I went through my recipe binders yesterday in search of this recipe which, to my chagrin, I’ve made several times but have not yet posted here. I have a bunch of tortillas on hand, a jar of salsa that I opened a while ago, some pre-cooked chicken breasts in the freezer, and some cilantro leftover from the guacamole that I made the other day. All in all, the makings of a tortilla casserole.
So what is a tortilla casserole, you ask? Think Mexican lasagna, where all the noodles are replaced with tortillas, sauce is replaced with a pinto bean/salsa mixture, and the cheese is Cheddar instead of mozzarella. Sound delicious? That’s because it is. And not only is it tasty, but it also easily serves 6-8 people, so it’s a dish that could serve a small crowd or a meal with enough leftovers to tide my hubby and me over for several days. Additionally, like lasagna, it’s also versatile. Vegetarian? No problem – just omit the meat. Hate cilantro? That’s fine – just omit it.
You did buy these tortillas, right? In case you haven’t heard, they’re ahhhhhhmazing.
Source: All Recipes
layers and layers and layers of Mexican goodness
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, mash pinto beans. Stir in 3/4 cup salsa and garlic.
- In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup salsa, cilantro, black beans, and tomatoes.
- Place 1 tortilla in an oven safe dish. Spread 3/4 cup pinto bean mixture over tortilla to within 1/2 inch of edge. Top with 1/4 cup cheese.
- Add another tortilla. Spread with 2/3 cup black bean mixture and top with 1/4 cup cheese.
- Repeat layering twice, adding meat to these layers if using.
- Cover with remaining tortilla and top that with remaining pinto bean mixture and cheese.
- Cover casserole with a lightly greased sheet of aluminum foil (the grease keeps the cheese from sticking to the foil). Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove foil during the last few minutes of baking if you want to brown the cheese.
- Cut into wedges and serve with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.
7 responses so far ↓
1 Brant // Aug 2, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Great pictures hon! Wonderful food!
2 LeAnn // Aug 4, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Oooh, I remember this from a bake-a-thon – good stuff. And pretty cheap to make too, eh? Think it would freeze well?
3 paulawong // Aug 4, 2010 at 10:40 pm
Absolutely! I can see no reason why this wouldn’t be an amazing frozen-for-later dish.
4 Erin // Aug 30, 2010 at 12:39 pm
I made this a couple weeks ago for myself and a friend’s family. I was searching your site for some make-ahead recipes to take to her and her family for the week. This was easy to put together, inexpensive, kept in my fridge for a couple days (and froze well for her) and then baked and…delicious! my family loved it (big mexican food fans)…and the bonus was that there was enough for leftover lunches the next day, even after our family of four ate
5 Michelle // Dec 30, 2010 at 3:46 pm
planning to make this finally!
Thanks for the post!
6 natalie (the sweets life) // May 11, 2011 at 5:34 am
Can’t go wrong with a dish like this
7 Rituparna // Nov 1, 2011 at 2:44 am
That casserole is to die for.
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