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Vegetarian Mexican Casserole

This vegetarian mexican rice casserole is packed full of veggies, cheese, and black beans. An easy meatless dinner that is sure to be a family favorite!

Easy vegetarian mexican rice casserole recipe

You will love this Mexican rice casserole!

This family favorite casserole is packed full of veggies, cheese, black beans and enchilada sauce. Serve it with sour cream and tortilla chips for a delicious meatless dinner that everyone will love!

This mexican rice casserole is one of our favorite vegetarian mexican style dinners, just like these vegetarian stuffed peppers. It is incredibly filling, delicious, and so easy to make!

Packed full of protein, veggies, and a delicious cheesy combo of cream cheese and mexican cheese. Fresh lime juice and enchilada sauce round it all out for an incredible flavor!

vegetarian mexican casserole

LOVED it!

5 star rating
5 star rating
5 star rating
5 star rating
5 star rating
Just made this for dinner and my very picky husband absolutely LOVED it!!
vegetarian mexican casserole

Here are the ingredients that you will need to make this casserole (the full recipe and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post).

Ingredients needed

  • red onion
  • garlic
  • red bell pepper
  • frozen corn
  • enchilada sauce
  • diced fire roasted tomatoes
  • lime
  • cream cheese
  • cooked white rice: or substitute another kind of rice
  • black beans
  • spices: chili powder, cumin, cayenne, salt
  • mexican cheese
Easy vegetarian cheesy mexican casserole

How to make vegetarian mexican rice casserole

Step 1: Cook the white rice. I prefer to use a rice cooker as it is just so easy and I don’t have to do anything but set it and forget it. You will need 4 cups of cooked rice.

meatless mexican rice casserole

While the rice is cooking, you will make the rest of the casserole on the stove.

gluten free vegetarian casserole

Step 2: While rice is cooking, heat a large heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat. I like using a dutch oven for this recipe, but any large pot will work.

vegetarian mexican recipes
easy mexican rice casserole

Step 3: Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and sauté the red onion, garlic, and bell pepper for 8-12 minutes, or until onion becomes translucent.

Step 4: Add the corn and fire roasted tomatoes and stir an additional 3 minutes.

fire roasted tomatoes and corn

Step 5: Add the drained black beans, cooked rice, lime juice, enchilada sauce, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, cream cheese, and ½ cup of mexican cheese.

enchilada sauce

Step 6: Stir well to combine and heat through, then salt the mexican rice casserole to taste.

mexican cheese rice casserole

For this recipe I used pre shredded mexican cheese, but any cheese will work.

Mix up the flavors by using colby jack, pepper jack, or a mix of your favorite mexican cheeses!

vegetarian mexican casserole

How to serve

The easiest way to serve this casserole is with sour cream on top and tortilla chips on the side for added crunch. Squeezing some fresh lime juice on top is always a great idea!

gluten free mexican rice casserole

So tasty!

5 star rating
5 star rating
5 star rating
5 star rating
5 star rating
This is so tasty!! I substituted 4 cups of quinoa instead of the rice, and the texture and flavor is still fantastic!

Are you making this recipe? I want to see! Don’t forget to tag me on instagram @buildyourbite and hashtag #buildyourbite with your recipe creations!

Easy vegetarian mexican rice casserole recipe

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taking a scoop of mexican rice casserole from the dish

Vegetarian Mexican Casserole

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

This vegetarian mexican rice casserole is packed full of veggies, cheese, and black beans. An easy meatless dinner that is sure to be a family favorite!

    Ingredients

    • 1 medium red onion, diced
    • 8 cloves of garlic, minced
    • 1 red bell pepper, diced
    • 1 cup frozen corn kernels
    • 8 oz enchilada sauce
    • 14 oz diced fire roasted tomatoes
    • juice of 1 lime
    • 2 tablespoons cream cheese
    • 4 cups COOKED white rice
    • 1 can black beans, drained
    • 1 teaspoon chili powder
    • 3 teaspoons cumin
    • ¼ teaspoon cayenne
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ½ cup mexican cheese + more for topping
    • sour cream, for serving
    • tortilla chips, for serving

    Instructions

    1. Cook y9our rice according to instructions (I used a rice cooker) You will need 4 cups of cooked rice to add to the recipe
    2. While your rice is cooking, heat a large heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat (I used a dutch oven, but any large pot or deep skillet is fine to use)
    3. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and sauté the red onion, garlic, and bell pepper for 8-12 minutes, until the onion softens
    4. Add the corn and fire roasted tomatoes and stir an additional 3 minutes
    5. Add the drained black beans, cooked rice, lime juice, enchilada sauce, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, cream cheese, and ½ cup of the mexican cheese
    6. Stir the casserole and salt to taste (I used 1 teaspoon of salt)
    7. Serve hot topped with additional mexican cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips
    Nutrition Information:
    Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
    Amount Per Serving: Calories: 250Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 826mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 7gSugar: 6gProtein: 9g

    Did you make this recipe?

    Be sure to tag me on instagram @buildyourbite and hashtag #buildyourbite with your recipe creations!

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    Priya

    Wednesday 1st of March 2023

    I love this recipe so much! I made some minor changes based on the ingredients I had - omitted the red pepper (although I’m sure it would have been great in the dish if I had one), used 10 oz Rotel instead of the 14 oz fire roasted diced tomatoes, and used shredded white cheddar instead of Mexican blend cheese. I only used about 2 or 2.5 cups of cooked white rice (basmati) because I didn’t think it needed more. I used green enchilada sauce, which I think was perfect. After cooking as instructed I put it all in a casserole dish, added a little extra cheese to the top along with some crushed tortilla chips, and baked just until the cheese melted. It was fantastic!

    Anne

    Wednesday 1st of February 2023

    Cumin and Cayenne Pepper are quite spicy. I cut back on these spices. If I make again, I’d use only 1 tsp of Cumin and 1/8 tsp of Cayenne. Used 1 small 8oz can of corn (drained) as I did not have frozen corn. Tasty recipe.

    Heather

    Monday 18th of April 2022

    This is a go to for us! I do it as a “one pot”. Instead of cooking the rice separately, I add 1 1/2 C uncooked rice and 3 c liquid. I use 1 C chicken broth and 2 C water. I save the black beans and cheeses until the rice is cooked through. Amazing!!

    Kathleen McDermott

    Sunday 24th of October 2021

    Absolutely delicious. Halved the garlic and doubled the cream cheese. Cooked one cup of dry white rice - that was enough. Best vegetarian Mexican dish I’ve ever tasted. Thank you.

    Karla

    Monday 30th of August 2021

    My family loves this recipe. We've made batches of this with ground sirloin, shredded chicken & increased the amount of cream cheese as well. For my dad's birthday we turned it into a tortilla soup by increasing the enchilada sauce, adding 32 oz beef broth, adding ground sirloin, a block of cream cheese in a large stock pot. Everyone loved it. Tonight I stuffed this mix in bell peppers & am cooking them in our slow cooker. Added a can of spicy Rotel tomatoes to the bottom of the peppers, along with the rest of the mix. Very good!

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