This healthy plant-based Gluten-Free Vegan Southwest Quinoa + Black Bean Casserole Bake is made with fresh produce and herbs and is bursting with flavor. It's an easy family dinner meal ready in under 30 minutes that everyone will love!
This Vegan Southwest Quinoa + Black Bean Casserole Bake is a really easy and filling dinner recipe that the whole family will enjoy.
Gluten-Free Vegan Southwest Quinoa + Black Bean Casserole Bake
You'll love this vegan casserole because it's made with two excellent sources of vegan protein - organic quinoa and organic black beans.
And if that's not enough to love, it's filled with fresh vegetables like onions, garlic, cilantro, zucchini, jalapenos, and tomatoes.
You can even save time and use leftover quinoa or make some in advance.
But not to worry if you don't already have quinoa prepared, you can prep the veggies while the quinoa is cooking, which only takes about 10-15 minutes.
This is a healthy plant-based vegan meal that's vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, egg-free, and nut-free.
If you're looking for another vegan quinoa lunch or dinner meal, try one of my other healthy quinoa recipes:
- Strawberry and Spinach Quinoa Salad with Balsamic Vinegar
- Red Quinoa with Cilantro and Lime
- Chipolte Black Bean and Sweet Potato Quinoa Chili
- Red Quinoa and Mango Salad with Lime Dressing
- Vegan Black Bean and Quinoa Veggie Burger
What Ingredients Do I Need To Make This Vegan Southwest Black Bean Quina Casserole Bake?
This recipe is made with fresh vegetables + herbs with easy-to-find ingredients.
Try to buy organic ingredients whenever possible.
- Quinoa
- Onions
- Garlic
- Tomatoes
- Zucchini
- Black Beans
- Corn
- Jalapenos
- Cilantro
- Avocado Oil
- Lemon Juice
- Ground Cumin
- Chili Powder
- Himalayan Pink Salt
- Daiya Vegan Pepperjack Shreds
How To Make Vegan Mexican Quinoa Casserole Bake | Step-By-Step Instructions
Don't be overwhelmed by the ingredient list because it's a little longer than you may be used to seeing here.
This plant-based casserole recipe is really easy to make in just a few steps and I'll show you how below.
Before beginning, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and set aside an 8 x 8 baking dish.
Step 1: Prepare The Quinoa
In this step, you have two options:
- Make fresh quinoa - Prepare the quinoa according to the package directions. I make mine by adding (2) cups of filtered/purified water to a small saucepan with (1) cup uncooked quinoa and bring it to a boil. Then I reduce the heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
- Use leftover quinoa - If you're looking to save time or know you will be making this recipe a few days later, you can get a head start and make the quinoa in advance and store it in an air-tight BPA-free container in the refrigerator or just use leftovers from another meal. You only need (1) cup of cooked quinoa for this recipe.
Once the quinoa is ready, set it aside.
Step 2: Prepare The Veggies + Herbs
This part is what takes the longest, and it only takes about 5 minutes!
Just dice and chop the veggies as directed.
Then you will add the avocado oil, garlic and onions to a skillet and saute them until the onions are soft.
Step 3: Assembly
This is the fun part!
All you need to do is add the sauteed onion mixture, the remaining veggies + herbs and cooked quinoa into a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir everything together until it's evenly distributed.
Then you'll add ½ of the bag of vegan cheese shreds into the mixture and stir until well combined.
Transfer the mixture into your 8 x 8 baking dish and sprinkle the remaining vegan cheese shreds evenly on the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
That's it!
A healthy southwestern casserole ready to enjoy in under 30 minutes!
Ingredient Tips + Substitutions for Vegan Southwestern Casserole Bake:
Quinoa. As mentioned earlier, you can use fresh quinoa, leftover quinoa or quinoa you prepped in advance (store in an air-tight BPA-free container in the refrigerator). You can use any variety of quinoa for this recipe.
Avocado Oil. You can substitute with organic extra-virgin olive oil.
Jalapenos. You can reduce or omit if you don't like spicy food or will be serving this dish to children.
Corn. I've used both frozen organic corn and organic canned corn and both work well. If you use canned, just make sure to drain the corn before adding it to the mixture and if you use frozen, let it thaw out before adding to the mixture. You can also omit the corn if you are following the Medical Medium protocol, as I am, and I just make it without the corn when I'll be eating it.
Daiya Vegan Cheese Shreds. I really, really, really do not like to use processed vegan products like "vegan cheese", but it does make this meal more appealing to non-vegans. If you prefer to not use a processed vegan cheese (like me!), you can enjoy the flavorful vegetable mixture without heating it in the oven and serve over salad greens or as a wrap in romaine lettuce or a gluten-free tortilla.
Want More Healthy Vegan + Gluten-Free Dinner Recipes?
Check out these:
- Vegan Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Spicy Twice Baked Turmeric Potatoes
- Vegan Smoked Paprika and Black Bean Chili
- or my CLEAN EATING Cookbook with over 100+ healthy plant-based gluten-free + vegan recipes just like this one that you will love!
Gluten-Free Vegan Southwest Quinoa Bake
This healthy plant-based Gluten-Free Vegan Southwest Quinoa Casserole Bake is made with fresh produce and herbs and bursting with flavor. It's an easy family dinner meal ready in under 30 minutes that everyone will love! { Plant-Based | Vegan | Gluten-Free | Dairy-Free | Soy-Free | Egg-Free | Nut-Free }
Ingredients
- 1 cup organic quinoa (cooked)
For the vegetable mixture:
- 1 can organic black beans (15 ounce can, drained)
- 1 cup organic non-GMO corn
- ½ cup organic onions (diced)
- ½ cup organic tomatoes (diced)
- ½ cup organic zucchini (peeled, diced)
- ½ cup organic cilantro (chopped)
- 2 cloves organic garlic (crushed)
- 1-2 organic jalapenos (diced)
- 1 teaspoon 100% pure avocado oil
For the seasonings:
- 1 tablespoon organic lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
- 1 teaspoon organic ground chili powder
- ½ teaspoon organic ground cumin
For the add-in + topping:
- 1 bag Daiya vegan pepperjack shreds (8 ounce bag, divided)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set aside an 8 x 8 baking dish.
Prepare the quinoa:
- Prepare the quinoa according to the package directions (add 2 cups of water and 1 cup of quinoa to a small saucepan and bring to a boil; reduce and simmer for 10-15 minutes).
Prepare the veggies:
- While the quinoa is cooking, dice the onions, tomatoes, jalapenos, and zucchini.
- Add the avocado oil, garlic and onions to a skillet and saute on medium/high heat for about 2-3 minutes, or until the onions are soft.
Assembly:
- Transfer the sauteed onion mixture to a large mixing bowl; add all the remaining ingredients (vegetable mixture + seasonings), including the cooked quinoa, and stir until well combined. Adjust the seasonings to your preference.
- Add ½ the bag of vegan cheese shreds to the mixture and stir until it's evenly distributed.
- Transfer the mixture to an 8 x 8 baking dish.
- Sprinkle the remaining ½ bag of vegan cheese shreds evenly on top.
- Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20-30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
- Best served hot from the oven.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 188Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 419mgCarbohydrates: 34gNet Carbohydrates: 26gFiber: 8gSugar: 5gProtein: 8g
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.
Julie says
Thank-you so much for your beautiful recipes! Today I woke up feeling a little low and was dead set on blowing my healthy eating and going out for some greasy takeout and candy... Instead, I found the inspiration and strength I needed on your site and decided to treat myself to some Southwest Quinoa Bake and Zucchini Brownies instead. Now I'm totally satisfied and HAPPY! And even though I have probably overeaten, there is no guilt at all 🙂 *Made the brownies using banana as an egg substitute as I had no flax or apple sauce and they turned out really yummy. Thanks again.
Karielyn says
Hi there Julie! Wow...snaps for Julie lol!! I love it and that's exactly what happens to me on a regular basis. For the most part, my family doesn't always eat the same things I eat so there are many, many times I'm tempted to eat what they're eating and feel ~so~ good when I find the strength to push through and eat something I can feel good about.
For example, last night (Friday), they ordered pizza and I know pizza is a big no-no for me and guess what? I ended up making a big quart-sized mason jar of fresh juice for my dinner instead (carrots, apples, celery, cucumber, turmeric, ginger, cilantro and lime juice). I guarantee you I felt ~so~ much better than if I had eaten that pizza!
That is so awesome and I'm so happy you shared that with me...it really made my day 😉
Faizah Jade says
This has been the best thing I have ate since my dr suggested I change my eating plans(2.5 weeks ago). So, this "cheese" is hitting the spot!! The flavor, the texture...everything!! You have come to my rescue!!
Karielyn says
Hi Faizah! I am so glad you enjoyed it! This is truly one of my most favorite recipes and even though it's awesome with the cheese, I love it without the cheese too!
I appreciate you taking the time to let me know you liked it and giving me some feedback...thanks 😉
Melanie says
Hi! Do you think this recipe would work without the cheese?
Karielyn says
Hi Melanie! I think it would be fine without the cheese and here's why. The first time I made it, I actually preferred it without the cheese and ate some of the mixture before it was even cooked. My husband does not like vegan cheese so when I served it to him, he pulled the layer of cheese off and ate the mixture on the bottom. Sigh. The second time I made it, he did the same thing, but used the mixture as a dip with tortilla chips.
I also have a friend that prepares meals for a family of 10 so she was going to have to make 1 - 2 batches and with vegan cheese at $4.50+ a bag, it was going to be pricey to buy that much cheese. She made it without the cheese and sprinkled some nutritional yeast (to give it a cheesy flavor) and crumbled some blue tortilla chips over it and her family loved it.
I bet you could also put the filling in some organic taco shells or soft tortillas. I would maybe add a tad bit more salt or other spices to the mixture though, since cheese tends to be a little salty.
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Melanie says
Thanks! I am trying this tonight! I will let you know how it goes!! 🙂
Karielyn says
Hi Melanie...that's great and I hope you like it as much as I do! 🙂
Carole says
Karielyn, thank you for linking this in to Food on Friday. We are now getting a great collection of dishes using corn together. I hope you have stopped by some of the other links to check them out!
Ps I have just signed up to follow your blog by Google REader. A follow back to Carole's Chatter would be wonderful – or have you already followed? Cheers
Karielyn says
Hi Carole! Yes mam I did! And I've already found several yummy recipes from the links on your site and have bookmarked them. Thanks so much! 🙂
Abriones says
I am making this tonight!!!!!
Karielyn says
I'm so excited...I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Bree {Skinny Mommy} says
This looks great-I love the Mexican inspired flavors!
Karielyn says
Hi Bree! Thanks, let me know if you end up trying it. Btw, you website is sooo cute - I love it! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Adriana says
WOW! This dish looks absolutely amazing. I haven't had quinoa in ages, this is the perfect excuse to head to the store. The combination of veggies sounds delish, I so look forward to trying it. Thank you for sharing this recipe:)
Karielyn says
Hi Adriana! It was very tasty..in fact, I've actually made it again since I first posted it. It was even better the second time too! Thanks for stopping by! 😉