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Casserole Recipes for Dinner: Cheesy Turkey Enchilada Bake Ready in 40 Minutes

Oct 21
3 min read

Updated: 15 hours ago

Turkey enchilada casserole in a baking dish with golden melted cheese, cilantro and sliced jalapenos


40 minutes, feeds 6, leftovers keep 4 days

All the flavour of enchiladas with none of the rolling. Corn tortillas get layered flat like lasagna sheets with ground turkey, black beans and corn, and the whole thing bakes under enchilada sauce and a thick cheese lid. Forty minutes, one dish, and it feeds six with leftovers.

Why this one works

  • Layering flat tortillas instead of rolling saves fifteen minutes and tastes identical.

  • Toasting the tortillas briefly first keeps them from turning to paste under the sauce.

  • Corn tortillas hold their structure where flour ones dissolve — this matters more than it sounds.

At a glance

  • Prep time: 15 min

  • Cook time: 25 min

  • Total time: 40 min

  • Yield: 6 servings

  • Protein: 41g per serving

  • Calories: 612 per serving

Ingredients

Filling

  • 1 tbsp olive oil

  • 1.5 lb (680g) ground turkey, 93% lean

  • 1 yellow onion, diced

  • 4 garlic cloves, minced

  • 2 tsp ground cumin

  • 1 tsp chili powder

  • 1 tsp smoked paprika

  • 1 tsp kosher salt

  • 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

  • 1 1/2 cups frozen corn

Assembly



  • 12 corn tortillas

  • 2 1/2 cups (20 oz) red enchilada sauce

  • 3 cups shredded Monterey Jack or a Mexican blend

  • 1/2 cup sour cream, stirred into the filling

To finish

  • Chopped cilantro

  • Sliced jalapenos

  • Diced avocado

  • Lime wedges

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven. Preheat to 375F / 190C and lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.

  2. Brown the turkey. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high, add the turkey and let it sit undisturbed for 3 minutes at a time so it browns. About 8 minutes total. Add the onion and cook 4 minutes, then the garlic for one more.

  3. Season and fill out. Add the cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika and salt and stir for 60 seconds. Add the black beans and corn and cook 2 minutes to warm through, then stir in the sour cream off the heat.

  4. Toast the tortillas. Warm the tortillas in a dry skillet for 20 seconds a side, or stack them and microwave 30 seconds. Pliable tortillas layer cleanly and hold up far better under the sauce.

  5. Layer it. Spread 1/2 cup enchilada sauce across the bottom of the dish. Lay down 4 tortillas, overlapping to cover. Add half the turkey filling, 1/2 cup sauce and 1 cup cheese. Repeat with 4 more tortillas, the rest of the filling, 1/2 cup sauce and 1 cup cheese. Finish with the last 4 tortillas, the remaining sauce and the last cup of cheese.

  6. Bake. Cover loosely with foil and bake 15 minutes, then uncover and bake 10 to 12 minutes more, until the cheese is bubbling and browned at the edges.

  7. Rest, then cut. Let it sit 10 minutes before cutting so the layers set. Top with cilantro, jalapenos and avocado, with lime on the side.

Notes and swaps

  • Make ahead: assemble, cover and refrigerate up to 2 days, adding 10 minutes to the covered bake.

  • Rotisserie chicken, shredded, works in place of the turkey and cuts 10 minutes.

  • Freezes unbaked for 3 months. Bake from frozen, covered, at 375F for 55 minutes, then uncovered for 15.

Nutrition per serving

  • Calories: 612

  • Protein: 41g

  • Carbohydrates: 48g

  • Fat: 28g

  • Fiber: 9g

  • Sugar: 7g

  • Sodium: 1240mg

Nutrition is an estimate calculated from the ingredients listed and will vary with brands and portion sizes.

Want the rest of them?

Thirty more weeknight dinners the whole table will eat — each one with a shopping list, a cost estimate and make-ahead notes.



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