Bean Stuff Casserole

Bean Stuff – this easy 4 ingredient casserole recipe is a family favorite. It’s a great easy weeknight dinner! We’ve been eating it for generations and everyone loves it!

This recipe has been in my family longer than I have; I think it started out as my Nana’s creation. All I know is that I’ve been eating it my entire life and it’s downright dangerous to have in my house because I can easily eat the entire thing in one day. I’m not even exaggerating!

I was the pickiest kid growing up; I wouldn’t eat condiments (still don’t), onions, red sauce on pasta…and so many other things. But I always looked forward to Bean Stuff night. I have no idea why I would eat this gooey cheesy chili-ladden casserole when my mom had to keep my pasta separate and God forbid Taco Bell forget and put red sauce or onions on my bean burrito.

At some point in my childhood my mom decided to tell me what was in this casserole, in the hopes that, because I loved it, it would make me eat everything else. “There’s chili inside,” she told me. “Yes I know,” I said. “But there’s also a can of tomato sauce!” she gleefully exclaimed, hoping that because I’d eat the tomato sauce in my favorite casserole dish, I’d also make her life easier on spaghetti night.

It didn’t work; I didn’t eat sauce on my pasta until I was an adult and even now I gravitate towards cream sauces or plain. But I kept on loving my beloved Bean Stuff, and now that I knew what was inside, I could help her make it on busy weeknights when she was at work.

Yep, friends, that’s right. This meal is picky-kid approved and it can also be made by kids. It’s pretty much a win-win dinner recipe, if you ask me.

This recipe is queen of all easy dinner recipes. It only has 4 ingredients: chili, tomato sauce, tortillas, and cheese. Basically you layer them all together stack after stack until your pan is full.

When I was young, my mom would assemble the casserole and then immediately cook it, but when I was a teenager we accidentally discovered that if you make it ahead of time and let it soak the amazingness goes up about one bazillion percent. From then on we’d assemble it the night before or the morning of eating it. She’d get home from work and dinner was already halfway to being made, which is the best feeling.

I grew up in the 70s and 80s, when TV trays, canned food, and the microwave was basically all you needed to make a meal great. My entire life I’ve made bean stuff by cooking it in the microwave. That means that dinner is already made when I start thinking about what’s for dinner, and then all I have to do is heat it up for 15-20 minutes.

Since I’ve started blogging, I realize that there are people out there who think microwaves are the devil spawn; that you will die if you stand in front of one or any other such beliefs. So in the interested of all the “can I bake this in the oven??” questions, yes you can! The recipe has baking directions for both cooking methods.

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