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.
Hello, this looks delicious. Have you tried doing this as a freezer meal? Trying to find some vegan dinners that freeze well. Thank you!
Hi! I have not, but I think it should work well.
I made this exactly as listed. It was terrific. Also, the serving size is spot on.
I made this for a church sponsored potluck, and made extra for a friend, and it was delicious! My husband had second helpings, and I loved how I didn’t worry about his heart health while he ate it! We have been mostly vegan since his doctor told him to be careful, so I appreciate good tasting recipes like this one. The bonus is, Mexican food is my favorite, so this is a new go-to for when we need the flavor it offers! Trader Joe’s ‘Salsa Authentica’ in a jar is our favorite salsa, and it worked well in this recipe!
I’m so pleased to hear this Cindy!
I did love this recipe however I think there are a few flaws. I would probably make double the cheese sauce next time. Also the cooking time did not appear to be adequate and came out cold even though I baked it ten minutes longer than required. I am wondering if there were errors. I got the recipe from the Vegan 8 Cookbook. It was delicious though!
I’ve never had mine come out cold, that’s odd! Also the vegan cheese sauce makes a ton to more than make the dish very very cheesy, so I’m surprised to hear that too, haha, but still glad you enjoyed it!
Absolutely delicious!!!
And totally easy to make.
My “vegan-skeptical” daughter loved it.
Thank you so much. I will be adding this recipe to my regulars.
This recipe is yummy! Even my non vegan family enjoyed it.
Awesome!!
Oh my gosh this is so good! I did one can of black beans and one can of pinto, added some sautéed spinach to the salsa layer and some sautéed poblano and jalapeño peppers to the corn layer. So delicious!
Hi Brandi
I made this recipe last night, My husband and I have been eating mostly plant based recipes for almost 2 years now. I’m always looking for 5 star recipe suggestions and this recipe did not disappoint. I gave my daughter the leftovers and she loved it as well. I followed the recipe exactly how you made it. I’m so looking forward to trying out more of your recipes. Thank you so much for creating such a delicious dinner option
This thrills me to hear Susan, thank you so much for sharing and making my recipe!
This was a huge success!
My husband, due to a heart condition, has begun to eat oil-free, vegan foods. Everything he makes is so awful that we have to both cook different meals for ourselves because I won’t eat what he cooks. So, in an effort to sit down with him for a meal I made this last night, and…OMG! It was amazing! I don’t normally like beans, but this was delicious! I did use 1/2 cashews and 1/2 white beans for the sauce, and we didn’t have smoked paprika, so I substituted regular, but it was so good I went back for seconds! Next time–and there will be a next time–I’m going to use fewer tortillas as 9 seemed too much, and I’m going to add some cilantro. I chopped up some avocado in mine and added some vegan sour cream, which made it even creamier. Man this is good. Bravo to you for coming up with this recipe!
That is so amazing to hear, thank you so much for sharing!
I should tell you that we have been making this on a regular basis for the last 4 years. It is a staple here, and it is our youngest child’s very favorite dish. Thank you so much for sharing this!
This is so delicious! I don’t miss sour cream or cheese!
I’m trying to get my family to see that vegan dishes can be tasty, thx for this recipe!
This is so delicious!
I substituted corn with riced broccoli because I’m allergic to corn and I did put some nutritional yeast in the cheesy sauce but only because I like it extra cheesy! Made it twice already and will definitely continue making it in the future.
Make sure to really use small tortillas, in Germany they are hard to find and I used medium ones the first time and it wasn’t as good as with small tortillas!
Is it weird that I wanted to lick my plate? It is so delicious!! This recipe is going in my weekly rotation. Thank you for sharing.
Delicious and easy! Love it!!
Delicious. What my carnivore bro was looking for tho, was sour cream in the mix. Where in the recipe would you put this and would your lemon sauce work you think?
Wonderful! Yes, I would drizzle my lemon sauce on top before serving. ❤️
We’re fairly new to plant based eating. Dinners so far have been underwhelming 🙁 This recipe was freaking amazing!!! I think we can do this:) Thank you so much for sharing!
I love love hearing this!
Love this dish! This is my first time, making vegan cheese and I will definitely be making this again! I made extra cheese, so will be using it with other dishes as well.
Made this for dinner tonight for myself and meat-eating husband. Absolutely delicious!! Definitely goes on my short list of fantastic, easy recipes.
Thank you!!
Really happy to hear that Nancy!
I made this exactly as listed. It was terrific. Also, the serving size is spot on.
Yay!
So delicious!!!
Made for the first time last night. It is AMAZING!!! I could eat the cheese sauce all by itself. Glad I finally did it after window shopping on this recipe for a long time.
I’m so happy you loved it Catie!
This is absolutely delicious. Because of our preferences, I swapped a combination of cooked pinto beans and refried beans for the black beans. This is definitely going into a regular rotation. That cheese sauce tastes so much like queso, you forget it actually has no dairy in there at all. I served it with chopped avocado and extra vegan yogurt to top it with.
Made this today; the only thing I changed was adding a layer of baby spinach leaves since I am always looking for ways to add greens to my diet. It was so creamy and delicious! Really excellent! I will definitely make again. Thanks for sharing yet another great recipe!
Made this last night and it was amazing. So easy to make. I had it for leftovers for lunch and it was just as good. I used cashew yogurt and it was perfect. Love the cheesey sauce, will be using it for nachos.