Easy Black Bean Lasagna

Submitted by Sharlene~W

"A Tex-Mex kind of lasagna. I had this at a "100 Chefs for UNCF" banquet a few years back. (UNCF = United Negro College Fund) The chef, Jerry Richard was kind enough to share his recipe."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 15mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained (Progresso or Green Giant)
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes (Progresso)
• 3⁄4 cup onion, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
• 1⁄2 cup salsa (Old El Paso Thick'n Chunky)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 cup light ricotta cheese
• 1⁄8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 egg
• 10 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 1 1⁄2 cups cheddar cheese or 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded (6 ounces)

directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Spray 13x9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl, mash beans slightly.
4. Stir in tomatoes, onions, bell pepper, salsa, chili powder and cumin.
5. Mix well.
6. In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese, garlic powder and egg; blend well.
7. Spread 1 cup of tomato mixture over bottom of spray-coated baking dish.
8. Top with half of noodles, overlapping slightly.
9. Top with half of remaining tomato mixture.
10. Spoon ricotta mixture over top, spread carefully.
11. Top with half of cheese, then with remaining noodles, tomato mixture and cheese.
12. Cover tightly with spray coated foil.
13. Bake at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes or until noodles are tender.
14. Uncover, let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Reviews

[*Parsley*]

This is really a wonderful lasagna! I had a 30-oz can of black beans so I used the whole thing....I loved the "meaty" texture from the semi mashed beans. For the cheese, I used half cheddar and half mozzarella. This has a great tex-mex flavor without being too spicy for kids. I will definitley make this again. Thanx!

 

[Nancygirl]

I made this for a party and everyone loved it. It almost reminds me of chili. I doubled the recipe, used red peppers (preference) and 3 diced jalepenos along with a good dose of cayenne. I also used mozzerella and some shaved pepperjack. Really great with the added heat, I don't know that I would have enjoyed this as much without it. Definately a keeper!

 

[FanciMcG]

This was excellent. I always much around with recipes, rarely follow one exactly, so here are the modifications I made: used 2 cups of medium salsa (thick and chunky as you wrote), and cut back on the crushed tomatoes; used more cheese because I didn't measure and I have a heavy hand with cheese - used reduced fat sharp cheddar and part skim ricotta. My husband and I like leftovers, and this got better each day. Made it twice within a short time period because we liked it so much. Thank you!

 

[Soup Fly]

This is a big departure from what we usually eat, but I was making a meal to take to a new mom and it had to be meatless. This was a hit! I made a few substitutions based on what I already had on hand: Instead of the onions and green bell peppers as called for, I used 1 1/4 cup of the frozen onion and 3 pepper blend; I had no cumin so I tossed in a smidge of cayenne pepper just to give a little extra flavor and I figured the heat would be ok since the salsa I used was mild; I used the Mexican blend of shredded cheeses instead of the recommended cheddar or mozzarella. I made this in a 9" square pan because it fits my Pyrex insulated bag and would travel well. That meant I had some leftover tomato and cheese mixtures, which quickly became part of impromtu quesadillas for our lunch. Will definitely be making (and keeping!) this one again!!

 

[Cilantro in Canada]

The first day I made this I did not like it, but once the flavours had a chance to blend it tasted really good. I used homemade Wonderful Salsa #9272 and a mixture of cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. This travelled really well for lunches and reheated extremely well too. Because I used dried beans and cooked them, I had to add some extra salt. Thanks for the recipe.