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This dump-and-bake Southwestern Black Bean Casserole is full of veggies and flavor with minimal hands-on time in the kitchen! Quick, easy, and plant-based.
Hey, hi, hello. I’m at it again with another Dump-and-Bake Casserole!
This time, we’re going south – for flavor, that is! This hearty Southwestern Black Bean Casserole is full of those classic Tex Mex flavors you love, with minimal hands-on time. Oh yeah, and maximum flavor.
INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED:
Not only is this casserole quick & easy, but it’s also made from only 9 plant-based ingredients:
- Black Beans: for fiber, plant-protein, and heartiness!
- Uncooked Brown Rice: for complex carbs, and rice just goes with beans, right?
- Vegetable Broth: to cook our rice (and add more flavor)
- Salsa: for some Tex-Mex oooomph
- Nutritional Yeast: for a subtle cheesy flavor, sans dairy
- Peppers & Onions: for some veggies, and again – southwest flavor!
HOW TO MAKE SOUTHWESTERN BLACK BEAN CASSEROLE
- Layer your uncooked ingredients in a casserole dish
- Heat the liquid, salsa, and spices on the stove,
- Pour into the casserole, cover, and bake for an hour
Bringing just the right amount of liquid to a boil before pouring it over the casserole allows for the rice to cook to soft and fluffy perfection. Now sad, soggy leftovers to see here! Speaking of leftovers, this recipe is great for meal prep – leftovers can be reheated in the microwave, oven, or in a non-stick skillet with a touch of oil or water.
This Southwestern Black Bean Casserole is great as-is, but I also like to deck my casserole out with some freshly chopped cilantro, avocado, and my vegan chipotle mayo. But hey, you do you! It would also be great alongside some chips & guacamole, more homemade salsa, or maybe even some avocado fries.
If you’re looking for more dump-and-bake recipes, you’ll also love this Buffalo Cauliflower Chickpea Casserole and this Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole!
Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations 🙂
PrintSouthwestern Black Bean Casserole
This dump-and-bake Southwestern Black Bean Casserole is full of veggies and flavor with minimal hands-on time in the kitchen! Quick, easy, and plant-based.
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 60 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 to 6 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups (415 ml) low-sodium vegetable broth (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 cup (~ 250 g) chunky salsa
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cans (510 g) canned black beans, drained and rinsed; about 2 3/4 cups
- 1 cup (182 g) uncooked brown rice
- 1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
- Optional toppings: Chipotle Mayo, avocado, fresh tomatoes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Mix the vegetable broth, salsa, and nutritional yeast together in a medium pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
- While the liquid is heating up, spread peppers and onion evenly across a 9×13″ pan or casserole dish. Sprinkle the black beans over the veggies, then add the uncooked rice on top.
- Remove the vegetable broth from the heat once it comes to a boil and pour evenly over the casserole dish. Cover the casserole with aluminum foil (or parchment paper, followed by aluminum foil) and bake in the middle rack of the oven for 60 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and top with fresh cilantro, avocado, and chipotle mayo (or serve as desired). Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container for up to one week, or in the freezer for up to one month.
Notes
- Substitutions: black beans can be swapped for another bean (pinto, garbanzo, etc). There are no substitutions for the brown rice – other grains require different cooking times and absorb different amounts of liquid
Just made this dish for lunch. I omitted the cilantro and added 1tbsp taco seasoning to the vegetable broth. I didn’t have brown rice, but it was fine using white rice. Topped with chipotle mayo, avocado, tomatoes, green onion and vegan cheddar.
sounds delish!
Has potential, but the un-sauteed onion was too strong. Need to saute the onion first, or leave it out.
I used a deep casserole dish with a glass lid. I put the rice on the bottom, and it was cooked well.
Hi Shane,
I have tried several of your recipes and love them all! I’m starting to watch macros and need to eat a certain amount of protein daily as well as fiber, fats, and carbs. Do you list this info with your recipes? Or is there a way I could figure this out?
Thank you so much!
You can plug in the ingredients to any online nutrition calculator! When I did, it’s 14.9g protein, 66g carbs, 13.5g fiber and 1.6g fat /serving (for 4 servings)
This was excellent! I did only use one can of black beans since my little guy says he doesn’t like beans. He said he would eat this again beans and all! The only issue I had, which was my own fault for not checking since everyone’s oven cooks differently, but the rice probably needed a few extra mins. Not a big deal, but I just recommend to others trying this recipe to make sure you check the doneness of your rice. My little guy had his with some homemade guac and I ate it with your chipotle mayo recipe. That just took it over the top for me. I did add a little extra lime to the mayo, but otherwise it was perfect!
Aw I’m so happy he enjoyed!
Is brown jasmine rice the same?
yes that should work here!
This is amazing!!!! So easy to make. We added a jalapeño and whole onion instead and had to increase the cook time. After we removed it, we added the Trader Joe’s soy chorizo and it was insanely good. I am adding this into our rotation for sure! Thank you!!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed, sounds delicious!
I’ve made this probably dozens of times, and I’ve tweaked it to work for me, without crunchy rice.
1. Used white rice (I only managed to make this recipe one time with brown rice where it didn’t come out crunchy.)
2. Placed rice in the pan first, on the bottom.
3. Used spicy salsa.
4. Used 4 different beans (black, kidney, pinto, red) or whatever hearty bean I have on hand.
5. Added 2 jalapenos (Or serranoes when I want it EXTRA hot.)
Voila! I always make double batches and then freeze one pan (in Ziplocs.)
Thanks for sharing your tips!
Hi, I’ve made this twice and each time the brown rice is undercooked/crunchy. Has anyone else had this problem?
Hi Stephanie! I would suggest making sure your pan has a tight seal on it, the rice may not be cooking fully if some air and moisture are escaping. I also recommend making sure the rice is fully submerged in liquid before covering and baking. If you are still experiencing issues, I would recommend putting the rice in the pan first before all other ingredients and mixing only the top ingredients, then mix the cooked rice into the other veggies once everything is done baking. Let me know if this helps!
This recipe is so yummy! The cooking time is perfect. The rice has a wonderful texture at 60 minutes. it will not be overcooked or mushy; it will be a bit firm and very flavourful. I am not a vegan, so I used chicken stock that I had on hand. I can’t say enough about the flavour of this recipe. It is so delicious, and it is satisfying as a meal on its own. I am excited to try your other recipes! Thanks so much! PS: This is the first time I have ever tried nutritional yeast in a recipe. What a lovely surprise for me!
So happy you liked it, Karla! Thankk you for leaving a review.
This is such a great recipe! So flavourful and easy to make. I added a few mushrooms, cause I love them. 🙂 for garnishes we used chipotle aioli, avocado, cilantro, green onions and sliced grape tomatoes.
Thank you so much for the recipe! I’m looking forward to eating the leftovers and making this for others. I’m also looking forward to trying your other dump and bake recipes. Thank you again!
You are so welcome, Janet! Glad you enjoyed the recipe. ♥
Love it! I had to add more water to get the rice to cook completely, but it was so easy, so colorful, and just delicious. I had company and my guests loved it!
Thank you Catherine!
If I cook my rice in a rice cooker, could I skip boiling the ingredients together first and just bake it all together?
I wouldn’t recommend changing anything in terms of rice and liquids in this recipe if you want everything to cook properly
Hi!
I just tried this but mine is fairly watery at the bottom and rice is a little on the tough side. Veggies and onions are definitely done though. :/ Should I cook longer?
Hi Lindsay! Some adjustments may be needed to improve the rice texture and liquid absorption. Here are key points:
Watery Bottom: If the bottom is watery, cover the casserole with foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes to help the rice absorb more liquid.
Rice Tenderness: If the rice is slightly tough, cook the casserole for a longer duration, periodically checking for desired tenderness.
Covering the Casserole: Ensure tight covering with aluminum foil or parchment paper followed by foil to trap steam and promote even rice cooking.
Oven Temperature: Verify the oven temperature for accuracy, as an overly hot oven may cause uneven cooking.
Additional Cooking Time: If needed, bake for an extra 10-15 minutes while monitoring rice tenderness.
Resting Time: Allow the casserole to rest after baking to let residual heat continue cooking the rice.
Very good. So easy. I used a large jalapeno pepper instead of a green pepper and a bunch of sliced mushrooms since I wanted to use them up. I used one large can of black beans (540ml) instead of 2 cans. I added 1/4 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp of cumin.
Glad you liked it, Christine!
2nd favorite dump and bake i made from you. a regular in my house
Wow!Thank you, Sara! ♥
This was so easy and delicious! My salsa was too spicy for my kiddo so I subbed canned diced tomatoes with some spices and it worked great. I did a combo of pinto/ black since I only have one can of black. Sooo good.
Sounds delicious, Aerin!
This was great! I found it a very forgiving base to work off of. It’s definitely possible that my broth was not flavorful enough, because I needed to add more components to get this to be flavorful enough for my taste. I used some Bragg’s liquid aminos, cumin, garlic powder, and some lemon juice. Lime juice would have been great too. I also had to sub out some frozen mixed veggies for the peppers, and that was a very successful substitution keeping the quantity the same.
Thank you for the review, Diana.
YUM! Just made this for dinner tonight & it was super good + surprisingly easy to prepare. The chipotle mayo truly complemented the dish nicely. Thank you Caitlin! Xoxo.
So glad you enjoyed, Christin!
Easy to make. Flavorful ! Delicious!
Thank you, Jeanne!
Can the dump and bake recipes be doubled? I’ve tried two others and they’re just great, but my son eats so much this lasts us for one meal and not quite enough for one more. Would love to stretch it a little further. Thanks so much!
Hi Miranda, doubling the recipe should work out just fine. You may have to increase the cooking time slightly. Glad you enjoy the dump and bakes!
Although. Y husband and I are not vegan, I prepared this dish formy vegan daughter’s birthday. It was delicious!
Glad you found it delicious, Jeanne!
Delicious, thank you. Just wondered if I could double it though – whether I would double everything exactly and how much longer it would take. Any ideas? Thanks for another great recipe.
How would recommend reheating from frozen? I was thinking of making this and freezing it for an easy premade meal for a friend but want to give her clear instructions on how to reheat.
Microwave:
Place a serving of the frozen casserole in a microwave-safe dish.
Heat on high for 4-6 minutes, stirring halfway through.
Check to see if the casserole is heated through. If not, continue to heat in 1-2 minute increments until it is.
Oven:
Preheat your oven to 350F.
Take the casserole out of the freezer and remove any plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
Place the frozen casserole in an oven-safe dish.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 60-75 minutes or until heated through.
Remove the aluminum foil and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes to allow the top to crisp up (optional).
Non-stick skillet:
Add a touch of oil or water to a non-stick skillet and heat over medium-high heat.
Cut a serving of the frozen casserole into smaller pieces.
Place the casserole pieces into the skillet and stir occasionally.
Cook for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.
Serve and enjoy!