Easy Mexican Lasagna (aka Tortilla Casserole)

This tortilla casserole is essentially a Mexican-style lasagna that uses corn tortillas in place of noodles. The filling is a mix of corn, black beans, tomatoes, green chiles, scallions, spices and cheese. It's an easy, satisfying 30-minute vegetarian dinner made mostly with pantry and freezer staples.

This Mexican Lasagna was my first encounter with the genre of quick and easy recipes. It was given to me more than 20 years ago by my neighbor Nava Atlas, a vegetarian cookbook author and blogger.

She gave me her cookbook, pointed me to her favorite recipe in the book, and told me she loved it because it was easy, delicious and most of the ingredients were things I probably already had in my house. I was sold! I had three active, hungry little boys to cook for and not a lot of time to do it.

Ingredients for Mexican Lasagna

I've made this casserole countless times since then. It's saved me on many busy nights when I wanted a healthy, satisfying dinner without a lot of fuss. My kids, my husband and I loved it back then and we still love it today. It's one of those easy, universally loved recipes that everyone needs in their repertoire.

Black beans – Canned black beans make this recipe especially easy. Drain and rinse them before using.

Tomatoes – Canned diced or stewed tomatoes both work well here.

Green Chilies – A small can of mild chopped green chilies adds lots of flavor without making the casserole spicy. Feel free to use spicy chilies if you want some heat.

Corn – I usually use frozen corn, which can go right into the filling once it's defrosted. When corn is in season and you're not pressed for time, fresh corn cut from the cob is even better.

Scallions – These add fresh onion flavor to the filling. Save a handful to sprinkle over the finished casserole.

Spices – Chili powder, cumin and oregano give this tortilla casserole its classic Tex-Mex flavor.

Corn Tortillas – These take the place of noodles in this Mexican-style lasagna, and create the layers of the casserole.

Cheese – I like Monterey Jack, but cheddar also works. Use your favorite cheese or even a Mexican cheese blend. What's important is to use shredded cheese so you can spread it evenly over the layers for melted cheesiness in every bite.

How To Make Mexican Lasagna

This dish is incredibly easy to put together. For the prep you're mostly just opening cans and measuring spices — the only thing you have to chop is the scallions. The assembly is quick and pretty fun, too. Here's the basic process:

Make the filling: Combine the black beans, tomatoes, green chilies, corn, scallions and spices in a large bowl.

Assemble the casserole: Arrange a layer of corn tortillas in the bottom of a 9 x 12 (or so) rectangular baking dish, overlapping them slightly and trimming them as needed to fit.

Top with half the filling and half of the shredded cheese.

Repeat the layers: Add another layer of tortillas, followed by the remaining filling and cheese.

Bake: Bake the tortilla casserole until it's hot and the cheese is melted and bubbling.

Cut it into squares and serve it with salsa and sour cream and chopped scallions.

Make This Ahead of Time

You can assemble the entire dish several hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate it until you're ready to bake it. Add about 5 minutes to the cooking time if you're baking it straight from the fridge.

More Delicious Mexican Recipes To Try

• Chicken Enchiladas Verdes
• Easy White Bean Turkey Chili Verde
• Mexican Chicken Tostadas with Avocado-Lime Salsa
• Huevos Rancheros

If you try this Mexican Lasagna recipe I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!

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