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Creamy Green Enchilada Casserole

overhead photo of creamy green enchilada casserole topped with melted vegan cheese, red onion, jalapeno, and cilantro
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★★★★★

5 from 27 reviews

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.

Ingredients

Scale

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.

Find it online: https://frommybowl.com/vegan-creamy-green-enchilada-casserole/