There is never a day that I don’t crave some sort of Mexican food, but sometimes you just don’t want the heavy saucy enchiladas or heavy cheese dishes. This Layered Mexican Casserole brings the flavors you crave from Mexican food with fewer calories when you leave out the enchilada sauce or salsa. Now you can always add in your favorite sauce if you prefer, but this recipe tastes just fine without it.
To start, heat a skillet and brown the ground beef with seasoning. Once fully cooked remove the ground beef and set to the side in a bowl, leaving the juices in the skillet. You will then saute the chopped veggies until soft.
How to assemble the Layered Mexican Casserole:
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Preheat oven to 350.
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Brown the ground beef and seasonings in a skillet, then scoop out into a bowl for later, leaving the juices to sautee the veggies.
- Saute the veggies until soft.
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Mash together the 2 cans of beans in a bowl.
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In a greased 9×9 casserole dish, lay 4 tortillas to cover the bottom. Spread 1/3 of the bean mix on top of tortillas, then layer 1/3 ground beef, 1/3 rice, 1/3 veggies, and 1/3 cheese.
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Repeat the layers ending with the cheese until all your ingredients have been used.
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Bake for 25-30min or until hot and bubbly.
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Portion out and top with sour cream and cilantro.
You cut out excess calories and heaviness by not having sauce added to the recipe. If you need to, put some enchilada sauce or salsa in a bowl on the side for extra flavor. This layered Mexican casserole is a lighter version of your restaurant favorites. It can easily be frozen before or after cooking to use at a later date. You can also add a lot more veggies like corn or even artichoke hearts. We love that the recipe can feed a lot of people without costing a lot. What you would spend on one plate out to eat, you can feed 4-6 people in your home. Enjoy your lightened layered mexican casserole.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1-2 tsp each seasonings- salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder
- 1 cup red bell
- 1 cup green bell
- 1/2 cup onion
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 12 small tortillas
- 1 can refried black beans (sub any kind of beans if you like)
- 1 can pinto beans (sub any kind of beans if you like)
- 1 cup shredded cheese (I chose sharp cheddar, but pepperjack would be awesome too!!)
- Optional toppings: salsa, extra cheese, hot sauce, fresh onion, tomatoes, jalapenos.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Brown the ground beef in a skillet adding in the seasonings, then scoop out and place in a bowl for later, leaving the juices in the skillet to saute the veggies.
- Cook the veggies in the skillet until soft.
- Mash together the 2 cans of beans in a separate bowl.
- In a greased 9x9 casserole dish, lay 4 tortillas to cover the bottom. Spread 1/3 of the bean mix on top of tortillas, then layer 1/3 ground beef, 1/3 rice, 1/3 veggies, and 1/3 cheese.
- Repeat the layers ending with cheese on top.
- Bake for 25-30min or until hot and bubbly.
- Portion out and top with sour cream and cilantro.
Yum!