I made some yummy enchilada bowls a while back that were pretty easy and everybody liked them, including me. But the only problem was that I felt the texture, while fine, wasn’t quite what I wanted. The rice turned out just a little on the soft side and when I was thinking of making them again I wanted something with a little more bite. Then digging through my pantry I ended up finding some leftover orzo pasta (which is also delicious in this soup by the way) and a little lightbulb when off. Well, maybe it was more like smoke coming out 🙂 Either way I must call this a new and improved version!
I’ve been making a lot of meat lately, and especially a lot of chicken, so I decided to leave it out in favor of black beans to keep this vegetarian. You could add some chicken or ground beef if you prefer. If you go with beef just cook it first and then add it or you could cut up a chicken breast and put it in and let it cook with the meal.
If you go meatless then really the only thing you are doing is getting everything heated up, letting the beans get tender, and melting the cream cheese. So if you needed to make this quick you could set it on high and it could be ready to add the pasta after a couple of hours. Or if you need to set it and let it go all day just put it on low and it will be totally fine since it has so much liquid.
A versatile meal that kept simple with just black beans, corn and tomatoes. Jazz it up any way you like! Make it spicy, make it mild. Add lots of veggies or none. Totally up to you! Add the orzo pasta at the end and it will only take about 15 minutes.
Just top it off with a little cheese, some cilantro, or some sour cream! Easy. Yummy. Another favorite easy weeknight meal we will see again at our house soon!
- 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 12 oz bottle enchilada sauce
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 2 cup dried orzo pasta
- Place all ingredients except for orzo pasta in slow cooker
- Cook on high for up to 4 hours or low for up to 8 until all ingredients are warmed through and cheese is melted
- Add in orzo pasta and stir to combine everything evenly
- Let cook for 15 - 30 minutes on high until pasta is cooked and tender
- Add additional broth or water 1/4 cup at a time if needed to ensure pasta is tender without drying out
I made this in my 3.5 quart slow cooker. The pasta took 15 minutes and I added an additional 1/4 cup water.
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Just tried make this today. It awesome and lot flavours! 2 small change, I did add onions and use quark cheese instead of cream cheese. I love onions so add that. Use quark cheese instead of cream cheese cos lower fat version and I been eating too much recently (back from holiday!).
Defo will be making this again future. Sooooo good!
I’ve made this recipe several times and it always comes out great! Since I’m usually just cooking for myself, I have a lot of leftovers. Would you recommend freezing this dish?
Glad you love it! I’m not sure how well the orzo will freeze. You could always cook it separately and then add in portions later.
Hi! I just wanted to let you know that it looks like your recipe may have been stolen almost to the T (http://damndelicious.net/2014/12/01/slow-cooker-enchilada-orzo/) Just wanted to bring it to your attention because I really support intellectual property and creativity!
Thanks for the heads up, Amelia!!
Fyi – Pinterest won’t let me pin this. 🙁 Says the link leads to spam.
Thanks Devorah! I think it’s fixed now but let me know if you find any more issues!! It was NOT really spam we just got caught up in some security filters.