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 â…“ 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.
Teresa Eidson
Loved this. Will recommend highly.
Julia Houston
Delish!! Although a bit time consuming to assemble, worth the effort! I did use more cheese because we love cheese. I also added pinch mods of cumin and chili powder... garnished with cilantro! 5/5 stars!
Susan
Can this dish be prepared and refrigerated but cooked next day?
melissa
Is this meal sweet? I am just wondering if my husband will go for it. He loves Mexican food but not so much if it's sweet like I know butternut squash can be.
Julia
Hi Melissa! No, this is not a sweet meal at all. It's very savory.
Sarah s
This recipe is awesome!!! Although I did use a casserole dish the same size but cannot get all the layers to fit. Still tasted very good.
Julia
Sarah, I am so glad you liked this recipe! Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your comment! 🙂
Sandy
Made it this Thanksgiving as an alternative to a regular dinner to simplify things. Loved it!
Julia
So glad you liked it! 🙂
Vanessa
Thanks for sharing! Does it reheat well?
Julia
Yes, it does!
Suzanne
This looks so good! What a great way to add a fall touch to this favorite dish!
Julia
Thank you! 🙂
Eileen Lorson
Delicious right out of the oven! We are grazers and it was gone in a few hours. I used Hot Salsa which gave it the right amount of heat. Homemade enchilada sauce recipe from Epicurious.com. Used my iron dutch oven with glass cover and baked 35 minutes and 15 un covered. Excellent. Thank you !
Julia
Eileen, you are very welcome! So glad you tried this recipe and liked it! Thank you for such helpful and positive feedback.
Nicole
Has this been done in a crockpot or instapot?
Julia
I haven't tried this in a slow cooker.
Barb
This is really tasty. I don’t really like butternut squash, but I got one in my farm share box and didn’t want to waste it. I used really good quality tortillas that are a combo of corn and flour, red salsa (green would be good too) from the deli section, and tomatillo enchilada sauce from a jar (homemade would be better). I kept my veggies cut large dice and al dente. I used corn cut off the cob. Very colorful and flavorful.
Julia
Thank you, Barb, for sharing such helpful and positive feedback! Glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Kristin
Just the recipe I was looking for to cook for a chilly autumn evening! (Halloween night, to be exact). I used delicata and honey nut squash, because that it was I had, and substituted nonfat plain greek yogurt for the sourcream (to reduce the points - I am on weight watchers). And instead of the layers of corn tortillas, I followed all the other layers and then topped with cooked polenta which baked into a nice, cornmeal crust on top.
Julia
Thank you, Kristin, for sharing such helpful and positive feedback! Love the changes you made, especially the addition of cooked polenta on top!
Gayle
Recipe was great, but the site jumps around with the different ads as you scroll down! Very very annoying! I also tried to get to a Bundt recipe, but the search isn’t working
Laura Thomson
We LOVED this! Wowieeeeeee
Lenora Schroeder
Love this dish and the pictures,
I was wondering if leftovers can be frozen?
thank you. Lenora