Pace Salsa Recipe Challenge: Salsa Bean Casserole

Pace Salsa asked if I would be interested in participating in a recipe challenge and use their salsa to create new recipes. I love to experiment with cooking, so this sounded like fun to me!

Recipe One: Salsa Bean Casserole

One of my standbys is Bean and Cheese Pie, a recipe I discovered in a Betty Crocker cookbook called Vegetarian Cooking. I decided to use this as my inspiration for the first salsa-based meal, and created this casserole as a new twist on the old favorite.

Salsa Bean Casserole

1 cup flour
1/2 cup Pace Mexican Four Cheese Salsa Con Queso
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 15oz cans of black beans
1 cup Pace Black Bean and Roasted Corn Salsa
1 small head of garlic
Dash of sea salt

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and 1/2 cup Queso. Add milk and egg. Grease a 13 x 9 pan – I used Coconut Oil, which you’ll be hearing more about in another review! – and spoon in batter.

Rinse the beans and mix with Black Bean & Roasted Corn salsa and chopped garlic. I used a teeny head of garlic from my garden – it was very small, so you could probably use about 4 or 5 normal sized cloves for the same effect. Add sea salt to taste.

Spoon bean mixture over batter, and bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes or until light brown.

The finished product

I had planned to add more seasonings, but I found the salsas to be so flavorful that I decided to just leave it as it was. The Black Bean & Roasted Corn salsa is a medium salsa that has a smoky, almost barbecue-type taste. I have very mild-mannered taste buds, so if five-alarm chili is your thing, you may wish to add more seasonings.

I used the Salsa Con Queso in place of the shredded cheese in the original recipe. It gave the crust a dense, cornbread-like texture with a spicy cheese kick. We quite enjoyed this new take on the meal!