Healthy Mexican Casserole (Vegetarian)

Description of the dish:
This is a healthy and vegetarian Mexican Casserole filled with roasted corn, roasted bell peppers, cheese, enchilada sauce, and corn tortillas.

Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 45min – 1 hour
Makes 12 servings

Ingredients:

  • 2 red bell peppers
  • 2 green bell peppers
  • 1 jalapeno or 2 chipotle peppers (optional – just for more kick)
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 2 cups frozen corn
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
  • 2 cups Mexican cheese (mine was a Sargento blend)
  • 18–20 corn tortillas
  • 1 can refried beans
  • 2 cups red enchilada sauce
  • cilantro, guacamole, or sour cream for topping

Instructions as per the original recipe:

  1. Pan-roast the veggies: Dice the peppers and mince the onions. Heat a large non-stick pan with a little bit of oil over high heat. Add the onion and peppers, sprinkle with chili and cumin, and stir, rest, stir, rest until you get a nice browning on the outside of the peppers. Remove and set aside. Repeat the roasting process with the corn, sprinkling with chili and cumin, removing from the heat when browned and roasted on the outside. Sprinkle the roasted veggies with a little bit of salt and toss to coat.
  2. Prep the ingredients: Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tortillas into thin strips. Put the refried beans in a bowl and mix with a little bit of water to make them easier to spread.
  3. Assemble: Spread a little bit of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Layer in order: half of the tortilla strips, ALL the beans, half of the veggies, half of the sauce, half of the cheese. Cover with the other half of the tortilla strips, veggies, sauce, and cheese.
  4. Bake: Cover with foil (I usually spray mine with cooking spray) and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted. Serve with guacamole, fresh cilantro, sour cream, or anything in the world that you want.

Original author of recipe: Pinch of Yum

Sanity Strides adjustments to the recipe:

  1. I don’t use the tortillas in the baked dish itself. It is (unnecessary) extra calories and I prefer to serve more nacho chips, taco’s or tortillas with the dish.
  2. Due to the omission of the tortillas in the dish, the dish can be saucier (and “runnier”). As a result, I adjusted the sauce – I use one bottle Mexican sauce (220ml) and tomato paste (140g). Alternatively, you can use a tin of tomatoes (400g) with the Mexican sauce. I prefer the paste. Be on the lookout for a sugar-free Mexican sauce in your local grocery store.  
  3. I reduce the amount of cheese in the dish. I only put cheese on the top (not in the middle as well).
  4. I use 2 tins (410g each) of beans (not one). I use chili-black-beans, but for a less spicy option use normal black beans.

Serving options:

  1. Homemade guacamole, nacho chips/taco’s/tortillas and sour cream OR
  2. Avocado, tomato and jalapeno salad with some nacho chips or taco’s. Of course, you can be 100% healthy and skip the chips or taco’s altogether. For a weekend spoil, I love the added crunch to the dish.


This recipe has impressed a lot of dinner guests and is a definite favourite in our household. It is super easy to make and it’s truly delicious!