These Vegetable Enchiladas are made with homemade enchilada sauce and corn tortillas stuffed with corn, spinach, black beans and cheese.
Vegetable Enchiladas
These Vegetable Enchiladas are family-friendly since they don’t have any strange vegetables tucked inside, just a combo of spinach and corn + Jack cheese and black beans. You get to make your own enchilada sauce with this recipe, and PLEASE take the time to do so. You’ll find that it’s so darned better than the canned stuff. 100%. This particular sauce is loaded with the flavor of cumin (one of my favorite spices).
🛒Ingredients needed:
- olive oil
- cumin
- flour
- tomato paste
- vegetable broth
- water
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- grated Monterey Jack
- canned black beans
- frozen spinach
- corn kernals
- green onions
- tortillas
- optional toppings
✏️How to make Vegetable Enchiladas:
*The complete, printable recipe with all ingredients and instructions is at the end of this post.
Make the ENCHILADA SAUCE:
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In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add 2 teaspoons cumin, flour and tomato paste. Cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the broth and water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened (5 to 7 minutes). Season with salt and pepper to taste, and then set aside.
Assemble the ENCHILADAS:
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In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of the cheese, beans, spinach, corn, green onions (white parts) and cumin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
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Preheat the oven to 400℉. Spray one 10×14 inch pyrex pan with nonstick spray (or two 8×8 inch pans).
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Wrap 4 tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 20 seconds. Lay a tortillas on a flat work surface and pile about ⅓ cup of the filling down the middle. Roll the tortilla tightly around the filling and place it seam-side-down in the prepared pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas (microwaving 4 at a time) and filling until you’ve used it all up.
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Drizzle the sauce on top, and sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of cheese. Bake, uncovered, until hot and bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped green scallions and serve with desired toppings.
➡️Recipe Tips:
- If you’re not a humongous fan of cumin, this enchilada sauce recipe is also very good.
- It’s worth it to hunt down the brand of corn tortillas that I mention in the recipe below: Guerrero. Many corn tortillas fall apart when you try to roll them up, and this brand does not! Yahoo!
- To make this recipe gluten-free: Use ¼ cup rice flour or GF all-purpose flour in place of the regular all-purpose flour. And be sure to use brands of vegetable broth and tortillas that are known to be GF (Guerrero is noted as GF).
✔️What to serve with Vegetable Enchiladas:
- I like some toppings on my enchiladas, if you do too be sure to sprinkle them with scallions, avocado, sour cream or whatever you’d like.
- A dish of Spanish Rice served on the side is perfect with these enchiladas.
- A fresh green salad is also a nice counterpoint to the warm enchiladas.
★How to Store:
Leftovers store beautifully in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. These also freeze well. I’d put two enchiladas each in smaller sized containers. That way you can pull out a meal for one anytime in the next couple months.
❤️Why I love this recipe:
- I love that this recipe is so easy to make gluten free (see tips on recipe card). My mom was gluten free and it always felt good to be able to make a meal we all could enjoy together. This recipe always reminds me of her.
- These enchiladas are one of those things that taste even better the second day. I love having the leftovers for lunch!
- With the recipe making 16 enchiladas, I can feed my family plus hungry guests!
Vegetarian Dinners to Try:
- Ravioli Primavera
- Spicy Vegetarian Chili
- Cuban Black Bean-and-Yellow Rice Bowls
- Garden Vegetable Lasagna
- Roasted Vegetable and Black Bean Tacos
If you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, you’ll find a link to the WW Points on the recipe card below.
Vegetable Enchiladas
Homemade enchilada sauce and corn tortillas stuffed with corn, spinach, black beans and cheese.
Ingredients
ENCHILADA SAUCE:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- One 14.5-ounce can vegetable broth
- ¾ cup water
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
ENCHILADAS:
- 3 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese (or Jack/Cheddar blend), divided
- One 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
- One 10-ounce box frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 1 cup corn kernels (canned, frozen or fresh)
- 4 medium green onions, thinly sliced (white and green parts separated)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Sixteen 6 -inch corn tortillas (Guerrero brand is much preferred since they do not fall apart!)
- optional toppings: sour cream, avocado/guacamole, sliced olives, chopped tomato
Instructions
Make the ENCHILADA SAUCE:
- In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add 2 teaspoons cumin, flour and tomato paste. Cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the broth and water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened (5 to 7 minutes). Season with salt and pepper to taste, and then set aside.
Assemble the ENCHILADAS:
- In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of the cheese, beans, spinach, corn, green onions (white parts) and cumin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 400℉. Spray one 10x14 inch pyrex pan with nonstick spray (or two 8x8 inch pans).
- Wrap 4 tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 20 seconds. Lay a tortillas on a flat work surface and pile about ⅓ cup of the filling down the middle. Roll the tortilla tightly around the filling and place it seam-side-down in the prepared pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas (microwaving 4 at a time) and filling until you've used it all up.
- Drizzle the sauce on top, and sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of cheese. Bake, uncovered, until hot and bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped green scallions and serve with desired toppings.
Notes
- To make this recipe gluten-free: Use ¼ cup rice flour or GF all-purpose flour in place of the regular all-purpose flour. And be sure to use brands of vegetable broth and tortillas that are known to be GF (Guerrero is noted as GF).
- WW Points were calculated using reduced fat Monterey Jack cheese.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 405kcal, Carbohydrates: 47g, Protein: 21g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0.001g, Cholesterol: 38mg, Sodium: 654mg, Potassium: 616mg, Fiber: 10g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 4840IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 435mg, Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I just made these tonight.. my husband and I loved them and will be making them again! I liked them much better than regular enchiladas. Thanks for the recipe!
I made this last night, and they were so very yummy! My husband couldn’t get enough, and we’re both looking forward to leftovers tonight. 🙂 The red sauce was not only super easy and quick, but it was better than the canned stuff. That’ll definitely be my go-to enchilada sauce from now on! Thank you!!
Lori, these enchiladas look delish! I love that there’s a recipe for enchilada sauce, so much better than canned.
I made these for dinner tonight and they were delicious. Thanks for sharing a healthy Mexican meal.
These were not only amazing, but they were so inexpensive to make as well! Last night was my second meatless dinner of the week, and my husband wasn’t so thrilled to hear it – but he LOVED them! Oh, and they were easy to make, bonus!
Thank you Thank you for the tortilla recommendation ! I am Celiac so all i can eat are corn tortillas and i HATE that they don’t roll nice. I will have to try this brand assuming i can find it at my local stores. I did find one brand that rolled ok (forgot the name) but they had SUCH a strong smell. My entire fridge stunk like the weird corn smell from them. It was enough to turn my stomach ! Hopefully these aren’t like that.
I NEVER seem to get out to see movies but for new years we went and saw this is 40 and i agree it was funny. i have a HUGE netflix queue of movies i want to see. And I’m probably the only person who knows nothing about Downton Abbey !
Lori, I’m drooling. I love Mexican food, these look fabulous. Can’t wait to try. Sheila
Made these last night…my picky eater son had 5!! Really good, and I am very glad that I made the sauce from scratch. It was great!! I am not a bean/corn eater, so I made a few with extra cheese, spinach, green onions….yum! Avocado on the side and a little sour cream…great!!
Lori, these look delicious; can’t wait to make them! Where did you get your beautiful blue plates and the pretty swirly fork? I need new plates and utensils, and love your style! 🙂 Thanks…Alycia
oh gosh, I shop all over the place for plates and utensils, so I’m not sure. I don’t have a full set- just for the photo stuff 🙂
These enchiladas look amazing and I will have to make them soon. Argo is a must-see, incredible. Saw Silver Lining, acting is terrific. Zero Dark Thirty is intense and long, kind of documentary-ish, if that makes any sense. Loved Les Miserables and Parental Guidance. Don’t get me started on Downton, I am addicted….!