***This recipe has had a re-do, visit this post to see my second attempt at Mayan Harvest Bake***
About two months ago, Kashi was offering coupons to try one of their frozen dinners for free, so I signed up. I got a coupon for a free Kashi frozen entree about 2 weeks ago. I looked at what they had at Kroger, and chose the Mayan Harvest Bake. It sounded like many of my favorite ingredients in one dish, and it was free! This was hands down the best frozen dinner I've ever had. It tasted fresh, healthy, and delicious! The flavor combinations were very innovative and I just kept thinking about it over and over. I decided to try to recreate it at home and make it for dinner this week.
I might go back and make a few changes, but it was a very close replica. Next time I might pan fry the plantains as well as make the sauce a little more saucy (with more veggie stock), it was pretty thick. I used quinoa rather than the seven grain polenta, and it made it a little more dry, but I did like the quinoa.
Mock Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake
1 c. prepared quinoa
1 15 oz. can organic black beans, drained and rinsed
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 plantain, sliced into long planks
4 c. kale, chopped
1/4 c. pepitas (I only had almonds, but Kashi used pepitas)
ancho chili sauce:
1 tbsp. EVOO
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 c. tomato puree
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tbsp. ancho chili powder
1 tbsp. sugar in the raw
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
1/4-1/2 c. vegetable stock
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Puree onions and garlic in a blender with stock.
Add tomato puree, tomato paste, onion puree, sugar and spices to a small soup pot.
Heat over medium for 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
Scatter sweet potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment, roast for 15 minutes.
Heat a large skillet over medium, add chopped kale, a few tbsp. of water and a sprinkle of salt.
Wilt down and toss for 5-10 minutes.
Spread prepared quinoa in a baking dish, top evenly with black beans.
Top with cooked kale and sliced plantains.
Take potatoes out of the oven, scatter around baking dish.
Top entire casserole with sauce.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until bubbly.
Sprinkle with pepitas.
21 comments:
That looks and sounds AWESOME! What a great idea to recreate it!
I love kashi products in general but have never had their frozen dinners. Anything with black beans AND plantains sounds good to me though!
Ok this is superb. I just had the Mayan harvest bake and i came online to see if a recipe of it was available. This is just awesome. thanks for posting this.
I too have made this dish, because it is one of my favorites, except I found a pre-packaged Pineapple Chipotle Salsa by Pace that nearly exactly duplicates the sauce. I have also recently discovered that Kashi has the 7 whole grain pilaf in a precooked package, just add a little water, or microwave in the pouch. I use pre-cooked (steamer) sweet potatoes, so I only need to cook the Kale. BTW, for me, nothing can take the place of the salted, roasted, Pepitas.
Thanks for sharing this! I found your recipe through Google, and am going to try it tonight, because I love the Mayan Harvest Bake!
Thanks for the awesome vegan recipe. The sauce is perfect, but I'm not sure about the baking times... they seem too short. Even with the sweet potatoes diced, it still took an hour at 350F. I also found the plantains have to be cooked, fried, or something before placing in the baking dish. I'm also baking the whole thing for 45 min at 350F.
My family is half-veggie, so this is going to be Thanksgiving dinner.
I just made this and it came out very well. I had to cook the sweet potatoes just a few minutes longer, and I simmered the plantains in some vegetable stock beforehand which lended them a little more sweetness. I also used Pace Pineapple Chipotle salsa instead of making the sauce from scratch. It is sweet with a spicy background, a lot like the sauce in Kashi's version.
Can't wait to try this! Good luck with the blog, the book and other culinary adventures!
Okay, this worked out great. I've been messing around with the recipe and have found that if you bake the sweet potatoes a little longer, and then throw in the plantains for like the last 5 -10 minutes (depending on how ripe they are) it's closer to the texture of Kashi's dish. The sauce is delish!!! I made double sauce because I use it for other things.
THanks again for the recipe!
Loved the recipe. My only comment is that the greens end up a bit soggy/overdone with all this time in the oven. I might add them after baking next time.
I made this almost as directed last night, but I didn't have any ancho chili powder. Instead I have a huge bag of dried ancho peppers. So I boiled some water and dropped a pepper in til it was soft. Then I added that to the blender when I blender the onions and stuff. Turned out great. Next time I think I will add 2 peppers, tho. Thanks for coming up with the recipe so I didn't have to work at it. =)
I am so excited that you have this! I am going to make it in a few days for my father, and i'm sure he will love it. Thanks for doing this recipe!
Sucess! This was a great recipe, and I panfried the plantains like you suggested. I didn't have any chili powder so I used about 4 de-seeded dried ones. No need for tomato paste, the sauce was enough, although I added a bit more stock to juice it up a bit.
This answers my question of whether there was a recipe, legitimate or not, for that fantastic Kashi's Mayan Harvest Bake, which I also have come to enjoy greatly after a taste-test of my own on the original frozen dinner found in the local grocer. I shall look forward to giving your recipe a try and may the results be even better than the original product, if not equally enjoyable. Thank you graciously for sharing your homemade recipe.
Definitely pre-fry the plantains before you add them to the bake. I lived in Guatemala for a while and that's how they cooked their "platanos". Make sure the plantains are ripe, not green, or they don't turn out as well (they are also extremely hard to peel green). Cut the plantains diagonally, not horizontally or vertically. (That's the way my Guatemalan "host mom" did it.) :)
I am going to try this for sure. Maybe I will invite my vegatarian friend over for dinner. I love this Kashi meal and it's be so nice to make it at home! Yay! Thanks
I bought the Kashi Mayan Bake a few days ago and I have to agree it's one of the best frozen dinners ever. Thank you so much for posting your version of the recipe.
Jim
Thank you. Looking forward to trying this!
Very thrilled to see that you have posted this recipe! I can't wait to make it for my company this month. I imagine it will be very much like the original. Thanks for your time.
wow..I just had the Kashi Dinner and it is so good that I went right to the web to look for a recipe...thanks for posting this..I can't wait to make it! YUMM-O
Lisa
MMmmmm. I had this frozen meal a few days ago and was hoping to figure out a way to make it on my own. I'm planning to make it for Christmas!
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