These easy Bean and Vegetable Enchiladas are cheesy, veggie packed and full of flavour. Made using our simple homemade enchilada sauce, they are easy to adapt and freeze really well, making them great for batch cooking.
We love any kind of Mexican food and enchiladas are one of our favourites. All of our favourite Mexican flavours wrapped up in their little tortilla blankets and covered in sauce and cheese. These are great for serving to guests, so why not invite your friends round and make a couple of batches of this?
Packed full of vegetables, this is comfort food with a healthy twist. Easy to adapt with your favourite vegetables and you can make it as spicy or mild as you like.
If you are looking for other ways to use tortillas, then why not try our Tortilla Pizza, Salmon Wraps or Spiced Paneer Wraps.
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Ingredients
- Red and yellow bell pepper - you can use any coloured bell pepper that you have, but these ones are sweeter.
- Onion - you can use red or brown onion, or even swap those for shallots for a sweeter taste.
- Courgette (Zucchini) - this could be swapper for aubergine (eggplant).
- Mushrooms - these add some "meatiness" to the dish. Add lots of different textures by using a variety of different types of mushrooms.
- Enchilada sauce (see below) - making your own is SO easy, and you can really taste the difference. It also allows you to adjust the flavours to suit your own taste. You can use a store bought one, but make sure it is a good quality one.
- Oil
- Black beans - you can swap these for any beans.
- Flour tortillas - flour works better than corn tortillas, as they fold easier.
- Cheese - we used reduced fat cheddar, as it has such a strong flavour that you don't need to use as much of it.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
How to make bean and vegetable enchiladas - step by step
One: Heat the oil in a pan and cook the peppers, onion, mushrooms and courgettes until softened - about 7 minutes.
Two: Add the beans.
Three: Pour in half of the enchilada sauce onto the veg and beans. Mix well.
Four: Take one of the tortillas and add some of the vegetable and bean mix.
Five: Add half of the remaining enchilada sauce to the bottom of a ovenproof dish. Roll up the veg filled tortilla and place in the dish. Repeat with the other tortillas.
Six: Pour over the remaining enchilada sauce.
Eight: Sprinkle over the cheese.
Nine: Bake for 30 minutes at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Top with chopped coriander (cilantro) and chopped avocado (both optional).
Why should you try it?
- Vegetarian comfort food - Who says that comfort food needs to have meat in it. This is vegetable and protein packed and so comforting.
- A good way to introduce kids to spicy food - If your kids are new to herbs and spices, this is a good place to start and you can easily adapt the amount of each spice that is used.
- Freezes well - These vegetable enchiladas are great for batch cooking, because they freeze so well.
- Easy to customise and adapt - Feel free to adapt with whatever beans and vegetables that you have that need using up.
Variations
For this recipe we used bell peppers, onion, courgette (zucchini) and mushrooms. You can, of course, use any vegetables that you like. This recipe is a really good way to use up any veg that needs using. You could add some chunks of aubergine (eggplant), carrots, butternut squash, green beans, asparagus, sweet potato or even broccoli or cauliflower.
No veg is off limits for this dish! You don't even have to pan fry the vegetables, you could roast them them all up to make them nice and crispy and intensify the veggie flavour. That's a good option if you are using harder veg like carrots, sweet potato and butternut squash.
This really isn't missing meat, however if you did want to add some then you could add some cooked shredded chicken. It's a good way to use up leftovers.
Homemade enchilada sauce
It is really easy to make your own homemade enchilada sauce. It is literally passata (tomato puree in The States) and a mixture of Mexican spices. Use our Best Ever Enchilada Sauce for this recipe or our amazing Chicken Enchiladas. You can use store bought enchilada sauce though if you like.
But there is so much more that you can do with it too. You could make some nachos and swap the salsa for this sauce, or mix it in to some shredded leftover chicken and add to tacos. You could get really creative and stir it in to pasta.
What to serve with bean and vegetable enchiladas
We like to add a dollop of sour cream, some chopped avocado and tomatoes, jalapeno slices and some fresh coriander. Having a few fresh toppings just lightens the whole dish up.
We wouldn't usually serve these with anything else, as we would happily eat a whole pan of them. However, if you want to have less enchiladas, then you can serve this with a big green salad. Or try our Mexican Coleslaw.
You can go wrong with chips and dip on the side too, so why not try our Baked Tortilla Chips or Air Fryer Tortilla Chips with some Restaurant Style Salsa or Guacamole.
Storage
Store: Any leftovers can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for 2 days.
Freeze: They can be frozen, however the tortillas can go a bit soggy when reheated. So, if you batch cooking to freeze them, then freeze the rolled up enchiladas and the sauce separately. Once it's all defrosted, pour the sauce on top and then add the cheese just before baking. You can freeze leftovers after cooking though. Portion it out and then put in to freezer containers and it will keep in the fridge for up to 2 months.
Defrost: You can defrost vegetable enchiladas in the fridge overnight.
Reheat: You can heat this through in the microwave for 2 minutes. Make sure it is piping hot before serving.
FAQs
Put a couple of tablespoons of filling down the middle or the tortillas. Fold one side over, then the other side. Turn the enchilada over, seam side down, so that the tortilla stays closed, and place it in the baking dish carefully. We kept them fold up just for presentation purposes.
No, there is no need to cover them with foil when cooking.
How they are traditionally made in Mexico, is by lightly frying the tortilla before preparing the enchiladas as it will prevent it from soaking up too much sauce and falling apart.
If you use gluten free tortillas and make sure that there is no cross contamination, then these can be gluten free.
No, this recipe is not vegan. You can adapt it and use a vegan cheese alternative though if you want.
You can make this in advance, but don't pout over the sauce or add the cheese until you are ready to put it in the oven otherwise the enchiladas will go soggy.
Yes, you can easily double this recipe. Just make sure that you have a dish big enough to put everything in.
Extra tips
- If you like your enchiladas really spicy, then feel free to add an extra teaspoon of chilli powder to the sauce mix, or you could stir a spoon of chipotle paste in to the sauce whilst it is cooking. American chilli powder is a lot milder than what we get here in the UK, so bear that in mind.
- Add a pinch of cinnamon to the sauce for an extra punch of flavour.
- Why not intensify the veggie flavour by roasting all your vegetables first.
- Make sure that your tortillas are warmed, otherwise they can crack when you roll them.
- We used cheddar on top of ours, but you could use a mixture of grated cheeses that melt well.
- You could swap the black beans for pinto beans or even chickpeas.
- Make these vegan by using your favourite vegan cheese substitute that melts well.
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Recipe
Vegetable Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 0.5 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red pepper - sliced
- 1 yellow pepper - sliced
- 1 onion - sliced
- 1 courgette (zucchini) - sliced
- 10 mushrooms - sliced
- 1 can black beans - drained
- 1 batch enchilada sauce
- 6 small whole wheat tortillas
- 60 g reduced fat cheese
- chopped avocado and coriander to serve - (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a pan and cook the peppers, onion, mushrooms and courgettes until softened - about 7 minutes.
- Add the black beans and stir.
- Mix in half the enchilada sauce. Mix well.
- Take one of the tortillas and add some of the vegetable and bean mix.
- Roll it up like a burrito and lay fold down in the dish
- Repeat with the other three tortillas
- Pour over the left over enchilada sauce.
- Sprinkle over the cheese
- Bake for 30 minutes at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6
Notes
- If you like your enchiladas really spicy, then feel free to add an extra teaspoon of chilli powder to the sauce mix, or you could stir a spoon of chipotle paste in to the sauce whilst it is cooking. American chilli powder is a lot milder than what we get here in the UK, so bear that in mind.
- Add a pinch of cinnamon to the sauce for an extra punch of flavour.
- Why not intensify the veggie flavour by roasting all your vegetables first.
- Make sure that your tortillas are warmed, otherwise they can crack when you roll them.
- We used cheddar on top of ours, but you could use a mixture of grated cheeses that melt well.
- You could swap the black beans for pinto beans or even chickpeas.
- Make these vegan by using your favourite vegan cheese substitute that melts well.
Amanda Jones
First recipe I've made from HHH, the whole family absolutely loved it .we live in Austria & not all ingredients are available but I've learned to sub them or order from the UK if delivery is possible .... will definitely make these again & look at the other recipes too
Dannii
So glad you enjoyed it. Hello over in Austria :)
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
Now these sound absolutely incredible! Enchiladas always go down a treat in our house so can't wait to try them with this filling!
Danielle Wolter
These were absolutely delicious! I cannot wait to make them again.