Green Mexican Lasagna is the perfect meal to feed a crowd! Full of flavors and packed with goodness!
I love fusion food and when it involves Mexican cuisine, I am the happiest!
I love making lasagna – just simple lasagna with noodles and tons of veggies and a spicy sauce. Yes I love spicy food.
I also love enchiladas. So when I realized that I can get away with putting both in one dish and call it aGreen Mexican Lasagna – you can only imagine that my happiness knew no bounds! This is in and out a Mexican dish, only arranged in lasagna style. To me this meal screams comfort and Monday needs comforting food.
I decided to make a quick tomatillo based sauce and you won’t believe me when I tell you that it literally takes 5 mins to get the sauce together. Now if you are buying canned beans and packet of mexican rice that saves you more time. I like making beans from scratch but it it totally optional. You can easily sub any meat in place of beans. The veggie part- you can go crazy here. Summer produce has so much to offer- I used red and green bell peppers and fresh corn but you can use zucchini, squash, asparagus, green beans and what not. This is one meal that won’t make you feel that you need to skip next day breakfast just cause you indulged the previous night. Full of veggies, beans, green sauce – it is meal for champions if I say so! I know it sounds funny to me too hehe!
I ended up taking tons of photos and with all the brightness in this meal, I just couldn’t resist but add all here for you guys. Hope you guys enjoy these photos and the one below has steps as to how I layered it in the baking dish. It’s super simple.
Goes like this –>Sauce–>tortillas cut in half moon shapes or full if you are using a big dish–>more sauce–>sauteed veggies–>beans–>rice–>cheese–>more sauce–>repeat all the steps.
The best part about this meal : it makes a lot so you can probably freeze the left overs and you got dinner for those crazy nights when you got no intention to cook!
- 9 white or yellow corn tortillas
- 6 ounce mild/sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 packet of mexican rice blend, cooked as per package directions
- 1 cup dry pinto beans or a can of refried beans
- Salt to taste
- ¼ tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp taco seasoning
- ¼ tsp cumin powder
- 3 med size tomatillos, cleaned, poked using a knife and microwaved on high for 1-1.5 mins (Keep them in a zip lock but DO NOT close the zip all the way)
- 1 jalapeno
- ½ cup tightly packed cilantro
- 1 can fire roasted chopped green chile (I used HATCH brand)
- ½ cup red onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves
- ¾ cup water
- ¼ tsp cumin powder
- Salt to taste
- Pinch of paprika
- 2 ounce mild/sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- ½ red bell pepper chopped
- 2 fresh corns, husk removed and roasted on stove top or grill
- salt to taste
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- ½ tsp oregano
- ¼ tsp paprika
- 1 tsp taco seasoning
- In a pan, add oil. Once hot, add garlic. Saute for a minute or two. Add bell peppers and corn. Add salt, cumin, oregano, taco seasoning and paprika. Stir it around and cook it on med-low until veggies get cooked through. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- Cook the Mexican rice as per package directions and keep it aside.
- If using fresh pinto beans, soak them in hot water for about 10-15 mins. Rinse and pressure cook them with sufficient water. You might end up getting 12-15 whistles or more until the beans get cooked all the way.
- Transfer cooked beans in a blender. Add little water, salt to taste, cumin, taco seasoning and red chili powder. Blend until coarsely blended. Taste and keep it aside.
- For sauce, throw in all the ingredients except water and cheese in blender. Blend on high until smooth. Transfer to a pot and cook on med-high heat. Add water. Keep cooking for 10-15 minutes until it starts to get little thick. Stir the cheese and taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Keep it aside.
- In a baking dish, pour few tbsps of sauce. I couldn't fit whole tortilla so I cut them in half and then layered. But it depends on the size of baking dish you are using. Layering is shown in one of the pic above as well. Sauce, Tortillas, sauce, veggies, beans, rice, cheese, sauce and repeat.
- I used 3 tortillas per layer and I used a baking dish roughly around 8" *4".
- Bake in a 350F pre heated oven for around 30 minutes. Let it sit for 10-12 mins before serving. Garnish with more cilantro and serve with more sauce and sour cream.
More Mexican Food Recipes:
Heather @ My Overflowing Cup says
July 21, 2014 at 6:23 PMOur family loves Mexican Lasagna, but I usually make it with red sauce & flour tortillas. This will be a new flavor experience for us. Thanks so much for the recipe. Pinning it now!
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:54 PMThanks Heather. I hope your family enjoys this!
cheri says
July 21, 2014 at 11:34 PMHi Ami, love this fusion of flavors, great recipe!
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:53 PMThanks Cheri!!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
July 21, 2014 at 11:55 PMOMG this looks fantastic! I can’t wait to give this a try because it’s just the sort of food I love.
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:53 PMMaureen let me know if you give this a try!!
Geraldine says
July 21, 2014 at 11:58 PMI’ve always been scared of tomatillos because I don’t know what to do with them but this looks so easy to put together. Love the idea of using whatever veggies that are ripe – got lots of tomatoes and zucchini coming in so will be adding them as well. Thanks for sharing – it looks delicious – and it will get me over my tomatillo conundrum :).
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:53 PMYes this tomatillo based sauce is super easy and I am sure after this you won’t be scared of tomatillos!!
Helen @ Scrummy Lane says
July 22, 2014 at 4:53 AMI’ve never made anything like this before but it has so much goodness and so many great flavours in it. Plus I’m in if it means dinner’s ready for several nights! Great idea, Ami!
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:51 PMHelen you should totally do this!
Tash says
July 22, 2014 at 5:56 AMAh this looks incredible! So cheesey and blissful…there are simply no rules. You can combine whatever you want
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:51 PMHehe yes!! Glad you like this Tash!
Joanne says
July 22, 2014 at 6:54 AMThe only thing better than enchiladas is enchilada LASAGNA. Because I hate rolling all those shells. BIG YUM to this!
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:50 PMHehe I second you totally!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
July 22, 2014 at 8:02 AMI’m loving this mexican lasagna, Ami! Such a nice twist on regular lasagna. It sounds like the flavors blend together so well!
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:49 PMThanks Gayle! Yes they did actually! You should give this a try!
Angie (@angiesrecipess) says
July 22, 2014 at 11:11 AMSave me a large slice please! This looks utterly delicious and satisfying.
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:45 PMYes I am!!
Anne says
July 22, 2014 at 11:12 AMThese pictures are stunning. I am totally trying this weekend!
Anne
http://www.mommygloss.com
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:45 PMYou should!! Let me know how you liked it!
Jill says
July 22, 2014 at 2:23 PMThis looks great, and I love the idea of making lots to freeze! My freezer is down to it’s last pre-made meal, so time to restock!
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:45 PMYes I love make ahead meals!! Thanks for commenting Jill!
Arpita | The Gastronomic Bong says
July 22, 2014 at 3:16 PMYummm!! Looks so delicious Ami… perfect for my upcoming bbq… 🙂
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:44 PMArpita let me know how it turned out!
gigi says
July 22, 2014 at 4:32 PMyum! great flavors. love this idea. thanks for sharing a great recipe! xx. gigi. http://www.gigikkitchen.com
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:44 PMThanks for stopping by Gigi!
Danielle says
July 22, 2014 at 10:17 PMSuch a creative idea to make Mexican lasagna! I love Mexican and Italian food, this dish looks so delicious!
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:44 PMDanielle you should give this a try!
Alida Ryder says
July 23, 2014 at 1:54 AMThis looks just amazing. Can never go wrong with Mexican flavours!
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:43 PMI totally agree with you – Mexican flavors to die for!!
Allison says
July 23, 2014 at 7:02 AMI love fusion cuisine as well! This looks super hearty, flavourful, and crowd-pleasing 🙂
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:43 PMThanks Allison!
Monica says
July 23, 2014 at 7:43 AMThis looks mega-delicious with all those flavors and textures going on. Definitely hunger-inducing!
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:42 PMHehe hope you give this a try Monica!
Amy | Club Narwhal says
July 23, 2014 at 8:27 AMOh man, this looks AMAZING!!!! I love that charred corn that you mixed into everything. Such a great fusion of flavors.
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:42 PMThanks Amy!!
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
July 23, 2014 at 1:00 PMI LOVE Mexican lasagna. We try to make it at least once a month and it is a favourite in our house. This one looks delicious too.
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:42 PMI would love to know your version too!
nourished roots says
July 23, 2014 at 5:07 PMMexican lasagna! It doesn’t get any better than that! So yummy!
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:41 PMThanks!
Michelle @ Vitamin Sunshine says
July 23, 2014 at 6:32 PMYum! Mexican food is my absolute favorite. I can’t buy corn tortillas where I’m living, so I have to make those from scratch- but I will do it to make this!
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:41 PMAwww you should and do let me know how you liked it!! Though you can easily replace corn tortillas with flour tortillas to make your life easier!!
kristie @ birchandwild.com says
July 23, 2014 at 8:54 PMOh this looks delicious! I will have to try this immediately. You are such a culinary wizard!
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:40 PMI am glad you liked this Kristie! Give it a try for sure.
Cindy @ Pick Fresh Foods says
July 23, 2014 at 9:45 PMWe love Mexican food and this lasagna looks amazing! I love your step by step photos .
naivecookcooks says
July 23, 2014 at 11:40 PMThanks Cindy!
Kelly @ hidden fruits and veggies says
July 24, 2014 at 9:52 AMI looooove Mexican lasagnas (though I normally call it enchilada casserole). I’ve never made it with a tomatillo salsa… and in fact have never even made tomatllo salsa as far as I can remember — this must be remedied ASAP because this sounds incredible.
Kelly says
July 24, 2014 at 1:01 PMWhat a great dish! Love Mexican food and this lasagna with all that pretty corn looks amazing!
Archana @ The Perfect Zest says
July 25, 2014 at 10:42 AMthis looks amazing – and so comforting. I love love love that green sauce. I have everything on hand to make this. I just might!
naivecookcooks says
July 30, 2014 at 5:31 PMArchana let me know how it turned out!!
Yachna Tyagi says
June 12, 2016 at 8:37 AMDid you bake covered or uncovered? Some recipes bake covered with foil and some uncovered so wasn’t sure. Thanks.
naivecookcooks says
June 12, 2016 at 2:36 PMHey Yachna!I baked it uncovered! But I will suggest baking it when ready to eat as it tastes amazing piping hot with lot more sauce and sour cream!! 🙂