Cheesy Black Bean Quinoa Bake

This cheesy black bean quinoa bake is a wholesome and comforting meal using summer veggies! Hearty and perfect for family dinner on weeknights.

this recipe

The best way to describe this cheesy black bean quinoa bake is with those three little words... Healthy. Comfort. Food. Okay, and a fourth: YUM!

Let's dig right into this.

The Ingredients

The flavors in this beauty are inspired by an enchilada recipe my mom has made for longer than I've been alive! She makes a white sauce flavored with Monterey jack and coriander, and my whole family goes crazy for it. Come to think of it, I'm way overdue for sharing that recipe with you... but for now, it's cheesy black bean quinoa bake time.

• Olive oil
• Onion
• Bell peppers (any kind)
• Grape Tomatoes
• Quinoa
• Black beans
• Monterey Jack (or Pepper Jack for a little something spicy) cheese
• Small can of green chiles
• Cumin, coriander, salt
• Lime
• Cilantro

Oh, and if everyone you're cooking for can handle some heat, fresh jalapeños are delicious in this dish!

How to Make this Quinoa Bake

Basically all this casserole comes down to is sautéing a few veggies and combining them with cooked quinoa, black beans, cheese, and spices. Top that off with some cilantro and a squeeze of lime and call it a heck of a weeknight meal.

Here's the rundown. First, you'll prep by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and spraying a 9x5-inch baking dish with nonstick spray (such as olive oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil). Then, you'll get your quinoa cooking on the stove while you lightly sauté the onions, peppers, and grape tomatoes in some olive oil and salt to bring out their flavors. Shortcut Tip: If you have two cups of leftover cooked quinoa, that's perfect for adding to this dish and skipping over the quinoa-cooking step!

Once the quinoa and veggies are ready, combine them in a large bowl with the black beans, green chiles, most of the cheese (we'll reserve some for topping the bake), and all of the spices. You'll stir everything together to get an evenly combined mixture that you'll spread evenly into the pan and top with the remaining cheese.

Finally, bake that up for 30 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and tomatoes are bursty. Top off the whole then with lime and cilantro, and you're ready to eat!

Some Substitutions & Adjustments

1. Quinoa for another grain. Exchanging quinoa for another grain you have on hand is totally acceptable and highly encouraged. Variety keeps your meals interesting! Consider trying brown rice, farro, or barley. Even pasta would rock this dish.
2. Monterey Jack for Pepper Jack. They're both absolutely delicious.
3. Omit the green chiles. Say you have EVERY ingredient but are just missing the canned diced green chiles. It's totally fine if you omit this ingredient -- it'll be just as tasty. Promise 🙂
4. Diced tomatoes for grape tomatoes. I love the way grape tomatoes burst when they get roasted in the oven, but suppose the store didn't have any, or they looked gross, or you just prefer to use something else. A can of diced tomatoes would work fine as a substitute! To avoid a watery consistency, I recommend draining them first. After that, just toss them in the bowl with the other ingredients (you can leave them out of the sautéing step, if you want).
5. Jalapeños. As I mentioned earlier, fresh jalapeños are an incredible add to any dish!

And that's it! If there are other veggies you think would work, you can totally make it your own -- just try to keep a similar ratio of ingredients. If you're interested, you can read about some health benefits of quinoa, too!