Tex Mex Vegan Tater Tot Casserole
This Tex Mex Vegan Tater Tot Casserole will soon be your family's new favorite vegan dinner recipes. Easy to make and completely gluten free.
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 712kcal
Ingredients
Vegan Nacho Cheese
- 1 15oz can Butter Beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 4oz can diced jalapenos (see notes for spice level)
- 1 cup unsweetened dairy free milk
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup vegan butter (use soy free if needed)
- 2 tablespoon oat flour (can be subbed for almond or chickpea flour)
- ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
For the Walnut Taco Meat
- 4 cups soaked walnuts
- 2 red onions
- 1 bell pepper (any color will work, we like to use red)
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1 10 oz can diced tomatoes and chilis, drained (Rotel is a popular name brand of this)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (use vegetable stock if oil free)
- 2 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce (sub for coconut amimos or other allergy friendly alternative, see post for details)
- 1 juice of a lime
- 1 15oz can corn, drained and rinsed
- 1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 32oz bag tater tots
- 1 cup vegan shredded cheese
Additional Taco Toppings, Optional
- jalapenos
- vegan sour cream
- diced tomatoes
- avocado or guacamole
Instructions
- Soak walnuts for a minimum of 30 minutes in boiling hot water or up to 4 days ahead in the fridge.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
For the nacho cheese
- Pour all ingredients into a high powered blender. *See notes if you do not have a blender.
- Blend for 5 minutes or until a thickened, creamy, well-combined sauce.
- Serve warm.
For the Walnut Meat
- Drain walnuts. Put them into a food processor and pulse until you have meat like crumbles. *Be careful not to over process or you will end up with walnut butter.
- Chop onions, garlic, and peppers very fine.
- Add oil to a large skillet (*we are using a 12" cast iron skillet to go directly into the oven), and saute your onions and peppers until translucent (about 2-3 minutes).
- Add in the garlic for 1 more minute.
- Sprinkle the taco seasoning across and stir to combine.
- Add in tomatoes and chili, crumbled walnuts, soy sauce and lime juice.
- Cook for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
- Add in 1 ½ cups prepared nacho cheese, corn and black beans. Stir together. Cook for another 3 minutes.
- *If using an oven safe skillet, add your frozen tater tots to the top. *If you are not, transfer mixture to a 9x13 casserole dish and then add the tater tots to the top
- Top with vegan shredded cheese.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until tater tots have cooked through. Broil for a few seconds after if desired for a crispier tots, careful not to burn.
- Remove carefully and serve with remaining nacho cheese or any of your favorite taco toppings.
Video
Notes
*See post about allergy information.
**Nutritional facts are just estimates. Please utilize your own brand nutritional values to double check against our estimates.
*If you don't want nacho cheese as spicy, start with 3 tablespoon of the diced jalapenos and taste test. Add more to taste. If you want it really spicy, use a 4oz jar of hot jalapenos instead of mild.
Nutrition
Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 712kcal | Carbohydrates: 100g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 1875mg | Potassium: 1457mg | Fiber: 20g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1747IU | Vitamin C: 52mg | Calcium: 146mg | Iron: 6mg