Meatless Friday Recipe: Enchilada Casserole

Break out the guac — it’s taco enchilada night! The beauty of this enchilada casserole recipe from Gimme Some Oven is that you can easily tweak it to fit your needs, which during Lent means omitting the chicken. But between the veggies, cheese, and delicious toppings, you’re still getting a delicious and nutritious meal. We went with the easy store-bought sauce for this, but feel free to make your own homemade red enchilada sauce if you want!

Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, peeled and diced
• 1 large red bell pepper, cored and diced
• 1 can diced green chiles (4 oz)
• 2 cans beans (15 oz), rinsed and drained
• 1 can whole kernel corn (8 oz), drained
• 3 cups red enchilada sauce, homemade or store-bought, divided
• 12 corn tortillas, halved
• 3 cups shredded Monterrey Jack or Mexican blend cheese
• toppings: chopped fresh cilantro, diced red onion, thinly-sliced green onion, diced avocado

Follow these steps for your mouth-watering, meatless, Mexican meal!

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper and sauté for 6-7 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the diced green chiles, beans, corn, and 2 cups enchilada sauce, and stir to combine. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Pour about 1/2 cup of the remaining enchilada sauce in the baking dish, and spread until the bottom of the dish is evenly coated. Top with a layer of about 8 tortilla halves, so that the entire dish is covered. Top evenly with 1/3 of the vegetable mixture, followed by 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat with another layer of tortillas, vegetable mixture, and cheese — followed by a final layer of tortillas, vegetable mixture, the remaining 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce, and cheese.
4. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, then bake for 20 minutes.
5. Remove pan and remove aluminum foil. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes, until the cheese is thoroughly melted.
6. Remove from the oven and serve warm, garnished with your desired toppings!