Beef Enchilada Quinoa Bake
This Beef Enchilada Quinoa Bake is a hearty, healthy casserole that tastes like the saucy, cheesy, meaty Mexican comfort food you’ve been craving. The servings are very filling, packed full of flavor and each contain 27 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber! After my Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bake and Chicken Parmesan Quinoa Bake were both big hits I couldn’t wait to take the same concept and mix in some tasty new flavors. I loved this dish, and it’s just in time for Cinco de Mayo! To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
This casserole is absolutely crave-worthy on its own, but you can have fun with it by adding optional toppings like scallions, black olives, avocado, peppers, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro, etc. Choose your favorites or leave it alone! I also like to make my quinoa ahead of time (I always just toss it in my rice cooker) to cut down on the meal prep.
Beef Enchilada Quinoa Bake
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1.25 lb 95% lean ground beef
- 3 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
- 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 (10 oz) cans red enchilada sauce
- ½ cup fat free sour cream
- 4 oz (about 1 cup) shredded 50% reduced fat sharp cheddar, divided
- Optional toppings, not included in nutrition calculations: scallions, cilantro, black olives, avocado, sour cream, guacamole, peppers, etc.
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350. Lightly mist a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Combine the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper in a dish and stir together to make your own taco seasoning. Set aside.
- Bring a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the ground beef. Cook while breaking up with a wooden spoon until beef is completely browned and broken into small pieces. Drain grease from the pan. Add the taco seasoning from step 2 and stir together until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and add the quinoa, corn and black beans. Stir until well combined. Add the enchilada sauce, sour cream and 2 ounces (half) of the shredded cheddar and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to the prepared baking dish and spread evenly. Sprinkle the remaining 2 ounces of cheese over the top. Bake for 35 minutes until the bake is bubbly and heated throughout and the cheese is melted.
Notes
8 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com) an Emily Bites Original, seasoning mix is from allrecipes