Despite “breakfast” being in the title, this makes an ideal breakfast, lunch or dinner meal. Grated potatoes are added to the vegetables and beans to give some “grip” to the dish, and more grated potatoes mixed with a little nutritional yeast create a cheesy-looking finish. This makes a lot of food—perfect for leftovers!
Ingredients
water for steaming
3 large russet potatoes, shredded (peeled or unpeeled)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
water for sautéing
½ of a yellow onion, small diced
1 red or orange bell pepper, small diced
1 zucchini, small diced
8-10 white or crimini mushrooms, sliced
½ to 1 bunch greens (kale, chard, collards, spinach, etc.) chopped into bite-size pieces
Juice from 1 lime
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
1 ½ teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
¼-½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 can diced tomatoes (15-oz.)
1 can black beans (15-oz.)
1 can pinto beans (15-oz.)
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Directions
1. (This recipe has a lot of ingredients, so I suggest assembling and prepping all of your items before you start cooking.) In a large soup pot with 1 inch of water in the bottom, steam the grated potatoes (in a steamer basket) for 5-10 minutes on med-high heat until soft. Separate equally into a two bowls. In one of the bowls, add the 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast and mix thoroughly (it will have a somewhat gluey texture). Set bowls aside.
2. Rinse out the same soup pot, and without the steamer basket, sauté the onion, bell pepper, zucchini and mushrooms in a couple tablespoons of water for 5 minutes (adding water as needed so as not to stick); add in the greens and cook another few minutes until soft. Then mix in: lime juice, dried herbs and spices, 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast, and the steamed potatoes without the nutritional yeast. Remove from heat. Fold in the remaining ingredients: tomatoes, beans and cilantro.
3. Spoon mixture into a 13×9-inch glass baking dish (no pan treatment is needed) and even out the top. Spread the remaining potato-nutritional yeast mixture evenly across the top with a spatula; it will be a little sticky, but it doesn’t have to be perfect or even go all the way to the edges (this will give a melted cheese appearance when cooked). Bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes uncovered until topping is lightly browned around the edges. Let sit for at least 5 minutes before serving. Optional: garnish with a few pumpkin seeds.
Preparation: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes (stovetop); 40 minutes (oven)
Serves: 8
NOTES
I grate the potatoes here but you can also use mashed potatoes in the same way. It won’t have a cheesy look; it will look more like Sheppard’s pie.
Nutritional yeast is a non-active yeast that can be found in health food stores, and has a naturally cheesy-nutty flavor. You can also make this recipe without any nutritional yeast and it will still be delicious.
This is a very flexible recipe, so use any kind of beans or veggies you like. If you want a spicier flavor, use hot chili powder (I use ancho chili powder, which is mild) and/or more chili powder. Red pepper flakes are quite hot, so add according to your heat tolerance, or eliminate completely if you do not like spicy foods.
The brand Muir Glen makes a Fire Roasted variety of diced tomatoes, which works well here.
If you are using beans cooked from scratch, use 1 1/2 cups for each, pinto and black.
In addition to garnishing with whole pumpkin seeds, try placing a small handful into a rotary cheese grater to create a Parmesan cheese effect (as shown).
This is REALLY, REALLY tasty!! Thank you for sharing the recipe
I made this last weekend and my husband and I both loved it. Thanks for an excellent recipe.
I recently made this. I did make a few minor modifications but overall… it was great. Not difficult to make, makes large portions and very versatile.
Can I use red or gold potatoes?
Hi Penny, yes, either is fine
Mine looks nothing like this. At least not the top. My grated/shredded potatoes turned brown after shredding (like a cut apple buy darker) and the did not come together much at all on top.
Also, I used two potatoes and that was plenty.
Hi Rebekah, I’m not sure, but it sounds like you may have skipped the step of steaming the potatoes first before mixing with the nutritional yeast, which would make them very soft (the effect we want). Potatoes will turn brown quickly when exposed to air so that’s normal, but if you steamed them right after grating them, this wouldn’t have happened, so this has me thinking you forgot the steaming. ??
I had a similar experience to Rebekah and I steamed the potatoes. The topping did not hang together like the picture shows. I was very disappointed in the way it turned out. It tastes good and my husband is eating it, but it just didn’t turn out the way it looked in the photo. I originally got it off the Forks Over Knives newsletter and was so looking forward to it. What do you think I did wrong?
Judi
Hi Judi, it probably needed to be blended more thoroughly, or steamed more before blending. Not sure. You can also use mashed potatoes on top if that’s easier.
Thanks, Cathy! I may try it with mashed potatoes. I really was wanting the top layer to be separate the way it looks in the picture. I steamed the grated potatoes 10 minutes. Maybe that wasn’t long enough. I will give it another try as it really has good flavor.
I have raw pumpkin seeds. Do I need to toast them first?
No
Thank you!
Can I use frozen shredded “hash brown” potatoes (the kind with no oil added of course)? If so, how much, and would I be able to omit the steaming?
I have not tried it but it should work ok if it’s just shredded potatoes. I would still do the steaming step. I would guess the amount in total to be about 4.5 to 5 cups of shredded potatoes. Let me know if that works. Thanks!
Do the tomatoes need yo be drained beforehand?
No they do not
The heavy amount of prep work involved in this recipe TOTALLY PAID OFF in deliciousness and volume of leftovers!
Yes, there was lots of chopping and bean-draining and potato-shredding and steaming, but in the end this turns into a delicious and hearty casserole. My mom, dad and I all ate it on the first night and then I had enough for the next 4 nights of dinners worth of leftovers for myself!
I would totally recommend this recipe, especially if you’re entertaining a group or headed to a potluck – most likely not something I will regularly make for myself, mostly because of the amount of total time it takes (between the lengthier list of ingredients and the prep work and cook time). Give this recipe a try!!!
Thanks Bonnie! Yes, this dish is a labor of love. A good one for a special occasion.
Hi Cathy! I recently found your site on Twitter and I can’t say enough how Stoked I am to jump on these recipes. Finally, a Vegan who doesn’t use oil and processed crap in everything they promote as healthy!
My wife and I just finished two Huge bowls of this tasty Burrito Bake and loved every bite. I may try char broiling the peppers next time for a sweeter, smokey flavor. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Thanks for your hard work and sharing your results with us!
Cheers, Ronald
Hi Ronald! Welcome, and thanks for the comment! Yes, no crap!
I like your website and am always a sucker for a good love story. 
Can you make this the night before?
I would think so; probably would be even better having sat first.
If I only have lime juice and no limes, how many teaspoons or tablespoons do I use?
About 2 Tbsp.
I made this last night to have for breakfast this week, it’s AMAZING!!! Thank you for sharing!
Hello! I’m excited to try this recipe. Do you think it’d taste and turn out okay with sweet potatoes?
Yes, or a mix.
Simply amazing Cathy, thank you for your creativity! Perfect for any meal, full of flavors and looks wonderful too. The shredded potatoes make it.
Since you noted this is perfect for leftovers, I assume you can make it the day before as a reheated brunch item? It sounds so yummy.
Yes, I think this would work fine.