I have been wanting to work out a recipe for veggie enchiladas foreeeever. So, about three months ago (yeah, I’m behind on getting this post up) I offered to prepare a family dinner at my father’s place since my brother, sister-in-law and nephews (gah! hearts!) were in town. Now, it’s important to point out that this is a meat-loving, ice cream eating, cheese-worshipping bunch. And I may be bold, but I decided that this would be a great opportunity to test out my plant-based idea. And to take it to the next level (those who know me well, would expect nothing less), I decided that I’d work out the recipe that night, too. And if it all went horribly wrong, at least I’d be serving Mexican Unfried Ice Cream to them for dessert and they may forgive me.
I have to say that everything went swimmingly—but you probably knew that, since I am posting. My Dad (see “meat-loving” above) was requesting the recipe by the end of the night, and there wasn’t anything left for me to photograph for my usual “beauty” shot either. That’s a good problem to have.
I have to dedicate this recipe to my grandma “Maudie” who made the best enchiladas around. I was thinking so much about her that night. I like to believe that in spirit she helped me figure it all out. That’s us below—I’m the size of a bean. Fitting.
Print this recipe: Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Vegetable & Black Bean Enchiladas
Serves 8+
Tools:
Large casserole dish
Chef’s knife
2 large skillets/pans
Blender
Ingredients:
Try to buy everything organic. Here’s why.
1/2 batch of Ancho Chipotle Sauce
Daiya Mozzarella Cheese (optional)
Fresh cilantro leaves
Gluten-free brown rice tortillas (thawed if frozen)
Enchilada Sauce
3 tbsp unrefined coconut oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced (here’s a tip)
2 tbsp gluten-free all purpose flour
3 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
3 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp fine ground sea salt
2 large tomatoes
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 cup vegetable stock (make your own)
Veggie Filling
1 red pepper, ribs removed, seeded, diced
1 yellow pepper, ribs removed, seeded, diced
1 yellow onion, diced (here’s a tip)
2 large Portobello mushrooms
3 leaves kale, stems removed and chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (start with 1/2 cup dry and make your own)
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh sweet corn
2 tsp unrefined coconut oil
1/4 cup fresh, chopped cilantro leaves
2 tsp fresh lime juice
Fine ground sea salt to taste
Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Let’s get started.
In a large skillet or pan, place 2 tsp coconut oil, peppers and 1 onion. Heat to medium-high and stir often for about 10 minutes.
In another skillet or pan, place 3 tbsp coconut oil and add the other onion. Heat to medium-high and stir often for about 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes (I had a few cherry tomatoes from the garden, that’s what you see in the mix below) and cook down, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.
Stir in remaining Enchilada Sauce ingredients…
… bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for 10 minutes.
In the other pan, add remaining Veggie Filling ingredients (except corn and beans) to your onion, stir together for about 7 minutes.
Now add corn and beans and stir together for about 1 minute. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
Place Enchilada Sauce in the blender and mix until smooth. Transfer to a small glass bowl. Rinse the blender, and mix your Ancho Chipotle Sauce until smooth. Transfer to a bowl.
Create an assembly line by laying out all your ingredients—Enchilada Sauce, Ancho Chipotle Sauce, Veggie Filling, Daiya if using and Tortillas.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Spread some Enchilada Sauce into the bottom of your casserole dish.
Take a tortilla and spread a bit of Ancho Chipotle Sauce in the center, lengthwise. Add some veggie filling, some Enchilada Sauce and sprinkle with some dairy-free cheese if you like. Now, make sure that you leave about 3 1/2″ on either side of your filling so you can roll ’er up.
Take one side of your tortilla and wrap it over the filling. Tuck a bit, then roll the entire thing until tight. Place into your casserole dish. Repeat steps until you fill your dish with enchiladas.
Top all tortillas with remaining Enchilada Sauce. Sprinkle with dairy-free cheese if you are using. Set aside any leftover Ancho Chipotle Sauce for anyone who want extra heat when serving. If you have a sensitive bunch of folks at your table, you may want to use only 1/2-1 tsp of this sauce per enchilada and leave the rest for those who like it hot, to add later—Ancho Chipotle Sauce has some kick. You can always leave it out, too. But I recommend using it.
Bake enchiladas for 25 minutes. Serve topped with fresh, chopped cilantro and maybe a squeeze of fresh lime. Yum!
See… I guess the “beauty” in that beauty shot is that they are all gone. That one left was for me. Whew.
I highly recommend Mexican Unfried Ice Cream for Dessert…
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And because I love YU…
Heather- these look amazing. Such a brilliant idea. Might I add the tip that with those brown rice tortillas, often they get really crumbly when you go to roll them. I prefer to steam them first. Makes rolling super easy with no risk of cracking the tortilla. Must make these!
Yesyesyes, Meghan. GREAT tip. Thank YU for sharing!
Hi there –
In the picture above – where you’re assembling – looks like a hummus? Cashew cheese spread?
These look yummy!
David~
That there is the Ancho Chipotle Sauce. Spicy, but amazing and recommended.
Arg!:) thank you. In my mind the ancho and enchilada sauces were same – I didn’t. Click in the ancho recipe link.
Making these tonight.
Thanks again
No problem at all David, I bury a lot of links and goodies in these recipe posts. Happy to clarify. Hope you are enjoying these as I type this!
Do you have the nutritional information for this delicious looking recipe?
Hi there Isaac,
Thanks for the feedback and question. I can tell you that this recipe is loaded with a variety of incredible nutrients and protein, but I don’t provide nutritional breakdowns at this time. Read why here. Hope you give this recipe a try, it’s a tasty one! Enjoy. HC
Wowy, yummy and can’t wait to give it a test drive! The non-dairy cheese looks quite “cheesy”—I was wondering…what is your take on using nutritional yeast instead of cheese. I haven’t tried it yet and but bought some today and am a little intimidated. Perhaps its only a substitute for grated parmesan? I’ve seen some folks call for it in a recipe as a substitute for a cheese topping, such as in vegetarian lasagna.
Hi there Annie! Oh, those enchiladas… I think you’ll like them, and yes, Daiya cheese is pretty “cheesey.”
Nutritional yeast is not only a great source of B vitamins, which herbivores need, but it has a nutty, cheesey flavor that makes a great replacement for cheese in plant-based recipes. Personally, I never really use it on it’s own, because it does have a slight earthy, “vegan food” taste. When I create a plant-based “cheese,” I like to combine other ingredients with nutritional yeast to create a multi-dimensional taste profile—gosh, that sounds so nerdy, but I don’t know how else to say I like a more complex/layered flavor.
I recommend this recipe for making your own grated parmesan replacement, and as you’ll see, nutritional yeast is one of the ingredients. This Mixed Vegetable Lasagna recipe also uses a ricotta made from seeds and nutritional yeast. So to answer your question, I think it is a tasty ingredient to have on hand when making those plant-based cheese alternatives. Try it out for sure…
Thanks, Heather! Great info and truly helpful as I wander through the new world of whole food plant based eating and cooking! Pat Pat Pat – that is my pat on the back for diving in and daring this recipe plus the Basil Pine Nut Crumble—a four-parter, lots of moving parts, but it is oh so yummy! I made it a little “New Mexican” by adding green chiles to the veggie filling and adding New Mexico chile powder to the enchilada sauce—plus, I kicked the Ancho sauce up a notch by adding two chipotle peppers. Thanks for the inspiration, motivation…and education!
Oh Annie, I like your style—two chipotle peppers! A fellow fire-breather
Love your adaptations, keep sharing what YU come up with. And the “wandering” about this plant-based diet is half the fun, eh?
Indeed. Perhaps you can call these yummy morsels “Maudie’s Enchilaudies”.
YU are adorable. Maudie *would* love that.
I use the Enjoy Life Brown Rice Tortillas to try and make similar corn-free, dairy- free Latino dinners, but the brown rice tortillas are very crumbly, or rather, inconsistent with the texture and taste. I can never get them roll without cracking (as mentioned already) or just fall apart. Does the baking help them in this recipe? They make great quesadillas with Daiya though! Heather, do you have a recipe you’ve tried or know of for a corn free, gluten free tortilla?
Liana~
Try steaming the EL tortillas before rolling, it works wonders. Baking them with all of the liquid from the sauce softens them in this recipe. And rest assured, I have been working on a GF corn-free homemade tortilla recipe for years… not quite there yet though. As soon as I have it figured out—it’s posting!
Another amazing dish put on my favorites list! Simply delicious!
I’m on my fourth round of this recipe, it’s amazing. I like serving it with an avocado cashew cream. Blend 1/2C soaked cashews, 1 ripe avocado, juice from half or one whole lime, a small handful of cilantro, and a pinch of sea salt. Yum!
I have made these twice, or rather my husband and I have…as they are quite involved we both chip in. Both times we ended up eating at 9:45 pm. But it’s always worth it…I will just have to plan my time better (and get those beans cooking earlier!). Our ancho chipotle sauce looks nothing like the photos…more of a mint green color, maybe because our ancho chiles were dried? Also, I would highly recommend adding sweet potato to the veggie mix. The suggested avocado cashew cream also sounds delicious! Thanks!