I have a thing for Mexican-inspired food. Sure, most people like it, but my family and I love it almost too much for words. I am pretty sure we would all be perfectly happy with some version of Mexican food every day of the week–it’s an obsession of epic proportions over here. Tacos, chilaquiles, or huevos rancheros, we really aren’t picky, but enchiladas always garner a resounding “YES!!!” from my whole clan.
I have been testing out vegan enchilada recipes for a while now, and some of them were pretty darn amazing, but none of them had that creamy element that a thick layer of cheese lends to a traditional pan of enchiladas. I kept going back to the drawing board, testing more recipes, using my family as guinea pigs, and ultimately leaving each meal feeling full, but not satisfied.
It actually wasn’t until I developed my recipe for roasted red pepper cashew cream that I had a vegan enchilada epiphany. This sauce is creamy, smoky, and downright delicious… I was ravenously dipping tortilla chips in it, so why the heck not douse a whole pan of enchiladas in it too? So, that evening I made a great big pan of enchiladas and I smothered them in homemade tomatillo salsa and roasted red pepper cashew cream. It was magical! My daughter Eliza asked for these enchiladas at her 13th birthday dinner and I not only left the table fulfilled, I was finally 100% satisfied with my vegan enchiladas.
Black Bean Enchiladas With Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Cream
Cashew cream replaces the cheese in this vegan-friendly enchilada recipe.
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
Smoky Black Beans
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Enchiladas
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 1 1/2 cups chopped zucchini
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
- 1 batch Smoky Black Beans (see above)
- 10 taco-sized white corn tortillas
- 2 cups salsa verde (store-bought or homemade; here’s my recipe)
- 1 batch roasted red pepper cashew cream
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup roasted pepitas
Instructions
Smoky Black Beans
- Place all of the ingredients into a medium saucepan (including the liquid from the beans) and simmer on low heat for 5-8 minutes, until warmed through. Drain the beans (don’t rinse them though!) and set aside.
Enchiladas
- Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion for about 2 minutes, until slightly softened. Add the zucchini and corn to the skillet and continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes until the veggies are easily pierced with a fork. Add the drained black beans to the skillet, stir to combine, and remove from the heat. Allow the black bean mixture to cool slightly before trying to roll the enchiladas.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and generously grease the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil. (I used 2 small baking dishes, but a 9 x 9 sized baking dish should work fine.) Pour a 1/2 cup of salsa verde into the bottom of the baking dish and spread it around to coat the entire bottom of the dish and set aside.
- Divide the black bean and veggie mixture into each tortilla (about 1/4 cup of filling for each enchilada) and place seam side down in the baking dish. Continue with the rest of the filling until all of the tortillas are rolled and lined up snuggly in the pan. Top with the remaining 1 1/2 cups of salsa verde, making sure to cover all of the enchiladas. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until warmed through. Remove from the oven and allow the enchiladas to cool on the counter for 10 minutes.
- Pour the cashew cream liberally over the top of the enchiladas until they are completely smothered, then garnish with the cilantro and toasted pepitas before serving.
Notes
I use white corn tortillas because we are on a gluten-free diet, but you are welcome to use whatever type of tortilla you desire.
If you find that your tortillas are too dry and splitting when you roll them simply wrap them in slightly dampened paper towels and heat in the microwave for 25-35 seconds to steam them until they’re pliable enough to stuff and roll.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 servings
73 Comments
Celine
February 9, 2014 at 2:21 pmThese are so good! I made them tonight. The only changes I made were to double the amount of smoked paprika and I used creme fraiche instead of cashew cream as I had creme fraiche to use up and added a little cheddar and chopped olives. (I think the cashew cream would have been amazing though). Can’t wait to make them again!
Meg van der Kruik
February 10, 2014 at 1:14 pmI am so glad that you liked them Celine!
rogue1
February 9, 2014 at 10:06 pmI didn’t want to roll the enchilada, so I made is casserole style. Added some chopped spinach, and used a cilantro green olive sasla verde. So delicious, thank you!
Meg van der Kruik
February 10, 2014 at 1:14 pmI love the idea of casserole style enchiladas too! I bet they were amazing:)
Barbara
February 11, 2014 at 3:53 pmTried these for lunch yesterday. They were absolutely delicious! The hubby just couldn’t have enough and my in-laws (who aren’t vegetarian) loved them as well.
I’m a new reader who has recently tried a couple of your recipes, and now is absolutely hooked!
Thank you!
Barbara
Nicole
February 13, 2014 at 6:56 pmThese look delish! Definitely trying them soon. I love using cashew cream as a base for sauce! I often use it mixed with a bunch of basil or cilantro and some lemon and salt as well.
Jamie
February 26, 2014 at 9:54 amI made these the other night and my husband LOVED it! I really enjoyed it as well, but for my personal preference could use a little less red pepper sauce. It’s really yummy, just a tad too much on my enchilada.
I made this dish again two nights ago and have left over sauce so I think I’ll give the little quinoa cakes a try tonight 🙂
Thanks for the great recipes!
Nancy
March 30, 2014 at 11:27 pmI made these tonight, including the cashew cream sauce and the salsa verde. Wow! This was SO good. I practically licked the plate clean. My meat-eating husband was skeptical of the cashew cream, but couldn’t stop eating it. Ha ha! So much amazing flavor in everything. Thank you!
Beth
May 1, 2014 at 1:39 pmWe had these last night and they were amazing. My husband and I loved them! Thank you
Becca
May 5, 2014 at 10:18 pmMade these tonight! Delicious recipe. I wasn’t able to roll my sprouted corn tortillas, so mine turned out as a stacked enchilada….still tasty though!
trish
May 6, 2014 at 7:49 pmTried these tonight and thought the recipe was deliciously fresh-tasting and will make again..made a couple of tweaks. I added some tomato salsa to the cashew cream sauce to make it taste more like a nacho cheeseish sauce and it was fantastic. This was the first time I have ever made a cashew cream sauce and can’t wait to try it again with something else. Also served with pico de gallo and pickled jalapeno slices. Yummy 🙂
Alison
May 11, 2014 at 8:49 pmWow. I don’t know how to thank you enough for sharing this. These taste AMAZING. I went vegan a little over a year ago (after years of being vegetarian) and was quickly faced with a problem: there’s a long-standing tradition in my family for my father to make his cheese enchiladas and mexican rice and host a big family get-together on Mothers’ Day. It’s a sacred tradition, mind you. So I tried to make my own last year and the recipe I used involved tofu and mole sauce. I didn’t like them very much. While everyone else enjoyed gooey, creamy cheese enchiladas I was stuck with odd tasting, kinda dry tofu wraps. But THESE, oh these were a hit among everyone that tried them today! My mother joked asking what night of the week I’d like to designate “enchilada night.” They were so. amazingly. delicious. Thank you!
Gyspy86
May 20, 2014 at 6:36 pmThe red pepper cashew ream is so delicious. I prefer it over hummus. It’s even better the next day. And the enchiladas where suburb. Love the recipe, thank you for sharing.
Nicki Escudero
June 25, 2014 at 12:13 pmHi, Meg, I tried this last night, and my boyfriend and I thought it was delicious. Thanks for sharing this great recipe! Nicki
Mindy
July 3, 2014 at 12:50 amI made these a few days ago. I substituted mushrooms for zuccihini and added a little goat cheese and spinach before rolling the. Turned out great – really love them.
Tiffany Randall
September 20, 2014 at 11:16 amI found this recipe through a list of freezer meals and it looks so yummy! Is this actually freezer friendly? I didn’t see any instructions for freezing in the recipe. I’m 19 weeks pregnant and trying to get my freezer stocked with delicious and healthy meals for the coming months. Thanks so much! 🙂
Ashley
February 8, 2015 at 1:23 pmDid you try to freeze them? Did it work? 🙂
Gloria
January 1, 2015 at 4:26 pmI made these for Christmas and they were wonderful! I had to cook them ahead of time and reheat them. I can’t wait to make them again. Delicious!
Jessica
May 23, 2015 at 5:52 pmMy daughter and I loved this recipe! The cashew sauce is beyond delicious. I can’t wait to try it with other dishes!
Karen McCullough
December 6, 2017 at 6:28 pmThese were excellent! It made for a lot of dishes, but worth the effort. They were very flavorful. I did soak the cashews longer – about 3 hours and added a bit of almond milk to get the right consistency since I used a food processor instead of a high-speed blender.
Katie Trant
December 10, 2017 at 1:40 pmHey Karen, glad you enjoyed these! And it’s good to know that with a little extra soaking time the cashew cream will workout ok in the food processor as well.
allie
January 30, 2018 at 6:25 pmI love this blog! The vegan community is so great because we all have one thing in common: WE ALL LOVE FOOD! 🙂 I’m a vegan youtuber, I post vegan recipes, and fitness tips! I’ll link my channel below if anyone wants to check it out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mcozl_btsxY&t=5s
Katie Trant
February 1, 2018 at 10:23 amThanks Allie, we’ll check it out!