Perfect for meatless Monday, this recipe smothers delicious Tofu Enchiladas with Sweet Potato in a perfectly sweet and smoky mole sauce.
Vegetarian Enchilada Recipes
If you like vegetarian enchiladas, we pretty much have you covered. We've got enchilada stacks and huevos rancheros enchiladas and even cheeseless enchiladas made with cashew cream. But this is the enchilada recipe that started it all! It's also one of the first recipes I posted when I started blogging nearly 4 years ago.
Enchiladas, like pizza, pasta and sandwiches, are one of those blank slate kind of meals where you can get creative and wing it and you can be pretty confident that they'll turn out delicious. And like so many of my recipes, this one was inspired by a meal I ordered at a restaurant—sweet potato and tofu quesadillas with gorgonzola cheese and candied pecans. The candied pecans and gorgonzola were out, but the sweet potato and tofu filling was in, along with a homemade mole sauce. The smoky sweetness of mole is perfect with sweet potatoes.
Meal Prepping
These take a little bit of prep work, but much of it can be done in advance. I always like baking my sweet potatoes because I think they taste better after a good hour in the oven, but microwaving will cut a significant amount of time from the recipe. Just about every component of this recipe can be prepared a few nights before—the baked sweet potato, the tofu and the mole. Once you've got all the components ready to go, it's just a matter of assembly and 20 minutes in the oven, then it's enchilada time!
Photos by Emily Caruso. This January, we’re republishing updated recipes from Oh My Veggies’ first year. This post was originally published on March 14, 2011.
Recipe
Ingredients
Mole Sauce
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 medium onions chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp chili powder
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- 1 15.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp natural creamy peanut butter
- 2 cups vegetable broth
Enchiladas
- 2 large sweet potatoes baked or microwaved until tender
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 12 oz package extra firm tofu, pressed for 30 minutes (I use the Tofu Xpress), drained and cut into ½-inch cubes
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped, plus additional for garnish
- 16 corn tortillas warmed
- 1 cup Monterey jack cheese shredded, or crumbled queso fresco
Instructions
Make the sauce:
- Heat the coconut oil in large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook about 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the garlic, chili powder, brown sugar, cinnamon, chipotle chili powder, and ground cloves and cook about 1 minute more, or until fragrant, stirring constantly.
- Add the tomatoes, cocoa powder, peanut butter, and vegetable broth. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool slightly and then puree with an immersion blender or transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Set aside.
Make the enchiladas:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Heat the coconut oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cumin and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the diced tofu and cook about 10 minutes or until golden and crispy, stirring occasionally. Season with salt.
- Scoop the insides of the sweet potatoes into a medium bowl and use a fork to mash them. Fold in the cilantro and tofu.
- Ladle enough mole sauce into the bottom of a greased 9x13 glass baking dish to cover it entirely. Divide sweet potato mixture into tortillas and place opening-side down into baking dish. Top with the remaining mole sauce and cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and the enchiladas are heated through. Garnish with additional cilantro leaves, if desired.
April @ The 21st Century Housewife says
These sound delicious - love the sound of the sauce - a great dish for Meatless Monday!
Trisha says
I'm a meatless girl myself but my family is not. This sounds so yummy I think even my carnivores will love it 🙂
April says
This sounds so good! I've never made a mole sauce, but it sounds pretty easy - I'm adding this to my things to make file!
Hollis says
Just wondering if these freeze well?
Kiersten says
I haven't frozen them, so I can't say. I have a feeling the sauce might thicken up a lot after being frozen and thawed...
Leah says
These were delicious. I just made them last night for me and my Mexican boyfriend (who knows his mole!). He enjoyed them and asked for seconds, so I guess that's a good sign. One quick comment for those who are going to try these. Make sure to salt the enchilada stuffing per the directions. I left that out and wish I hadn't, but other than that the dish was awesome!!! Thanks, Oh My Veggies! Searching for one of your next creations to try...
Kiersten says
I'm so glad they turned out well for you! This is one of my husband's favorite recipes too. 🙂
Kristy says
These were fantastic! A little labor intensive for a weeknight recipe, but perfect for a relaxing Sunday in the kitchen, cooking with the hubby. And they made great leftovers, too. 🙂
Kiersten says
I'm glad you enjoyed them--thanks for your comment! 🙂
Mary says
I made these tonight as one of my "pantry clean-out" recipes, when I had both sweet potatoes and tofu to use up. Really delicious, and my picky husband went back for seconds, which says a lot.
thanks for the recipe! And thanks, Google, for helping me find you! 🙂
Kiersten says
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe--thanks for letting me know!
sailingfork says
This is insanely good! My wife and i will continue to make this go-to recipe. Best vegetarian enchilada recipe by far!
Kiersten says
Thank you!
Michele says
These enchiladas were really good. A great addition to my meatless Monday menu. My family is not crazy about tofu, so I substituted black beans and it was great.
Kiersten Frase says
Black beans would be perfect in these! I'm glad they were a hit!
victoria says
I made these tonight and wow are they good. The mole does not taste like mole I've had in high end Mexican restaurant. But it was delicious and I made a 1 1/2 recipe so we can have leftovers (family of 4) I know they will be good. We are mixatarians and my daughter is vegan so I appreciated how easy it was to make it for three of us vegetarian and for her vegan. Did you make the recipe for the mole yourself? It is wonderful. Thank you
Kiersten Frase says
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! The mole sauce is adapted from a Vegetarian Times recipe--it's linked in the recipe description if you're interested in seeing the original version. 🙂
Ellie says
This recipes sounds great and I want to try it. I have one question though. It says 1/4 cup chili powder for the sauce. Should that be a teaspoon or a tablespoon?
Kiersten Frase says
Nope, it really is 1/4 cup. 🙂
michele says
Best veg enchilada I ever had was a very non-authentic roasted potato and veg-stuffed extravaganza. Your mole looks great -- I am going to adapt your idea and fill the enchilada with leftover roasted root vegetables instead of tofu, maybe toss in some mashed beans! Thanks
Kiersten Frase says
Root vegetables would be an awesome enchilada filling! I hope they turn out well for you. 🙂
Liv Williamson says
These enchiladas are DELICIOUS!! First off, I LOVE mole sauce, and I have spent years searching for a really good recipe for it. The search has finally ended, and this right here is IT - so many subtle yet complex flavors and the perfect amount of heat! I truly love it, and so did my family. Secondly, this is a great hearty meal that even meat lovers will enjoy. Fry the tofu up just right and even a die-hard carnivore like my father will clean his plate.
Filling and flavorful, I would recommend this to everyone! 🙂
Kiersten Frase says
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe - thank you for your comment!
Kris says
This mole sauce is great! I used half regular chili powder and half ancho chili powder. Will definitely make these again! My only other change was to microwave the sweet potatoes to save time/not heat up the house. Really nice recipe. Would be good with black beans instead of tofu too.
Kiersten Frase says
Yes, microwaving the sweet potatoes works too! 🙂 I'm glad the recipe was a hit!
Tina D. says
My boyfriend was craving mole and I am a vegetarian, so I made this tonight as written except that I used black beans instead of tofu, which makes it a bit less labor-intensive, and I added a bit more more chipotle pepper. It was delicious! Next time I would use two cans of beans because I had some sauce left over and could have made a few more enchiladas. Thanks for a great recipe.
Lisa says
This looks extremely delicious and wonderful, I can't wait to make! I've just started to cook with tofu so wanted some more recipes!
Liat says
HI, I see so mant delicious recipes with tortillas but no recipe for them. I can't find any healthy ones here where I live.
I would be thrilled if you have a recipe
Thank you,
Liat
Joanne says
These are officially what I wish I were eating for dinner tonight!
manchuan says
awesome recipe, thanks!!!!!!! fabulous vegan mexican concept, congratulations.
only recommendation is to be a bit more conservative with the chili powder. 1/4 cup i think is too much. i did one tbsp and it was about right, considering that i LOVE quite spicy food even by most indian standards. thanks!
Lorraine R says
Thank you, thank you, thank you I am the only vegetarian in my family and really wanted to introduce tofu in positive way to the kids 3yrs and 4yrs old. This recipe went down so nicely and was absolutely delicious. The mole sauce is so tasty so for sure this recipe is going to make many an appearance at meals time this year.
I did make a couple of adjustments as I love fresh lemon juice squeezed on my sweet potato fries or baked sweet potatoes I added the juice of half a small lemon and a little salt to the mash. Also I threw in a little tangy curry powder that I have into the fried garlic and cumin mix before sauteing the tofu.
Kiersten Frase says
I'm so glad it was a hit - I know tofu can be a hard sell, especially with kids! 🙂
Alli Berry says
This is a favorite of mine! The mole sauce is so good!
Katie Trant says
Thanks Alli! We love the mole sauce too!