Vegan & Gluten Free Mexican Casserole with Roasted Corn and Peppers

This Healthy Mexican Casserole has roasted corn, roasted bell peppers, cheese, enchilada sauce, and corn tortillas. Perfect leftovers for lunches!

Ingredients:

• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 green bell peppers
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 1 jalapeno or 2 chipotle peppers (optional – just for more kick)
• 1/2 red onion
• salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon is a good ballpark measure)
• 2 cups Mexican cheese (mine was a Sargento blend)
• 18-20 corn tortillas
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 can refried beans
• 2 cups red enchilada sauce
• cilantro, guacamole, or sour cream for topping

Instructions:

1. Pan-roast the veggies: Dice the peppers and mince the onions. Heat a large nonstick skillet with a little bit of oil over high heat (**note – I used to recommend using no oil, because that’s what worked best for my with my Swiss Diamond nonstick pan, but several readers have ruined their own pans doing that so I am no longer recommending that!). Add the onion and peppers, sprinkle with chili and cumin, and stir, rest, stir, rest until you get a nice browning on the outside of the peppers. Remove and set aside. Repeat the roasting process with the corn, sprinkling with chili and cumin, removing from the heat when browned and roasted on the outside. Sprinkle the roasted veggies with a little bit of salt and toss to coat.
2. Prep the ingredients: Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tortillas into thin strips. Put the refried beans in a bowl and mix with a little bit of water to make them easier to spread.
3. Assemble: Spread a little bit of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Layer in order: half of the tortilla strips, ALL the beans, half of the veggies, half of the sauce, half of the cheese. Cover with the other half of the tortilla strips, veggies, sauce, and cheese.
4. Bake: Cover with foil (I usually spray mine with cooking spray) and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted. Serve with guacamole, fresh cilantro, sour cream, or anything in the world that you want.

NOTES:

• To make this completely gluten free, make your own enchilada sauce or look for a gluten free brand.