Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.
This vegan Tex-Mex enchilada casserole has layers of corn tortillas, a creamy salsa verde, and a bean & veggie filling! A fresh and hearty weeknight dinner.
It’s time for dinner, and you want something that’s kinda fresh, kinda hearty, kinda wholesome, and definitely delicious. Enter: this Creamy Green Enchilada Casserole! This vegan and gluten-free main is now the dish of my warm-weather dreams. It’s satisfying, it’s pretty colorful, and it keeps me full without weighing me down.
INGREDIENTS + INSPIRATION
This recipe is packed with veggies and flavor, and can be broken down into two main components: the creamy green sauce, and the seasoned bean and veggie filling. Corn tortillas serve as the carb-y dividers, just like pasta sheets in lasagna!
The main inspiration for this recipe is Enchiladas Suizas, which is actually a fusion food in and of itself. Enchiladas Suizas (or “Swiss Enchiladas”) is a classic Mexican recipe that was created once Swiss immigrants came to Mexico. The enchiladas have a creamy green sauce and are traditionally stuffed with shredded chicken – today we’ll use cashews for the cream, and use fresh vegetables instead. Finally, I gave this recipe more of a Tex-Mex flair with added spice from cumin, as well as making this a casserole instead of enchiladas 😉
HOW TO MAKE ENCHILADA CASSEROLE
This recipe comes together in a few simple steps; if you want to cut down day-of cooking time, you can make both the sauce and veggie filling 1-2 days in advance:
- Blend soaked cashews with salsa verde and vegetable broth to make the sauce
- Sauté the garlic and cumin together with the vegetables and beans to make the filling
- Layer: sauce, sliced tortillas, filling, sauce, tortillas, filling, sauce, tortillas, sauce! Top with vegan cheese and bake in the oven until melted
- Slice, serve, and enjoy!
This enchilada casserole has pretty much everything good going for it — hearty layers of tortillas, soaked in a creamy and spicy sauce, and stuffed with fresh and filling veggies? Yeah, I thought so 😉 This is a great recipe for weeknight dinners, weekend get-togethers, or even meal prep. Leftovers will keep well in the fridge, and stay fresh for up to 5 days.
If you’re looking for more Tex-Mex recipes, you’ll also love this Southern Black Bean Casserole, this Salsa Verde White Bean Casserole, and these Vegan Spinach & Mushroom Enchiladas!
Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations 🙂
PrintCreamy Green Enchilada Casserole
This vegan Tex-Mex enchilada casserole has layers of corn tortillas, a creamy salsa verde, and a bean & veggie filling! A fresh and hearty weeknight dinner.
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 50 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6-8 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Oven, Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
For the Salsa:
- 12 oz (355 ml) cups salsa verde, divided 1/2 cup remainder
- 1 1/2 cups cashews, soaked for at least 1 hour in hot water, or overnight
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 cups (475 ml) vegan chicken-flavored broth (or sub vegetable broth)
- 1 bunch cilantro, divided
For the Filling and Casserole:
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 red onion, diced
- 3–5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 jalapenos, diced; remove seeds for mild heat
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 8 ounces (225 g) cremini mushrooms
- 1 small zucchini, diced
- 1 cup (130 g) frozen corn, thawed
- 2 15-ounce (425 g) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 ounces (113 g) baby spinach
- 24–26 corn tortillas
- 1 cup (115 g) vegan mozzarella cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Prep: Pre-heat the oven to 375F. Cut around 18 of the 24 tortillas in half and “dry fit” them on the casserole dish, with the straight edges lining the outside. Two tortillas should stack per layer; a whole tortilla can be placed in the center.
- Sauce: Reserve 1 cup of salsa verde and set aside. Add the remainder of the salsa verde, drained cashews, nutritional yeast, broth, and 1/2 a bunch of cilantro to a high-speed blender. Blend for 45-60 seconds, until the cashews dissolve completely and make a thick and smooth liquid. This should make just over 4 cups of sauce.
- Filling: Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Once warm, add the diced onion and cook for 3 minutes; then, add the garlic and jalapeño and sauté for 1 minute. Add the cumin, salt, mushrooms, corn, and zucchini and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the mushrooms reduce in size slightly. Finally, add in the beans and spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted. Set aside.
- Assemble: Spread 1 cup of the sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish, then place the first layer of (double-stacked) tortillas. Add half of the vegetable filling to the dish, then repeat (sauce, tortillas, filling) once more. Top the filling with the final round of tortillas, the remaining sauce, the salsa verde you set aside, and the (optional) vegan cheese.
- Bake: cover the casserole dish with foil or a lid and bake, covered, on the top rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, until the vegan cheese has melted. If you’d like the top to be more brown, broil for 3-5 minutes, with the oven door slightly ajar.
- Serve: Remove from the oven and top with the remaining cilantro, or as desired. Slice and serve warm; leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Salsa Verde: I like to make homemade salsa verde when tomatillos are in season, but store-bought will work as well. If you cannot find salsa verde, green enchilada sauce will work too.
- Other Substitutions: flour tortillas could be used for corn tortillas, if desired. Feel free to swap out or add in extra veggies as you see fit! Pinto beans can be replaced with black beans or white beans.
- Nut-Free: replace the soaked cashews with 1 cup of vegan cream cheese and add an extra 1/2 cup of water or broth to the sauce.
My daughter tried this and didn’t even know it was vegan. So delicious 🤤
★★★★★
Glad you both enjoyed it, Brittney!
I made this for our Christmas Eve dinner, and it was delicious! Topped it with vegan white cheese and black olives. Served it with tofutti (tofu sour cream) and avocado.
We have family members who are gluten free, dairy free and vegan, and this yummy recipe was perfect!
Thank you so much for making it, Sue! Glad the whole fam enjoyed it.
This was SO yummy! I used the veggies I had on hand so I used bell pepper instead of zucchini and white onion instead of red, veg broth instead of the chick’n broth and Violife Mexican shreds instead of the vegan mozz. This was absolutely delicious! My picky-eater parents really enjoyed this meal; my dad who is a meat and dairy eater had a second helping and said how tasty it was (he didn’t even complain about the vegan cheese, which he usually is against trying!). My mom who hates (like completely loathes) mushrooms didn’t even complain or try to pick them out. I call that a win! I will 100% be adding this to my rotation of recipes as it was delicious, hearty, filling, customizable and so flavorful! I ate it for lunch today and the leftovers were still just as, if not more flavorful and delicious!
★★★★★
Happy you loved it, Allison! Thank you so much.
This was SO yummy! I used the veggies I had on hand so I used bell pepper instead of zucchini and white onion instead of red, veg broth instead of the chick’n broth and Violife Mexican shreds instead of the vegan mozz. This was absolutely delicious! My picky-eater parents really enjoyed this meal; my dad who is a meat and dairy eater had a second helping and said how tasty it was (he didn’t even complain about the vegan cheese, which he usually is against trying!). My mom who hates (like completely loathes) mushrooms didn’t even complain or try to pick them out. I call that a win! I will 100% be adding this to my rotation of recipes as it was delicious, hearty, filling, customizable and so flavorful! I ate it for lunch today and the leftovers were still just as, if not more flavorful and delicious!
I am eating this as I leave a comment- it’s delicious! Very hearty and filling, and the flavor will really depend on the green salsa you use- I used the hatch New Mexico one from Trader Joe’s. I halved the recipe because it’s just me, but otherwise made it per the recipe, except that I had to use flat leaf parsley instead of cilantro- I thought I had some, but it was parsley tricking me when I made my shopping list.
★★★★★
So happy you love it, Adrienne!
This has been one of my go-to meals since 2021! I’m obsessed, and everyone I make it for loves it. It’s so creamy and ridiculously flavorful. All of the different textures and flavors make me love it for several meals as a meal prep. It’s also incredibly simple to make. Thank you so much for this recipe, Caitlin!
Made this today! Overall it was pretty good, but could maybe use a bit more flavor / seasoning? I think next time I make it I’ll put a jalapeño in the sauce as well and add a few extra seasonings for a bolder flavor. Will be eating this happily for days though 🙂
Thanks Caitlin!
★★★★
Glad you liked it, Mallory!
I really liked this recipe! I don’t often come across filling and complex vegetarian/vegan casseroles, so this was a welcome find.
I will say that doubling up the corn tortillas between each layer was WAY too much. Could have just been the brand I was using, but that’s my one watch out. I’m also one of those unlucky people for who cilantro tastes like soap, so I used a parsley/basil/lemon combo instead – it was delicious!
★★★★★
Glad you loved it, Liv!
Another home run! I subbed mild chiles for fresh jalapeños, yellow pepper and broccoli for mushrooms and zucchini (all I had), flour tortillas, vegan cheddar which I sprinkled a touch between layers, black beans instead of pinto, using what I had. The star is the sauce, and you can’t go wrong and I made that exactly as written. So creamy and delicious. Also used a lasagna pan, I think it would have spilled over a regular 9×13. Caitlin, this was amazing and so are you!
★★★★★
Thank you, Erin! ♥
so, so yummy, caitlin. thank you. i halved the recipe and used an 8″ square dish.
and drizzled some picante sauce on top with the cilantro. thank you. family is loving
it. i’m on my second portion.
★★★★★
We love that! Thank you, Jude!
Have this on my list to make next – all of your recipes have been great! I have one question about this one that I need to confirm… what size pan did you use for this recipe? 9×13 or 11×7? Thanks for the info!
Thanks Rebecca! If memory serves me right, a 9×13 inch casserole dish.
Delicious and easy to make. I used green enchilada sauce instead of green salsa and I didn’t use the vegan cheese on top. I love it, great flavor and very filling. Thank you Caitlin.
★★★★★
Glad you loved it, Viviana!
Delicious!!!!
Thank you!
★★★★★
You’re so welcome, Jana!
This Creamy Green Enchilada Casserole recipe is fantastic. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was great reheated, too.
Thank you, Caitlin!
Thank you, Lalla! I’m glad you and your husband enjoyed the enchiladas 🙂
We made this today and loved it! The cilantro was left out, but other than that, the recipe was made as written and turned out perfectly. Thank you so much for sharing this!
★★★★★
You’re so welcome, Lalla!
This recipe turned out fantastic! I opted to make the sauce ahead of time and let it sit in the fridge 2 days prior to completing the rest of the casserole. Filling ingredients I kept the same as the recipe other than swapping 2 cans of black beans for the pinto beans and omitting spinach. I’ve been enjoying leftovers for lunch!
★★★★★
So glad you’re enjoying the recipe, Samantha!
Finally leaving a comment on this recipe. First let me say that your blog and YouTube videos are the first thing I go to when trying to find inspiration for dinners. Thank you for all the amazing recipes! So I’ve made this for my family a dozen times already. My toddler loves it but he does not like spicy things and I cannot find a salsa verde without any heat so I’ve subbed the salsa verde for green enchilada sauce and it tastes Great! Tonight I made it and didn’t have any zucchini so I used an extra can of beans and some mushrooms, really good.
Thanks again for all the work on your blog and videos and recipes!
★★★★★
So happy you and your family love the recipes! Thank you, Andrea!
Just finished making it and took the first bite. AMAZING. Easy recipe even tho it looks like a lot, its really super simple. But the flvaor is anything but simple! Whole family loved it! Thanks for what you do!
★★★★★
I appreciate the feedback, Paige. I’m glad the whole fam loved it!