips! They are, after all, just fried corn tortillas. And they soften up in the casserole and provide the tasty corn flavor and texture that we want. The big caveat is that you need high quality tortilla chips that are not super salty! Ideally pure corn, lightly salted, no flavoring. Old El Paso Nachips are my favorite, because they are very thick and very low in salt. On the day I photographed this casserole they were sold out, so I swapped in Luchito, which were fine but not my fave.
I am a corn tortilla enthusiast but if you must use flour tortillas, go ahead. Just break them up into small pieces and add them in.
The Best Pan for the Job
You want a large casserole dish, around 9×13 size. But I find they can vary in shape and exact size. Sometimes they are curved so don’t have a lot of flat base for roasting. Sometimes the handles count in their sizing. So just choose whichever one gives you the most flat surface area on the base to allow you to pack in the biggest amount of veggies for roasting. For me, it’s the Pyrex glass lasagne pan – a classic!
Serving Suggestions
I consider this a bowl in a meal, so I just add some toppings like sour cream, avocado, and fresh cilantro (coriander) and call it a day. You can also serve it with rice (which will help stretch the casserole out further if you’re feeding a crowd) or a salad.
More Easy Veggie Packed Bakes
Roasted Vegetable Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 large red bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 1 small sweet potato, chopped into small cubes
- 8 oz (225 g) mushrooms, quartered
- 14 oz can of black beans, drained
- 2 cups (50 g) kale, chopped
- 2 tsp dried cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 5 oz (140 g) tortilla chips or fresh corn tortillas, if using fresh, chop or tear them into smaller pieces
- 2 cups (480 ml) enchilada sauce, and/or El Pato sauce
- 2 cups (225 g) shredded cheese, mozzarella, cheddar or a Mexican blend
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C / 390F.
- Add all of the roasting veggies (onions, peppers, sweet potatoes, mushrooms) into a large casserole dish. Feel free to squeeze in as much as you can while keeping it at a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with cumin and smoked paprika and salt and pepper to taste. Mix to ensure all of the veggies are coated with oil and seasoning.
- Place in the oven for 25 minutes, on a high shelf. Stir once at the halfway point. The veggies are ready once they are reduced and browning, and any sweet potato or squash you've included is cooked through. Cook times may vary depending on the size, quantity and type of veggies you include, the type of pan you use, etc, so just keep checking in and don't be surprised if they're done a little earlier or take a little longer.
- Remove the pan from the oven and add the black beans, kale (and any other veggies that didn't need to be roasted), tortillas and enchilada sauce. Mix through to get everything evenly distributed in the dish.
- Cover with shredded cheese and bake for another 20 minutes, on a lower oven shelf, until bubbling.
- Allow it to rest for 5 minutes and then serve.
This is a great recipe! I made it today and it is delicious.
I used a half jar of marinara sauce and a 10 oz can of red enchilada sauce. Will definitely make this again.