So, my original plan was to post waffles today because, if you have been keeping up with me on Instagram, you will see I’ve been making a ton of waffles. I have both a Chai Waffle recipe and a Chocolate Waffle recipe. However, I realized that several of my posts lately have all been sweet…um, oops….and due to the excitement over this recipe I shared on this Facebook post, I knew I needed to publish this one first. But don’t you worry, those Chai waffles are next. I’ve received countless waffle recipe requests since so many prefer them over pancakes. So, hold tight. 😉
This Vegan Cheesy Mexican Tortilla Bake was another spur-of-the-moment dinner idea that turned out incredible. Incredible. It’s truly hard to believe that this whole dish, with as delicious as it is, is only 8 ingredients (+salt and water). My daughter absolutely looovvved it. In fact, I’ve made it 3 times since I shared the teaser pic on Facebook. So many of you have been messaging asking when it is getting posted and yay, today is the day! Let me just say, it takes awhile to film a video with all the layers and prepare everything for the post, so that is why it took me several days to get it together.
We polished off this Cheesy Mexican Tortilla Bake in no time. Also, it’s SO easy to make. Another exciting thing? The Mexican Vegan Cheesy Sauce is made with no nutritional yeast! So many people hate nutritional yeast or are allergic, as well as many months ago I discovered it was a trigger for gout pain in my husband. Ever since then, I’ve been remaking recipes subbing out the nutritional yeast. For this recipe, I went to my #1 cheese sauce on the blog that soooo many of you say it has changed your life, the Mexican Cheese Sauce. BUT, that recipe uses a good amount of nutritional yeast. So, I had to think how to mimic that cheesy flavor without it.
In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I did it, lol. The shocking part is that I love this one better. It tastes even cheesier.
VEGAN CHEESE SAUCE IN 10 MINUTES
You don’t need to cook any veggies or do a million steps to make a homemade cheese sauce. This is SO easy to make and I swear, has the most real cheesy taste that I’ve tried yet to date and I’ve tried a lot of recipes. It’s simple, fast and delicious.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, I don’t like long recipes with a lot of ingredients. It just flat out stresses me out and this recipe is so incredibly delicious and the fact it’s ready in under an hour and just 8 basic ingredients is kind of crazy.
To remake my original cheese sauce without the nutritional yeast, I used a good amount of dairy-free soy (or coconut) yogurt. It provided an amazing tang, wonderful body and texture and honestly, tasted better to me than with the nutritional yeast. That combined with all the natural vinegar in the salsa, makes for one delicious cheesy bite.
I don’t give two hoots if it is “real cheese” or not…when something tastes good, it tastes good. Period. No matter what. And unlike dairy cheese, this one isn’t full of cholesterol.
It will be going on nachos next! Mmmmmmm.
All you need to make this recipe is 8 simple ingredients (+the usual salt and water):
- Cashews or White beans
- Salsa
- Dairy-free Yogurt
- Cumin
- Smoked Paprika
- Black Beans
- Corn
- Corn Tortillas
I hope you all love this Vegan Cheesy Mexican Tortilla Bake as much as I do. Please watch the video tutorial below, as it really makes the process easier to understand when seeing the visual.
MORE VEGAN DINNER RECIPES
- Vegan Stuffed Ricotta Shells
- Barbecue Lentil Loaf
- Oil-free Zucchini Fritters
- Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
- Vegan 20 Minute Alfredo
- Vegan Chickpea Tomato Ragu
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Vegan Cheesy Mexican Tortilla Bake
Ingredients
FOR THE CHEESE (Makes 2 1/2 cups)
- 1 cup (150g) raw unsalted cashews (See NOTES below for subs and lower-fat option)
- 1 cup (240g) mild heat runny/not too chunky salsa (I love Trader Joe's or Sprouts Mild, you can use a medium heat if you don't mind the dish being on the spicy side, not recommended with kids)
- 3/4 cup (180g) PLAIN dairy-free yogurt (I used Silk Soy yogurt found at Kroger OR SO Delicious "Unsweetened" Plain coconut yogurt)
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon (75g) water
- 1 1/4 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
- 3/4-1 teaspoon fine salt (this will vary depending on the salsa used. Start with 3/4 and keep in mind the final taste after baked you want to stand out)
FOR THE CASSEROLE
- 9 small corn tortillas, cut into fourths
- Two 15 oz cans low-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup (240g) salsa for middle layer
- 2 cups (293g) sweet corn (I used frozen)
- Optional: Green onions for garnish
NOTE
- The yogurt CANNOT be subbed here for milk, that will RUIN the recipe. The yogurt is thick, creamy and tangy and using a milk will not only make it bland, it will make the rest of the dish watery and soggy. Follow the recipe for the correct results.
Instructions
- First, prepare your cheese sauce by adding all of the ingredients listed under "cheese sauce" to a high-powered blender. I did not soak my cashews since I have a Vitamix, but if you do not have a strong blender, you will need to soak your cashews overnight, drain and rinse. Otherwise, your sauce will be gritty. Taste it and tell me how darn cheesy that tastes! The cheese sauce tastes insanely delicious and cheesy straight out of the blender, but gets even cheesier after it's baked! If you are just wanting to use the cheese sauce for nachos or another recipe, I would add it to the stove and heat it just to thicken it up slightly. It is delicious on nachos!
- Preheat your oven to 375°F and lightly spray a 8 1/2 by 8 1/2 square casserole dish like ceramic or stone with nonstick spray. Layer about a 1/3 of the cheese sauce on the bottom and spread out with a spoon. REFER TO VIDEO for easy visual tutorial. Lay on top of the cheese sauce 6 of the cut tortillas per each row for 3 rows.
- Add 1 can 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 the corn. Layer another 1/3 of the cheese sauce on top of the corn and spread out. You will notice there is only 1 layer of salsa in the middle. This is just to add another layer of flavor and moisture, it definitely didn't need 2 layers of salsa.
- Repeat the steps by adding the remaining tortillas, then the beans, corn and remaining cheese sauce. Cover everything well and top with a piece of foil gently covering the dish. This is so the cheese sauce doesn't bake up and harden too quickly.
- Bake with the foil on for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 5-10 minutes until the cheese is getting a nice firm orange-brown look on the edges. I baked it for about 8 minutes without the foil but if you prefer the cheese to be more firm, just bake it a bit longer. Just keep in mind that the longer you bake it, the drier the top cheese layer becomes after it is removed from the oven.
- Garnish with fresh green onions. I loved the crunchy, fresh element of the green onions to the warm cheesy flavor.
- This dish reheats very well also. I just reheat leftovers in the microwave and mmmmmm, delicious.
Notes
If you make this recipe, please do not repost it in full on your site, please link to me instead giving proper credit. I work very hard to create my recipes and share them for free, so please be respectful and link properly. If you are inspired by this recipe, again, please give proper credit and do not simply post it on your site and ask before reprinting any of my recipes.
I’m loooking forward to making this dish! I only need the ingredients, which I will take care of today! Thank you so much for this amazing recipe. I will be making it soon1
You are so welcome Solimar, I hope you love it!!
I made this for dinner tonight and OH EM GEE…. absolutely divine! I put some vegan shreds and crumbled corn chips on top… fantastic recipe
– thank you 🙂
Yay!! So very happy to hear that! Mmmm, corn chips on top sound sooo good!
I simply love cashew sauces and this one looks like a flavorful keeper.
How many grams of fat is in this and how many servings does it make? Could you use a Vegan mayonnaise instead of the yogurt or a vegan cream cheese? I don’t have access to vegan yogurt…
Hi Janell! I’m not sure of the fat content, I have not had a chance to calculate the nutrition yet, but there are nutrition calculators online if you want to check right away. I have listed above that it makes an 8 1/2 X 8 1/2 casserole dish or 9 slices. The serving size would depend on who is eating it. My daughter, who is 5, had around 1 and I probably ate 2-3 because it was so yummy. As far as using vegan mayonnaise, that would add A LOT more fat to it and since I’ve only tested it with yogurt and I don’t ever use mayo, I honestly have no idea how it would taste. It is a similar consistency, so it may work. Vegan mayo has a stronger tang than yogurt though, but it might work! I wouldn’t use cream cheese, I think it’s too thick. Let me know if you try the mayo. I have had a couple of readers sub the yogurt with firm tofu and add a 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar. I haven’t tried that, but they had success!
I love easy recipes like this, I cannot wait to try it! and great news on finding an alternative to the nutritional yeast if it’s not a good thing for your husband!
Thank you so much Kristina!
I have never found a “cheese” sauce that I liked – I just do not like the flavor of nutritional yeast. I made this tonight and you are my new favorite person! DELICIOUS! Instead of just beans and corn, I had some veggies from my CSA basket that needed to be used so I threw them in too (green peppers, onions, mushrooms, zucchini). The recipe is definitely a keeper! Thank you!!!!
This makes me soooo happy to hear Dianne!! So glad finally THIS recipe is the vegan cheese you liked! Yay! Your veggie additions sound so yummy, too! Thank you for the awesome feedback!
This was totally delicious! For sure, will make again & definitely take to potlucks/pitch-ins. Could not find soy yogurt in my town so made a substitute of 3/4 C. extra firm tofu (because that’s what I had) + 1 T. apple cider vinegar; and instead of 2 cans of black beans, did 1 can of black beans & 1 can of pinto beans, just because :). Thank you so much for this recipe, ahhhmazing!
That is so wonderful to hear Julie! Yay! Yes, I did half and half of the beans on my first trial too, so good! So wonderful to hear the tofu and acv worked!
My husband has gout, too, and we’ve been trying to figure out what the trigger is. If it’s nutritional yeast, I may need to move out! (Just kidding!)
This looks amazing! I can see why you polished it off so quickly!
Haha! Oh no! Sorry to hear he has gout! Yes, nutritional yeast is a huge trigger for gout unfortunately! As well as cauliflower and mushrooms and lentils. So, if he eats any of those, it could be a cause as well.
Have your hubbies tried tart Montmourancy (sp?) cherry juice? That often works a treat – along with lots of water, of course.
Yours in Gratitude
WendyHT
Hi Wendy! Yes, I’m aware of the whole cherry juice thing but it never did a thing for my husband. I think that only helps in minor cases. I’ve dealt with treating my hubby for nearly 10 years and nothing worked until we went vegan and learning the exact foods to avoid, even up to this year! He had one of the worst cases of gout that doctors had seen, meaning very, very sensitive and had gout constantly and was on crutches, so it took a complete lifestyle change to heal him 🙂
Oohh, I love a good cheesy Mexican dish! This sounds wonderful and I know my whole family would gobble it up!
Yes, totally kid-approved! So many families have told me their kids and teenagers have loved it!
Just made the cheese sauce for a baked potato and had to lick the bowl clean. Delicious!
That is so awesome to hear Kim! Over a baked potato sounds sooo yummy!
I am totally in with your amazing piccies – they capture the deliciousness here so well. I am only just getting into Mexican food (every time you post something Mexican it makes me drool)…. and really excited about all of these fun things to do. This sounds a-a-a-mazing!
x
Aww, you are so sweet Trinity! I’m so glad you like them because to me, it was challenging to capture a baked cheese recipe look good because you know how cashew cheese can get kind of dry quick, so I was rushing, haha!
Lord have mercy, you’re killing me with this. I seriously just drooled a little. Mexican food is my jam and this looks so unbelievably delicious. Making it soon, maybe tonight?
Haha, thank you so much Linda!! I’ve made it 4 times myself!
Oh my gosh, this looks so rich and decadent. I am all about that SAUCE!
Thank you Becky! It really is decadent, but so healthy!
Brandi this is so much more than I expected. This is sooo good!! I mean the flavor is exceptional. We can’t stop talking about how good this is. It’s amazing. Creamy and a little kick and the crunch of the green onion!! Thank you for this quick and easy recipe.
I’m so very happy to hear this Estee!! So glad you all loved it!
Hummmmm, interesting it’s cheezy with no nooch. I’ll give the sauce a try as mac and cheese for the omni hubby. There are SO many cheeze sauce recipes for mac and cheeze, I’ve got to find a killer one for July 4th pitch in for the omni folks to also enjoy.
Yes, and it’s even better than my nooch-based one! If you check out all the reviews above, on Facebook and on Instagram, you can be convinced of all the non-vegans, kids and husbands that have absolutely loved it! The cheese sauce is soooo good! It really is cheesy and when it’s baked with this casserole, it becomes even thicker and cheesier. I’m assuming it will thicken well over the stove too for mac and cheese! I’m trying that next! It has a Mexican flare to it with the paprika and cumin and salsa too. I think if you make this casserole for your omni friends, they would love it!
This sauce was REALLY good for mac and cheese on the stove top, but then I screwed up and baked it without a cover. That dried it out too much. My omni husband said it still wasn’t bad. I will make this sauce again for stove top mac and cheese this Saturday for July 4th celebration on the omni friends.
I used my cultured cashew yogurt, and that’s killer.
I’m so glad to hear it was really good! Thank you! Yes, the cover definitely helps to keep the cheese from drying out! So glad it was still yummy though!
WOW. This was out of control delicious and so easy to make!!! For my fiancé and I dividing it in 9 definitely wasn’t enough…we each ate a quarter of the casserole and are feeling very content! Will definitely be making this again.
Yay!!! That makes me so happy to hear Natalie, thank you so much for the review! Haha, yeah, we definitely ate more than one as well, but since that is how I sliced it into shapes, that is what I based it on but definitely ate more, lol! One is a good amount for a young child, though.
This looks amazing. I remember your Mexican Cheese Sauce that was incredibly delicious. But I am happy you came up with a sauce that doesn’t have nutritional yeast in it. You are extremely creative coming up with a vegan cheese sauce that doesn’t use nutritional yeast. Not only are you creative but you take such amazing care of your family. I can tell that. Your husband reacted to the nutritional yeast so you found a solution. You truly have such an amazing heart and your family is lucky to have you. This dish look and sounds so delicious I definitely have to try it. I loved the video I was pretty much drooling the entire time.
Thank you so much Christina! Yes, it is amazing how many people have asked me about subbing that yeast on that one! You are so sweet, thank you for your kind words. Gotta keep the hubby happy and my daughter, too, really loves this! She would get headaches from nutritional yeast, so it was kind of urgent to find a replacement that I actually really liked!
So glad you liked the video, it took me forever to make, lol!
Omg I tried this tonight. It is over the top good! The cheese sauce is amazing! Even my non vegan hubby loved it!
So very happy to hear that Sharla! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave the review on my blog, I greatly appreciate it! Love hearing that your non-vegan hubby loved it, too!
I made these for dinner tonight. It was amazing. I did half Chickpeas and half cashews in the sauce and put a layer of brown rice also. Truly delish! Thanks!
So awesome to hear that Deb!! So glad you enjoyed it so much, I really appreciate the feedback! The brown rice sounds delicious, too 🙂
Hi there! When ou added a layer of town rice to the bake- did you previously cook the rice? Or did you put it in dry? May be a silly question but I want to make sure my non vegans will love it too 🙂
Hi Christine, for this, you definitely want to add it already cooked, otherwise it won’t cook properly and would end up crunchy.
Made this tonight and it was a huge hit. Thanks for sharing. Do you know if this would freeze well? I’d love to keep some on hand.
Yay! Very happy to hear that Colleen, thank you so much for getting back to me 🙂 I actually haven’t tried freezing it yet, since eat it so quick, haha. But, since it is all whole food based, I would imagine it would freeze well and I, personally, would just reheat it in the oven on a very low temperature so it heats and cooks through slowly.
Well you know I’d never complain about too many sweet recipes in a row, but this easy cheesy real-meal goodness looks so good I’m even willing to wait on the the waffles and rewatch this yummy video a few more times to see that swirl shot again! I was very intrigued when you mentioned the nutritional yeast free cheese but this sauce is definitely not lacking on flavor. I actually find all vegan cheese sauces to have that almost identical flavor because of the nutritional yeast, and while I don’t mind it something different but still so luscious and savory sounds awesome. It looks so good in the video, I know for a fact if there were any tortilla chips in the house not all the cheese would make it to the casserole dish…or even out of the blender ha! And I love the rest of the super simple layers to turn it into an easy meal too. You are so creative to just come up with this stuff on a whim–always impressed my friend!
Thank you my friend!! Haha…I know, we both love our sweets, but I was like…um, ok I think I need to break the sweet streak with some savory, LOL! I used to be the biggest nutritional yeast fan, but it really is such a strong flavor that I can see how so many people don’t like it. And since it triggers gout for my hubby and also causes headaches in my daughter, it’s safe to say I won’t be giving it to them anymore and thankfully I’ve created 2 successful cheese sauces without it.
Oh yes, I have been eating it on tacos and burritos and as a dip..the cheese is just my new absolute favorite…can’t get enough!
Brandi, Thanks so much for this recipe – and your sub’ing of beans for the cashews :-). I’m looking forward to making this recipe SOOOOOn. AND your option of beans for the cashews made me wonder if I could use a 1/3c of cooked black beans & a titch of water all whizzed in the Bullet would be a possible substitute for olive oile in my Vegan Pate recipe. It’s cooking as I’m typing. The Vegan Pate is a wonderful recipe given to me by one of my Brain Gym class participants and the only 2 challenges have been: too much sodium and too much oil. I’m now on a fat free Vegan eating plan for health reasons and the thought of losing that Vegan Pate recipe was a very, VERY sad thought. I’ll be sampling that pate recipe as soon as it comes out of the oven. Again, my thanks for your amazing creativity. I can hardly wait to try the Alfred Sauce, too!!! I’ll be back for more recipes.
Yours in Gratitude, WendyHT
This looks great! We don’t do soy at our house. Is there another option for plant based yogurt? I’ve seen coconut based yogurt at the store but have never tried it. Your thoughts?
Hi Beth! Yes, coconut yogurt should definitely work! Let me know what you think after you try it!
Will Silk dairy free vanilla yogurt work? There aren’t any other alternatives unfortunately
Hi Briana, no I would not recommend vanilla because that will definitely give a weird sweet vanilla taste to the casserole which is not going to taste right. Where are you located? I have been able to find plain, non-flavored yogurt at pretty much every store around me. Sprouts carries it and so does Kroger. Maybe try a vegan sour cream instead if you absolutely can’t find it. I think that should give a similar taste.
Thank you so much for making a cheese sauce without nutritional yeast. My husband can’t have it and I need an alternative. Can’t wait to try it!
You are so welcome Sue! Yup, same thing over here…hubby gets major gout pain and flareup after yeast. I finally put two and two together when he had an awful flareup over Christmas last year and I have not made him anything with yeast ever since. So much better! I hope you love this. Let me know what you think! My hubby loved it!
This is the best looking recipe I’ve seen in a long time! I absolutely love you for giving a sub for the cashews. I am allergic and I see so many delicious looking cheese sauces that I can’t make because of that. Can’t wait to give this one a try!
That is the best compliment ever Jennifer, thank you so much! I really hope you love it! While the bean version is not nearly as rich, it is still very good and cheesy! Let me know what you think after you make it!
Made this tonight and it was a huge hit. Thanks for sharing. Do you know if this would freeze well?
That makes me so darn happy to hear Colleen, thank you so much for letting me know!
Have you tried freezing it, I was wondering the same thing. Made it several times and would like to be able to freeze
Hi! I’ve actually never tried freezing it. We eat it all within the first 2 days so I’ve just never tried it. Worth a shot to try!
Do you have nutritional data. Trying to eat low fat. Thanks.😁
Am I missing the video? Where is it?
It’s on there, just added it! Took me a couple of minutes to get it on youtube first 🙂
I am just wondering if you think this would work if I put the dish together in the morning and then put it in the fridge and cooked it later in the evening? (Having guests and will be making multiple dishes and I am not very good at multitasking!) Thanks!
Hi Michelle! Hmmm, I’m not sure because the tortillas might get soggy. They will be baking anyways, so it might be okay. Just make sure your corn is not frozen and your beans are drained really well. It is an incredibly fast dish to make though, so to save time, you could make the cheese sauce ahead of time and have your beans and corn ready to go early, then just assemble right before baking. You will see how fast and easy it all comes together.