Black Bean and Butternut Squash Casserole - meatless and gluten-free dinner recipe! This Southwestern-style enchilada casserole is made with lots of vegetables and corn tortillas.
I love making recipes with butternut squash in a casserole dish, such as everyone's favorite butternut squash and spinach lasagna. Butternut squash is a great vegetable with a rich flavor which works great in meatless recipes! Take a look at beautiful butternut squash tortellini.
Butternut Squash Casserole - meatless and gluten-free recipe
- The vegetables are roasted in spices (cumin and chili powder). That adds lots of Southwestern flavor!
- Other ingredients include green and red bell peppers, corn, salsa, enchilada sauce, sour cream, Mozzarella cheese, and corn tortillas.
How to make butternut squash casserole gluten free
- This recipe is gluten-free. Use corn tortillas, and all other ingredients are also naturally gluten-free.
- Use gluten-free enchilada sauce. Keep in mind that some store-bought enchilada sauces can have gluten ingredients. So look carefully at the label. You can also make your own gluten-free enchilada sauce or skip it in this recipe.
How to store butternut squash casserole
- Store butternut squash casserole refrigerated and covered air-tight for up to 5 days.
- This black bean and butternut squash enchilada casserole is amazing when hot right out of the oven. It tastes even better the next day, or 3-4 days later! I just finished the last slice of this casserole 5 days later, and I can tell you that it was better than the 1st day! I guess all the flavors really blend while sitting in the refrigerator for days. 🙂
Other butternut squash recipes
- Roasted Butternut Squash, Brussels Sprouts, Pecans, Cranberries
- Butternut Squash and Spinach Salad with Pecans, Cranberries, Pomegranate Seeds
- Butternut Squash Chili
How to make black bean and butternut squash casserole:
1) Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat.
2) Add chopped onion, chopped green bell pepper and chopped red bell pepper, and seasonings.
3) Add corn to the skillet and roast the vegetables in olive oil on high heat until charred a bit.
4) Add rinsed black beans.
5) Add roasted butternut squash.
6) Mix all vegetables, add more spices and salt, if needed.
7) I used a casserole dish 11 inches x 8.5 inches x 3 inches deep. Add 1 cup of salsa to the bottom of the 3-inch deep casserole dish and spread to coat the bottom evenly.
8) Start layers. Layer 1: Place 4 corn tortillas over the salsa, overlapping to cover the bottom of the casserole dish.
9) Spread ⅓ of the vegetable mixture over the corn tortillas.
10) Top with ½ cup sour cream, dropping it in small dollops all over. Then spread it carefully over the veggies.
11) Pour ½ cup enchilada sauce evenly all over, spreading sour cream evenly all over.
12) Sprinkle with ½ cup Mozzarella cheese.
13) Repeat all layers 2 more times. Sprinkle the final layer generously with cheese. Use at least ½ and ¼ cups of Mozzarella cheese.
14) Cover with foil.
15) Bake at 375 F in the preheated oven for 25 minutes covered. Then remove foil. Bake for 10 more minutes uncovered.
This is what the black bean and butternut squash enchilada casserole looks like right out of the oven:
Let it cool a little bit, then slice it right in the casserole pan.
Black Bean and Butternut Squash Casserole
Ingredients
Roasted Butternut Squash
Vegetable mixture:
- ½ onion , chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 green bell pepper , chopped into cubes
- 1 red bell pepper , chopped into cubes
- 1 teaspoon cumin or more
- 1 teaspoon chili powder or more
- 8 oz corn (from the can, rinsed and drained)
- 15 oz black beans (from the can, rinsed and drained)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (add more, to taste)
Other ingredients for assembling the casserole:
- 1 cup salsa (to go on the bottom of the casserole dish)
- 12 corn tortillas , 6 inch diameter each (4 corn tortillas per each of 3 layers)
- 1 ½ cups sour cream (½ cup sour cream for each of 3 layers)
- 1 cup enchilada sauce (if you're gluten free, make sure to buy the sauce without gluten!)
- 1 ¾ cups Mozzarella cheese , shredded
Instructions
How to roast butternut squash:
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line the baking sheet with aluminum foil and grease with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Peel the squash and slice it into ¾ inch cubes. You will only need about ½ of the medium size squash.
- Toss the squash cubes in a large bowl with 2 tablespoons olive oil and generously sprinkle with salt.
- Place cubed butternut squash on the greased baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, until soft.
- Flip the squash cubes over midway through baking. Let it cool slightly.
How to roast vegetables on the stove top:
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat.
- Add chopped onion, chopped green bell pepper, and chopped red bell pepper, 1 teaspoon cumin, and 1 teaspoon chili powder.
- Roast the vegetables in olive oil and spices on high-medium heat for about 1 minute, until charred just a bit.
- Add corn. Add rinsed and drained black beans. Add roasted butternut squash.
- Season with ¼ teaspoon + ⅛ teaspoon salt and taste. Add more salt if needed.
- Add more chili powder or cumin, than indicated in the recipe, if needed.
How to assemble the butternut squash casserole:
- I used a casserole dish 11 inches long x 8.5 inches wide x 3 inches deep.
- Add 1 cup of salsa to the bottom of this 3-inch deep casserole dish and spread to coat the bottom evenly.
- Layer 1. Top with 4 tortillas, overlapping to cover the bottom of the casserole dish. Spread ⅓ of the vegetable mixture over the tortillas. Top with ½ cup sour cream, dropping it in small dollops all over, then carefully spread it over the veggies. Pour ⅓ cup enchilada sauce evenly all over, at the same time spreading sour cream evenly all over. Sprinkle with ½ cup Mozzarella cheese.
- Repeat the layer described above 2 more times. Total you will have 3 layers. On the final layer, add extra cheese: Sprinkle with ½ and ¼ cups Mozzarella cheese.
- Cover with foil.
- Bake at 375 F for 25 minutes covered. Then remove foil. Bake for 10 more minutes uncovered.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
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.
Mickie Meyer
I made this for dinner last night and it was so yummy! This will definitely become apart of our meatless Monday meals!❣
Julia
Thank you, Mickie! So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Ashley DeWeerdt
I just made and devoured a slice of this casserole!! It was amazing! I did manage to miss the sour cream in the ingredient list, but still delicious! I also did one less layer, using a longer pan but less deep. Can't wait to eat more as the week progresses 🙂
Julia
Thank you, Ashley, I am glad you liked the recipe! 🙂
Nancy Newell
Has anyone tried freezing this casserole?
Cook
Did you ever get a response? I would worry about the cream.
Julia
I have not frozen this, but I think freezing it will be OK (after you have baked the whole casserole and let it completely cool), despite the cream.
kevin
OH MAN, this recipe came together something special. Taste soooooo good. First time making an enchilada casserole and first time making a vegetarian dish. So, this is big on my perception of vegetarian meals. My variations were: using kidney beans because I mistakenly took them for black beans; I chose not to use sour cream because I was worried about the mushiness factor and the casserole not holding it's form when serving; I didn't use typical red enchilada sauce, but a sweeter enchilada sauce called Amalia's Cocina; I also used freshly cut corn. Thanks!!!
Kim
This is pretty good, but I will say that it took me a lot longer to prepare AND cook than the recipe calls for, despite using the exact same casserole dish. The 1st time I made it I roasted all the veggies the night before I assembled & baked this dish, which helped.
Devin
I just made this for cinco de mayo and it turned out amazing!!! Followed the steps to the T. Would definitely recommend!
Dianne
This looks amazing! I think when I make this I might replace tortillas with layers of quinoa instead. I love quinoa and am trying to cut carbs from my diet.
Felice P
This recipe is AWESOME!! Thank you! I used flat out wrap tortillas and light sour cream...also added a bit of lean ground pork for my meat loving hisband! So so good!!
Julie R
My teenage daughter swears she doesn't like any vegetables, but gave this a try a at dinner last night. She liked it enough to pack leftovers of it in her lunch today! Very tasty and pretty darn healthy, too. I substituted nonfat Greek yogurt for the sour cream. I also used 1/2 cheese and 1/2 vegan cheese product. My husband has to watch his cholesterol, which is why I made these slight changes. Thanks for sharing this delicious vegetarian and gluten free meal!
Marie
This was SO good! I don't even care that it was vegetarian. We will definitely make this again.
Bree
I was thinkinh about making it for thanksgiving. I was wondering if it tastes sweet because of the squash. Can anyone tell me what it tastes like?
Ira
Can this dish be frozen and baked later?
Lindsay
I just want to say that I tried this recipe this evening and it's AMAZING! I use plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream but other than that I followed the recipe exactly! Will definitely be in my regular dinner menu moving forward.
Nichole
can I use flour tortillas instead of corn?