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This delicious and healthy one pot meal is perfect when you need to get dinner on the table in a hurry. Ready in under 30 minutes, this flavorful Mexican Taco Casserole is a well balanced meal that the whole family will love!
Don't you just love it when dinner takes less than half an hour to make and it's something everyone enjoys?! This Mexican taco casserole is packed full of fresh ingredients, warm spices, and fun toppings for a nutritious and kid-friendly weeknight dinner.
And the best part - it uses just one pot. ONE. All the sautéing, mixing, simmering is done in the same pot! Which means... easy cleanup!! Hooray!
How to make Kid-Friendly Mexican Taco Casserole - step by step
Step 1: Add onion, bell peppers, garlic and olive oil to a large pan over medium heat. Saute until onions are translucent, about 5-10 minutes.
Step 2: Add pinto beans, diced tomatoes, corn, baby spinach and all spices (chili powder through black pepper). Saute another 10-15 minutes until everything is cooked through. Stir in quinoa.
Step 3: Squeeze lime juice on top and stir to combine. Serve warm, topped with avocado, cilantro and greek yogurt.
Kid-friendly, vegetarian one pot meal
I love it when I find a an easy and tasty one pot meal, less clean up time is a real bonus for me! This Mexican casserole is packed full of veggies, beans and Mexican spices, but it's not overly spicy so it's perfect for kids. It's also a great way to sneak in a bunch of veggies that kids won't really notice, since they're cut up pretty small. The dish provides a really well balanced meal and it comes together in less than half an hour.
What makes this taco casserole healthy?
Following a healthy diet, does not mean that you have to skip Mexican food! This taco casserole is loaded with fresh and frozen veggies of all the colors of the rainbow! You can easily add in any other veggies that you may have laying around in your fridge waiting to be used up.
This dish has a few nutritional powerhouses that make it healthy:- Healthy fats from the olive oil and avocado (in moderation)
- Protein and fiber from the Pinto beans. Pinto beans are also a great source of zinc, magnesium, iron and antioxidants. Beans are a great replacement for meat in meals and are an essential part of a healthy vegetarian diet.
- Tons of fresh vegetables with vitamins, nutrients, and fiber: spinach brings iron, Vitamins K, A, C, B2, and Folate, and yellow bell peppers have Vitamins A, C and Potassium.
- Instead of white rice (a refined grain) which is often found in taco casseroles, I use quinoa which is lower in carbohydrates, higher in fiber, and higher in protein.
Can you make this recipe vegan-friendly or gluten free?
Great news! This recipe already is gluten free! To make it vegan, substitute a vegan sour cream or yogurt (or just leave it out altogether).
Top tips for making this Healthy Mexican Taco Casserole
- I used pinto beans in this dish, but you could easily swap them for black or kidney beans.
- You can use any veggies you like - it's a great dish for using up leftover veggies in the fridge!
- Keep any leftovers in an air tight container in the fridge (for up to 4 days) and gently reheat in the microwave or the stove.
- Serve with your favorite Mexican toppings like salsa, guacamole or sour cream.
- The longer you simmer this, the softer the veggies/beans/etc. will become. For adults/older kids - sautéing 10-15 minutes is plenty of time for the flavors to come together and for the veggies to still have a nice bite to them. But for really young kids, you can cook it longer so it's easier for them to chew!
