Zesty Vegan Italian Casserole
By: Hayley Stewart
Published: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 - 11:26am

Ingredients




1 1/2 cups ground beef substitute
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup of spaghetti sauce
 cup of shredded vegan chedder soy cheese (I used Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet)
3 tablespoons vegan sour cream
3 triangles of uncooked Pillsbury Refrigerated Crescent Rolls
1 tablespoon margarine, melted
1/2 tablespoon nutritional yeast

Preparation

1 Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. 2 Add the onions and olive oil to a sauce pan over medium heat and saute until the onions turn translucent. Then add the ground beef substitute and spaghetti sauce. Let that simmer for about 5 minutes, until it starts to thicken up. 3 While the “meat” sauce is thickening, mix together the soy cheese and vegan sour cream in a small bowl. 4 Once the “meat” sauce is done, put it in a 7 x7 casserole dish. Top it with the "sour cream/cheese" mixture, then layer on the uncooked crescent roll dough. You might have to stretch the dough a little to cover the entire casserole. Mix the nutritional yeast with the melted margarine and then pour it on top of the crescent dough. 5 Put the pan into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Let sit for 5 minutes, then serve!

About


I’m hoping one day to have made vegan versions of all my childhood favorites (chicken and corn chowder, Thanksgiving dressing, etc.). Working towards that goal, today I re-made the Zesty Italian Crescent Casserole that was originally from Madella Bathke who won the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest with it in 1978. My mom found the recipe online a few years ago, and it soon became a go-to recipe in our house and was eaten often.
So, after missing this delicious casserole for almost two years, I decided that I must make a vegan version. I made a small casserole, but feel free to double this recipe to feed a crowd. And. yes, I know that using Pillsbury Crescent Rolls for the topping isn’t the most healthy thing, but they’re accidentally vegan and very tasty.