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Tortilla Casserole

Warm and cheesy meal with bright salsa and fresh cilantro.
Cooking for a Crowd

Cooking for a Crowd

Use these recipe sheets to prepare for larger groups:

Saucy casserole slice on a plate.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Makes: 12 wedges
Nutrition Facts: View label

Ingredients

1 cup medium salsa (try Food Hero's Salsa Roja or Salsa Verde)
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 ounces) corn, drained (or 1 cup frozen corn, thawed)
½ cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
4 whole-wheat tortillas, 10-inch diameter
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheese (try Monterey Jack or Mexican blend)

Directions

  1. Wash hands with soap and water.
  2. Rinse fresh vegetables under running water before preparing.
  3. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Lightly oil or spray a 10-inch casserole dish. 
  4. In a small bowl, mix salsa and tomato sauce.
  5. In a medium bowl, mix black beans, corn and cilantro.
  6. Place 1 tortilla in baking dish and spread ¼ of salsa mixture over tortilla. Top with ⅓ of bean mixture and ⅓ of cheese.
  7. Repeat layering 2 more times; spread last of salsa mixture over top of last tortilla.
  8. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until cheese melts and filling is hot. 
  9. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours. 

Notes

  • Try kidney or pinto beans instead of black beans.
  • Add leftover cooked chicken, turkey or ground beef.
  • Cook your own dry beans. One can (15 ounces) is about 1 ½ to 1 ¾ cups drained beans.

Comments

I tried TeresaP's comment and used small corn tortillas and it worked so well!  Really tasted like an enchilada, but WOW how fast is this recipe??  It really took less than 15 minutes to fully get into the oven, this is perfect after work meal to prep.  And it is so adaptable to what you have in the pantry.  Oh and we sprinkled chopped black olives on top and a bit of low-fat sour cream.

From OSU Test Kitchen: We tested the Tortilla Casserole at 500 degrees F and 350 degrees F. Both work well. The lower temperature takes a little longer but at either temperature between 15-25 minutes the dish turns out very similar. 

For those that have prepared this recipe, is the baking temperature really 500 degrees?

Quick, tasty recipe! I used 8 small corn tortillas instead of whole wheat and added 1 cup of chopped cooked turkey (leftover from Thanksgiving) seasoned with cumin and cayenne.  Next time I will add some bell pepper and green onion too!

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