Slow Cooker Enchilada Quinoa
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Healthy, easy Slow Cooker Enchilada Quinoa. Just set it and forget it for a cheesy, protein-packed crock pot meal the whole family will love!
Slow cooking minimizes your time in the kitchen while maximizing dinner compliments! Try Slow Cooker Honey BBQ Beef Brisket, Slow Cooker Spicy Cashew Chicken, and Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef to be sure 😉
This may very well be my new favorite dish of all time. And if not all time, certainly the past 93 hours. That means it’s competing with Mom’s Christmas ham – shh! don’t tell.
Sometimes (read: pretty much every day of my life) I need an easy, practically zero-work recipe that I know I can count on to be absolutely 100% delicious to feed my Mexican food obsession. Slow cooker enchilada quinoa, you are heaven sent. Literally five minutes of prep means I can forget it for a few hours and come back when it’s ready to be devoured.
See that picture up there? ^^^ There’s a lot of yum happening in that crock pot and it lasted us several days since there’s just two of us in this here humble abode, which means leftovers for dayzzz and I could not be more happy about that. If there’s one thing I love more than freshly made cheesy quinoa smothered in enchilada sauce and stuffed with corn and black beans, it’s one or two day old cheesy quinoa smothered in enchilada sauce and stuffed with corn and black beans.
I ate this stuff for breakfast. Yes. Cheesy enchilada quinoa for breakfast. It’s a thing that will be happening again friends.
Now who wants the first bite??
Too late! That’ll be miiine……
More Recipes to Try
- Enchilada Quinoa Stuffed Zucchini Boats – a fresh, vibrant twist on classic comfort food baked to bubbling, saucy perfection.
- One Pan Greek Sun Dried Tomato Chicken and Lentils – the ultimate effortless weeknight dinner that delivers big, sun-drenched flavors with minimal cleanup.
- Quinoa Chicken Nuggets – crispy, golden, bite-sized perfection baked for ultimate guilt-free crunch.
When you make this recipe, snap a photo and tag me on social – I love connecting with you and seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Slow Cooker Enchilada Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15-ounce can yellow corn, drained and rinsed
- 2 15-ounce cans mild or medium red enchilada sauce, divided
- 1 15-ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes and green chiles
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- ½ cup water
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- salt and pepper to taste , (I used about 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper)
- 1 cup shredded Mexican style cheese
- optional: chopped cilantro, diced tomatoes, diced avocado, sour cream
Instructions
- Add beans, corn, 1 can of enchilada sauce, diced tomatoes and chiles, quinoa, water, cream cheese, and salt and pepper to the slow cooker. Stir everything together.
- Pour remaining can of enchilada sauce on top, then sprinkle with shredded cheese. Cover and cook 4-5 hours on high or 5-7 hours on low.
- Uncover, top with tomatoes, avocados, sour cream, and chopped cilantro and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Question:
Do you think putting 2 chicken breasts in to cook with everything to shred up at the end would work?
Yes, it would work and be delicious!
Do I need to add more water if I add one can of pinto beans and a full block of cream cheese?
Yes, I’d add a bit more like 3/4-1 cup
I’ve made this three times since I found the recipe about six weeks ago! It’s hard to find vegetarian or vegan slow cooker recipes and I’m happy this is so easy to put together. If I don’t have enchilada sauce, I sub a mix of tomato paste, water and cumin and it works just fine.
This is the BEST recipe if you like Mexican flavors it’s both filling and simple! I’ve been making it for years!
Do I drain the rotel (tomatoes)? And could I use pinto beans instead of black beans?
No, you do not need to drain the tomatoes and you can totally sub pinto beans! The texture will be a bit creamier and the flavor may be a bit nuttier rather than earthy as black beans are but both are very subtle flavors that won’t make a big difference in this dish.
I plan on making this soon, how different would this recipe be if I used pinto beans instead of black beans? Thanks in advance.
You can totally sub pinto beans! The texture will be a bit creamier and the flavor may be a bit nuttier rather than earthy as black beans are but both are very subtle flavors that won’t make a big difference in this dish.