Author: Vanessa

I vividly remember the first time I made this recipe, we had friends from Singapore coming to stay and their girls had allergies – this was waaay before we started our allergy journey with Jack so honestly, we were clueless! My usual dinner ideas went out the window, whatever I decided to cook would have to be free from gluten, dairy and soya…so what on earth would I make?! I remember feeling worried about being in charge of the dinner that night, what if I made a mistake?  What if they didn’t like it or worse, what if I accidentally poured a whole bag of flour into the mix and made the girls sick?!   Yes, I might have been slightly irrational but I did feel a pressure and sense of responsibility that I had never felt before.

I searched the internet and my cook books and decided to amalgamate a few recipes and came up with this Tex-Mex Casserole and over the following years, as I’ve made it more and more, the recipe has become refined and quite frankly, delicious!

I love to prepare this recipe ahead of time, ready to bang in the oven after a busy afternoon.  It also keeps really well so we usually have leftovers for the lunch the next day.

This Tex-Mex Casserole is a total crowd pleaser, my family loves it – I hope you will too!

We’d love to see your version of this Tex-Mex Casserole and hear how you and your family enjoy it!  Tag us on social @the_juicing_co

TEX-MEX CASSEROLE

The low down

For the Tex-Mex Spice Blend, you’ll need:

1 tbsp mild chilli powder

1 ½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground corriander

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp fine Himalyan pink salt

For the casserole, you’ll need:

Olive Oil

1 red onion, finely diced

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 red pepper, diced

1 yellow pepper, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1 red chilli, finely chopped

2 cans chopped tomatoes

100g frozen corn

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

600g cooked brown rice (approx. 225g brown rice before cooking)

200g vegan grated cheese (I use Violife)

200g spinach, shredded

Optional Accompaniments:  

Salted tortilla chips

Sliced avocado

Rocket or baby leaves

Fermented tomato salsa or regular salsa works well

Lime wedge

Homemade picked onions (I’ll post the recipe soon)

Sauerkraut

The know how 

First, put the brown rice on to cook.  Weigh out approx 225g brown rice with approx 500ml freshly boiled water.  Bring the pan to the boil then reduce to a simmer for around 30 minutes or until the rice is soft to bite.

If you’re making this casserole to eat shortly, preheat the oven to 200 degrees or if you are prepping to eat later on, skip this step for just now.

Next, go ahead and make the Tex-Mex Spice Blend in a small bowl by combining the spices.  Set aside.

Heat a drizzle of oil in a large cast iron casserole dish.  Add the onion, peppers, garlic and red chilli and sauté for around 8 minutes, until softened.

Stir in the Tex-Mex Spice Blend until the veg is fully coated.  Quickly add the tinned chopped tomatoes, black beans, frozen corn, cooked brown rice, grated vegan cheese and shredded spinach.  Stir until everything it’s combined then season with salt and pepper.

Now the prep is done, cover the casserole dish with the lid and put in the oven for around 15 minutes until everything is bubbling hot and delicious.

Scoop the casserole into bowls and add your favourite toppings.

I love to serve this rice dish with some rocket, salted tortilla chips, avocado, lime and either homemade pickled onions, fermented tomato salsa or sauerkraut depending on what I have in the fridge that day, but feel free to mix it up and use what you have available to you.

Sit back and enjoy!

In the early days of figuring out Jack’s allergies, when he was a baby, one of the first allergens we had to eliminate from my diet was dairy.  That meant saying goodbye to the batch cooked trays of lasagne I had in the freezer and no more of my favourite go-to cheesy pasta – this took a whole lot of getting used to!  From then on, I just avoided lasagne and cheesy pasta as I never thought I could do it justice without adding a huge block of cheddar cheese to the white sauce.   Then, one day, during our second COVID lockdown, I decided I’d give a vegan lasagne a try and I’m happy to say, the results were delicious!  Since then, I’ve worked on both the veggie base and the ‘cheese’ sauce building layers of flavour in each until I feel I’ve found the perfect balance of sweet, deep delicious veggies, smothered with a smooth, creamy savory ‘cheese’ sauce – making it my ultimate comfort food.

I love to make this lasagne if we have family or friends coming for dinner or I want to make a yummy meal that I can prep beforehand and just bang in the over closer to dinner time.  It’s also a brilliant recipe if you’re looking to try more plant-based meals, and I promise you will not miss the beef or dairy from this meal!

We’d love to see your version of this Veggie Lasange and hear how you and your family enjoy it!  Tag us on social @the_juicing_co

VEGGIE LASAGNE

Makes 1 large lasagne

The low down

For the veggie base, you’ll need:

2 carrots – diced

2 stalks celery – finely chopped

1 onion – finely chopped

4 cloves garlic – crushed

Olive oil

10 sundried tomatoes – finely chopped

600g mushrooms – sliced

½ butternut squash – diced

1 aubergine – diced

1 courgette – diced

2 red peppers – diced

2 tins of chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

100ml – 150ml red wine (watch the wine doesn’t contain milk if you are avoiding dairy, you can find that information on the back label)

150ml vegetable stock

1 tsp dried oregano

Dried lasagne sheets

For the ‘cheese’ sauce, you’ll need:

100g dairy free margarine

85g All Purpose white flour

1L Oatly Whole Oat Milk

1 white onion

1 pack (200g) grated Violife dairy free cheese

4-5 tbsp nutritional yeast

Sprinkle of ground nutmeg

The know how 

To start with the veggie base sauce, add the onion, garlic, celery and carrots to a large pan (I use a shallow cast iron pan) with a little olive oil and sauté for around 7 minutes.

Then add the sundried tomatoes with a little of the oil from the jar and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes until the veg starts to soften.

Add the balsamic and allow to bubble for a few minutes, stirring the balsamic through all of the vegetables.

Allow the pan to regain heat and add the red wine and leave to bubble and cook off the alcohol.

Once the liquid has reduced down, add the mushrooms, courgette, butternut squash and aubergine and stir to allow the veg to take on the flavour from the pan.

Next add a sprinkle of dried oregano, tinned tomatoes and vegetable stock.  Stir well to make sure everything is combined.

Leave to simmer with the lid on for a minimum of 1 hour, making sure to stir regularly.  I try to let the base sauce simmer for around 2+ hours on the lowest heat, I’ve found the longer it simmers for, the more the flavours enhance.   Once all the vegetables are deliciously soft, season to taste.

Once the base sauce is cooked, you’re ready to move onto the ‘cheese sauce’.  Start by cutting the onion in half and add to a large pan with the oat milk.  Put on a low heat and bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, add the margarine to a pan and melt.

Once melted, add the flour and mix.  Allow the flour to cook out for a good few minutes, stir during this process.

Once the oat milk is simmering, remove the onion and discard.

Add the warm oat milk to the margarine and flour mix, a little at a time, using either a wooden spoon or whisk to ensure there are no lumps.  Continue until you have added all of the oat milk – you should now have a lovely smooth white sauce.

Next, add the Violife dairy free ‘cheese’, nutritional yeast and nutmeg, mix together until the ‘cheese’ has melted.  Season to taste.

Now you’re ready to put the lasagne together!

Use a ladle to spoon out some of the veggie sauce base to the bottom of the lasagne dish, covering the whole dish, make this layer very thin.  Now use the dried lasange sheets to cover the base of the dish and repeat the layer of veggie sauce however, this time, make the layer much thicker, top with the ‘cheese’ sauce and cover with dried lasagne sheets.

Repeat this process until the dish is nearly full.

On your final layer, cover with lasagne sheets and generously ladle of the ‘cheese’ sauce over to cover all of the dried pasta.

Pop in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for around 30-40 minutes or until the pasta is cooked through.  Take out of the oven and leave to sit for around 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving, this will ensure the lasagne holds its shape.

We like to serve this with dairy free garlic bread, salad and broccoli but go ahead and use whatever you’ve got in your fridge!

Sit back and enjoy!