Full of vegetables, spices, and healthy brown rice, this healthy black bean casserole has it all. You are going to love how easy it is to make such a fantastic, one-dish meal.
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Easy Black Bean Casserole
Making a delicious healthy dish does not need to be hard. In fact, this recipe for black bean casserole is incredibly easy. In about 5 minutes of prep time, you can have the entire dish in your oven. In just thirty more minutes, you will have a perfect lunch or dinner ready to enjoy!
What is even more amazing is that in that short amount of time, you can prepare a meal that will feed six people or last in the fridge for up to a week! So, get out your casserole dish now, start to preheat your oven and you will be enjoying this delicious and nutritious dish in no time.
How To Make Black Bean Casserole
It doesn’t take long to learn how to make this casserole. There are no complicated steps, no difficult cooking tasks to master, or really any way to make a major mistake when preparing this dish. Take a look and you will see:
- Grease your baking dish and preheat the oven.
- Chop the pepper, onion, and garlic.
- Mix everything together in a large bowl then pour into the prepared casserole dish.
- Bake the casserole in the preheated oven until the top begins to brown.
- Serve and enjoy!
The hardest part of this recipe is simply opening cans of black beans and stirring everything together! Any novice chef can do that and, when you use the delicious spices and ingredients that we have listed, you will get a meal that tastes as if a professional chef had created it!
Flavors in Black Bean Casserole
In addition to the great main ingredients in the recipe (corn, black beans, rice, onions, and bell pepper are the primary ingredients used), there are lots of spices that add a lot to the dish. Most of the spices are commonly found in Mexican food which pairs very well with this black bean casserole.
Cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, and fresh chopped cilantro are the primary spices. They are also all spices that you should definitely have in stock on your spice rack– they come in handy quite often! Each spice comes together wonderfully to make this black bean casserole come alive so try not to skip any. However, if you are not a huge fan of spiciness, you can definitely cut back slightly on the chili powder to make the casserole recipe a little less hot.
Healthy Black Bean Casserole Recipe
Yes, black bean casserole is amazingly tasty, but is it healthy? It absolutely is! Take a look at a few of the ingredients we use to bake this dish and you will see how great it is nutritionally.
Black Bean– Black beans are full of fiber, loaded with plant-based protein, fat-free, and low in calories.
Corn– Corn is rich in vitamin B12, iron, and folic acid. It has also been shown to be an energy-boosting vegetable and one that can help lower blood sugar.
Chili powder– Chili powder has been shown to be an anti-inflammatory and also helps improve an upset stomach.
Brown Rice– Brown rice has lots of fiber which can help improve digestion. It can help lower cholesterol and also promote fullness.
Purple Onion – Purple onion is full of antioxidants. It is low in calories but full of nutrients and vitamins. Onion also has antibacterial properties and can help with digestive health.
Almost every ingredient in our recipe has some kind of beneficial nutritional impact. You can feel good about enjoying a great big bowl of black bean casserole, knowing that every bite is helping your health while also filling your belly!
Ways To Enjoy Bean Casserole
While we love eating this casserole straight out of the baking dish, there are a few other ways to enjoy our recipe. Give a few of these ideas a try and let us know what you think (you can always email your suggestions directly to our email address!).
- Place a half-cup or so of the bean casserole in the center of a flour tortilla or use corn tortillas. Wrap the black bean filling inside and then enjoy it!
- Serve the bean casserole as a side dish, pairing it with a Mexican-inspired chicken, or use it as a salsa for tacos. Place it in a cup or dish and serve with some tortilla chips- it also makes for a great dip.
- Bulk the dish up by adding some extra chopped onion, a few diced tomatoes, some extra corn, and peppers, and then store a cup or two of the leftovers in individual meal prep containers. You have just premade your meal for a few days! All you need to do is reheat it in the microwave using a cover for a minute or two and you will be ready to eat.
This recipe isn’t just one-dimensional- you can enjoy it in so many different ways. Drizzle a little sour cream over the top, add a cup of shredded cheddar cheese or just try adding a few pinto beans in with the black bean mix- you really can’t go wrong!
If you are ready to start baking and preparing this delicious recipe, get your baking dish out, grab those cans of beans and preheat your oven- you will be eating in no time! If you love this recipe and are interested in more amazing, simple recipes or almost any recipe in between, we have tons!
Sign up to get recipes sent directly to your email or simply browse the recipes we have on our website now. We know you will find many that you love! You can also feel free to send us a message via our email address or in the comments below if you have any suggestions for this recipe or recipes you’d like to see in the future.
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Healthy Black Bean Casserole
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Gluten-Free
Description
A filling and hearty entree that everyone will enjoy, any time of year.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked brown rice (any kind works)
- 1 (15 oz) can black (or pinto) beans
- 2 cups frozen (or canned) sweet corn
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ½ lime, juiced
- ¼ cup green bell pepper, diced
- ¼ cup purple onion, diced
- 4 oz cream cheese, cubed
- chopped cilantro (fresh or frozen)
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- salt/pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F degrees and prepare a 8×8 baking dish with non-stick spray
- Add all ingredients in large mixing bowl and stir until evenly combined
- Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown
- Carefully remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving
Notes
Pro Tips:
- If you want to cut back on your cook time, skip the casserole dish and opt for a flat rimmer baking dish or sheet tray. You may need to spread the black bean mix between two trays but since it is not as deep, the recipe will bake much faster.
- Rather than use a large bowl to mix the ingredients together, simply toss everything directly into the casserole dish or baking dish, stir gently and put the entire dish right into the oven to bake. One less dish to wash!
- Before you mix the black beans in with the other ingredients, drain them from the can and give them a good rinse. This will prevent the recipe from being too starchy while retaining the great taste and texture of the beans.
- For another option, mix in some seared ground beef into the casserole (about one cup to 2 cups of cooked beef will do!). The baking time and other ingredients will remain the same however you will get much more out of the recipe and it will serve about 8 people rather than just 6.
Thanks for the yummy recipe! Enjoyed it very much but will definitely not use a full tablespoon of smoked paprika next time. It was way too much! Other than that, it was a winner.
This was delicious. However, I would add a salsa or more milk to keep it moist. It was a littler dry but a huge hit,,
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Thanks for the tip, glad you liked it 🙂
Nutritional Info?
Sorry I don’t have it all broken down
Is this something you could prepare the night before and then cook the following evening?
I have’nt made this yet, but it sounds good. I think I will add some hamburger. My question is: do I drain the liquid from the beans and canned corn?
Judy
Hi Judy,
Yes you would drain those both and rinse them, good luck I hope you like it!
I just made this tonight with a few tweeks and it was great. I added a little more cream cheese, hamburger and a can of diced tomatoes and it was so creamy and moist. Will certainly be making this again!
Did you drain the can of diced tomatoes?
hey, i don’t know how fast of reply i’ll get but i’m going to make this tonight, and there is no instructions on rice, when you say mix everything together and put it in a pot and go in the oven, you don’t say whether the rice is cooked or not, if not, how is the rice going to cook with no water? obviously it would have to be cooked, please help 😀
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Hi! Yes, the rice is cooked 🙂 Sorry if that was unclear…check the ingredients list. I think it says “2 cups cooked rice”. Let me know how you like it! Enjoy!
wow i’m so sorry! i messed up and i guess i can’t read LOL. thanks so much for the quick reply. i’ll be sure to let you know
How much Cilantro?
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Just sprinkle it over the top to your own preference, I used about half a teaspoon maybe.
We have started adding kielbasa to this and it’s wonderful.
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by the way, this was AMAZING! and i am making it again tonight so i thought i would drop a comment and say thank you!
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Made it like the recipe, then added diced grilled chicken and avocado on top. Loved it!
Thank you! This recipe is really good. I would of never thought of adding cream cheese to this. Seasoning is on point. I did add some salsa and a can of unsalted dice tomatoes.
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That sounds awesome, thanks for letting us know!
Love this simple recipe! I substitute the rice for quinoa. It’s a winner in our house!
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Did you do 2 cups of quinoa?
It was 2 cups of brown rice.
This recipe is delicious! I did add a little more cream cheese and it was a huge hit with my family. It will definitely be added to the recipe rotation.
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So glad to hear that everyone liked it! Thanks for letting us know.
This was great. I actually used peas instead of corn because i already started making it when i realized i had no corn. Oops. It was still great, and i got extra protein. I also used cashew milk and vegan cream cheese. It was SO easy to make – this is my ideal kind of recipe – dump everything together and cook. Will definitely make again. Got any more like this?
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The Simple Chicken Broth Bowl is somewhat similar, it uses a crockpot though. We have a few casseroles and ‘one bowl’ meals, if you look at the bottom of the post you like, it does a pretty good job of adding links to similar posts. Thanks for trying the black bean casserole, glad you liked it!
Excellent dish! Very filling, so a small portion was all I needed!
This recipe was delicious. I got a little creative and used a can of fire roasted tomatoes, and I used left over white jasmine coconut rice. I also only used 1 teaspoon of the smoked paprika. My husband loved it. ?
So glad you liked it! Thanks for sharing your changes!
Tried this dish for family tonight. Great flavour, but 1 tablespoon of chilli powder is way too much. My son in law could not eat it at all. I will make it again with 1 teaspoon of chilli. How can I cool it down so we can eat the left over?
The chili powder can be too strong for people that are sensitive. You could try using old bay seasoning instead.
This recipe is so easy and delicious– and this is coming from someone who sucks at making meals and gets easily overwhelmed by too many ingredients! Easy to throw together early in the day, then put in the fridge until closer to dinner time to cook it! You can serve it just as is, or even grab some tortillas and make fajitas out of it. Will definitely be making again.
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We’re so happy to hear this! Thank you.
Omg so delicious! My hubby actually thanked me multiple times while eating it!
I added 1 cup of crushed tomatoes and 1.5 cups of Mexican ground round ( were veggie). We also ate it with some salsa and nachos.
Yummy!
Glad you liked it! I love to experiment by adding different ingredients too! You can find some really great recipes that way
Made this for lunch today and it was delicious! I used less cream cheese and added a small can of drained petite diced tomatoes. If I were to make it again I would use the full amount of cream cheese, it gave such a nice creamy texture to this dish. I think the amount of seasonings were on point, we ate way too much in one sitting 🙂
Made this for dinner last night, and was pretty happy with it mostly.
Used black beans, frozen corn, and some sour cream instead of cream cheese(didn’t have any).
Absolutely needs the amount of spicing indicated in recipe!
Thinking our leftovers will be used alongside some scrambled eggs in breakfast tacos over the next couple of days.
Next time we’ll cut the corn down to 1-1/2 cup, and probably still use sour cream.
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So glad you enjoyed!
Added a few dashes of hot sauce and 1 tablespoon brown sugar. We do not like cilantro or cumin so used parsley and an additional tablespoon of chilli powder to substitute. Very tasty, cream cheese is a great addition, really makes this dish.
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Hi Lisa,
Interesting additions to the dish! So glad you enjoyed it!
Excited to try this but would like to use Quinoa instead of rice. Should I still use 2 cups? Thanks!
Hi Anne,
Yes, I would use 2! Enjoy.
I am making this for 16 people. Can I make it ahead and freeze it? If so how do I defrost
Hi Tracy,
This is not a dish that we recommend freezing. You can make it ahead and keep it refrigerated for a day or so. It’s really meant to be eaten right away. Good luck!
I made this with 1 cup of rice instead of 2 and 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika because it’s just me but kept everything else the same. A casserole should have more liquid in my opinion. Maybe more cream cheese, milk or salsa would help. The flavor is good. When I reheat it I’ll add the additions. I’m planning on making Quesadillas with the addition of a little cream cheese, cheddar and salsa. Using 1 cup of rice and everything else the same quantity filled my 8×8 pan to the brim.
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Hi Linda,
Thank you for the feedback! We appreciate it.