This easy Butternut Squash and Black Bean Enchilada Casserole has lots of Mexican-spiced veggies layered with enchilada sauce, cheese and flour tortillas. It's a delicious meatless dinner that you'll want to put on repeat!
Michelle's Recipe Rundown
Friends, if you enjoy Mexican/Tex-Mex food and vegetarian dinners, this easy vegetarian enchilada casserole is a must-try. It's one of my go-to meatless meals because it's so flavorful and so filling that you don't miss the meat at all!
The butternut squash is slightly sweet, which makes it the perfect complement to the black beans, tomatoes, onions, chiles, Mexican spices and red enchilada sauce. And the flour tortillas and cheese bring it all together. It has a mild heat level, but you can turn it up if you'd like.
Plus, you get all the enchilada yumminess with a lot less work and mess, as there's no dipping, filling and rolling the tortillas required. Just make the veggie filling, layer everything in a dish and bake.
Ready to serve in 90 minutes, this recipe gives you 6 generous servings. It's even impressive enough to serve guests!
Butternut squash is one of my favorite winter squashes; it's so versatile!
Here are more recipes to try: Roasted Veggie Tacos With Cilantro-Lime Cream, Instant Pot Creamy Butternut Squash Soup and Instant Pot Butternut Squash Risotto.
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Ingredients & Notes
Here are all of the ingredients you need to make this Mexican butternut squash casserole with black beans, along with some notes on making the best selections and preparation.
Ingredient amounts are in the recipe card below.
- Butternut Squash - Fresh is definitely best here; it holds its shape and texture better than frozen (which can get a little mushy after thawing and cooking).
- TIP: Many grocery stores sell pre-cubed fresh butternut squash; it's a great shortcut!
- Black Beans - Use canned or home-cooked beans (such as my Instant Pot Black Beans), whichever you prefer.
- Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes (canned) - I love the subtle smoky flavor of these tomatoes, but regular canned diced tomatoes work well too.
- Jalapeno Peppers - Remove the seeds and membranes, and these add just a hint of heat. You can omit them, if desired.
- Enchilada Sauce - I use and recommend my Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce (it's quick, easy, mild, and delish!); you can use your favorite canned enchilada sauce instead.
- Flour Tortillas (10-inch Burrito Size) - You'll need 4 total. Cut 3 in half, and cut 1 into 6 equal wedges, like this:
How to Prepare the Butternut Squash
Here's how to peel, de-seed and cube the the butternut squash before cooking. You'll need a vegetable peeler, a sharp knife and a spoon.
- Cut off the top and bottom ends of the squash.
- Remove the outer skin with a vegetable peeler.
- Cut the squash in half from top to bottom, then scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
- Cut the squash into ½-inch cubes.
Substitutions & Variations
- Peeled and diced sweet potatoes could be used instead of butternut squash; they will be a little sweeter.
- You can use pinto beans instead of black beans.
- 2 cans (10-oz) of fire-roasted diced tomatoes with green chiles, such as Rotel, can replace the individual cans of diced tomatoes and green chiles.
- Corn tortillas can be used instead of flour tortillas; the flavor will be a bit different. Since corn tortillas are usually smaller, you will need about 12 of them, depending on the size. Cut them to fit as needed.
How to Make Butternut Squash & Black Bean Enchilada Casserole
This is just a brief overview of the steps. The full printable recipe with ingredient amounts and detailed instructions is in the recipe card below.
In a large skillet, sauté the onions, jalapeno peppers in the oil until they start to soften. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute.
Add the squash, tomatoes, green chiles and spices. Cover and simmer until the squash is tender, about 20 minutes.
Add the black beans; stir to combine.
Assemble the first layer of the casserole in a baking dish: enchilada sauce, tortillas, veggie mixture, enchilada sauce, and cheese.
Repeat the layers 2 more times, starting with the tortillas.
Bake at 400°F until heated through, bubbly and the cheese is melted, 25 to 30 minutes. Rest for 15 minutes before cutting.
Recipe Tips
- The butternut squash cubes should all be about the same size so they cook evenly. Cook until they are tender but not mushy.
- Options if you'd like more heat: leave the seeds and/or membrane in the jalapenos, use a medium or hot enchilada sauce, use a hotter variety of canned diced green chiles, or add some cayenne pepper to the vegetable mixture.
- Resting the casserole before slicing helps each piece hold together better when serving.
- If you don't have an 11x7x2-inch baking dish, you can make this in a 13x9x2-inch baking dish. You may need to cut up another tortilla or two to fill in any gaps.
- Roasted butternut squash seeds are a delicious snack! Use my Roasted Pumpkin Seeds recipe as a guideline if you'd like to try them.
Leftover Storage & Reheating
Refrigerate: Store leftover enchilada casserole, once cooled, tightly covered or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freeze: Once cooled, place desired number of servings in a freezer bag, remove as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely in the refrigerator before reheating.
Reheat: Place the desired number of servings in a greased baking dish, cover the dish with foil, and bake in a 325°F oven until heated through.
Serving Suggestions
This enchilada casserole is excellent on its own, but the toppings make it even more delicious! My favorites are sour cream, green onions, and fresh cilantro. I sometimes also drizzle on a little extra enchilada sauce because I love lots of sauce on anything!
And although you don't really need any side dishes, my Quick and Easy Mexican Rice is the perfect complement if you would like to serve one (it can also help stretch out the casserole to get a few more servings).
Tortilla chips with homemade salsa or homemade guacamole would be a great starter.
I hope you try this Butternut Squash and Black Bean Enchilada Casserole recipe and love it as much as I do. Thanks for visiting today!
If you make this recipe, I'd love to know how it went! Please leave a star rating and comment below. Thanks!
📋Recipe
Butternut Squash and Black Bean Enchilada Casserole
Ingredients
For the Veggie Mixture
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil, or any neutral-flavored oil you prefer
- 2 cups chopped onions
- ¼ cup seeded and diced jalapeno peppers, seeds and membranes removed
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups cubed fresh butternut squash, about ½-inch pieces; peel and remove the seeds before cubing
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles, I use mild
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste (I use kosher salt)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
Other Casserole Ingredients
- 2 cups red enchilada sauce, divided; I use and recommend my Easy Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce, which is mild; you can use canned sauce instead
- 4 large burrito-sized flour tortillas, 10 inches in diameter; 3 of them halved and 1 cut into 6 equal wedges
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Make the Veggie Mixture
- Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet over medium heat (I use a 12-inch skillet). Add the onions and japaleno peppers; sauté, stirring occasionally, until they have begun to soften, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic; sauté, stirring constantly, for one minute.
- Add the butternut squash, diced tomatoes, green chiles, chili powder, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper; stir to combine.
- Increase the heat to get the mixture going/bubbling, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender but not mushy (you want it to keep its shape), about 20 minutes.
- Stir in the black beans. Taste the mixture and adjust the seasonings, if needed. Keep in mind that you will be adding the enchilada sauce, which is also seasoned.
Assemble the Casserole
- Evenly spread out ½ cup of enchilada sauce in the bottom of an 11x7x2-inch baking dish.
- Take 2 of the tortilla halves and place them in the dish over the sauce with the straight sides against the edges of the pan (they will overlap in the center). Then take 2 of the tortilla wedges and place one on each side to cover the gaps, putting one of straight sides against the edge of the pan. See step-by-step photo #4 in the post for reference, if needed.
- Evenly spread ⅓ of the vegetable mixture over the tortillas.
- Add ½ cup of enchilada sauce over the vegetable mixture, distributing it evenly.
- Evenly sprinkle ½ cup of the cheese over the veggies and sauce.
- Repeat the layers 2 more times: 2 tortilla halves plus 2 wedges, ⅓ of the veggie mixture, ½ cup enchilada sauce, ½ cup cheese, 2 tortilla haves plus 2 wedges, the remaining ⅓ of the veggie mixture, the remaining ½ cup of enchilada sauce, and all of the remaining cheese (which will be 1 cup).
Bake & Serve
- Bake, uncovered, until heated through and bubbly around the edges and the cheese is melted, about 25 to 30 minutes. If you are concerned about bubble-overs, put the baking dish on a large rimmed sheet pan before baking.
- Remove from the oven and allow the casserole to rest for 15 minutes before slicing. This will help the pieces hold together better when serving.
- Serve as is or add your favorite toppings (I like sour cream, green onions and cilantro).
Notes
- Make sure that the butternut squash cubes are all roughly the same size so that they cook evenly. The post has step-by-step photos showing how to prepare the butternut squash.
- For an easy shortcut, use pre-cubed fresh butternut squash from the grocery store.
- The post has a graphic showing how to cut the tortillas if you need a visual.
- You can use 1¾ cups of home-cooked black beans instead of canned.
- As written, this recipe has a mild heat level. Options for adding more heat: keep in some and/or all of the seeds and membranes from the jalapeno peppers, use hot canned diced green chiles, use a medium or hot enchilada sauce, or add some cayenne pepper to the veggie mixture.
- If you don't have an 11x7x2-inch baking dish, you can use a 13x9x2-inch baking dish. You may need to cut up an extra tortilla or two in order to cover up any gaps.
- Estimated calories shown do not include any toppings.
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