This may be the first time that I have attempted to turn a non-vegan casserole dish into a vegan casserole dish. And……I was very happy with the results!
Green Chile Cheese Quinoa with Soy Chorizo
Slightly adapted from this Cacique, Inc. recipe.
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients
EVOO cooking spray
3 cups of cooked quinoa
water, for cooking
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 12 oz package of soy chorizo
1 15 oz can of no-salt-added diced tomatoes, with juices
1 zucchini, chopped
1 14.5 oz can of corn, drained
1 4.5 oz can of chopped green chiles, drained
2 TB nutritional yeast, optional
3/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp dried cilantro
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
Daiya vegan shredded cheese (I used a mixture of the mozzarella and pepper jack varieties)*
*You could use dairy cheese if you want this dish to be vegetarian rather than vegan.
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13″ pan with EVOO cooking spray.
2. Line a large skillet with a thin layer of water. Heat the water over medium-high heat until very hot. Add garlic and onions to the pan, lower the heat to medium, and cook for approximately 5-8 minutes.
3. Push the onions and garlic mixture to one side of the pan. Remove the soy chorizo from the casing and chop it up with a spatula in the other side of the skillet. Stir the soy chorizo, onions, and garlic together and cook over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes, or until the soy chorizo is heated through.
4. Add tomatoes, chiles, corn, zucchini, nutritional yeast, cumin, red pepper flakes, cilantro, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Stir until well-combined.
5. Add quinoa to the skillet. Stir in one cup of “cheese” until melted.
6. Place the mixture into the baking dish and sprinkle with additional “cheese.” Cover with foil and bake for approximately 18 minutes.
7. Remove the foil and cook until the “cheese” melts a bit more. If using Daiya “cheese,” the “cheese” will not melt completely until it is stirred well. You can leave it slightly unmelted (like I did) or stir the mixture before serving.
I served my Green Chile Cheese Quinoa with Soy Chorizo with unsweetened natural apple sauce.
The coolness and sweetness of the apple sauce was definitely appreciated as this dish can be a bit spicy (don’t worry, nothing too crazy though! ;)). If you want your dish to be a bit let spicy, you might leave out some (or all) of the red pepper flakes and only add half of the can of green chiles.
Afraid of Daiya vegan “cheese?” Don’t be! While it does not taste exactly like cheese, it is good! This dish tasted exactly like a casserole containing cheese. In fact, I did not tell my family that it was vegan “cheese,” and no one questioned it! 😉
