Cinco de May is just around the corner, but this dish is great any time of the year. You know it's good when my husband says it's one of the best, yet! What's fun about this Enchilada Casserole recipe is that you can mix it up with whatever vegetables you love. For this, I choose cauliflower and since I was low on veggies, used some frozen peas I had on hand.
The cheese sauce is from the Chili Cheese Dip recipe and it takes the place of regular cheese here. It's excellent on it's on as a dip, too. You can substitute the homemade enchilada sauce for store-bought, if you prefer, but this is a quick version. The chipotle peppers are very spicy, so be careful. This does have some kick, but not so much that it burns.
Plant-based Mexican style recipes to try:
I'd love to hear your feedback in the comments below for this Enchilada Casserole recipe! If you have a photo, post it on my Facebook page, tag me using the hashtag #plantbasedcooking
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| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 25 minutes |
Servings | people |
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower broken into pieces about 1 1/2 inch
- 1/2 bag frozen peas
- 1 small can sliced black olives
- 12 count corn tortillas Mi Ranchos brand
Cheese Sauce
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked at least for an hour up to over night. (Substitution: 1 can cannelloni beans)
- 1 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond) such as MALK unsweetened Almond
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 yellow or orange bell pepper seeded and rough chopped (a roasted pepper works, too)
- 1 lemon Juice
- 2 tsp prepared yellow mustard
- sea salt to taste
- 1/4 cup yellow onion minced
- 2 15 oz. cans black beans drained or (or 1 1/2 cups homemade)
- 1 cup fresh salsa
- Tortilla chips (see homemade method below *) or crackers
2 Tb. Taco Seasoning or make your own
- 1 Tbl chili
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp smokey paprika
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
Enchilada Sauce
- 1/2 yellow onion chopped
- 1 28oz can whole tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 chilies from a can of chipotle chilies in adobo sauce plus 2 Tbl sauce
- chili powder
Ingredients
Cheese Sauce
2 Tb. Taco Seasoning or make your own
Enchilada Sauce
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Instructions
- Spread cauliflower onto a baking sheet sprayed with a little oil. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then check and toss and put back into the oven for another 5 minutes or so until they are tender. Turn down the oven to 350 degrees. Set cauliflower aside.
Cheese Sauce
- Place the soaked, drained cashews, almond milk, nutritional yeast, bell pepper, chili powder, lemon juice, mustard, and salt in a blender and blend a few minutes until smooth. Set aside.
- Water sauté the onions in a large frying pay for a few minutes, stirring so they don't stick.
- Add the drained and rinsed beans, salsa, taco seasons and heat for about 5 minutes to combine flavors.
- Pour in the "cheese" sauce and stir to combine.
- Heat through.
Enchilada Sauce
- Saute onion in a little water until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the garlic, cumin, oregano and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
- Puree the onions and garlic along with the chipotle chilies and tomatoes in a food processor and return to pan.
- Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, simmer for a few minutes and season with salt and pepper.
Assemble
- Spray a 9 x 12" baking dish with a little oil.
- Add about 1/3 cup enchilada sauce to the bottom and spread around.
- Top with 4 tortillas. You can break them up to fill the space and/or overlap.
- Add 1/2 of the roasted cauliflower and sprinkle on half of the peas and some of the olives.
- Top with 1/3 of the cheese sauce, then another layer of tortillas.
- Repeat one more time, enchilada sauce, cauliflower, peas, olives, cheese sauce and top with a final layer of tortillas, then enchilada sauce and cheese sauce.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until all is heated through.
- Top with vegan sour cream, avocado and a little cilantro.
Nutrition/Notes
For 8 Servings
Nutrition Facts
Enchilada Casserole
Amount Per Serving
Calories 486 Calories from Fat 154
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 17.1g 26%
Saturated Fat 2.7g 14%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 1018mg 42%
Total Carbohydrates 69.4g 23%
Dietary Fiber 15.5g 62%
Sugars 9.9g
Protein 20.3g 41%
Vitamin A 13%
Vitamin C 98%
Calcium 35%
Iron 38%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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