Tag Archives: mexican

Mexican Coleslaw

This looks suspiciously like my Thai Coleslaw recipe, but it’s different. Trust me. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Salad Ingredients

1 small shredded cabbage
1 cup shredded or thinly sliced carrots
1 medium thinly sliced red bell pepper
4 thinly sliced scallions (also called green onions)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

Dressing

1/2 teaspoon adobo sauce (or other smoky hot sauce).
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Combine salad ingredients in a bowl.

Combine dressing ingredients in a small container and whisk for 1 minute to combine.

Drizzle sauce over veggies and toss to coat evenly. You might want to add a little more lime juice or vinegar to taste.

Let stand at least 10 minutes or refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Toss again before serving.

Buy the What Dawn Eats: Vegan food that isn’t weird cookbook for more recipes like this one.

Variations

  • Replace carrots and red bell pepper with other colorful vegetables.
  • Add some jicama for additional crunch.
  • Can be easily made low-sodium and gluten-free.

More information for Mexican Coleslaw recipe:

  • Prep time: 20 min
  • Cook time: 0 min
  • Total time: 20 min

Tofu Rancheros

This is one of those all day meals that you can serve as easily for breakfast as you can for dinner. It also gets bonus points for being quick and easy to make. Makes 4 servings.

1 pound tofu (pre-packaged baked tofu or baked firm tofu)
1 15-ounce can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 15-ounce can vegetarian chili
1 cup salsa
2 cups lettuce
1 cup tomato
1/4 cup vegan sour cream
1/4 cup Mango Guacamole recipe
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Chop the tofu into 1-inch cubes. Put the chili in a pan on the stove. Add tofu and cook for about 5 minutes or until heated through.

Warm the beans and salsa in separate containers in the microwave or on the stove.

On each plate, spoon the beans into a small pile on one half of the plate and top with chili and salsa. On the other side, add lettuce, tomato, sour cream and guacamole.

Sprinkle the whole thing with chopped cilantro. Serve with tortilla shells or tortilla chips.

Pictured with Cilantro Lime Black Beans and avocado.

Buy the What Dawn Eats: Vegan food that isn’t weird cookbook for more recipes like this one.

Variations

  • Use a can of refried beans or the Cilantro Lime Black Beans in place of the black beans.
  • Add grilled vegetables.
  • Replace the guacamole with sliced avocado.
  • Serve over a bed of Spanish rice.
  • Use 1 recipe of Baked Mexican Marinated Tofu and serve separately, instead of cooking in the chili.
  • You could make a low-sodium version with low salt chili and beans and going light on the sour cream.
  • Can be easily made gluten-free.

More information for Tofu Rancheros recipe:

  • Prep time: 10 min
  • Cook time: 5 min
  • Total time: 15 min

Cilantro Lime Black Beans

How can you go wrong with cilantro and lime? These beans are great served alone, in tacos, with some tortilla chips for dipping, or along with some fajitas. Makes 4 as a servings as a small side dish.

2 cans black beans
1-2 tablespoons oil to taste
juice of 1 lime
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons tomato juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Drain and rinse the black beans. Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook for at least 5 minutes stirring occasionally or until heated through.

At this point, you can serve the beans, but I like to cook them over low heat for closer to 30 minutes or until the beans start to fall apart and become the consistency of refried beans.

Buy the What Dawn Eats: Vegan food that isn’t weird cookbook for more recipes like this one.

More information for Cilantro Lime Black Beans recipe:

  • Prep time: 5 min
  • Cook time: 5 min
  • Total time: 10 min

Variations

  • Add some tomato or onion.
  • Can be easily made low-sodium and gluten-free.

Enchilada Casserole

All the great enchilada flavor but without the work required to roll everything into little enchiladas. This recipe calls for 2 cups baked or grilled vegetables, so I usually plan to have this the day after one of those other meals as a creative way to use the leftovers without feeling like I’m eating leftovers! Makes 6 servings.

Casserole Ingredients

1 14 ounce can rinsed and drained hominy
1 14 ounce can rinsed and drained pinto beans
1 14 ounce can enchilada sauce
2 cups chopped Baked Vegetables or Grilled Vegetables
1 chopped yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup minced onions
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (divided)
1 recipe Mexican Marinated Tofu

Topping Ingredients

tortilla chips
avocado slices
vegan sour cream

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the tofu into 1-inch squares.

Lightly oil a large casserole dish. Spread a couple of spoonfuls of enchilada sauce across the bottom of the dish. Add remaining casserole ingredients, except for half of the cilantro, and stir to combine. Bake uncovered in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cilantro over the top.

Serve in a bowl with tortilla chips, avocado slices and vegan sour cream.

Variations

  • Add a couple layers of corn tortillas, which makes it kind of like an enchilada lasagna.
  • Serve with corn tortillas and use the enchilada casserole as filling to wrap like burritos.
  • Top with vegan cheese before baking.
  • Add fresh or sun dried tomatoes.
  • Experiment with other kinds of beans or vegetables.

More information for Enchilada Casserole recipe:

  • Prep time: 15 min
  • Cook time: 40 min
  • Total time: 55 min

Baked Mexican Marinated Tofu

Mexican Marinade

Warning! This Mexican marinade is spicy, but it has a delicious chipotle, lime and cilantro flavor. See the Mexican Marinated tofu recipe below for details about using the marinade.

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
juice of 1 lime
juice of 1 orange
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
3 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried minced onions
1 teaspoon cumin
3 chopped chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon adobo sauce

Combine all ingredients and stir or whisk to combine.

Variations

  • Dial back on the chipotle peppers if you want something a little less spicy.
  • You could also substitute your favorite spicy chipotle hot sauce to taste in place of the chili peppers and adobo.
  • Use this marinade to brush on vegetables before you grill them for a Mexican grilled vegetable meal.
  • Can easily be made gluten-free and low-sodium.

More information for Mexican Marinade recipe:

  • Prep time: 15 min
  • Total time: 15 min

Baked Mexican Marinated Tofu

I use this tofu in tacos, burritos, nacho salads or any other Mexican meal. The Enchilada Casserole is one of my recipes that uses this Baked Mexican Marinated Tofu. Makes 2 to 4 servings.

1 14 ounce package of firm or extra firm tofu
1 batch Mexican Marinade recipe (see above)
vegetable oil

Slice the tofu into 4 or 5 even pieces. Press the tofu to reduce excess moisture by placing a towel on the counter and wrapping the tofu in the towel*. Place a cutting board on top of the tofu and place something heavy on top (cast iron skillet, a couple of cans of tomatoes, etc.) Let sit for 5 minutes. Rearrange the tofu to a dry part of the towel or on a new towel, and press again for about 5 minutes.

Place the tofu in a plastic zipper bag or shallow container. Pour the Mexican Marinade over the tofu and make sure all of the tofu is covered. Marinade for 1 to 3 hours turning the tofu a few times to make sure that all sides are evenly marinated.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spray or brush a little oil on a cookie sheet. Place the tofu on the oiled cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes turning once after the first 10 minutes.

Variations

  • Experiment with other marinades.
  • If you like your tofu less soft in the middle, bake it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, again turning them over at the halfway mark.
  • This is also excellent when cooked on the grill.
  • Pan Fried Tofu: spray or brush a large, heavy skillet with a small amount of oil. Over medium heat, add the tofu and cook for 5 to 10 minutes on each side.
  • Can be easily made low-sodium and gluten-free.

More information for Baked Mexican Marinated Tofu recipe:

  • Prep time: 10 min
  • Cook time: 20 min
  • Total time: 30 min

* Note: If you have fuzzy kitchen towels, you’ll probably want to wrap it in a paper towel first to avoid getting fuzzy lint on your tofu.

Nacho Salad

Nacho salads make a great and flexible quick meal that you can make based on what you have lying around unused in the refrigerator. This is one of our standby meals for when we have an extra avocado and not much time to spend on dinner. Makes 2 servings.

1 can vegan chili
2 -3 cups lettuce (not spinach*)
20 tortilla chips
10 cherry tomatoes (sliced in half)
1/2 cup Mango Guacamole recipe
2 tablespoons vegan sour cream
2 tablespoons salsa

Heat the chili in a pan on the stove or in the microwave.

Get 2 salad bowls. Split the lettuce between the two bowls. Layer 10 tortilla chips on top of the lettuce in each bowl. Pour half of the chili (more or less to taste) over the chips. Add cherry tomatoes. Top with a dollop of salsa, guacamole and sour cream.

Variations

  • Add a handful of grilled vegetables or grilled tofu.
  • Add some hominy.
  • Replace the chili with refried beans or black beans
  • Use sliced avocado, instead of guacamole.
  • For a low-sodium version, you could use black beans instead of chili and go light on the salsa and sour cream.
  • Can be easily made gluten-free.

* Note: I avoid using spinach in this recipe. When you pour the chili on the salad, the spinach starts to cook and you end up with slightly slimy spinach instead of a crisp salad. Romaine is a good choice, but most lettuce will work just fine.

More information for Nacho Salad recipe:

  • Prep time: 5 min
  • Cook time: 5 min
  • Total time: 10 min

Mango Guacamole

Serve with tortilla chips and salsa or as a topping for many salads. I even use it in place of mayonnaise on sandwiches, and it’s great on BLTs. This makes a great side dish for parties or as an appetizer or snack. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

2 avocados
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped mango
1/2 lime (squeezed for lime juice)
cayenne pepper and salt to taste
4 sprigs of fresh cilantro (chopped)

Scoop the avocados out of the shells, but save the pits. Lightly mash with a fork in a small mixing bowl. Add onion, mango, salt, pepper and lime. Stir to combine. Garnish with chopped cilantro before serving.

If you are keeping the guacamole for a while, throw the pits on top of the guacamole to slow the browning process.

Variations

  • Omit the mango for a more traditional guacamole.
  • Add some extra cilantro just for fun.
  • Someone here in this house likes to replace the onion with garlic, but the garlic always seems a little overpowering to me.
  • Can be easily made low-sodium and gluten-free.

More information for Mango Guacamole recipe:

  • Prep time: 10 min
  • Total time: 10 min