Mexican Vegetable Layered Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• ½ cup roasted pasilla chile sauce (such as Herdez®)
• ½ cup frozen corn
• ½ yellow bell pepper, chopped
• ½ white onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 ½ cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 5 (7 inch) whole wheat tortillas, or as needed

Step 1

Lightly heat your oven to 350°F (175°C). In a skillet over medium heat, warm up a bit of oil and toss in the Roma tomatoes, chile sauce, corn, yellow and green bell peppers, both white and red onions, jalapeno, and cumin. Cook everything together, stirring now and then, until the veggies are nice and tender—about 5 to 7 minutes. Then stir in the refried and pinto beans, mixing it all well before taking it off the heat.

Step 2

In a separate bowl, combine the Cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, and sour cream until smooth and creamy.

Step 3

Grab a 9x13-inch casserole dish and spread a third of the bean mixture across the bottom. Spoon a third of the cheese mixture over that, then lay down a thin layer of tortillas. Keep layering like this two more times—beans, cheese, tortillas—until you’ve used everything up. Finish by sprinkling the remaining shredded Cheddar cheese on top, and cover the whole dish with aluminum foil.

Step 4

Pop it in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. After that, take off the foil and bake for another 8 to 10 minutes until it’s bubbling and the cheese is melted and golden. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving so it sets up nicely.