Black Bean Burrito Casserole

We tried this tonight and we loved it! I honestly didn't expect it to taste that good and was pleasantly surprised. I essentially cut the recipe in half for most things and this filled the 4 of us up easily.  The first recipe is my tweaks and I also included the original recipe below for those who may wish to make a larger dish or two.  I have had this recipe on my computer for who knows how long and I have no idea who the original author is.




Black Bean Burrito Casserole
Serves 4

3 cups cooked black beans
1/2 cup bean water
1 cup salsa
1 cup shredded carrots
4 oz. cream cheese
4 tortillas
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Combine black beans, bean water, salsa and shredded carrots together and simmer for about 15 minutes to give the carrots time to soften up. Add the cream cheese and stir and mix until the cream cheese has melted and is mixed in well. Grease a 9x13 glass casserole dish and begin to make layers like lasagna. First layer is 2 tortillas covering the bottom, next is bean mixture, next is cheese, and then you start with tortillas again, ending with cheese. Bake this at 350 for 35 minutes.


Black Bean Burritos
(Original recipe; Author Unknown)

6 cups cooked black beans
2 cups salsa
1 cup shredded carrots
8 oz. cream cheese
6 to 8 whole wheat tortillas
6 cups cheese

This recipe makes a large 11x15 casserole. If this is too much for your family I would recommend that you make 2 of them in a 9x9 casserole dish and freeze one, unbaked. In the morning I get my black beans cooking. It takes approx. 3 cups dry beans to have 6 cups cooked beans (you may have a few left over that can be frozen and added to soup in the future). I cook my 3 cups beans in about 12 cups water and 1 T. salt for 2 ½ to 3 hours. After these have cooked you can then assemble your meal or refrigerate them and do it later in the afternoon.

Mix your black beans (with some of the liquid from cooking, don’t make it too soupy, you can always add more water if needed), salsa and shredded carrots together and simmer for about 15 minutes to give the carrots time to soften up. Add the cream cheese and stir and mix until the cream cheese has melted and is mixed in well. Grease your baking pan (or pans) and begin to make layers like lasagna. First layer is tortillas, next is bean mixture, next is cheese, and then you start with tortillas again, ending with cheese. Bake this at 350 for about 30 to 35 minutes until it is nice and hot and bubbly.

Serve this with extra salsa on the side and sour cream, if desired. I serve homemade cornbread and a nice garden salad to round out this meal.

You could use hamburger in this meal if you wanted to and reduce the beans by the volume of hamburger used.