Tofu Mexican Rice Casserole
on Jan 25, 2018, Updated Apr 04, 2024
This tofu Mexican rice casserole is a healthier take on a favorite dish.
I might be late to the bandwagon, but scrambled tofu is kinda my new favorite thing.
While I’m not one of those people who says things like “it’s hard for vegetarians to get protein” (I disagree), I do try to get extra protein when it’s easy to do.
One of my new favorite ways to do that is scrambled tofu!
I first fell in love when I made tofu taco meat and discovered how delicious that was.
I love scrambled tofu because 1) I don’t have to press it (time consuming) and 2) it can absorb any flavor, which means that I can make it into anything that I want it to be!
When I first made this tofu mexican rice casserole, I served it without saying what was in it.
No one even guessed that there was tofu in there.
The tofu blends seamlessly into the rice casserole, adding protein and making it all the more filling!
This dish is kind of similar to my vegetarian mexican rice casserole, and both are delicious.
I love how filling and comfort food feeling it is.
As usual, I’m piling on the fresh veggies.
In this case: tons of fresh garlic (so good for you), onion, mushrooms, and red bell pepper.
As far as the tofu, it is super simple to make.
After draining it, use a paper towel to pat the tofu dry.
Heat some olive oil in a skillet, then add the whole block of tofu.
Use a potato masher to “scramble” the tofu into small pieces. As you can see above, it should resemble scrambled eggs once cooked.
Basically, we just want to cook the tofu long enough that it loses it’s water and gets a little bit of browned edges. We want it to get some texture so that it doesn’t taste mushy.
I’m seriously obsessed with this dish.
I’m always finding new ways to do taco night, and this casserole is a great way to mix it up!
We keep it super simple and serve ours topped with sour cream (or 0% greek yogurt if that’s your thing) and tortilla chips.
I only had a few chips with mine. It is SO good as is.
We had it for dinner last night and lunch today and it will probably be dinner as well.
This easily serves 6 people!
If you like Mexican rice, you’ll love this recipe.
Once the casserole is assembled, I baked it for just 15 minutes to let all the flavors marry and the cheese on top get all nice and crispy bubbly (<—my weakness.)
Isn’t it just beautiful?
I’m so glad I discovered how good scrambled tofu was after making these vegan breakfast burritos.
I’m planning an eggless fried rice with scrambled tofu and I think that’s going to be AMAZING. Stay tuned if you want the recipe.
To make this tofu Mexican rice casserole vegan, you can just omit the cheese our use vegan cheese. Easy peasy!
Are you making this recipe? I want to see! Tag me on instagram @buildyourbite and hashtag #buildyourbite with your recipe creations.
More vegetarian mexican recipes you’ll love
- Vegetarian Burrito Bowls
- 5 Minute Nacho Cheese Sauce
- Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas
- Best Ever Veggie Enchiladas
- 5 Minute Homemade Refried Beans
Tofu Mexican Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 12 cloves garlic, minced
- 14 oz extra firm tofu, drained
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 5 cups cooked white rice
- 16 oz enchilada sauce
- 2 small limes, juiced
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- 3 tablespoons cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
- â…” cup shredded Mexican cheese , for filling
- ½ cup shredded Mexican cheese, for topping
Instructions
- Cook rice according to instructions. You will need 5 cups of cooked rice (I used a rice cooker)
- Add mushrooms, bell pepper, onion, garlic, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet
- Saute on medium high heat for 10 – 15 minutes, or until mushrooms cook down
- After you get the veggies started, drain tofu and pat dry with a paper towel
- Heat a large skillet over medium high with 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- Add the block of tofu and use a potato masher to scramble into egg like texture (see picture in the post)
- Cook tofu for around 10 minutes, using a spatula to press down and scramble until it starts to dry out and get browned
- Once veggies have cooked, add the tofu, enchilada sauce, cooked rice, lime juice, cilantro, cumin, chili powder, pepper, salt, and â…” cup of shredded mexican cheese
- Stir well to combine and taste/adjust seasonings if desired
- Transfer mixture to a casserole dish and spread out evenly
- Sprinkle on remaining ½ cup of mexican cheese on top
- Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and edges begin to brown
- Serve garnished with additional cilantro, sour cream, and tortilla chips
Would brown rice work ok?
Yes!
Made this recently, and it was really good, didn’t miss the meat at all. I will say though, this recipe makes a ton! We’re a family of 5 who are pretty big eaters, and everyone enjoyed it, but there was so much left over that I think next time I’ll half it.
This dish was perfect for my family of 4 highly recommend. We modified it a little bit. We had cauliflower rice instead of normal rice. And Dayia cheese instead of regular cheese.
so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Do you think I can make this dish the night before and leave it in the refrigerator for one night prior to baking?
I have not tried it, but that should work fine!