Black Bean and Beef Enchilada Casserole (with pinto beans, black beans, green chili peppers, cheese, and green onions) - quick and easy-to-make dinner, great for leftovers! This enchilada casserole is gluten free as it is made with corn tortillas and gluten free enchilada sauce.
I have a weak spot for casseroles and make them quite often: they are so easy to prepare and assemble, as long as you have all of the ingredients. This black been and beef enchilada casserole dish is full of Mexican, Tex-Mex, Southwestern flavors - it's a great family recipe with lots of flavor, without being overly spicy!
I love making casserole dishes with corn tortillas and this one is no exception! Using corn tortillas makes this a gluten free recipe!
While you can assemble this dish and cook it right away, it can also be refrigerated and cooked the next day – which is perfect if you need to prepare a dinner in advance and don't want to rush the next day!
I made this enchilada casserole in 2.8 L (3 quart) baking dish, which produced a generous number of servings, at least 8! You can feed a lot of people with this casserole, or save it for leftovers.
Below, I have step-by-step photos on how to assemble this black bean and beef enchilada casserole dish - it's very easy and didn't really require any step-by-step pictures, but I did them anyway. The step-by-step photos are for the first layer, remember to repeat it 3 times as you have 3 layers in your casserole dish. Also, for the final layer, I reversed the order of beef mixture and sour cream, by adding sour cream and enchilada sauce first, then the remaining beef mixture with cheese on top. That made for a very nice presentation and one good looking meal!
And, here are step-by-step photos:
First, we have to prepare a bean-meat mixture. In a large skillet, on medium-high heat, cook the ground beef, chopped onion until meat is no longer pink, drain all the fat/liquid from the pan. Add chili powder, cumin, and ¼ teaspoon of salt into the meat mixture and cook, stirring, for about a minute, to let the spices mix in and until onion is soft:
Add drained and rinsed black beans and pinto beans, and undrained chili peppers into meat mixture off heat. Taste the meat-bean mixture, and add more salt if needed. Add more chili powder or cumin, than indicated in the recipe, if needed:
Assembling the casserole. Remember to repeat these steps 3 times, for 3 layers.
1. Place 4 corn tortillas on the bottom, overlapping to cover the bottom of the casserole dish ( Use 2.8 L (3 quarts) rectangular baking dish - 11 inches long x 8.5 inches wide x 3 inches deep):
2. Spread ⅓ of the meat-bean mixture over the corn tortillas:
3. Top with ⅓ of sour cream, dropping it in small dollops all over:
4. Then carefully spread the sour cream over the meat-bean mixture:
5. Top the sour cream with ⅓ of enchilada sauce:
Repeat these layers 2 more times (3 total layers)
NOTE: For the final layer, reverse the order of beef mixture and sour cream, by adding sour cream and enchilada sauce first (over the tortillas), then top the sour cream and enchilada sauce with the the remaining beef mixture with cheese on top.
Bake at 375 F for 25 minutes covered, then remove foil, top with shredded cheddar cheese, and bake for 10 more minutes uncovered.
Black Bean and Beef Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
- ½ pound ground beef
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 15 oz pinto beans , drained and rinsed
- 15 oz black beans , drained and rinsed
- 4 oz green chili peppers (from the can, diced)
- 16 oz sour cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 12 corn tortillas (6 inches in diameter each)
- 10 oz enchilada sauce (use gluten free)
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
How to make the bean-meat mixture:
- In a large skillet, on medium-high heat, cook the ground beef, chopped onion until meat is no longer pink, drain all the fat/liquid from the pan. Add chili powder, cumin, and ¼ teaspoon of salt into the meat mixture and cook, stirring for about a minute, to let the spices mix in and until onion is soft. Add drained and rinsed black beans and pinto beans, and undrained chili peppers into meat mixture off heat. Taste the meat-bean mixture, and add more salt if needed. Add more chili powder or cumin, than indicated in the recipe, if needed. Set aside.
Assemble the casserole:
- Use 2.8 L (3 quarts) rectangular baking dish - 11 inches long x 8.5 inches wide x 3 inches deep. Place 4 tortillas on the bottom, overlapping to cover the bottom of the casserole dish. Spread ⅓ of the meat-bean mixture over the tortillas. Top with ⅓ of sour cream, dropping it in small dollops all over, then carefully spreading it over the meat-bean mixture. Top the sour cream with ⅓ of enchilada sauce. Repeat layers 2 more times (3 total layers)
- NOTE: For the final layer, reverse the order of beef mixture and sour cream, by adding sour cream and enchilada sauce first (over the tortillas), then top the sour cream and enchilada sauce with the the remaining beef mixture with cheese on top.
- Bake at 375 F for 25 minutes covered, then remove foil, top with shredded cheddar cheese, and bake for 10 more minutes uncovered.
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
My family prefers flour tortillas. Can they be substituted for the corn? Any suggested modifications to the recipe? Thanks!
Hi Brent! You can just use flour tortillas without changing the recipe - as long as they are of similar size or fit your baking dish. Enjoy!
This is a huge go to for us!! We usually add frozen corn to the meat mixture and double up the meat & a little less sour cream- turns out great every time!! Definitely a favorite in this house- thanks!!
Lisa, thank you so much for such an enthusiastic comment! 🙂 Thank you for sharing your changes and for the 5-star review!
Can you freeze this?
I have made this recipe three times now. I like making this recipe when the craving for tacos or nachos sets in. It has all of the flavors with none of the mess. Plus the leftovers store well in the fridge and reheat easily in the microwave. I made it ahead of time yesterday and it came out perfectly baked meaty cheesy Tex mex deliciousness today. I tweaked the recipe a little by omitting pinto beans and subbing with Mexican style corn and sliced black olives. I personally like spicy food, so I doubled up on the cumin and chili powder and added minced garlic as well. I also added in a couple of fresh diced tomatoes and a bell pepper that would have been garbage in a few more days. This recipe has definitely become part of the regular dinner rotation.
We had this for dinner last night and we enjoyed it. I did add garlic powder to the other spices and I mixed the sour cream and enchilada sauce together to speed things up. Will definitely make it again!
Thank you, Cassie! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for stopping by and sharing such positive feedback!
Hi again Julia, I made this recipe and it was delicious. I am about to make it agian and was wondering if you can use a tin of black eyed peas instead of black beans?
Trying this recipe for dinner tonight. I love that it uses minimal meat and vamps up beans for protein. But I question the cheese in the directions. It says to top the dish with the meat and cheese. Then it says to cover with foil, bake, remove foil, and top with cheese before cooking 10 minutes more. Which is it? Cheese in the 25 minute segment or cheese in the last 10 minute segment?
can you tell me when you drain the meat mixture do you put it in another pan I'm confused
After you drain the fat/liquid from cooking the meat, you use the same pan. The drained meat remains in the same pan and you add spices, beans, and other ingredients into the same pan.
Hi! I'm curious how this would turn out using corn tortilla chips instead of the ones shown in the recipe? Thank you!
This recipe works best using regular corn tortillas.
This is a family favorite! I add diced tomatoes and corn! Sometimes I leave the shares out enrtirely, but that is because We don't like that the shells get mushy!