Mexican black bean casserole

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Mexican black bean casserole - easy to make, and full of spicy Mexican flavour! Plenty of protein and veggies - not to mention that crispy cheese topping :) Vegetarian and gluten-free.

You guys always seem to love Mexican food as much as I do (and by ‘Mexican food’, I mean the almost entirely inauthentic TexMex kind of food). My slow cooker burrito bowls are one of my most popular recipes ever. But, it’s been a while since I got my bean on (…that wasn’t meant to sound like a euphemism), so I thought it was time for another Mexican recipe.

I suppose this black bean casserole is similar to a burrito bowl in many ways, but it’s lighter on the rice and heavier on the beans. Plus you get a crispy, cheesy topping – which has got to increase its appeal by at least three times, no?

Mexican black bean casserole - easy to make, and full of spicy Mexican flavour! Plenty of protein and veggies - not to mention that crispy cheese topping :) Vegetarian and gluten-free.

This black bean casserole is nice and easy to make, as all of my recipes are. The only thing that needs pre-cooking is the rice – I used brown rice, so I could justify having an entire bar of chocolate for dessert. Once you’ve cooked that (the rice, not the chocolate), just mix everything together in a big bowl, then bake it. If you want a one-pan dinner – I salute your laziness – you could use leftover rice instead, and mix it all together right there in the casserole dish.

Mexican black bean casserole - easy to make, and full of spicy Mexican flavour! Plenty of protein and veggies - not to mention that crispy cheese topping :) Vegetarian and gluten-free.

Feel free to throw some extra veggies in there as well, if you like. I added red and green peppers, tomatoes and sweetcorn, because I can currently stomach those, just about! But you can add whatever else you fancy.  I’d just say that if you’re using any particularly hard veggies or anything that needs to be cooked quite thoroughly, you might need to pre-cook them before adding them to the casserole.

Then just serve your black bean casserole alongside some sliced avocado, salad, or a dollop of sour cream (or all three!), and you’re good to go.

Mexican black bean casserole - easy to make, and full of spicy Mexican flavour! Plenty of protein and veggies - not to mention that crispy cheese topping :) Vegetarian and gluten-free.

Mexican black bean casserole

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5 from 3 votes
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Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories:
Author: Becca Heyes

Ingredients

  • 100 g uncooked brown rice (~ 1/3 cup)
  • 1 yellow pepper, diced
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • ~ 10 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
  • 2 x 400g tins black beans, drained but not rinsed (480g, or ~ 2 1/2 cups, in total when drained)
  • 160 g sweetcorn kernels (~ 1 cup)
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp chilli powder (hot or mild)
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • Salt
  • Black pepper
  • 100 g cheddar cheese, grated (~ 1 cup when grated)
  • To serve : fresh coriander, cilantro, squeeze of lime, avocado, sour cream, etc. (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F).
  • Boil the brown rice in plenty of water until cooked to your liking (around 20 minutes), stirring regularly. Drain, and add to a large mixing bowl.
  • Add all of the remaining ingredients to the bowl, except for the cheese, and mix well. Transfer to a suitably sized casserole dish.
  • Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top, and bake for around 45 minutes. If you’d prefer gooey cheese rather than crispy cheese, cover the casserole loosely in foil before baking.
  • Serve with your choice of toppings.

Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.

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Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose.

Prefer the sound of my slow cooker burrito bowls? They’re super popular and there’s no pre-cooking required!

Slow cooker burrito bowls

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19 Comments

  1. Mexican foods are awesome. My favorite Mexican foods are Mexican corn and Mexican Tacos. This recipe is really healthy and I am going to try this tomorrow. :) Shared it via twitter.

  2. I made this tonight. It was nice – but I substituted the black beans for kidney beans and cannellini beans. I think I’d be inclined to add the cheese at the end as it all sort of melted into the meal and vanished over the 45 mins in oven. Also I think I’d probably add a load of spring onion and garlic to it if I was to do it again. I’d almost be trying to get the vegetable burrito bowl flavour going.

    I think it really benefits from the sour cream on the side. I’d also use some guacamole next time. Without those tweaks I think it’d be a bit bland for my taste. But it’s great energy food either way. Also I fed my girlfriend and I and there is still enough for lunch tomorrow. Not bad at all.

    I dont think this will be a definite meal I’ll cook again, but I’m curious to try it like I mentioned above. It might be more to my taste that way.

    Thanks for the recipe. I love this site.

    1. It’s interesting that your cheese disappeared in the oven, mine didn’t do that at all! Sounds like a good excuse to add more cheese, no? ;)

      Onion and garlic would be good additions – I didn’t add them this time because I’m pregnant, and onion is one of the only foods that I’m still having trouble stomaching – but they would be good!

      I can never follow a recipe to the letter, so I think it’s totally fine to put your own spin on it! Glad you enjoyed it anyway, thanks for the feedback :)