Mexican Pasta Casserole (Vegan & Family Friendly)

Medically reviewed by Abbey Sharp, Registered Dietitian (RD), BASc.

This Vegan Mexican Pasta Casserole is the perfect family friendly dinner recipe that is perfectly balanced and packed with flavour! It comes together in only a few simple steps.

Maybe it’s a mom thing, but recently, I’ve been all about the casseroles. This week I wanted to dream up some sort of Mexican-themed casserole, but instead of typical enchiladas (which you already KNOW I love), I opted for a casserole with whole-grain rigatoni pasta for this Mexican pasta casserole.

Why This Recipe Works

This Mexican pasta casserole is a combination of all my favourite things about an easy dinner.

• Family friendly.
• Easily modified to be omnivore friendly.
• Packed with flavour.

Key Ingredients

Black Beans — This provides your protein and fibre, and also makes a nice paste to bind everything together.

Chipotle in Adobo — Don’t drain the sauce! You’ll need it.

Spices — I use cumin and chili powder to spice up the Mexican pasta casserole.

Passata sauce — Tomato passata is not the same as tomato sauce. Passata is simply a pureed tomato liquid, usually with no extra flavouring added to it. In this recipe, I used the brand Mutti for the tomato puree, but you could also use anything else like Hunt’s tomato puree. Make sure it’s puree and not paste.

Rigatoni Pasta — I use whole-wheat pasta but feel free to use what you have on hand.

Corn — Feel free to use fresh corn, canned corn, or thawed frozen corn.

Spinach — You can use a different green leafy vegetable of your choice!

Sour Cream — To keep this vegan, use vegan sour cream. Feel free to use regular sour cream if you’re an omnivore. Same with the cheese!

Toppings — I use jalapenos, avocado, green onions, and diced tomato as toppings but feel free to use what you have.

How to Make This Recipe

Step 1: Preheat an oven to 350 F and lightly grease a 13×9″ casserole dish. To make the black bean layer, combine the black beans, chipotle, maple, chili, cumin, and stock in a food processor and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Step 2: In a bowl, mix together the passata, minced chipotle, chili, cumin, salt, and pepper, to taste. Adjust depending on how spicy you like it.

Step 3: Cook the pasta al dente and set aside.

Step 4: Add 3/4 of the spicy tomato sauce to the pot along with the rigatoni, corn, can of black beans (non pureed), and spinach and toss to coat.

Step 5: Spread 1/2 of the remaining sauce onto the bottom of the casserole dish. Add half of the pasta, then the pureed black beans, the sour cream, and the remaining pasta. Top with the last little bit of sauce, and finish with the shredded cheese.

Step 6: Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Top the Mexican pasta casserole with avocado, jalapenos, green onions, and tomatoes, and enjoy.

Expert Tips

Other toppings you can add are olives, green chile peppers, cilantro, parsley, salsa, vegan sour cream, and tortilla chips.

For omnivores, you can add some leftover shredded chicken or cooked beef. You can also add veggie round instead.

I would suggest shredding your own cheese as pre-shredded cheese have a flour coating on them that prevents them from clumping. This makes it grainy when melted. To quickly shred a block of cheese, you can use a food processor.

Feel free to buy pre-made enchilada sauce if you don’t want to make your own sauce.

Recipe FAQs

More Recipes You Might Like

Want more easy casserole recipes like this Mexican pasta casserole? Here are more on the blog!

• Cabbage Cheeseburger Casserole
• Vegetarian Pizza Quinoa Casserole
• Everything Bagel Vegan Mac and Cheese
• Healthy Vegan Moussaka

So friends, tell me – what is your family’s favourite casserole?  Leave me a comment below with your go-tos!

Mexican Pasta Casserole (Vegan & Family Friendly)

This Vegan Mexican Pasta Casserole is the perfect family friendly dinner recipe that is perfectly balanced and packed with flavour! It comes together in only a few simple steps.

4.58 from 14 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course, Dinner

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Servings: 6 people

Calories: 475kcal

Author: Abbey Sharp

Ingredients

For the Beans:

• ▢ 1 can no salt added black beans drained and rinsed
• ▢ ½ chipotle in adobo chopped
• ▢ 1 tbsp maple syrup
• ▢ ½ tsp cumin
• ▢ ½ tbsp chili powder
• ▢ ¼ cup vegetable stock
• ▢ Salt and pepper to taste

For the Sauce:

• ▢ 2 large jars (680 ml eacPassata tomato sauce
• ▢ 1 chipotle in adobo with sauce minced
• ▢ 3 tbsp maple syrup
• ▢ ½ tsp chili pepper or more to taste
• ▢ ½ tsp cumin or more to taste
• ▢ Salt and pepper to taste

For the Casserole

• ▢ 1 lb whole wheat rigatoni pasta
• ▢ 1 can no salt added black beans drained and rinsed
• ▢ 2 cups baby spinach chopped
• ▢ 2 cobs corn kernels removed
• ▢ ½ cup vegan or regular sour cream
• ▢ 1 ½ cups vegan or regular cheddar cheese grated

For the Toppings

• ▢ Jalapenos for serving
• ▢ Avocado for serving
• ▢ Green onions for serving
• ▢ Diced tomatoes for serving

Instructions

• Preheat an oven to 350 F and lightly grease a 13×9″ casserole dish. To make the black bean layer, combine the black beans, chipotle, maple, chili, cumin, and stock in a food processor and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• In a bowl, mix together the passata, minced chipotle, chili, cumin, salt and pepper, to taste. Adjust depending on how spicy you like it.
• Cook the pasta al dente and set aside.
• Add 3/4 of the spicy tomato sauce to the pot along with the rigatoni, corn, can of black beans (non pureed), and spinach and toss to coat.
• Spread 1/2 of the remaining sauce onto the bottom of the pan. Add half of the pasta, then the pureed black beans, the sour cream, and the remaining pasta. Top with the last little bit of sauce, and finish with the shredded cheese.
• Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Top with avocado, jalapenos, green onions, and tomatoes and enjoy.

Notes

• Other toppings you can add are olives, green chile peppers, cilantro, parsley, salsa, vegan sour cream, and tortilla chips.
• For omnivores, you can add some leftover shredded chicken or cooked beef. You can also add veggie round instead.
• I would suggest shredding your own cheese as pre-shredded cheese have a flour coating on them that prevents them from clumping. This makes it grainy when melted. To quickly shred a block of cheese, you can use a food processor.
• Feel free to buy pre-made enchilada sauce if you don’t want to make your own sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 475kcal | Carbohydrates: 85g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 483mg | Potassium: 329mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 1202IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 4mg

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Abbey Sharp

Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.