Mexican enchiladas are definitely a comfort food for us, there really isn’t anything better than tortillas stuffed with meat and then topped off with a layer of cheese and sauce! We make them all the time but lately, we’ve really come to love this vegetarian take on enchiladas.
This take on vegetarian enchiladas is filled with healthy goodness and takes less time to put together as you don’t have to cook a protein ahead of time! You’ll love how quickly it is to get dinner on the table with this easy meatless enchiladas recipe.
Key Ingredients You Need
- Enchilada sauce — You can use store-bought or my homemade enchilada sauce for this. It is surprisingly easy to make your own and you can meal prep a batch ahead of time.
- Vegetables — It’s not vegetarian enchiladas without vegetables! We use an assortment of veggies: bell pepper, spinach, and corn but you are welcomed to swap to whatever you have on hand.
- Black beans — We use canned black beans but again, you can make your own from dried if you wish. When using canned black beans, remember to rinse and drain them beforehand as it helps remove excess sodium on the beans!
- Cheese — There’s no such thing as too much cheese. For this recipe we use Monterey Jack cheese. It’s more mild in flavor so it doesn’t overpower the enchiladas.
- Whole wheat tortillas — Whole wheat flour tortillas are much easier to roll to make enchiladas with than corn tortillas. If you have purchased the wrong one, not to worry, warm the corn tortillas before rolling and simply cover any tears with more cheese and sauce!
How to Make Vegetarian Enchiladas
Step 1: Preheat oven to 400°F
Step 2: Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Once hot, add in onions with a dash of salt and cook until they are soft and translucent (approximately 5 minutes), while stirring occasionally.
Step 3: Next add in bell pepper, and cook for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step 4: Add in cumin and spinach. You can add in spinach in batches as they reduce in size.
Step 5: Once all spinach is cooked, turn off heat and transfer everything into a medium mixing bowl, then add in beans, corn, ¼ cup of the cheese and about 2 tbsp of the enchilada sauce into the bowl and mix altogether. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Step 6: Prepare the baking pan by pouring ¼ of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the pan and spread evenly. The pan I use is 8”x12”.
Step 7: Next, assemble the enchiladas by spreading about 1 tbsp of enchilada sauce and ½ cup of the filling mixture in the middle of a tortilla and rolling it up, making sure it’s snug and not too loose. Place in the baking pan with the seam side down and repeat until you’ve filled your baking pan.
Step 8: Drizzle the remaining enchilada sauce across the middle of the enchiladas, leaving out the ends so they can become crispy while cooking. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the enchiladas as well.
Step 9: Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and then serve with chopped cilantro sprinkled on top.
Substitutions
- Make this vegan by swapping the cheese for a vegan substitute.
- Make this gluten-free by using certified gluten-free “flour” tortillas.
- Add some heat to this by adding in sliced jalapeno peppers.
- The red onion can be swapped for sweet onion or yellow onion.
- The black beans can be swapped for navy beans or pinto beans.
- Monterey Jack cheese can be swapped for cheddar, mozzarella, Tex-Mex, etc. Or use a combination of cheeses!
- Feel free to swap the vegetables, try: diced sweet potatoes, diced butternut squash, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, etc.
Tips For This Recipe
- Don’t add too much stuffing to the tortillas as it’ll make rolling it difficult. Plus you don’t want your final tortillas to be smaller as the filling runs out!
- If you do not have pre-shredded cheese, you can quickly “shred” a block of cheese by running it through a food processor. You can freeze any extra you have for another recipe.
- Extra enchilada sauce can be frozen for your next enchilada bake.
- As mentioned earlier, if you only have corn tortillas, be sure to heat them up in a plan ahead of time so they’re more flexible for rolling.
Frequently Asked Questions
I garnish my enchiladas with cilantro but you can also use parsley. You can also top with some sour cream, avocado, sliced jalapeno, guacamole, salsa, or whatever else you have on hand!
Baked enchiladas should be stored in an airtight container in your fridge. Leftovers, when stored correctly, can last for up to 5 days in the fridge. To reheat, you can microwave it or heat it up on low heat in the oven.
You can freeze enchiladas before or after baking! If you are freezing the enchiladas before baking them, do not top with sauce. Stop after step 7 and wrap up the dish tightly with tin foil and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw overnight in the fridge and continue through step 8. If you freeze with the sauce on top, it will make the tortillas soggy when thawing.
To freeze baked vegetarian enchiladas, let the pan cool completely, then cover tightly with tin foil and freeze. Let thaw overnight, then reheat in the oven when ready to enjoy.
You’ll have to try these meatless enchiladas with my Mango Salsa, Skinny Margarita, Mushroom Rice, or Guacamole!
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried this Vegetarian Enchiladas Recipe then don’t forget to leave me a 5 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Vegetarian Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 2 cups enchilada sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup red onions chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 4 cups baby spinach approx. 4 heaping handfuls
- 1 15 oz can black beans rinsed, drained
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese shredded
- ½ cup corn I used frozen
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6-8 whole wheat tortillas 8” diameter
- chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Once hot, add in onions with a dash of salt and cook until they are soft and translucent (approximately 5 minutes), while stirring occasionally.
- Next add in bell pepper, and cook for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add in cumin and spinach. Note: you can add in spinach in batches as they reduce in size.
- Once all spinach cooked, turn off heat and transfer everything into a medium mixing bowl, then add in beans, corn, ¼ cup of the cheese and about 2 tbsp of the enchilada sauces into the bowl and mix altogether. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Prepare the baking pan by pouring ¼ of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the pan and spread evenly. The pan I use is 8”x12”.
- Next, assemble the enchiladas by spreading about 1 tbsp of enchilada sauce and ½ cup of the filling mixture in the middle of a tortilla and rolling it up, making sure it’s snug and not too loose. Place in baking pan with seam side down and repeat until you’ve filled your baking pan.
- Drizzle the remaining enchilada sauce across the middle of the enchiladas, leaving out the ends so they can become crispy while cooking. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the enchiladas as well.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Serve with chopped cilantro sprinkled on top.
Video
Notes
- Don’t add too much stuffing to the tortillas as it’ll make rolling it difficult. Plus you don’t want your final tortillas to be smaller as the filling runs out!
- It’s important to shred your own cheese instead of buying pre-shredded cheese. Not only is a block of cheese cheaper than pre-shredded bags, the pre-shredded cheese is coated in a powder to help keep them from sticking to each other in the bag. This leads to it not melting smoothly. You can quickly “shred” a block of cheese by running it through a food processor.
- Extra enchilada sauce can be frozen for your next enchilada bake.
- As mentioned earlier, if you only have corn tortillas, be sure to heat it up in a plan ahead of time so they’re more flexible for rolling.
It looks great. It will be perfect!
Let me know how it turns out for you!
Watched your video and these look so good! One question, how do you get them out of the pan separately? Every time I make enchiladas, they clump together and the presentation on the plate is never as nice as yours! Any tips? Thanks so much. Can;t wait to try!
Hi- You might have to use a knife to cut and separate them a bit. Hope this helps!
Justin
Justin,
I've enjoyed your recipes and have often wondered about your dish (as pictured above in recipe and in your video). What brand is it? I'm digging the color.
Thanks,
Marc
Hi Marc-
The baking dish is from Le Creuset. I love their products. Thanks!