If you’re craving Mexican on a cold winter’s night, you need to try this Healthy Mexican Casserole. It checks all the boxes: Comfort food, nutrient-rich, relatively easy, and your family will love it. If you can chop vegetables, you can make this! Plus, you can make it with or without meat. There’s not much heat in here in order to make it more kid-friendly, but feel free to add a chopped jalapeno or some chipotle peppers. Also, I like to use organic cheese and beans. One last thing–When I’m in a hurry, I love to buy a plain rotisserie chicken and use about half of it in here (Dark and light meat both work), in place of cooking the chicken breasts.
Ingredients:
4 regular-sized colored bell peppers, or around 12 small colored snacking peppers, diced
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 cups frozen corn
Between 1 1/2 cups and 2 cups (to taste) Mexican cheese, or a mix of cheddar and/or Monterey jack, shredded (The more natural and high-quality the cheese, the better for you)
1 package whole grain, low-carb tortillas, cut into strips (I like Extreme Wellness High Fiber Carb Lean tortilla wraps from Ole Mexican foods)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 10 oz. can red enchilada sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 Tbsp. olive oil
a dash or two of salt
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (optional), cooked and shredded
optional toppings: chopped avocado, cilantro, and even scallions (pictured here).
Instructions:
Heat a skillet with olive oil on medium high. Place the peppers and onions in the skillet and sprinkle with a dash of salt, and half the cumin and chili powder. Saute until softened and slightly browned. Remove from pan and set in a bowl, repeat process with corn, using other half of spices. Combine all of the veggies and toss.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking pan. Spread a small amount of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan. Place half of the tortilla strips on top. Then layer with all of the beans, half of the veggies, half of the sauce, and half of the cheese. Repeat with the rest of the tortilla strips, veggies, sauce, and cheese.
Cover with foil and bake until melted and bubbly, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover and let rest for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with toppings, if desired. Enjoy!
