Vegan Enchiladas

So, I’ll start this off honestly. Before going vegan, I had NEVER had enchiladas! I’m more of a taco girl, but that may be changed forever. My boyfriend is a die hard enchilada guy, if enchiladas are available you can count on him getting them. He finally requested I make enchiladas, so I took the challenge. I thought they tasted amazing! And what did the non-vegan, enchilada lover think? “These are really really good! If they didn’t look different than the ones I usually get I wouldn’t know the difference.” I think that’s a good sign!

I didn’t know which way would come out better so I made both beef and pulled chicken versions, and used both red and green enchilada sauce. Spoiler: I did not make my own enchilada sauce. Baby steps. BUT most canned enchilada sauces you can find at your local grocer are vegan! The ones I got even said vegan on the back of the can, so just make sure you check before buying.

I served these with some quick refried black beans, vegan yellow spanish rice and Tofutti vegan sour cream. For the beans, just add tsp olive oil, 1 clove minced garlic, some diced yellow onion, 1 can of black beans, some green chillies, salt and cumin to a small pot over medium heat. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, mashing the beans every couple minutes until most of the excess liquid is cooked off. For the yellow rice, I used this recipe.

Now for the real show:

Vegan Red and Green Enchiladas, Two Ways: Takes about an hour and a half, serves 5-10, mattering on how hungry you are!

Before you begin, preheat the oven to 350*F, and set 1 cup raw cashews in a bowl of warm water to soak.

Ingredients:

For the beef filling:

2 cups beefless ground (I used gardein beefless grounds)

½ tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup +2 tbsp low sodium vegetable broth

¼ cup water

1-2 tbsp taco seasoning

Pinch cumin

½ can green chillies

4 tbsp vegan cream cheese (I used kite hill plain cream cheese)

How-to:

Defrost beef by placing in pan with olive oil over medium heat, about a minute or two to separate all the crumbles, you can do this while the pan is still heating up. Add the vegetable broth, water, taco seasoning, cumin and salt and pepper. Simmer for about 4-5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add green chillies and continues to cook until most of the liquid is cooked out. Reduce heat to low and stir in the cream cheese. Place in a bowl until ready to fill enchiladas. 

For the pulled chicken filling:

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

½ tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 package jackfruit, rinsed (I used Uptown naturals plain jackfruit)

¼ cup low sodium vegetable broth

¼ tsp cumin

Tsp taco seasoning

How-to:

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion for about 4 minutes until softened then add garlic for another minute. Add jackfruit and rest of ingredients. Add more water or seasoning as needed. Simmer for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a bowl until ready to fill enchiladas.

For the nacho cheese sauce:

1 cup soaked cashews

1 tbsp jarred roasted red peppers

2 tbsp green chillies

⅓ cup + 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp yellow or white miso paste

¾ tsp paprika

¾ tsp cayenne pepper

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp taco seasoning

½ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp turmeric

¼ tsp cumin

Tsp olive oil

Tsp corn starch

½-1 cup unsweetened cashew milk, or water from soaked cashews

Salt and pepper to taste

How-to:

Add all ingredients to a blender until smooth. Slowly add liquid until your desired consistency. Add more spice to your taste.

For the rest of the enchiladas:

10 soft burrito sized tortillas (I used soft flour but a lot of recipes call for corn tortillas if that’s your thing)

1 can red enchilada sauce (I used Hatch- stated “vegan” on the back of the can!)

1 can green enchilada sauce (I used Hatch, check that the brand you use is vegan-most are!)

Vegan white cheese of choice, crumbled (Optional, but I think this gives the recipe a nice touch! I used Miyoko’s vegan mozz for a “queso fresco style” cheese, I also suggest Chao creamy or follow your heart slices)

1 can green chillies

Vegan sour cream (I used tofutti)

Cilantro (optional)

Putting it all together:

1. Get out a large clear baking dish. Coat the bottom of the dish with about 1/2 can of the red enchilada sauce.
2. Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Add about a tsp of olive oil to coat the pan (about 1 tsp for every two tortillas). When something hits the pan it should be sizzling! Add a tortilla to the pan and flip it once right away. Let it sit in pan for a minute on each side, letting it puff up a bit in between. These should be soft, not hard to move! Repeat with all 10 tortillas.
3. Fill 1/3 of each tortilla with your filling of choice. For some, we did just beef or just chicken with crumbled cheese. For others, we added black beans and the nacho cheese sauce, or even extra enchilada sauce. Just fill them enough to be delicious!
4. Roll tortillas (think taquitos, but huge) and place along the bottom of the dish. About 5 should fill it. Then top these enchiladas with about 1/2 can green enchilada sauce. Place the second layer of enchiladas on top. Spread the rest of the enchilada sauces on top of the top layer, and drizzle with nacho cheese sauce.
5. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes, until nacho cheese is slightly browned. Remove from oven, top with more nacho cheese, green chillies, sour cream and cilantro.