If there were an award for eating the most Mexican food, I think Joe and I would win. 75% of our dinners each week are burritos, tacos, or quesadillas. While Joe is a fish taco kind of guy, I am a lover of puréed beans – I can (and do) eat them straight with a spoon… cold… out of the pyrex.
When I first started eating vegan, I was a bit bummed about not having quesadillas until I realized that vegan cheese is just as delicious (even soy cheese). But more so than soy cheese (like Daiya), I love cashew cheese on my quesadilla. It’s rich, creamy, and cooks so well.
This recipe in particular is simple and perfect for a quick and easy family dinner. The only involved part is really making your own bean purée, but if you are strapped for time, you can totally use canned refried beans – Trader Joe has a great vegan and organic can. Or if you do make the bean purée for something different, you can use the leftovers for these bad girls… and trust me, you want to.
This recipe was inspired by a recipe I found in ohdeardrea’s cookbook. I changed up the ingredients a bit for the beans. Thank you for the inspiration, Drea!
The Recipe
Serves: 4-6 people
Oven: 400 F
Time: 20 minutes
You will need:
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 can dark red kidney beans (not drained)
- 1 can black beans (not drained)
- 1/2 vidalia onion, diced
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbs red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp better than bouillon vegetable paste
- 1/4 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Non-stick cooking spray
- Tortillas (however many you need – I LOVE Trader Joe’s Habanero Lime Tortillas)
- Cashew cheese (recipe HERE)
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
To make:
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- In a large pan over medium heat, add olive oil and onions. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, or until translucent.
- Add the remaining ingredients and turn heat up heat – continue to stir and watch as it thickens a bit. After about 10 minutes, turn down and take off heat.
- Allow to cool a bit before adding 3/4 of the mix to your food processor (or you can mash by hand). Once blended, add the remaining 1/4 of the beans to the puree. Combine.
- Line a baking sheet with foil, spray with non-stick and add a couple tortillas. Layer bean purée, cashew cheese, then some corn on one side of the tortilla. Flip the other side over and repeat until all tortillas are lined up and ready.
- Cook in 400 F oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
- Allow to cool before cutting and serving (the inside will be very hot!)
Cutting these into triangles can be messy, so I really advise you to wait until they are cooled down – I know, it’s hard. I totally burned the roof of my mouth… and it may have been worth it.
So there you have it. One of my favorite dinners ever! Make make make. xx bianca
