Cheezy Tomato Casserole

Every year on Christmas Eve, my mom made a Cheezy Tomato Casserole to serve beside our Spinach Casserole, rice and Pork Tenderloin in a whip cream caper sauce… Now I cringe wondering how many sweet pigs lost their lives over the years to satisfy our taste buds. Well, one can only do better when one knows better.

For years we have been experimenting with different faux meats, instead of pork, in a coconut cream sauce. This year was tempeh, but it somehow missed the mark. Every year is a new experiment. Maybe next year will be Seitan…. Once I actually nail it, I’ll post it. 😉

As a kid, every Christmas Eve meal was traditionally the same menu. There is something lovely about traditions and something even lovelier about making them your own, based on your own values. I’m not sure I loved mom’s Cheezy Tomato Casserole too much as a kid, but it is definitely a favourite of my husband’s and mine now!

This is a great recipe to make and freeze when you are overloaded with garden tomatoes in the fall. Of course it is dairy-free and is a great comfort food, tasty served piping hot alongside rice. This can also be made the day before and baked as needed.

I added some sesame seeds for an extra hit of calcium. Did you know that sesame seeds are one of the best sources of calcium?

Cheezy Tomato Casserole

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Serves: 6+ Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 40 minutes 40 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 10 Roma tomatoes- cut into 8 pieces
• spices such as oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper
• 1 onion, medium sized, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 bagel or 2 slices of bread, diced
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon (or less) of chili flakes
• 2 tablespoons vegan grated parmesan cheese, Violife or other
• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Dice tomatoes and place into a shallow baking pan.
3. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons of olive oil, if using, and sprinkle with herbs and spices as mentioned above.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through. 
5. Meanwhile, chop the onion and garlic and stir-fry with the white wine vinegar until translucent, about 8 minutes.  
6. Once tomatoes are cooked, place into a medium sized casserole dish.  Add the cooked onions and garlic and stir in the remainder of the ingredients other than the almonds and plant-based cheese.  Those can be sprinkled on top. 
7. At this point you can cover the casserole and place in the fridge to be cooked later, or bake the casserole uncovered at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. 

 

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