These easy vegetarian enchiladas are stuffed with a mixture of vegetables, quinoa and beans then topped with a spicy enchilada sauce and plenty of cheese!
Welcome to 2019 team! Let's celebrate the new year with spicy and filling vegetarian enchiladas 😍
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Who doesn't love enchiladas? They're so comforting and fillings and they're definitely exactly what you need in January.
I am truly dreading going back to work but a plate of vegetarian enchiladas will probably make it just about bearable. Instead of your usual meaty filling of chicken or beef I decided to try out a vegetarian filling to help lighten up everyone's favourite comfort food and I would possible go as far as to say these are the best vegetarian enchiladas!
You've got your onion, pepper and garlic to start off with and then you add in your quinoa and black beans and get everything mixed up with plenty of spices and a bit of your enchilada sauce. Oh and some cheese. And then everything is rolled up in tortillas and baked with more sauce and cheese.
Why we love these vegetarian enchiladas with quinoa:
- First off, stating the obvious, but they're vegetarian so they're great for when we're avoiding meat during the week but they're still super filling
- They're great for serving a crowd because you can easily multiply the recipe to make as many portions as you need
- You can make them as spicy or as mild as you like by changing the amount of chilli powder and cayenne pepper in the enchilada sauce
- If you want to make these enchiladas even easier then you can easily use ready made enchilada sauce instead of making your own from scratch
Vegetarian Enchiladas Ingredients:
- Vegetables: All the Mexican classics! We've got onion, peppers, garlic and chillies all going in to give so much flavour
- Quinoa: The quinoa gets cooked up in the sauce which makes the whole thing so easy to make. Use up leftovers in this sweet potato & quinoa salad
- Beans: I used black beans in here but kidney beans would work just as well and they help to make the enchiladas extra filling
- Tortillas: I used flour tortillas but you could use corn tortillas if you prefer
- Cheese: Cheddar was my choice but you can use any hard cheese
- Enchilada Sauce: You could use a store bought one if you like, I based the recipe below on this enchilada sauce recipe from Gimme Some Oven and it's so easy and tastes so good!
- Coriander: For garnish. Use extra to make the sauce for this chilli paneer
Vegetable Enchilada Recipe Instructions:
- Make the enchilada sauce: Heat the oil and whisk with the flour then add all the spices and slowly add stock then bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
- Make the filling: Heat the olive oil and cook the onions and peppers for 10 minutes until softened then add the garlic and chillies followed by the quinoa and 500ml of water and cook for 20 minutes. Add some of the sauce, the cheese and the beans.
- Assemble the enchiladas: Roll a few scoops of the filling into a tortilla and place into a baking dish. Repeat with the rest of the enchiladas then pour over the remaining sauce and sprinkle with a little more cheese then bake for 20 minutes.
Veggie Enchiladas Variations:
- Add more veggies: If you want to make these a little healthier then try adding even more vegetables to these enchiladas, some spinach stirred through the quinoa would be delicious
- Make it spicier: If you like things extra spicy then add some extra cayenne pepper to the sauce
How long to bake enchiladas?
The great thing about these enchiladas is that once you've rolled them all and covered them in cheese and sauce they need just 20 minutes in the oven to bake before they're ready to eat.
What to put in veggie enchiladas?
I kept it pretty simple for these enchiladas with quinoa, black beans, onions and peppers but add any extra veggies you like to bulk them out even more.
What to serve with enchiladas?
The enchiladas are filling enough to be a meal in themselves but if you'd like a little extra you can't go wrong with some tortilla chips and salsa for that extra Mexican hit!
Expert tips for making vegetable enchiladas:
- Make them vegan: Feel free to leave off the cheese or switch for your favourite vegan alternative
- Prep ahead: Make the sauce and the filling ahead of time and store in the fridge until ready to use then roll your enchiladas and bake
- Freeze your enchiladas: If you want to freeze these enchiladas for another time then you can bake then cover tightly or portion out into containers and freeze. When ready to eat simply defrost thoroughly then reheat in the oven or microwave
Want more? Try these vegetarian Mexican recipes!
- Migas
- Cheesy Mexican Rice and Vegetable Tortilla Stew
- Spicy Soup with Beans and Rice
- Healthy Vegetarian Mexican Casserole with Rice & Beans
- Huevos Rancheros Baked Eggs
Recipe
Vegetarian Enchiladas with Quinoa
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Onion chopped
- 2 Peppers chopped
- 2 cloves Garlic crushed
- 2 Chillies chopped
- 2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- Salt and Pepper
- 170 g Quinoa
- 1 400g tin Black Beans drained and rinsed
- 8 Tortillas
- 75 g Cheddar Cheese grated
- Fresh Coriander to serve
- 1 Lime to serve
- Sour Cream to serve
To make enchilada sauce
- 4 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- 4 tablespoon Flour
- 1 tablespoon Chilli Powder
- 1 teaspoon Cayenne leave out if you don't like it spicy
- 1 teaspoon Garlic crushed
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
- 1 litre Vegetable Stock
Instructions
- Make the enchilada sauce. Heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for a minute. Add the chilli powder, cayenne, garlic, salt, cumin and oregano then slowly pour in the stock whisking constantly. Simmer for 10 minutes until thickened.
- Heat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Heat the olive oil over a medium heat and add the onion and peppers cook for 10 minutes until softened then add the garlic and chillies and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the cumin and quinoa and 500ml of water and cook for 20 minutes.
- Add 200ml enchilada sauce, the beans and a handful of cheddar. Roll a few scoops of quinoa into a tortilla and place in a large baking dish, repeat until you've used all the ingredients. Pour over the rest of the enchilada sauce, sprinkle with the rest of the cheddar and bake for 20 minutes.
Notes
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Marissa says
This recipe is phenomenal! The flavors and freshness are It can be labor intensive so I try and make a double batch to freeze. I have 4 children and this is one of very few meals that is requested and loved by all {and that’s saying a lot}!
Amy says
Thanks so much Marissa!
christie says
a tablespoon of cayenne? am i reading that measurement correctly? this recipe looks delicious, but that sounds like way too much heat for me!
Amy says
Hi Christie, you're right! So sorry about the typo, I've edited it to 1 tsp not tbsp! But if that's still too spicy it's fine to leave it out and just use the chilli powder.
Chichi says
These look sooo good. I love that the quinoa can cook in the dish. I love Mexican flavors.
Taylor Kiser says
These vegetarian enchiladas need to happen for dinner! They look so tasty!
Edyta at Eating European says
This enchilada looks like a perfect dish to start in 2019. I love all the flavors and it is vegetarian!
Valentina says
Brilliant to have quinoa in an enchilada. I feel like it lends itself to this sort of dish. And so true, everyone loves a delicious enchilada! Cheers!
Rae says
These are some of the best looking enchiladas I have seen in a very long time! The use of quinoa is a great idea and I bet it tastes wonderful with all of those veggies.
Katie says
This recipe looks delicious!! I love the use of quinoa, and the sauce sounds amazing as well!
Jenna says
Mmm Mmm. I'm looking into making freezer meals for the winter and so happy I came across your vegetarian enchiladas!