Recipe Mexi-Lasagna: 30-Minute Tex-Mex Tortilla Bake
September 23, 2019
Why should weekends have all the comfort food fun? Our Mexi-Lasagna is a Tex-Mex Tortilla Bake made with flavourful layers of hearty, comforting goodness. With the right recipe, you can get from whole veggies to wholesome meal in about 30 minutes—perfect for busy families who need full bellies to keep up with a full schedule of extracurricular chaos.
Built using our Sprouted Power™ Tortillas, pre-seasoned Mexican or Tex-Mex veggie ground, and a handful of fridge and pantry staples, this weeknight-wonderful casserole is both speedy and satisfying. Skip the chopping and make it even faster! Use frozen fajita veggie mix instead of bell peppers and onions and shave another 5 minutes of prep off your Tex-Mex tortilla bake dinner.
1↑ Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH), About The Buzz: Frozen And Canned Fruits And Vegetables VS Fresh. FruitsandVeggies.org. Available from: https://fruitsandveggies.org/stories/about-the-buzz-frozen-and-canned-fruits-and-vegetables-vs-fresh/, accessed September 10, 2019. https://fruitsandveggies.org/stories/about-the-buzz-frozen-and-canned-fruits-and-vegetables-vs-fresh/
Ingredients
For the lasagna:
- 1 cup bell peppers , diced
- ¼ cup red onion , diced
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 1 can (398 ml / 14 fl oz) refried beans
- 1 package (340 g / 12 oz) Tex-Mex or Mexican spiced veggie ground round (we used Very Good Butchers)
- 1 package plant-based cheddar cheese-style shreds (we used Daiya Cutting Board Shreds)
- 1 package plant-based mozzarella cheese-style shreds (we used Daiya Cutting Board Shreds)
- ⅓ cup salsa
- 4 Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery Organic Whole Grain Tortillas (we used 2 Whole Grain and 2 Spinach for fun)
Toppings:
- red onion , finely chopped
- cilantro , finely chopped (optional)
- avocado , diced or sliced
- tomato , diced or sliced
- non-dairy sour cream
- extra salsa
Featured Product Spinach Tortillas
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- In a medium pan over medium-high heat, heat oil, then add peppers and onions. Sauté until peppers are soft and onions are beginning to brown. Set aside.
- Spread a small amount of salsa on the bottom of a oven-proof dish* to prevent your base from sticking. Place a tortilla in the bottom and spread with half the salsa, half of the veggie ground, a handful (about 1/5) of the mixed cheeses. Cover with another tortilla and spread with ¼ – ½ cup refried beans. Sprinkle with half of the cooked veggies, and another handful of the mixed cheeses. Repeat both layers, and cover the top with the remaining mixed cheeses.
- Bake until cheese is melted and ingredients are warmed through, about 15 to 20 minutes. If desired, broil for an additional few minutes to get the cheese melted and browned**.
- While your Mexi-Lasagna is in the oven, prepare your toppings. Garnish with red onion and cilantro (if using), and serve with avocado, fresh tomato, sour cream, and salsa.
Try these handy tips!
- Super short on time? Spare yourself a few minutes of chopping and crying over cut onions by picking up a bag of sliced mixed peppers and onions in the freezer section of your grocery store. Leave as-is to build your layers with a more veggie-forward fajita-like experience, or use the edge of your spatula to break slices down into rustic, bite-sized dice in the pan once softened, near the end of your sautéing time. (Using pre-cut frozen veggies is not cheating! It’s smart! Frozen veggies don’t just level-up the convenience factor—they’ve got just as much nutrition as fresh veggies1).
- *Don’t have a round, oven-proof dish wide or deep enough to fit all these layers? Don’t worry! A little creative geometry will help you fit round tortillas into a square pan. How? Simply cut each tortilla in half. For each layer, lay the two halves of each tortilla with the cut edges lined up with opposite sides of the square, and the curved edges overlapping as needed in the centre of your pan. Alternate the sides of the pan you align your cut edges with for each layer, and voila! Full-coverage tortilla layers, round pan not required.
- **Plant-based cheese shreds can be slower to melt, and how long it takes can vary by brand. If you’re light on time, and your cheese has not completely melted after the 15 – 20-minute baking time in the recipe, move your Tex-Mex Tortilla Bake to the microwave to achieve melty, plant-based cheese perfection through the whole dish. About 5 minutes on medium power (power level 5 or 50% power) should do the trick.
