Cheesy Enchilada Rice Casserole

This Cheesy Enchilada Rice Casserole is made with lots of pantry staples that you probably already have on hand!  It’s easy to make and the leftovers are great for lunch!

 Raise your hand if you’ve been eating a lot of beans and rice lately? 🙂  I’m guessing we’re not the only ones who have our pantry filled with staples like, beans, rice, corn, canned tomatoes and spices.  If you can relate to that, you can easily make this Cheesy Enchilada Rice Casserole for dinner tonight!

I love this easy enchilada rice casserole because you can pretty much just go through your cupboards/freezer and throw whatever ingredients you like into it.  It’s full of flavor and super adaptable to what you have on hand.

What You’ll Need For This Enchilada Rice Casserole Recipe

• Rice – I usually have white basmati rice on hand, my kids love it, but you can use any kind of rice or other grain that you have on hand, such as: brown rice or quinoa.
• Enchilada Sauce – The enchilada sauce is what ties everything together so it is an important ingredient in the recipe.  But, if you don’t have enchilada sauce you could also substitute tomato sauce or salsa.
• Beans – I love black beans so that is what I used but you can use any kind of bean you like.
• Corn – I used frozen corn that I ran under some hot water for a minute or two.  Canned or fresh corn would work too.
• Cheese – If making vegan, you can either omit the cheese or use vegan cheese.  I used sharp cheddar cheese but any flavor of cheese will do.
• Canned Tomatoes – Fresh would also work but I didn’t have any on hand.  I didn’t want the casserole too liquidy so I did drain a little liquid off the can of tomatoes.
• Green Chili – This ingredient is totally optional.  I happened to have a small can on hand so I threw it in.
• Spices – You’ll need a few spices for this recipe: cumin, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika.  It’s not the end of the world if you’re missing any of them though 🙂

How To Make A Casserole

Casseroles are one of my favorite meals to make because all you do is mix the ingredients together and then dump them into a baking dish, so easy!  It is important to cook the rice first though because there’s not enough liquid in the recipe to actually cook the rice in the oven.

A few tips on making casseroles:

• Make sure to taste your mixture before putting it into the oven.  Feel free to add extra spices or salt if needed.
• Mix everything together well.  It’s best when you can get a little bit of everything in one bite!
• This recipe doesn’t need to bake for a long time, but if you have one that does, you can cover with aluminum foil for the first half of cooking so that the top doesn’t dry out.

I love meals like this where you can just load on all the toppings you like!  I serve this Cheesy Enchilada Rice Casserole with tortilla chips and my favorite toppings.  Here are a few ideas for toppings:

• Tomatos
• Jalapeños
• Fresh herbs: cilantro or green onion
• Sour cream or greek yogurt
• Salsa or hot sauce
• Black olives
• Guacamole or sliced avocado

I hope you all are staying safe and healthy during this crazy time.  I hope that my pantry recipes are making things a little easier for you <3

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