Jackfruit & Potato Southwest Casserole (GF+V+Grain-Free)

This Jackfruit & Potato Southwest Casserole is a great meal to make for a holiday, potluck, gathering, or sunday family dinner.

It has 3 steps. So take your time. It’s kind of an all-day-cooking-with-family type recipe. Or you can make the cheese sauce a couple days earlier and keep in fridge until your ready to assemble the casserole.

To make this dish child-friendly, I like to remove any spicy elements and I leave out the chopped onion. My kiddo likes bell peppers so I leave that in. But feel free to tailor to your children.

This meal is gluten free, soy free, dairy free, grain free, oil free, vegan. It’s 100% vegetables ! (except the addition of either cashews or tahini in the cheese sauce) for your convenience we also have a nut-free, seed-free cheese sauce recipe! Link HERE! for Fat Free Cheese!

Step by Step Photos :

Jackfruit & Potato Southwest Casserole

Makes : Deep 9.5×13.5 casserole

INGREDIENTS:

Dairy Free Cheese Sauce:

• 3 Medium Red Potatoes
• 1 Large Carrot
• 1/4 Yellow Onion
• 1 Garlic Clove
• 1/4 cup Cashews or 1 Tbs Tahini
• 1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
• 2 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 Tbs Arrowroot Powder (or cornstarch. Not tapioca)
• 1.5 cups Veggie Broth or Water

Jackfruit:

• Two 14oz cans Jackfruit in Water
• 2 Tbs Tomato Paste
• 1 Tbs Lime juice
• 1 tsp Chili powder
• 1/8 tsp Cayene
• 2 tsp Cumin
• 1/2 tsp Oregano
• 1/2 tsp Garlic powder
• 1 tsp Onion powder
• 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1/4 tsp Sweetener (agave)
• Sea salt & black pepper

Potatoes:

• 4 lbs Red Potatoes (reserve 3 potatoes for cheese sauce)
• 2 Bell Peppers
• 1/2 Yellow Onion

Toppings & Extras:

• Salsa
• Green Onion
• Avocado
• Tortillas
• Hot Sauce

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Vegan Cheese Sauce: in a medium pot of boiling water, add the roughly chopped potatoes, carrots, onion, whole garlic. Boil for 15 minutes. *(If you aren’t using a high-speed blender, soak the cashews in water for about four hours until they are swollen and soft, then drain. Or you can use the tahini version. Or you can boil the cashews for about 40 minutes).
2. Drain and transfer to blender. Add the remaining ingredients for the cheese sauce and blend until smooth. Set aside. Or refrigerate a day or two in advance.
3. Potatoes: Preheat oven 420°F.
4. Wash and cube the red potatoes.
5. Wash and remove core and seeds of the bell peppers. Dice small.
6. Remove the outer skin of the onion and finely chop.
7. On a parchment lined tray (or two!) evenly spread the potatoes, pwppers, and onion. You may spray with oil if you like it that way or use absolutly no oil. Add sea salt.
8. Bake 420°F for 30-40 min. Then broil for 2 min to brown.
9. Jackfruit: Two cans Jack fruit, drained & rinsed. (Tip: you can use the same medium pot with lid that you boiled the cheese sauce veggies in after you transfer them to blender.) Heat the pan (you can use a little oil here if you prefer or just use a Tbs of water), add the Jackfruit, lid!
10. Wait a bit till it’s hot to make it easier to shred it with two forks or masher.
11. Add all the seasoning and tomato paste, lime, etc..and cook through.
12. Casserole: In a 9.5×13.5 deep casserole dish, layer the ingredients, starting with a little cheese sauce to coat the bottom,
13. then the cooked potatoes, coatwith cheese sauce.
14. Next the seasoned Jackfruit.
15. Add the rest of the cheese sauce, some salsa, green onions, or whatever else you want to top with.
16. Cover with foil and take-and-bake whenever you want it heated up. Everything is already cooked so just heat in oven 425°F for 15 min and remove foil to brown the top a little bit for a couple min. (I have served this not reheated at an event and it was still a big hit!)
17. Can be served as filling for tacos with smashed avocado or as a bowl over chopped greens, or as is!
18. Enjoy!