Epic Vegan Enchiladas

Ohhh, baby.
I’ve been meaning to share this for a while.
These enchiladas are the bomb-diggity, filled with loads of sweet potato, lentils, eggplant, mushroom and laced with an array of spices – cumin, paprika, garlic, onion, chilli and more. Smothered in a super easy yet delicious enchilada sauce, melted vegan cheese, aa drizzle of vegan sour cream and zesty salsa. Yaaaas, please.

 

I’ll keep it short and simple, so here’s a few step-by-step pictures on how to assemble your Enchiladas!

Filling the tortillas

Arrange in baking dish

Finish with remaining enchilada sauce

Finish with melted cheese

Epic Vegan Enchiladas

Makes 6-8 Enchiladas.

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You’ll need:

6-8 tortillas of choice (Sourdough, Wholewheat etc)

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Enchilada Filling:

2x 400g cans brown lentils, rinsed and drained

1 medium sweet potato, cubed & steamed (roughly 2 cups cubed)

1 1/2 cups finely diced eggplant

1/2 cup corn kernels

4 button mushrooms, finely diced

1 brown onion, finely diced

1-2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tbsp coconut nectar

1 tsp vegetable boullion

1-2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp chipotle chilli powder

4-5 tbsp enchilada sauce (recipe below)

water if needed

2 cups of grated vegan cheese (**SEE NOTES BELOW!)

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Vegan Sour Cream:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked in boiling water for 1 hour then drained

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1/3 cup soy milk (plus 2 tbsp extra if needed)

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

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Enchilada Sauce:

2 tbsp vegan butter

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 cup salt-free tomato paste

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock

1 tbsp coconut sugar

2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp sweet paprika

1/4 tsp cinnamon

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Salsa:

2 large tomatoes, finely diced

1/2 cup green onion, finely sliced

1/2 cup corn kernels

juice of 1 lime

coriander leaves

salt to taste

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1. Prepare the sour cream first by blending all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add more liquid if needed. Set aside in a jar to chill.
2. Prepare the burrito sauce by whisking together the tomato paste,vegetable stock, sugar and spices in a bowl, set this aside. Now, in a small-medium saucepan over a medium heat melt the vegan butter. Once melted, add the flour and whisk to form a roux. Fry for 1 minute, then add the tomato paste/veggie stock mixture. Whisk continuously until the sauce thickens (3-4 minutes). Set aside.
3. To prepare the enchilada filling, fry the onion, cumin seeds and coriander seeds in olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Once fragrant, add the mushrooms, eggplant and spices/herbs. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until the vegetables are tender, and add a little water to the pan as necessary to prevent sticking.
4. Add the lentils, steamed sweet potato and 4-5 tbsp of enchilada sauce. Stir well. Remove from the heat.
5. Prepare your vegan cheese (grate if needed) – if you’re using my vegan cheese hack please see the notes down below and follow the procedure listed there, otherwise simply leave your cheese grated.
6. Time to prepare the enchiladas! Preheat your oven to 190C.
7. In a large rectangular casserole or baking dish (mine is roughly 20x30cm) spread 2/3 cup of the enchilada sauce on the base.
8. Fill each tortilla with 2-3 tbsp of enchilada filling and a drizzle (1 tsp) of either my melted cheese (**See notes below) or a sprinkle of grated vegan cheese. Roll up tightly into a log and place in the baking dish with the seam side down facing the sauce. Follow this procedure with all of the tortillas until the baking dish is packed neatly. Any leftover filling can be stored away in the fridge and used for leftover lunches the next day!
9. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tortillas and spread evenly with the back of a spoon.
10. Pour/spread the remaining vegan cheese (either grated or melted using my method in the notes) evenly over the enchilada sauce.
11. Bake in the oven uncovered for 25 minutes or until golden.
12. Whilst this is baking, prepare the salsa by mixing the salsa ingredients in a bowl.
13. Allow the enchiladas to sit for a few minutes prior to serving. Serve with a drizzle of sour cream, salsa and avocado (optional)

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** VEGAN CHEESE NOTES: Now, I am quite fussy when it comes to how I like my cheese melted. I have found that some vegan brands (I usually use Daiya or BioCheese, however I do prefer BioCheese) do not ‘melt’ like regular cheese, and you can be left with the cheese shreds still looking intact.

To get around this I simply melt 2 cups of finely grated vegan cheese in a small non-stick saucepan with 3-4 tbsp (or more) of plant based milk over a medium heat. Whisk continuously over the heat until all the cheese has melted (around 2-3 minutes), lumps are gone and it is a silky, smooth and stretchy cheese sauce! Whisk in more plant based milk if you’d like it thinner.

Simply spoon/drizzle if over whatever it is that you need melted cheese on! 🙂 Walla! It’s even better after these steps and then placed in the oven & grilled (depending on the recipe you’re using it for)

Anyway, this is TOTALLY a personal preference of mine and you don’t have to do this! I just like doing it this way as it gives me melted, stretchy cheese just the way I like it. Please be aware that brands of cheese will vary depending on what ingredients they are made from, so use your own discernment and add more/less liquid as needed when in the saucepan – this also means the consistency of the cheese will vary when melted depending what brand you use.

Some vegan cheeses will melt fine under a grill/oven, so this method isn’t totally necessary – however I thought I would share just incase you would like to experiment, it’s all about finding the cheese you like the most! 🙂