Healthy Black Bean Chilaquiles

January 7, 2014 · Last Updated on April 25, 2019 By Anjali Shah on· Last Updated on

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Chilaquiles is a classic Mexican casserole dish.

It’s traditionally made with fried tortilla chips topped with a spicy tomato sauce, tons of cheese, and eggs.

Delicious? Yes.

Great for your waistline? Not so much.

I figured there had to be a way to lighten up this traditional recipe, while still keeping all the flavor of the original.

Thanks to a recipe I found on EatingWell.com – I was inspired!

I made a bunch of modifications to make it even more flavorful and healthy, so my modified version is below. This makes 10 HUGE servings, but each serving is under 250 calories!

Now that’s a casserole that’s delicious and nutritious.

The Ingredients

Adapted from EatingWell.com

½ tbsp organic canola oil

1 medium red onion, diced

1 red (or orange/yellow) bell pepper, diced

2 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed

1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained

1.5 cups corn, frozen (thawed) or fresh

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp salt

9-10 corn tortillas, quartered

1.25 cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

1 15-ounce can tomato sauce

1.5 cups vegetable broth

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp ancho chili powder

½ tsp chipotle chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp dried oregano

Diced tomato and green onion (for topping)

The Directions

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Meanwhile, make the sauce: combine the tomato sauce, vegetable broth, chili powders (all 3 of them), garlic powder, onion powder, and dried oregano in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk to combine, then turn the heat down to low and let simmer.

Step 2: Heat organic canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring often, until starting to brown, about 5 minutes.

Step 3: Stir in beans, tomatoes, corn, cumin and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are heated through, about 3 minutes.

Step 4: Scatter half the tortilla pieces in the casserole dish.

Step 5: Top with half the vegetable mixture, half the sauce and half the cheese.

Step 6: Repeat with one more layer of tortillas, vegetables, sauce and cheese.

Step 7: Cover the casserole with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the casserole is bubbling around the edges and the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes more.

Step 8: Top with diced tomatoes and green onion.

How good does that look?

This recipe is perfect for feeding a large group of people, or even for dinner for two + leftovers later 🙂

The leftovers taste great the next day or two after making this dish, since it just gives the spices even more time to blend together.

You have to try this the next time you’re craving Mexican food – you won’t be disappointed!