Serves 8
Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Active time: 30 minutes
Photo by Vanessa Rees, food styling by Kate Lewis
Enchiladas can be a lot of work. This version, in casserole form is a little less so. Don’t get me wrong, it still makes more dishes than you want to do, but it’s a lot easier than stuffing each tortilla. Watch me make it and see for yourself! (Oh and check out my sweet HODOR shirt.)
This recipe from Isa Does It is the first I’ve posted from the Sunday Night Suppers section. You know, recipes that you could pull together on a weeknight, but really, why not spend a leisurely Sunday with your friends or your kids or your mom or some stranger off the street, hanging in the kitchen and cooking dinner together?
Layers of corn tortilla sopping up spicy, fragrant, red sauce then overstuffed with mushroom, pinto beans and roasted potatoes. On top is a voluptuous cashew creme that will have you rolling your eyes to the back of your head like a zombie. An enchilada zombie.
PS I just wanna’ give a shout out to my girl Kate Lewis for the amazing styling on this one! It was tough to make a dug-into casserole look so ridiculously appetizing, but Kate found a way. Thanks, girl!
Notes
~I love the tenderness of pintos here, but feel free to use black beans! I bet lentils would be yummy, too. But that’s no surprise because I always think lentils would be yummy.
~This is definitely more of a Sunday night supper, but if you want to enjoy it on a weeknight, it can happen. Make the enchilada sauce the night before and be sure to soak your cashews. Everything will come together in a snap!
Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
Fresh black pepper
1/2 teaspoon saltFor the Enchilada sauce:
4 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced medium
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped (use 2 if you like more heat)
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons dried oregano (Mexican, preferably)
2 28 oz cans whole tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon agave nectar
White sauce:
1 cup cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
3/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
For the filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, quartered and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups cooked pinto beans (2 15 oz cans, rinsed and drained)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
For assembly:
18 8 inch corn tortillas
Optional toppings:
Pepitas
Fresh chopped cilantro
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 F.Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the potatoes with the oil right on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with fresh black pepper and salt, and toss to coat. Bake for 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 350 F, flip potatoes and bake for 10 more minutes. Leave oven at 350 F because that is the temp that the enchiladas need to bake at.
Preheat a 4 quart pot over medium heat. Dry toast the cumin and coriander seeds in the pan for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until they’re fragrant and a few shades darker, just be careful not to burn. Add the oil and saute the onion, jalapeno and garlic with oregano and a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes, until onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes, salt and agave, cover pot turn the heat up to bring to a slow boil. Let cook for about 20 minutes.
Once cooked, puree until smooth with with either a submersion blender or by transferring to a blender of food processor. If using a blender, intermittently lift the lid to let steam escape so that it doesn’t build up and explode and kill you. Also, note that if you use a submersion blender you really have to blend a lot to get the seeds to smooth out. Taste for salt and set aside to cool.
Make the filling:
Preheat a large pan over medium heat. Saute the onion in oil with a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and saute just until fragrant, 15 seconds or so. Add the mushrooms and salt, and cook until they’ve released a lot of their moisture, about 5 minutes. Add the pinto beans and lime juice and cook just until heated through, 2 minutes or so.
When the roasted potatoes are ready, toss them into the filling mix. Taste for salt and set aside.
Make the white sauce:
Drain the cashews. Add everything to the blender and puree until completely smooth. It’s rather thick, so definitely scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula often or so to make sure you get everything. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Assemble this bad boy:
So we’re just going to be adding layers of sauce, tortillas and filling, then topping it all off. Let’s begin.
Lightly grease a 9×13 casserole pan. Ladle in a thin layer of enchilada sauce, then layer 6 tortillas into the pan. Now things are going to get a bit messy! Ladle in another layer of enchilada sauce (about a cup’s worth), and flip each tortilla to smother in the sauce. Each one should be coated, but you should still be able to see the tortilla, that is to say, it shouldn’t be drowning in the sauce. Next, layer the tortillas so that they’re slightly overlapping and covering the bottom of the pan.
Now add half of the filling, and pour on 1/2 cup of sauce or so. Layer in 6 more tortillas and repeat the process of smother each of them in a cup of sauce. Cover with the remaining filling. Once again pour 1/2 cup of sauce over the filling, and add the final layer of tortillas. Smother those in a cup of sauce. Reserve the rest of the sauce (if any) for serving.
Finally, top with the cashew sauce. I pour it directly out of the blender and try to ribbon it in thick globs over the top. It doesn’t have to be neat, it will look cute pretty much no matter what. Place in the 350 degree oven, and bake uncovered for about 30 minutes. The topping should be lightly golden.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with a handful of pepitas and chopped fresh cilantro if you like. Now it’s ready to serve!
With the layering of the tortillas, it’s kind of an ¡enchilasagna! Love it; going to make it tonight!
True!
Making this tonight! Vegan Yoda, you have done it again. <3
I've already got a bunch of cans of diced tomatoes — may I use those instead of whole tomatoes?
I have question. Without a doubt I love everything you create but I cannot eat mushrooms 🙁 Can you please suggest a substitute? Pretty please
Sure! Pretty much any veggie that you love, honestly. Thinly sliced zucchini or eggplant would be great!
This looks gorgeous. And I know it will taste great because you NEVER disappoint!
My new cookbook is due to arrive today! So excited. Congrats.
I’m a huge fan and I tell everyone about you. Loving your new videos.
Are all these recipes in Isa Does It? This recipe became the last kick in the rear end to order your book 🙂 You take the intimidating our of vegan. !!!
Another awesome recipe, delivered in the most entertaining and enjoyable medium! ♥ Thanx for sharing.
(PS – a teeny oops on the on-screen text editing, unless cuNiM is a new spice I’ve not yet experienced. ☺)
(PPS – LOVE your nail color and your matryoshkas tat. You are lovely!)
Thank you!
Isa, I cooked this up tonight and my husband and I are now stuffed and blissed out. As always I am so grateful to you for making veganism delicious and fun. 🙂
Ooops I wanted to include my photos of the delicious dish: http://veggiesaurustex.tumblr.com/post/65004520651/nirvana-enchilada-casserole
Huzzah!
You are the best!! I still remember the awesome leftovers I took home this shoot day. Y.U.M. ~K xx
You crack me up. I love your sense of humor! *practicing robot moves*
Hi Isa,
can you suggest a substitute for the cashews or the sauce? I’m allergic to nuts (not brazil nuts, but they won’t taste here) and a lot more. Contained your corn tortillas wheat? You rock 🙂 Thank you for posting this recipe.
If you wanna just use your favorite melty vegan cheese, that would be cool. And no, the tortillas are corn.
Is it possible to use ground coriander & cumin instead of the seeds? If so, what would the measurements be? I have everything to make this right now except for the seeds!
I just pulled this out of the oven. My whole house smells amazing! Thank you for another wonderful recipe.
Woohoo! Hope you love it 🙂
I am getting spoiled quick! Lovin these videos…right in time for fall weekend/football/family dinner nights! Thank you sooo much. The chili was AMAZING, by the way. Can’t wait to try this “cassie”! As a side note: I am all about free (who isn’t), but I would pay to have these show up in my e-mail through-out the week…on weekends…whatever. Not sure what you have planned…but I don’t want these to stop!
just saying 😉
Made it yesterday, it was delicious! Thanks!
Yum. Love the cashew cream touch. Probably a little better for you than the mayo mixture I always use from Vegan Mouse… :p
Wow, that looks very interesting. It looks like it was delicious once of course, can not wait to try this recipe with my daughter.
oooh my I just received your new book on my door step.. what can | say….. absolutely stunning and the recipes look delicious cant wait to start digging in.. thank you so much for another great and I mean GREAT cookbook..
Super yum! I added a cup of corn to the filling.
This looks so beautiful and delicious, can’t wait to try them. Thank you, Isa, for another wonderful recipe.
This looks delicious! Just wondering if kidney beans would work for the filling?
Can we use ground spices? Also do the cashews need to be raw? And can we use canned mushrooms? I’m making this soon and would like to know! 🙂
This is delicious! Worth it
Made it tonight. Wonderful. I refer to you as my “beloved Isa.”
That is sweet, thank you!
Great idea on move to video recipes!
Happy vegan day! To all the VEGAN FAMILY, I love you guys so much.
Hi Isa,
Could you assemble this early in the day, stick in the fridge, then bake later?
Yes, but I would put the cashew cream on right before baking.
I made this for my daughter’s birthday party and it was a huge success! It was easy enough to make on a very busy day, and delicious enough to appeal to everyone who came. It is GF, stick-to-your ribs, salty, creamy, toothsome vegan perfection. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
I just made this and it was amazingly rich, filling and delicious! I’ve never been disappointed with one of your recipes.
I have been making enchiladas like this for a couple of years! I made them the “correct” way once and figured way waste all that time rolling things up when you end up eating them with a fork anyways. Isa makes everything simple! Love the new book!
I made this, loved it, took terrible photos and blogged it. Thanks for another superfab recipe, every time the postman drives by without delivering my copy of Isa Does It, I spontaneously combust a little.
YUMMY! Made this last night with 2-15 oz cans of trader joe’s fire roasted tomatoes and a 28 oz can of whole tomatoes, that sauce was killer! Definitely going to be a regular at my house. Thanks, Isa!
yum! do you think this will hold up if i prepare it ahead of time, put in fridge for a few hours, and bake later in the evening?
I just made this tonight, and it is awesome! Your enchilada sauce is to die for. 🙂 Thanks for another great recipe!
Mine is in the oven right now. Cannot wait to have some. Was going to be for dinner tomorrow night. Not going to make it.
That is a sweet Hodor shirt!! And the enchiladas look good too…I put them on the meal plan for next week.
This recipe is awesome, really! Thank you. A little bit of work but worth it totally. Great confort food for the holidays… 😉
I made this tonight, and it was delicious! And it was a huge hit with both of my parents. My mom is a mostly vegetarian but keeps saying she can’t give up cheese, but she said she didn’t miss it at all in this casserole. And my dad hates all vegan food and refuses to try anything I make, but even he tried this and seemed to enjoy it. Thanks so much for this recipe! 🙂
can i use whole wheat tortillas or will they become too mushy?
Amazing recipe (can’t wait to cook it tomorrow!) and a very charming cook! 🙂 Love your videos!
Greetings from Europe! 😉
Hahah you said ‘Jewish girl enchiladas’ and I laughed, and then you said ‘It will explode and you will die’ and I laughed more. You’re my new favorite tv show.
Made this today and it’s definitely worth it. My only “notes to self are”:
1) Some of my potatoes are not as soft as I’d like. I’m guessing this is because I either cut them a little to large, didn’t bake them quite long enough (or high enough heat) the first time, or didn’t smother them in enough sauce to help them get softer the second time ??? Super bummed but live and learn! Hopefully I will figure it out next time.
2) The amount of cashew sauce was a little too much for me (still had a little left over) so next time I plan to layer a little of that inside the enchilada.
3) I had about 3/4 cup – 1 cup red sauce left over. I followed the (add 1/2 cup, add 1 cup) “rules” but maybe I should have ‘smothered’ more as the video says.
Thank you for a wonderful recipe! Just wanted to leave some notes in case it would help future chefs of this yum dish 🙂 The videos are fun to watch, too. Detail maniacs like me will be excited if/when they get a little bit longer so (as Sting says) I can see every little step you take and every move you make… 😉
Hilarious video. And a yummy looking recipe! I love Jewish-girl Mexican food, it’s a specialty of mine.
Made this tonight after you inspired me with your super awesome video! I had never made the cashew cream, and I was a little unsure how it would turn out. AMAZING! Can’t wait to make your meaty beany chili next after these leftovers are gone!
The best! Took this to a potluck last night in San Antonio, and it got so much praise. Don’t worry I sent them your way 🙂 Loving the new book!
This looks incredible! Thanks for the homemade enchilada sauce recipe!!! I’m so excited to make this!
Could I use the cashew flour/ meal and add water as a cheater way to make the cashew cream? Just call me lazy, thanks for your AWESOME recipes. Veganomicon is my bible.
Made it…like it….will chop the potatoes a bit smaller next item…and there will be a next time!
We made it for A Vegan Christmas and it was hella good! Ahhhh! A lot of work but really worth it 🙂 thanks Isa 🙂 we also made vegan egg nog and the rosemary chocolate chip cookies! Keep up the awesome work!
Your fans,
Alex and Miyuki