Vegetarian Enchilada Recipe

These vegetarian enchilada recipe also happen to be gluten-free because they are made with an almond flour tortilla. Filled with roasted vegetables and lard-free refried beans, this is a very hearty family dinner.

Do you love enchilada as much as I do?

Of course, you do!

There is something so comforting about this classic Mexican dish.

Today, we are going to explore making them using gluten-free tortillas.

Originally published on January 2nd, 2014 at 12:24pm. Click here to see why this recipe was updated.

Ingredients

Here is a quick look at the ingredients. It is to understand why these specific ingredients were chosen. To get the full recipe, go to the bottom of this post.

Almond flour tortillas – These tortillas are made by Siete Family Foods who make many gut friendly products. They also have Cassava tortillas and Chickpea tortillas. I DON’T get any monetary compensation from them, I am just a fan girl. P/S: They are not keto friendly because it has tapioca flour, but they are delicious.

Refried Beans – Did you know that most refried beans use lard in them? Ugh, I hate that. That’s why I look for the vegan or vegetarian friendly cans or I make my own refried beans in the Instant Pot. Refried beans have protein and fiber which is essential to the body.

Vegetables – I used a variety of fresh vegetables to put inside the enchilada. Use anything you have on hand, from your garden that is in season. Squash, broccoli, carrots and bell peppers make it seem like we are eating the rainbow!

Enchilada sauce – So many canned enchilada sauces use flour or other types of thickeners which are most certainly not gluten-free. So, I like to use my homemade enchilada sauce in this recipe. Siete does make a gf enchilada sauce, but they are really hard to find my area.

Cheese – I normally use Organic Valley 3 cheese Mexican in this enchiladas. However, I had a hard time finding it this time, so I went with 365’s Mexican blend. Neither of these cheeses use animal rennet, instead, it uses microbial enzymes. They are also organic, non-gmo.

🧊 Storage Tip: Almond tortillas will be found in the freezer section of your grocery store. Freeze them if you are not going to use it within one week of buying it.

How to make vegetarian enchilada

To simplify this vegetarian enchilada recipe, I am going to break down this process into 2 main steps. First is to cook the fillings and the second step is to assemble these gluten free enchiladas.

Step 1: Cooking the fillings

1. Cut the veggies first -> zucchini, carrots, radish and squash into sticks, broccoli crown into small florets and red onions into julienne cut.
2. Heat a skillet for 30 seconds and add the oil. Put the veggies in the skillet along with the spices: Taco seasoning, salt and black pepper.
3. Cook the veggies in the skillet, stirring often. Cook for 15 minutes and then transfer to a bowl.
4. Use the same skillet which will have leftover oil and water. Add the cumin seeds to the skillet. Add the pinto beans, water, taco seasoning enchilada sauce and salt. When the beans have turned into paste, turn off the heat.

Step 2: Assembling the enchiladas

Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C)

1. Place a non-stick pan on the stove at medium heat for 1 minute. Remove one tortilla from the package and place it on the skillet. Heat both sides of the tortillas for 30 seconds.
2. Put about 2 Tbsp of the refried beans in the middle of the tortilla. It should go from the top of tortilla to the bottom. Top with about 2 tbsp the roasted veggies on top of the refried beans. They should lay directly over the beans.
3. Close the left flap of the tortilla, followed by the right.
4. Lightly oil a casserole dish and place the filled enchilada on one side of the baking dish. I used a square dish similar to this (Affiliate Link) GoodCook baking dish.
5. Make the remaining enchiladas and place them in the baking dish. Drizzle with the enchilada sauce, making sure you cover all the enchiladas.
6. Top with the cheese and heat in the oven for 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let it cool for just 2 minutes. Serve it piping hot with a side of Mexican rice and an avocado salad.

👩‍🍳 How many enchiladas? This recipe yields about 8 vegetarian enchiladas if you use the small almond tortillas.

How to store leftover enchiladas

If you do have any leftover enchiladas, they can be refrigerated right in the baking dish. Cover with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate it for no more than 2 days.

But, if you are low on space in the fridge, cut enchiladas in half and place them in a glass meal prep container like (Affiliate Link) this one which happen to be oven safe too. When you are ready to eat them again, just remove the cover and place the container in a preheated oven.

🍅 Handy Tip: This gluten free enchiladas cannot be frozen because the almond tortillas don’t freeze well after being cooked.

Reheating leftover enchiladas

• Preheat the oven to 300°F and place the enchiladas in a casserole dish.
• Add a little enchilada sauce on top of the cooked enchiladas. I pour about a ¼ cup. Adding more cheese is optional.
• Heat in the oven for no more than 10-15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and serve.

Answering common questions

🌾 Enchilada sauce tip: Most of the store bought enchilada sauce has corn or flour to thicken it. Look at the ingredients before you buy it. You can also use green enchilada sauce.

Side dishes to serve with vegetarian enchilada

• An easy Instant Pot cilantro lime cauliflower rice is perfect to serve with this enchilada.
• Cauliflower rice with vegan sausage makes a hearty side dish to this enchilada. It’s flavored with tajin spice.
• Cilantro lime corn is a colorful side dish that goes great with enchiladas.
• Quinoa and red beans are flavored with Cuban seasoning which is also a delicious side for this gluten free enchiladas.
• Increase the protein content of this enchilada by serving this tempeh taco crumble. Put it inside the enchilada or serve as a side dish.

Try these Mexican recipes

• Mexican street corn, AKA Elote, is a family favorite to serve on Cinco De Mayo. This version doesn’t have any mayo and it’s seasoned with Tajin.
• Stuffed sweet potatoes are packed with hearty ingredients and it tastes so good.
• If you are a vegan, I have the perfect vegan elote for you. It’s super easy to make.

Sharing is caring

Don’t be shy, chime in below in the comments. Let me hear your opinion on this vegetarian enchilada recipe. If you enjoyed this, please give it 5 stars and share it on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram

Best ever vegetarian enchiladas

Rini

These vegetarian enchilada also happen to be gluten-free because they are made with an almond flour tortilla. Filled with roasted vegetables and lard-free refried beans, makes the best ever family dinner recipe.

5 from 5 votes

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Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 5 people

Equipment

• 1 Square Baking Dish I used Mason Cash | Classic Kitchen Gray 10.5" Square Baking Dish
• 1 Skillet If you have cast iron, use it.

Ingredients

  

For the enchilada filling

• 2 Tbsp Avocado oil
• 3 Tbsp taco seasoning divided into 1Tbsp and 2Tbsp
• 3 tsp Himalayan pink salt divided into 2 equal parts
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ½ zucchini
• ½ yellow squash
• 2 radishes
• 8 small carrots
• 1 crown broccoli
• ¼ red onion
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 can refried beans I used Siete's vegetarian pinto beans
• ¼ cup water
• 3 Tbsp red enchilada sauce

For assembling

• ⅓ tsp avocado oil to grease the baking dish
• 8 Almond flour tortillas I used Siete's almond flour tortillas
• 2 cup red enchilada sauce I used my homemade gf enchilada sauce
• 2 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
• cilantro for garnish

Instructions

 

Step 1: Cooking the fillings

• Cut the veggies first -> zucchini, carrots, radish and squash into sticks, broccoli crown into small florets and red onions into julienne cut.
• Heat a skillet for 30 seconds and add the oil.
• Put the veggies in the skillet along with the spices: Taco seasoning, salt and black pepper.
• Cook the veggies in the skillet, stirring often for 15 minutes and then transfer to a bowl.
• Use the same skillet which will have leftover oil and water.
• Add the cumin seeds to the skillet.
• Add the pinto beans, water, taco seasoning enchilada sauce and salt.
• When the beans have turned into paste, turn off the heat.

Step 2: Assembling the enchiladas

• Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C)
• Place a non-stick pan on the stove at medium heat for 1 minute.
• Remove one tortilla from the package and place it on the skillet. Heat both sides of the tortillas for 30 seconds.
• Put about 2 Tbsp of the refried beans in the middle of the tortilla. It should go from the top of tortilla to the bottom.
• Top with about 2 tbsp the roasted veggies on top of the refried beans. They should lay directly over the beans.
• Close the left flap of the tortilla, followed by the right.
• Lightly oil a casserole dish and place the filled enchilada on one side of the baking dish.
• Make the remaining enchiladas and place them in the baking dish.
• Drizzle with the enchilada sauce, making sure you cover all the enchiladas.
• Top with the cheese and heat in the oven for 5 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let it cool for just 2 minutes.
• Serve it piping hot with a side of Mexican rice and an avocado salad.

Notes

NUTRITION INFO IS APPROXIMATE. 

TIPS

– Always use organic products whenever you can find it.

– Almond tortillas will be found in the freezer section of your grocery store. Freeze them if you are not going to use it within one week of buying it.

– How many enchiladas? This recipe yields about 8 vegetarian enchiladas if you use the small almond tortillas.

– This gluten free enchiladas cannot be frozen because the almond tortillas don’t freeze well after being cooked.

– Most of the store bought enchilada sauce has corn or flour to thicken it. Look at the ingredients before you buy it. You can also use green enchilada sauce.

 

Keyword enchilad fillings, gluten free enchiladas, vegetarian enchila recipe

Version 1

Well, you can imagine the main reason I remade this recipe, right? This image is so bad that no one would dare make it!

But, there is another reason too. I used flour tortillas and there was only beans inside! I wanted to make it more nutritious and also add some texture to them.

If you want to see the original recipe, check it out here.