Make these Enchilada Lunch Bowls on Sunday and you’ll have a delicious and healthy lunch all week!
I’m pretty sure that when you’re working, lunch is what you look forward to the most. At least, that is true for me. Not only does it mean the day is halfway through, but it also means I get to relax and chow down.
Back when I had lots of stomach problems, I usually wouldn’t feel very good in the morning so I would just throw something in my lunchbox figuring I probably wasn’t even going to eat it. And then when noon rolled around I was starving and cursing myself for only packing rice cakes!
When you’ve just rolled out of bed and haven’t even eaten breakfast yet, lunch can be hard to pack. For that reason, I’m getting really into make ahead lunches. You make them on Sunday, throw one in your bag each morning and when noon rolls around, you are one happy camper 🙂
A month or so ago I made these Make Ahead Sweet Potato Lunch bowls and now I’m really excited to share these Make Ahead Enchilada Lunch Bowls with you! I promise that I’ll come up with some non-Mexican ones, but today just isn’t that day.
When you’re ready to eat, all you have to do is pop them in the microwave or oven, throw some fresh toppings on (optional) and you’re ready to go! Just sit back and watch everyone be jealous of your lunch 🙂
You definitely don’t have to go out and buy 4 lunch bowl size pyrex dishes for these! If you don’t have them, you can easily bake this in an 8 inch baking dish and scoop it into 4 regular plastic lunch containers after it has cooled.
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Make Ahead Enchilada Lunch Bowls
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
A delicious Mexican inspired make ahead lunch!
Ingredients
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 small zucchini, diced
- 1 small summer squash, diced
- 1/2 small onion, diced
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 6 corn tortillas, chopped up
- 1 (19 oz) can enchilada sauce
- 1 cup shredded cheese, I used non-dairy cheese in this recipe
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and all the veggies. Cook veggies until softened, 5-7 minutes. Next, add the black beans and all he spices. Stir and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Assemble lunch bowls in a small (3-4 cup) oven safe pyrex dish*. For each bowl, add 2 tablespoons enchilada sauce to the bottom and then top with 1/2 cup veggie mixture, 1/4 cup chopped corn tortillas, 1-2 tablespoons cheese and then 2 more tablespoons enchilada sauce. Repeat once more ending with a layer of cheese on top. It’s easiest of you fill all the bowls at the same time.
- Place bowls on a large baking sheet and stick in the oven until cheese is melted and enchiladas are bubbly, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before placing lids on top and refrigerating until needed.
- To re-heat: Microwave for about 2 minutes or bake at 375 for 20 minutes.
Notes
*If you don’t have 4 small oven safe dishes you can just use an 8 inch baking dish and and section it into 4 portions after cooking it. Just double the amounts of everything for each layer.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Lunch, Make Ahead, Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 lunch bowl
- Calories: 701
- Sugar: 9 g
- Sodium: 1788 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 131 g
- Fiber: 24 g
- Protein: 28 g
Hi!
My boyfriend and I love this recipe.
I’m just wondering though, do the corn kernels go in with the veggies in the pan?
It doesn’t say specifically so I didn’t put them in just in case it was wrong. Can you help please? 🙂
Jane
opps, I’ll have to go fix the recipe! Yes, they do 🙂
Thank you! 🙂
My only concern would be the mystery
“can of enchilada sauce “??? Is there a brand without MSG? ☹️
You would just have to look at the ingredients on the cans, or you could make your own 🙂
Looks delicious! The carb count seems off per bowl? Is that for the whole batch?
Hi Amy, the site that I use to calculate nutrition can be kind of off sometimes, I will look into it and see if anything looks funny!
everything is off in your nutrition calculator, there is NO way that the carb count is that high. the actual macros are 49 carb, 11 fat, 16 protein, 367 calories according to MyFitnessPal and using regular cheddar cheese
Any idea the nutritional numbers on this recipe? Calories, sugars, carbs, protein, etc.
Hi Robert, I’ve just added the nutrition information to the bottom of the recipe. Some of the numbers are a little high, but the bowls are pretty large so you might be able to split them up into more than 4 servings 🙂
I absolutely love how eye appealing this dish is. It’s so full of colors. I also love the fact that it’s full of veggies with that added protein from the black beans. LOVE black beans! Another thing I love about this is how you’ve really demonstrated the fact that you can add lots of flavor, without over-doing the salt. I fell off the get healthier bandwagon a bit ago, and just recently climbed back on with a bit more of a serious attitude. I’m really enjoying your blog, and can’t wait to enjoy this wonderful make-ahead lunch.
Thanks so much, Christine! I hope you enjoy these if you give them a try 🙂
YES! I always look forward to lunch. When I was working at an office, that was the highlight of my day haha. And these enchilada bowls are calling my name. They look SO good, Izzy! And I love that they’re make-ahead too. Love all of the zesty flavors in here!
Thanks Gayle! I still find myself looking forward to lunch even not working in an office haha!
Ooh Izzy, I absolutely love these make-ahead enchilada lunch bowls! Just the name is so fun to read! 🙂 This is such a good idea! I have a back-up of other’s recipes I’d like to make but this is going on the list. And I take it maternity leave is over, and you’re back to work now? Hope that adjustment is going as smooth as possible!
Thanks Katie!! Fortunately, I didn’t have to go back to my regular job! Now I just do the blog and the mom thing and some days it seems much harder than the regular job haha! I still look forward to lunch 🙂