In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, and because Mexican food is delicious but often loaded with cheese, we thought we’d share some creative vegan recipes for Mexican classic dishes.

Vegan Nachos

Serves 2-4

• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 14 oz. package vegan ground “beef”
• 15 oz. can of refried beans
• 15 oz. can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• ½ red bell pepper, diced
• ½ green bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• Taco spice blend
• 1 3/4 cup grated vegan cheese
• 1 large bag of plain tortilla chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF
2. Heat the oil in a large, deep pan on medium heat. Cook the vegan ground beef until lightly browned.
3. Add the refried beans, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, chopped bell peppers, onion and the taco seasoning mix to the pot. Simmer and reduce for 10 – 12 minutes.
5. While the ground mixture is simmering, arrange the tortilla chips in a shallow casserole dish.
6. Next spoon the hot mixture over the chips and sprinkle vegan shredded cheese on top.
8. Transfer to the preheated oven. Bake the nachos for 20 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and is lightly browned.
9. Serve the nachos hot from the oven along with a cashew sour cream and guacamole, as desired.

Tofu Scramble Breakfast Burrito

Makes 4 large burritos. This recipe is adapted from our cookbook, The Veg-feasting Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce (tamari)
• 3 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• ½ large red or green bell pepper, diced
• 2/3 cup peas, fresh or thawed frozen
• 1 package (14-16 oz) firm tofu, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

In a small bowl, whisk together the tamari and tahini and set aside.  Heat a little water in a skillet, preferably non-stick, over a medium heat.  Add onions and sauté until soft, about 5 mins. Add the garlic, zucchini, bell pepper and peas and sauté for 5 mins. Add the tofu, curry powder, turmeric and cumin and sauté for 5 more mins. Add the tamari-tahini mixture to the vegetables and tofu and heat through.

Remove from heat, add the cilantro, briefly stir to blend. Set out 4 large tortillas. Divide the scramble mixture between the tortillas in a strip on each, leaving enough tortilla clear to fold over the ends, and then roll into a burrito.

Serve with your favorite salsa and guacamole.

Yam Enchiladas

Yams are used often in cooking in Central and South America. They can grow quite large and may be sold in chunks in Latin American markets. What we call “yams” in this country are in fact a dark-fleshed variety of sweet potato. Although they’re not related to true yams, sweet potatoes make an acceptable substitute in recipes like this one.

Serves 6 to 8. This recipe is also from our cookbook, The Veg-feasting Cookbook

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup sweet paprika
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon whole coriander
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1½ teaspoons sea salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 tablespoons brown rice flour
• 4½ cups tomato sauce, homemade or commercially prepared

Filling

• 1½ pounds yam, peeled and sliced into
• ¼-inch-thick slices (about 4½ cups)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1½ teaspoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 15 –18 small white corn tortillas
• 3 cups shredded almond or soy cheese
• ¾ cup diced scallions
• 6 tablespoons chopped black olives
• 6 tablespoons diced green chiles
• ¾ cup soy sour cream
• Chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the oven to 400°F. For the sauce, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the onions and sauté until they are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the paprika, cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt and bay leaf, stir to blend, and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the rice flour and the tomato sauce and whisk thoroughly. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 10 minutes.

For the filling, toss the yam slices with the cumin, garlic and olive oil. Bake on a baking sheet until soft, about 30 minutes. Remove the yam slices and reduce the oven heat to 350°F.

To assemble, pour one third of the sauce in the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch casserole and add one layer of tortillas. Spread half of the yams evenly in the pan, then sprinkle in half of the shredded almond or soy cheese, and half the diced scallions, olives and green chiles. Pour more sauce on top. Add another layer of tortillas, top with the rest of the yams, the rest of the scallions, olives, and green chiles, and cover with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly over the top.

Cover and bake for one hour, then uncover and bake until the top is browned, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Cut and serve garnished with the chopped cilantro.