Enchilada Casserole

This enchilada casserole uses polenta instead of tortillas, making it quick and easy while still tasting great.

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This enchilada casserole is one of my favorite quick meals. I came up with it when I had some polenta leftover from another recipe and I had some enchilada sauce sitting in a jar in the fridge. Once I made it, I decided it was a keeper, so I’m sharing it with you here. You can also freeze it, which we do for quick meals when we hit the road in our RV.

I confess that I’ve never cooked polenta from scratch. I love the convenience of grabbing prepared polenta from the pantry and slicing off what’s needed for a meal. Here’s a picture of the polenta that I used. Look for it in the pasta aisle. This brand is from Whole Foods, but I’ve seen it in the regular grocery store too. And you can always order it here.

Ingredients

• Polenta – use prepared in a package for quick prep.
• Fresh veggies – such as squash, spinach, and mushrooms
• Enchilada sauce – go here for my recipe or use your favorite store brand.
• Shredded Mexican cheese – find a blend of Mexican cheeses in the dairy aisle

For veggies, I chose yellow crook-neck squash, crimini mushrooms, and spinach. If you don’t have fresh spinach, substitute frozen spinach. Calabaza or zucchini squash both work well in this recipe too. You can use white mushrooms or portabella mushrooms, but I love the flavor of the crimini mushrooms.

Making Enchilada Casserole

Step 1: Prepare the veggies

• Slice the squash and mushrooms.
• Put these sliced veggies in a skillet with a little oil and salt, and sauté them for about three to four minutes.
• Add the spinach and cook the veggies for an additional two minutes.
• Set the veggies aside.
• Using the same skillet, lightly brown the polenta before adding it to the casserole dish. This adds flavor and texture.

Step 2: Prepare the casserole

• Put the enchilada sauce on the bottom of your casserole dish.
• Layer the lightly browned polenta on top of the enchilada sauce.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Add the sautéed veggies to the casserole dish on top of the polenta.

• Sprinkle Mexican cheese on top and pop it into the oven.

• In about fifteen minutes you’ll have dinner.

Tips

• Use a splatter screen when browning the polenta slices.
• You can use the same skillet to brown the polenta that you used for the veggies.

Serving Enchilada Casserole

This enchilada casserole is just fine by itself, but it’s also good accompanied by some black or pinto beans.

If you like recipes that include polenta, try my polenta chickpea marinara. My stacked veggie enchiladas are good too!

If you like this recipe, please comment and pin it for future reference.