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Home By Meal Lunch and Dinner

Mexican Quinoa Casserole

★★★★★ 36 Reviews Recipe Print
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By: ErinPosted: 1/9/20Updated: 9/22/20

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

mexican quinoa casserole

This healthy Mexican quinoa casserole is the perfect weeknight meal. It’s protein packed with ground turkey, quinoa, and beans and makes great leftovers for the week! It’s naturally gluten free, and can easily be made dairy-free and vegetarian or vegan!

mexican quinoa casserole

If I’m being totally honest, growing up, I was NOT a fan of casseroles. They aren’t usually the … prettiest dishes. And … I didn’t love the pile of mixed up food on my plate.

THANKFULLY, as my taste buds have evolved, so have my views on casseroles.

There are so many reasons to love casseroles. They are economical, make for great meal prep (or feed a crowd), and the entire meal comes together in just one pan.

And let me tell you. I am casseroles #1 fan after making this Mexican quinoa casserole. It’s loaded with protein from the ground turkey, beans, and quinoa. It’s packed with flavor from the spices. And it’s ultra warming and comforting from the cheesy topping.

The best part? It’s ready in under an hour and that time is mostly hands-off!

Easy weeknight meal, check!

serving of quinoa casserole

Ingredients in Mexican quinoa casserole

This recipe is great because it is made with tons of healthy pantry staples. Aside from the ground turkey, you probably already have most of these ingredients on hand!

The base of this Mexican quinoa casserole is made from:

  • Ground turkey
  • Quinoa
  • Black beans
  • Corn
  • Canned tomatoes
  • Onion

The Mexican seasoning is made from a mix of traditional spices that you probably always have on hand if you make chili or tacos! The ingredients are:

  • Chili powder
  • Cumin
  • Paprika
  • Cayenne pepper
  • Salt & pepper
quinoa casserole in a dish

How to customize Mexican quinoa casserole

Another reason why I love casseroles so much is because they are easily adaptable to taste preferences or ingredients you have on hand. This Mexican quinoa casserole is no exception!

I chose to use quinoa as the grain in this casserole because it’s higher in fiber and protein then other whole grains. But, feel free to substitute ricer or another whole grain of your choice if that’s what you happen to have on hand.

No corn? No problem! Feel free to leave it out, or substitute a vegetable of your choice. I think bell peppers would also be great here!

Love spice? Up the spice level by adding a bit more cayenne pepper.

Be sure to let me know in the comments any customizations you love!

cheese casserole with spoon

Can this recipe be made vegetarian or vegan?

Yes! This Mexican quinoa casserole can EASILY be made vegetarian or vegan.

If you want to make this recipe vegetarian, simply leave out the turkey and add an additional can of black (or your favorite) beans.

If you’d like to make this recipe vegan (or dairy-free), substitute the beans for the turkey as above, and just leave off the cheese at the end!

mexican quinoa casserole

How to serve Mexican quinoa casserole

The best part of this recipe? Serving it with all your favorite TOPPINGS!

I love to serve this casserole topped with a few chunks of avocado, Greek yogurt/sour cream, a squeeze of lime, and a bit of cilantro. Feel free to top with your favorites!

I also think leftovers would be great served in taco shells or made into a taco salad! The possibilities are really endless with this casserole.

If you liked this recipe, you’ll want to try these!

  • Healthy chicken lettuce wraps
  • Easy chicken tortilla soup
  • Healthy cashew chicken

If you make this recipe, be sure to comment below and let me know how it was! Also tag @erinliveswhole on Instagram and use the hashtag #erinliveswhole so I can see it and feature you!

mexican quinoa casserole
serving of quinoa casserole
★★★★★ 5 from 36 reviews

Mexican Quinoa Casserole

This Mexican quinoa casserole is made with ground turkey, quinoa, and black beans. It’s the perfect healthy weeknight meal to make for meal prep or to feed a crowd! 

Prep: 30Cook: 20Total: 50 minutes
Yield 8–10 servings 1x
Print Pin it Rate

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quinoa (rinsed and drained)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 1lb ground turkey
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 can fire roasted tomatoes
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can corn, drained and rinsed
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
  • 1 cup water
  • juice of one small lime
  • 1.5 cups cheddar cheese

Topping

  • lime wedges, avocado, greek yogurt, cilantro

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Cook your quinoa by bringing 1 cup of quinoa and 2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Cover with lid. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat, let sit for a few minutes and then fluff with work.
  3. While quinoa is cooking, heat olive oil in large sauce pan or dutch oven.
  4. Add diced onion and cook until just soft.
  5. Add in ground turkey and garlic, breaking up with spoon.
  6. Once turkey is all the way cooked through, reduce heat and add in tomatoes, beans and corn.
  7. Next, stir in all spices and water.
  8. Stir to combine, and then add in lime juice. Let simmer for 15 minutes on low.
  9. Turn off heat and stir in cooked quinoa.
  10. Pour turkey quinoa mixture into a baking dish (I used an 8×11 dish) and top with cheddar cheese.
  11. Bake for 20 minutes at 350F. Let cool a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Author: ErinCategory: gluten-free, dinner, meal prepMethod: oven
serving of quinoa casserole

Did you make this?

Leave a comment below and tag @erinliveswhole on social media!

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There may be affiliate links in this post! By purchasing a product I recommend, I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I absolutely love and use myself. Thank you for supporting Erin Lives Whole, it helps keep this blog afloat 🙂

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Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

  1. Hayley says

    Posted on 12/7 at 1:25 pm

    My FAV meal prep lunch for busy weeks!! It’s easy to make and I look forward to eating it for lunch every day 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 12/7 at 3:42 pm

      Hi Hayley, so happy you loved it so much!

      Reply
  2. B says

    Posted on 9/27 at 7:32 am

    This is easily one of my favorite ELW meals. I make it for my husband regularly, but yesterday my parents were coming over for dinner and I had to quickly put together a dinner. They loved it!

    I had a ton of leftovers and this morning I added a little sunny side up egg to this and made a little Mexican scramble with some of them. Highly suggest this!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 9/28 at 4:13 pm

      Hi, I am so happy you and your family all loved it and yum- great idea!!

      Reply
  3. Riana says

    Posted on 7/26 at 6:59 pm

    So good! Topped it with avocado, cilantro & Greek yogurt😋 adding this to my go-to dinners!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 7/27 at 2:56 pm

      Hi Riana, so glad you enjoyed it!!

      Reply
  4. Madison says

    Posted on 6/21 at 12:07 pm

    Hey Erin! I’m planning to make this for 6 adults and 1 kiddo… do you think I should double the recipe for this many people? I also was thinking about putting some diced sweet potatoes in there as well 🙂

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 6/21 at 2:40 pm

      Hi Madison, yes, I would plan on doubling it. Great idea too! Let me know how it comes out!

      Reply
  5. Hannah says

    Posted on 6/14 at 9:17 pm

    A weekly staple in my house! The spices are perfect and the flavor is incredible.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 6/15 at 7:50 am

      Hi Hannah, so glad you loved it!

      Reply
  6. Katie Moran says

    Posted on 6/14 at 7:55 pm

    Forgot to add 5 stars! LOVE this recipe.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 6/15 at 7:43 am

      Thank you!!

      Reply
  7. Katie Moran says

    Posted on 6/14 at 7:54 pm

    This is so easy and perfect for meal prep! The spices add the perfect amount of heat and the quinoa helps bulk up the meal a bit.

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 6/15 at 7:43 am

      Hi Katie, so glad you enjoyed it!!

      Reply
  8. Kristen H. says

    Posted on 6/14 at 7:40 pm

    I probably make this once a month, it’s that good! Love that it’s versatile, by itself, over lettuce, in a wrap, with chips, the list goes on.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 6/15 at 7:41 am

      Hi Kristen, so glad you love it!!

      Reply
  9. Lyndsey Payne says

    Posted on 6/13 at 1:37 pm

    This recipe is delicious! My fiancé requests it all of the time. Super simple to make with ingredients that are usually in my kitchen anyways. Love it!!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 6/13 at 8:00 pm

      Hi Lyndsey, so glad you both like it!!

      Reply
  10. Meredith says

    Posted on 4/20 at 6:05 pm

    Absolutely love this recipe! I make it on a bi-weekly if not weekly basis. I substitute the fire roasted tomatoes with a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles and it’s just soooo tasty and so easy! Thank you for making easy, healthy, and delicious recipes!!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 4/20 at 7:31 pm

      Hi Meredith, so glad it is a big hit!!

      Reply
  11. Taylor says

    Posted on 4/11 at 9:25 pm

    So simple & easy! My boyfriend and I love to make this ahead and have it for lunches during the week!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 4/12 at 8:35 pm

      Hi Taylor, great idea!!

      Reply
  12. Becky says

    Posted on 3/24 at 7:19 pm

    This. Is. So. Freaking. Good! I made this for the first time during peak pandemic when grocery stores were bare, so I was excited to make it again tonight with all of the ingredients… turns out I did not have ground turkey or canned corn, so I subbed ground turkey with ground meat and used corn salsa from TJs… it was unreal. I also used TJs frozen quinoa and it worked perfectly. This will definitely stay on my rotation!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 3/24 at 8:35 pm

      Hi Becky, I am so happy you loved it again!! 🙂

      Reply
  13. April says

    Posted on 1/26 at 3:46 pm

    Perfect meal prep. High in protein and delicious! I have shared this recipe with others as I can not get enough.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 1/27 at 5:49 pm

      Hi April, so happy you love it!

      Reply
  14. Brenda says

    Posted on 1/17 at 5:36 pm

    Can I freeze this?

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 1/18 at 3:45 pm

      Hi Brenda, yes!

      Reply
  15. Alana says

    Posted on 1/5 at 8:50 pm

    SO GOOD!! I made this for my family and we’ve been eating leftovers for two days still. We love it. I topped it with some plain Greek yogurt as a healthier sour cream. So good & SO HEALTHY! Literally keeps me full for HOURS.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 1/6 at 4:18 pm

      Hi Alana, I am so happy you liked it and great addition!

      Reply
  16. Neel says

    Posted on 1/4 at 10:01 am

    Quick and easy recipe! Delicious and great to make double and freeze a batch for a quick dinner in the future as well.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 1/4 at 3:45 pm

      Hi Neel, thank you for sharing!! 🙂

      Reply
  17. Kaitlyn says

    Posted on 10/18 at 5:06 pm

    I made this for my neighbor who has 3 Littles and brand new baby that just arrived. Lots of picky palates and they gobbled it ALL up! I went home and prepped a batch for my meal preps this week and it’s AMAZING! I do not like quinoa but TRUST. This is incredible and comes together so well 😍

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 10/19 at 2:02 pm

      Hi Kaitlyn, I am so happy everyone enjoyed them!! Thanks for sharing! 🙂

      Reply
  18. Alexa Kingsmith says

    Posted on 9/29 at 3:17 pm

    Leftovers were just as good as the first night we had it. A crowd-pleaser for my girlfriends and spouse alike – will definitely be making this again!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 10/1 at 8:04 am

      Hi Alexa, thank you so much for sharing. Glad everyone enjoyed it!!

      Reply
  19. Kate says

    Posted on 7/17 at 12:38 pm

    This recipe is so easy and so delicious!! It’s also very versatile so eating leftovers everyday can be new and exciting. I love to put over spinach/spring mix with a poached egg on top!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 8/2 at 9:28 pm

      Hi Kate, thank you so much for the kind words. I am so happy you enjoy the casserole and make it your own! 🙂

      Reply
  20. Annie says

    Posted on 6/24 at 4:45 pm

    This recipe is a favorite in my house! We’ve made it with lots of substitutes/changes- sub either ground beef or ground beyond meat for the turkey, sub salsa for the tomatoes, sub rice for the quinoa- all works amazingly well! Turns out great every time and makes for some awesome leftovers, too.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Erin says

      Posted on 8/3 at 9:36 pm

      Hi Annie! I am so happy everyone likes the casserole and you’ve made it your own! 🙂

      Reply
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I’m Erin. Creator of Erin Lives Whole, a food blog with delicious and easy healthy recipes that will leave you feeling good. We’ve got everything from wholesome baked goods to comforting savory dishes. I can’t wait to see what you whip up! Read More...

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