Vegan & Oil Free
Thanks to Brandi at https://thevegan8.com/vegan-cheesy-mexican-tortilla-bake/ for this terrific family and party dish. I first served it at a dinner party and it was a HUGE success!
What follows is the original, which I then modified to fill a 9” x 13” baking dish by increasing the ingredients by an additional 1/2. The cheese sauce is so delicious that you will want extra. I served it with a green salad, Spanish Rice, roasted vegetables. I also made, and served, Roasted Tomatillo Salsa, and hot sauce.
Bake in 8” x 8” pan to serve 6-8, or follow my added directions for a 9”x 13”, serving 10-12
Ingredients for Cheese Sauce (makes about 2 ½ cups) I doubled this and saved ¼ of it for later
• 1 cup raw unsalted cashews (soak overnight if not using a high-powered blender)
• 1 cup mild heat runny (not too chunky) salsa. I used Trader Joes Authentic Salsa in a jar.
• 3/4 cup PLAIN dairy-free yogurt (I used Trader Joes Cashew Yogurt) Must be yogurt not milk
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon water
• 1 1/4 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4-1 teaspoons fine salt. Start with less, this will vary based on salsa used
Ingredients for the Casserole
• 9 small corn tortillas, cut into fourths. I used 9 large ones in the video for the 9” x 13” pan
• Two 15 ox cans low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed (I used 3 cans for my large pan)
• 1 cup salsa for middle layer (I used 1 ½ cups for my large pan
• 2 cups sweet corn (I used defrosted corn) (I used 3 cups for my large pan)
• Green onions, sliced, for garnish and flavor
Watch the video in the link above to see how Brandi layers. I deviated by using large tortillas for the 9” x 13” pan, but cut and positioned them the same way.
- Start by preparing the cheese sauce. Add all of the ‘cheese sauce’ ingredients to a high- power blender. Use soaked cashews if using a standard blender or the sauce will be grainy. The cheese sauce is delicious as is, and tastes even cheesier as it bakes. If making extra for future use, put in a pan and heat just enough to thicken it slightly.
- Preheat oven to 375F and slightly spray a 8 ½ x 8 ½ square casserole dish with nonstick spray. Layer about 1/3 of the cheese on the bottom and spread it with a spoon. Lay on top of the cheese sauce 6 of the cut tortillas per each row for 3 rows.
- Add 1 cup of the beans on top of the tortillas and spread out. Add the other 1 cup of salsa and spread out over the beans. Layer 1 cup of corn. Layer another 1/3 of the cheese sauce on top of the corn and spread out.
- Repeat the steps by adding the remaining tortillas, then the beans, corn, and remaining cheese sauce, spread this and cover everything well. Top with a piece of foil, carefully doming it over the cheese sauce which will prevent it from hardening to quickly.
- Based on my oven, bake with the foil for 15-20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 10-15 minutes or until cheese is getting a nice orange-brown look on the edges.
The longer you bake it, the dryer the top cheese layer becomes after removal from the oven. - Garnish with fresh green onions.
- This dish reheats well. I reheated our 2nd meal from it in the microwave. Yumm!
NOTE: [In my You Tube video by the same name, I premixed the extra-large batch of black beans and corn, and added them to a pan in which I dry-sauted 1 cup each finely chopped onion 1 cup red bell pepper, 1 clove garlic, and 1 tsp cumin. I used this slightly cooled flavorful mixture as my 2 veg layers, with a bit left over for a salad the next day]. It is extra work, and not necessary, but I liked the flavor. I also added a bit of salsa on top before the cheese sauce; again, not necessary.]