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……
What people are saying about this Slow Cooker Enchilada Quinoa
“I threw this together last night and put it in the fridge. I started it in the morning around 7:00 and turned it off at 2:30- it was a fantastic dinner tonight! I added pieces of avocado, some sliced black olives, and a dollop of light sour cream. I’ve already passed this on to two friends and will definitely make this again!” – Bettina
“I’ve been in love with this recipe since I saw the picture. It’s almost dinner time and I snuck a taste…..YUMMY! Serving with tortilla rolls and chips for those that don’t want to eat it like a chili. Amazing post. THANK YOU!” – Anilise
“Made this over spring break for some of my friends since we were all taking classes and needed a little cheering up. I was worried cause it was me cooking for three guys, but they didn’t even question the lack of meat. They used it as burrito filling and they all got thirds, and then they knocked on my door the next morning and invited themselves in for leftovers. Great recipe, really really yummy, easy to make, and great flavors. It’s a crowd pleaser for sure.” – Elisa
“Made this last night and it was sooo good! I browned some ground turkey and dumped that in, too, and it turned out amazingly well! You weren’t kidding when you said leftovers for daysssss because I have enough for me to eat for the next 5 meals (and I could not be happier about that!)!! Thanks for the awesome recipe!” – Lauren
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.
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.
Mine and my family’s favorite recipe!! The tsp of cumin and garlic powder definitely make a difference! Thank you!!
I’m glad you and your family enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
This was very tasty. The only issue I had was the cream cheese. I cut it up in chunks and it was still in chunks when I served it. Should I have stirred everything after it was cooked? I think maybe next time I will not put the shredded cheese on until the very end. That way I can stir the cream cheese through it, then add the shredded cheese, put on the lid and let it melt before serving. I did add the cumin and garlic as suggested, and I had some cooked chicken so I added that also. Thank you for the recipe. I will definitely make this again.
It sounds like the cream cheese wasn’t soft enough to mix in with everything as stated in step 1. As for the cheese, you don’t put it on top until after you’ve stirred everything together. Despite that, I’m glad it turned out well! Hope it works better for you next time 🙂
Burned around the edges, wasn’t great
super easy and affordable to eat, delicious without meat and even tastier with some added! Love to top it with sliced avocado, an over easy egg, and a dash of Valentina hot sauce. It’s so delicious that after I gave some to my dad to try, he asked for me to make it as my gift to him on Christmas and Father’s Day hahaha. I share a lot with my friends and family and so far every single person has loved it.
Starting this out by saying we love meat in our home and this is still one of our absolute favorite recipes. We LOVE it. My hubby is a fishing guide – I throw it in tortillas for him (sometimes with scrambled eggs if I feel like doing extra) for on the boat, and it’s perfect! I eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner when I make it because it’s that good.
This time I forgot to buy corn at the store, and added an extra can of black beans & it still turned out amazing 🙂 just wanted to throw it out there in case anyone else often misses an ingredient on their grocery list.
This recipe is awesome. I make mine with scratch made red enchilada sauce, add a can pumpkin purée instead of cream cheese (no heartburn, more uniformity of texture and flavor), and sometimes I add ground turkey. Great for eating right away, as leftovers, or stored in the freezer for a delicious meal when you don’t want to cook anything.
Thank you for making this recipe! My family is vegetarian and it is so hard to find delicious crock pot vegetarian recipes – this one is a crowd pleaser every time, so filling and so good. Plus the leftovers freeze well! I usually add in 2 cans of diced tomatoes and have found that cooking 3.5-4 hours on high is enough!
I’m glad you were able to find and enjoy this recipe 🙂
Delicious and family friendly!