Kicking off January with a batch of comforting enchiladas – creative, delicious and healthy enchiladas at that!  Butternut Squash Black Bean Enchilada Casserole is great for meal-prep (can be cut into squares and frozen) and suitable for vegetarian diets, gluten-free diets and those following an anti-inflammatory diet.

Read on to get his inspired by the southwest enchilada casserole recipe.

I was immediately drawn to the Butternut Squash Black Bean Squares I saw in the copy of a new cookbook sent my way, The Anti-Inflammatory Family Cookbook. BTW, check out this resource, it’s chock full of 100 simple recipes the whole family will love and will help you create meals that help address so many of today’s chronic medical concerns (in both young and old) including obesity, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, high blood pressure and more. Personally, for me, an anti-inflammatory diet helps to keep symptoms of my arthritis under control.

This butternut squash enchilada recipe is built on plant-based ingredients with – you guessed it — butternut squash being a headliner. Butternut squash is a good source of fiber, as well as vitamins including A, C, E and Bs along with minerals including calcium, magnesium, and zinc. Plus, less than ¼ cup cooked butternut squash counts as one of your five-a-day vegetable requirements – it’s a smart and tasty way to add more plant nutrition to your diet.

For this anti-inflammatory butternut squash recipe idea, you can use either fresh squash that has been peeled, seeded and cubed . . . . or, frozen chopped butternut squash for convenience. Really, it’s just up to your budget and I opted to save money and do a little more leg work by processing the fresh butternut squash.

It’s not hard to break a butternut squash down. First, take a large knife and cut into 3 or 4 cross-sections. Use a large vegetable peeler to remove the tough peel, then slice each large piece in half and cut in approximate 1 to 1 ½” cubes. The bottom, bulbous section will have stringy pulp and seeds which you can remove with a serrated spoon.  Before mashing for the recipe, you’ll have to steam it – those directions in the butternut squash enchilada recipe below.

Butternut squash and black beans (also fiber-rich and source of plant protein) are mashed up, along with spices to create a flavorful, fiber-abundant filling. The homemade enchilada sauce is easy to make with hints of spice, but not so overtly hot as to upset picky and spice-sensitive eaters. The original recipe calls for corn tortillas (I used sweet potato tortillas because that’s what I had) and cheese.

I kept the cheese, because I am a card-carrying cheese fanatic and I’ve never understood why it’s off-limits in so many diets (unless you are legit allergic or intolerant to it). In terms of cheese being okay for an anti-inflammatory diet – IT TOTALLY IS! A 2017 review of 52 clinical studies, published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, concluded that dairy generally has anti-inflammatory effects, except in people allergic to cow’s milk. However, if dairy is off-limits to you, it can be omitted in the recipe without any consequence other than the loss of that ooey-gooey topping – or, you can swap with dairy-free, vegan-friendly cheese shreds.

Next step is layering it all up in a 9 x 13” casserole dish and baking for about 20 minutes until warm and bubbly. Cut in squares and devour. If you want to top with sour cream, salsa, guacamole or all of the aforementioned, I’m not stopping you.

Note: This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission on purchases, however the price to you remains the same. Proceeds are used to offset operating expenses for The Fit Fork. Thank you!

Recipe adapted from The Anti-Inflammatory Family Cookbook.

5 from 7 votes

Print

Butternut Squash Black Bean Enchilada Bake

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 20 mins

 

Course: dinner, entree

Cuisine: anti inflammatory, gluten free, Southwestern, vegetarian

Keyword: black bean, butternut squash, casserole, enchilada

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 378 kcal

Ingredients

For Sauce:

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• ¾ cup diced white or yellow onion
• ¾ tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. red chili flakes
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• ¾ tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic from jar
• 1 cup water
• 2 ½ cups tomato sauce
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

For Filling:

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 cup fine dice white or yellow onion
• 1 cup medium diced red bell pepper
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• ¼ tsp. red chili flakes
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 15-oz can black beans, strained and rinsed
• 2 cups mashed butternut squash steamed in microwave from fresh or frozen cubes
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Additional

• 10 - 12 corn tortillas or alternative tortillas
• 2 cups shredded cheddar or jack cheese or vegan cheese
• optional extra cilantro and toppings like salsa, sour cream, avocado

Instructions

To make sauce:

1. Heat olive oil in medium-large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and dry spices, saute for 3 minutes until onions softened and spices are fragrant. Add garlic and saute 30 more seconds. Add tomato sauce and water, simmer over medium-low for 25 minutes. Stir in cilantro at end, remove from heat.

To make filling:

1. Heat olive oil in another skillet over medium and saute onions, red pepper and dry spices for 5 minutes or until softened and spices fragrant. Add water to deglaze pan and then add beans and squash that has been steamed until soft in microwave, cook for about 4 to 5 minutes until heated through and then use potato masher or large for to mash everything together. Stir in fresh cilantro and remove from heat.

To assemble and bake:

1. Preheat oven to 400F degrees
2. In 9 x 13” casserole dish (3qt) layer bottom of pan with 5 to 6 tortillas (I cut mine in halves to fit easier). Spread bean-butternut foiling evenly and top with remaining tortillas. Pour and spread enchilada sauce evenly over tortillas. Top with cheese.
3. Bake 20 minutes until mixture is warmed through and cheese on top is bubbly and melted. Cut into 8 pieces and serve hot with a sprinkle of extra cilantro any desired toppings like salsa, avocado, sour cream, etc.

Recipe Notes

Nutritional Facts (per 1/8 of casserole)

Calories 378, 16g fat, 15g protein, fiber 11g, carbs 43g, net carbs 32g, sugar 8g

Recipe adapted from The Anti-Inflammatory Family Cookbook.