Slow Cooker Enchilada Quinoa

By Maria Lichty

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Slow Cooker Enchilada Quinoa-this easy and healthy slow cooker recipe is a family favorite. Add it to your dinner menu now! 

Slow Cooker Enchilada Quinoa Recipe

This post is in partnership with Old El Paso, but our opinions are our own. 

Our Black Bean and Quinoa Enchilada Bake is hands down one of the most popular recipes on our site. You guys love it and so do we. We make it for dinner all of the time! Several of you have emailed us and asked if we could create a similar slow cooker recipe. Well, today is your lucky day because we played around with the recipe and came up with a killer Slow Cooker Enchilada Quinoa. If you like our enchilada bake, you will LOVE the slow cooker version because it is SO easy! The slow cooker does most of the work and the results are mighty delicious!

Slow Cooker Enchilada Quinoa Recipe

You only need about 15 minutes to prep this delicious dinner recipe. A little chopping, a little can opening, and you are good to go! Dump everything in your slow cooker and let it do the work!

Slow Cooker Enchilada Quinoa Recipe

I was worried the slow cooker version wouldn’t be as good as our original enchilada bake, but IT IS!! It really is!

Slow Cooker Enchilada Quinoa Recipe

The flavors are incredible! The quinoa tastes just like enchiladas, thanks to Old El Paso’s mild red enchilada sauce, and all of the other fantastic Mexican flavors going on! And do you see all of that cheese? Mmmmmm!

When the cheese is melted, I top the enchilada quinoa with diced avocado, green onions, and fresh cilantro to finish things off.

Slow Cooker Enchilada Quinoa Recipe

We like to eat the enchilada quinoa with tortilla chips! You can also serve tortillas on the side or eat it plain. It is good any and every way!

When we make this Slow Cooker Enchilada Quinoa for dinner our boys devour it! It is a family favorite and I am sure your family will enjoy it too! Add it to your dinner menu right this second!

Slow Cooker Enchilada Quinoa Recipe

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Slow Cooker Enchilada Quinoa

This easy slow cooker recipe is a family favorite! Serve tortilla chips or tortillas on the side!
4.75 from 36 votes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa rinsed
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 red pepper seeds removed, diced
  • 2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 10 oz cans Old El Paso mild red enchilada sauce
  • 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1 4.5 oz can Old El Paso chopped green chiles
  • 1 cup corn frozen kernels
  • Juice of 1 small lime
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
  • Optional toppings: Sliced green onions avocado, diced tomatoes, sour cream, cilantro, and lime wedges

Instructions
 

  • Combine the quinoa, water, onion, garlic, red pepper, black beans, enchilada sauce, diced tomatoes, green chiles, corn, lime juice, cumin, chile powder, and cilantro in a slow cooker. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours, or until the liquid is absorbed and quinoa is cooked.
  •  Remove the lid and stir the casserole. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Stir in the half the cheese and sprinkle the other half on top. Put the lid back on and cook until the cheese melts, about 15 minutes.
  • Serve warm with desired toppings.

Have you tried this recipe?

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Maria

I'm Maria and my husband is Josh. We share a love of cooking, baking, and entertaining. We enjoy creating recipes that are simple, fresh, and family friendly. We love sitting around the table with good food, good conversation, and good friends and family! Our kitchen is always open!
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4.75 from 36 votes (18 ratings without comment)

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Comments

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  1. I have been thinking about making something really similar to this! Love that this is made easily in the slow cooker!

  2. This sounds so wonderful, Maria! Love that you made it so easy by throwing it into the slow cooker! And those flavors…fuhgetaboutit 😉 Must try.

  3. Quick question….
    The recipe says “1 red pepper, seeds removed, diced”  are we talking about a red bell pepper or a red chile pepper? Might make a big difference, so wanted to check first! 🙂

  4. Thanks. Just made this in my 4 Qt. Just fit. Added 1# fried ground beef, doubled the garlic, and used 2 paks low sodium Taco Seasoning instead of the loose seasonings you had. Took 5 hrs on high to get all the Quinoa “popped.” Nacho’s, Nacho’s, Nacho’s! This is terrific.   

  5. My husband refuses to eat things with “just” quinoa..he wants meat as well.  Could ground beef be added to this? At what stage? 

    1. I haven’t tried it, but I am sure it would be fine. Either add it at the beginning to cook or add cooked ground beef at the end.

  6. this is great, see that it’s one of your top recipes of 2016 and can see why, I’d missed it the first time so glad to see it here, thank you for posting this!

  7. I made this tonight and it is phenomenal! We are so tired of eating out or eating frozen. This was simple enough a terrible cook like me can make it without bombing anything. I am making another batch for potluck tomorrow.

  8. This recipe was so good! BUT! My family felt it made a better DIP for chips. Because it was a little on the spicy side and extremely thick, it was overwhelming for us to eat all by itself. Nice, healthy dip or topping. It makes so much though as a dip that  I may have to give some away to the neighbor.

  9. I really liked using a lot
    Of vegetables (2 or sometimes even 3 large bell peppers) in the oven recipe, but don’t want to mess this up either because need to do this and (so grateful!) you made it into a slow cooker, may I use 3 bell peppers??

  10. 5 stars
    We love this recipe! We use it at least once a month for easy, yummy lunches. I’m just wondering if you have any calories or a nutrition breakdown available? Thanks!

  11. I see a lot of people have asked for nutrition info. I don’t know the full breakdown, but calories per serving is 372. 🙂

  12. This isn’t cool! This recipe was either taken from Betty Crocker or they took it from this website!
    Someone needs to be honest.

    1. This recipe was a collaboration with Old El Paso so they published it on their site too. Sorry for the confusion! We did create the recipe. 

    2. Perhaps you should seek information before making !! accusations. THAT’S not cool. Sheesh.

  13. 5 stars
    Delicious and easy! It took very little time to prepare and the timing of cooking was accurate. Even without kids in the house, the dish was gobbled up!

  14. 5 stars
    Delicious! Made this last night and was very happy with the meal. Directions were easy to follow and the result was fantastic. However, the recipe is for 8 people. Way more than we needed so make sure to cut the ingredients down if you are not feeding a large group. I made it for two people and still had yummy leftovers!

  15. 4 stars
    Oh my goodness this was delicious. Your pictures were very enticing, and I knew I had to try it out. My husband loved it, but it was a little too spicy for my girls. Could one of the cans of enchilada sauce be omitted for another can of beans instead?

  16. 5 stars
    This is absolutely amazing… and really easy to make! I was in awe about how something can take little effort and taste so good. I’m making this like every other week, now. I did replace the chili powder with cayenne pepper for a little more of a kick.

  17. 5 stars
    I doubled the recipes into a 7-quart crock and it turned out great! Tip: I didn’t increase the cook time; I cooked for six hours on low then two on high and before it was time to serve and it was still too soupy for my expectation. I also didn’t drain the cans of vegetables, doing so will help with this too I presume.

  18. 5 stars
    I just made this and it’s wonderful! I love the hesrtinesd of the quinoa with the enchilada flavors. Thank you. 

  19. This sounds so good! Could you add chicken to this recipe? If so, would you recommend throwing it in the slow cooker frozen in the beginning with everything?

  20. 5 stars
    I’ve been making this recipe for years and I’m obsessed with it! Feel free to experiment with it; I always sub the red pepper for a poblano, and I like to use fire roasted diced tomatoes for a little added kick. It’s super easy to veganize as well if you use non-dairy cheese & sour cream!

  21. 5 stars
    This got a 5 star rating from my mother who does NOT like quinoa! I was amazed.

    It is a keeper in my meal rotation.

  22. If I want to add ground chicken, do I cook it ahead of time then add to the slow cooker or will it cook okay in the slow cooker from the beginning?

    1. When I have made this in the past I have put my chicken in at the beginning (raw) and shredded it when cooking is complete. However, I imagine you could use rotisserie chicken and add close to the end just to heat it.

    1. I would also like to know this!!! Urmi, if I get it right when I try it, I will report back 🙂

  23. 5 stars
    This recipe is great! It’s filling and has that mexican flavor that we all love. It has become a household favorite and is great for Meatless Monday meals.

  24. I love this recipe and would like a quick version for weeknights – any advice on converting it for the instant pot?

  25. 5 stars
    I’ve been making this recipe for years. Recently transferred to the crock pot version and still LOVE IT. I find the crock pot version easier and quicker, of course, and better when taking to work functions, etc. THANK YOU So much for sharing!

  26. Is there only 1/2 cup of water required? That seems like too little considering there’s a cup of uncooked quinoa. Did I miss other liquids?

  27. 5 stars
    I love this recipe! Trying it out today with salsa instead of enchilada sauce cause that’s what I had. Think it’ll work?