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!
I cannot wait to make this!!!
Made this a few weeks ago and ate it for every meal till it was gone. I have no regrets. I didn’t have any shrooms on hand so I used tempeh instead and it was tasty. My omnivorous husband ate it and loved it, especially the “cheese”!
I did use whole wheat tortillas, but next time i’ll stick to corn because the wheat got really soggy.
This was yummy! Omni hubby approved! Thank you, Isa!
I LOVE your recipes and I LOVE your personality!!! Thanks soooo much for sharing your culinary genius with the rest of us… I would have a super tuff time staying vegan without your delicious food! 🙂
So yummy! I make a somewhat similar recipe but I use sweet potatoes aswell as yukons. AND last week I made kale chips for the topping (sortof to replace the fritos my mom used to us, but also just for the delicious green crunch!)
Hey I don’t know if its the same situation where other people live, but in Minnesota the price of cashews is exorbitant (organic or conventional) even for just a cup. I left out the white sauce and it was still delicious, but do you guys have any recommendations for a cashew sub?
I made this on a Sunday and ate it for lunch and dinner until Wednesday, never once did i complain! It’s a delicious recipe and i can see myself making this often! I followed it exactly beside the following : I didn’t have cumin seeds or coriander seeds so I used ground, I also replaced the pinto beans for black beans.. I also used one28oz can of fire roasted tomatoes and a 28oz regular tomatoes… Everything turned out fantastic! I especially loved the cashew cream sauce!! This cookbook is on my must buy now
This is a wonderful recipe! I loved the combination of flavors and textures, and I was impressed at how well it held together when serving.I knew my blender wouldn’t handle the whole spices, so I toasted them and ground them in my spice grinder before I put them into the sauce. I also added a chipotle pepper in adobo for a little smokiness and bite. When I assembled it, since I had the sauce in a mixing bowl from using my immersion blender, I just dunked each tortilla in the sauce before laying in the pan, and then put a little sauce over each layer.This recipe will be a great framework for variations; I’m thinking about grilling zucchini slices and subbing for the mushrooms, or making the filling out of black beans, corn, black olives and green chiles. I liked this recipe so much I bought the book. Can’t wait to get it! Thank you!
What can I substitute for the cashews if we cannot have peanuts/tree nuts in our recipes, due to allergies? Thank you!
Looks delish! Making this for Super Bowl!
ZOMG!! This was even better than I’d imagined! I added a jalapeno and a can of Hatch chilis to the enchilada sauce, but aside from than that, I followed everything to the letter. It was a huge hit! My boyfriend hates the word “casserole” so I was careful not to let him see the recipe as I was making it. 🙂 Thanks for all the great recipes, Isa!
I keep meaning to ask this question. I am allergic to nuts (all) and peanuts. I have substituted seeds for certain recipes, but haven’t experimented with sauces… Would sunflower seeds be an acceptable substitution for the cashews and pine nut recipes?
I made this for some meat eating friends who came over for dinner. They both came back for a second helping. It is absolutely delicious and perfect for a small get together. I would recommend this to anyone trying to feed non-vegan house guests.
Vegan enchilada casserole
Just made this for my Valentine sweetie and kids. They were awesome helpers! Couple of mods, I’ll let you know how it goes. Thanks!
UPDATE: This delicious meal went very well! My fiance is a huge fan of vegan Mexican food and the authentic taste it delivered made her very happy. My kids dove in for seconds! Thanks again!
This was SO GOOD! I halved the recipe and I ended up quartering my tortillas to make them fit in my 8×8″ baking dish. I was worried it would be a mess coming out of the pan, but I let it cool for a few minutes and it was easy and neat to cut into. Super-substantial, too: we were each full after one piece.
I think next time I might try mushrooms *and* zucchini, or maybe even some spinach, just to add more green to it, but other than that I would not change a thing. Thank you for another great meal!
Everyone must make this. Its so so so good.
Just made this with Purple kale and green beans in the filling. Too damn good!
Has anyone used cashew meal instead of whole cashews? I was thinking it would eliminate the soaking step but was not sure about how many cups of whole cashews equal a cup of meal.
hi, lovely recipe, but wouldn’t it be entomatadas? cause it doesnt have chili.
I got “Isa Does It” for Chirstmas and made this for my super-mid-west, non-vegan parents and they loved it so much that my mum asked for the recipe. Its not a quick recipe but damn, its delish! Thank you for being ah-mazing.
This looks GLORIOUS!!! hoping to try it friday, but my boyfriend is insisting on green sauce for it. Would you recommend your verde recipe instead of the red sauce?
I’m a meat eater, but this recipe is so wonderful my husband and I were nearly convinced to give it all up. Simple steps to make good ingredients taste deliciously complex. I’m so proud to have been able to deliver for vegan visitors. Isa, you are a very persuasive lady. Thank you!
this is the best enchilada recipe i’ve ever used- never using the store bought kits again!
Can you freeze this and then reheat it for later? I’m currently preggie and I’m trying to come up with freezable meals for after the baby is born. It’d be a great help if you could freeze it. 🙂 And btw… love all your cookbooks and your new restaurant!! 🙂
This was SO good!!! I used baby Bella’s cause I couldn’t find Cremini. The only thing I wasn’t clear on was the 3/4 cup water in the cashew cream…. Was that to soak the cashews or add to the blender? I added it to the blender and my cream was watery 🙁 yet still delicious. Ok now stop reading reviews and go make this awesomeness.
I must confess… you are the best & I LOVE YOUR RECIPES. I’ve been using your recipes online for a couple of years now and I finally bought the cookbook, and cannot get enough of it. The book has awesome tips as well as hundreds of fabulous recipes. Plus, it’s super kitchen and cooking friendly, as in it doesn’t just slam shut when you take your hands off it to slice an onion, etc. EVERYONE should buy it.
Bringing this lovely casserole to my non-vegan family member’s Thanksgiving, and I am sure it’s going to be gobbled down by all.
My son is on a temporary allergen-free diet, and I’m having trouble finding Dinner’s we can all eat together. This one was a big hit! I just replaced the cashews with sunflower seeds to make the sauce and it turned out delicious (though not as pretty). Thank you for the help!!
Will this freeze well?
May I suggest short cuts? This is such an amazing recipe, I HAD to come up with a weeknight version:
1. I used ready-made enchilada sauce
2. Used frozen breakfast potatoes
3. I soaked the cashews for 20 minutes or so, and it still worked beautifully
Are the corn tortillas the hard or soft kind? Also, for some reason I ran out of sauce. Smells great so far though!