Easy Vegetarian Enchiladas

One of my favorite meals as a child was a plate full of cheesy enchiladas. Delicious corn tortillas filled with gooey cheese and then smothered in a mildly spicey-smokey-tomatoey sauce. What’s not to love? These vegetarian enchiladas are full of gooey cheese and veggies, and easy to make. You can use this enchilada sauce recipe, or your favorite store brand. The cheese in the enchiladas is gooey and delicious, but the addition of some veggies lightens the dish up a bit and adds some additional flavors. They are highly customizable so you can easily make some tweaks to make them healthier, or add some extra cheese to make them heartier.

Preventing soggy, broken tortillas: Enchiladas are pretty easy to make as long as you follow a couple steps. Tortillas can become very soft and easily break apart after sitting in a bath of sauce in the oven. Broken tortillas still taste great, so this isn’t the end of the world. But there’s nothing wrong with wanting the enchiladas to keep their shape long enough to get on a plate. The trick to keeping the tortillas from disintegrating before making contact with the fork is a quick dip in some hot oil. Simply add a couple tablespoons of oil to a skillet, heat the oil, and while maintaining a low heat, rotate each tortilla in and out of the pan, very lightly coating both sides in warm oil and then moving the tortilla to a plate. Add more oil as necessary, and stack the tortillas on top of each other to keep them warm. Once finished, cover tortillas with a towel to trap in the heat. If you don’t feel like dealing with this step or would like to reduce the oil in the recipe, and you don’t mind if the tortillas break apart, you can skip this step and instead just microwave the tortillas long enough to warm them up. Warming them before assembly will help keep them from splitting while filling and assembling the dish.

By coating the tortillas in a bit of oil, you create a slight barrier between the tortilla and the sauce. Not only does this keep the tortilla from breaking apart, but it also can affect how much sauce you use. I personally start by adding a light layer of sauce to the bottom of the baking dish, then coating each side of the oiled tortilla in some sauce, filling the tortillas, and then nesting them in the pan together. I’ll then add just a bit more sauce to the top before baking rather than covering the entire dish in a heavy layer of sauce. At the end, I might add a bit more on top before serving.

Choosing your cheese: cheese options for enchiladas are endless. Commonly used cheeses in enchiladas include Oaxaca, Chihuahua, Monterey jack, cotija, cheddar, Mexican manchego, and on and on. Your choice will largely depend on what you can find in your local store. If possible, I recommend using a combination of cheese. The recipe below includes a combination of Oaxaca and cotija, although don’t be surprised if some shredded cheddar ends up topping a plate of leftovers. Try to use a cheese that will melt nicely in the middle creating some gooey, yummy, stringiness to enjoy.

Print Recipe

Easy Vegetarian Enchiladas

Easy cheese and veggie vegetarian enchiladas

Course

Main Dish

Cuisine

Mexican

Keyword

enchilada sauce, enchiladas, Vegetarian

Servings

enchiladas

Ingredients

• 4-5 cups enchilada sauce
• 12-14 small corn tortillas
• 8 ounces mushrooms chopped into small pieces
• 2-3 cups spinach chopped
• 1/3-1/2 cup corn
• 8 ounces cheese Oaxaca, Monterrey Jack, cheddar, or mozzarella
• 2 -4 ounces crumbled cheese cotija or queso blanco
• 4 tbsp oil olive oil or vegetable oil work fine

Course Main Dish Cuisine Mexican Keyword enchilada sauce, enchiladas, Vegetarian Servings enchiladas Ingredients 4-5 cups enchilada sauce 12-14 small corn tortillas 8 ounces mushrooms chopped into small pieces 2-3 cups spinach chopped 1/3-1/2 cup corn 8 ounces cheese Oaxaca, Monterrey Jack, cheddar, or mozzarella 2 -4 ounces crumbled cheese cotija or queso blanco 4 tbsp oil olive oil or vegetable oil work fine

Instructions

Prepare components

1. Using a bit of enchilada sauce, cook the chopped mushrooms on medium heat until they release and cook off their liquid.

   
2. Add the spinach and cook off liquid, then add the corn. Try to strain out as much liquid as possible, and then move mixture to bowl for assembly. Mix in about 2 ounces of crumbled or shredded cheese.

   
3. Cut of as many slices of cheese as tortillas you're using, about 12-14.
4. Add a couple tablespoons of oil to a skillet, heat the oil, and while maintaining a low heat, rotate each tortilla in and out of the pan, very lightly coating both sides in warm oil and then moving the tortilla to a plate. Add more oil as necessary, and stack the tortillas on top of each other to keep them warm. Once finished, cover tortillas with a towel to trap in the heat. Alternatively, microwave the tortillas long enough to warm them up.

Assemble and bake

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Add a light layer of sauce to the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.
3. In a row or somewhat staggered, arrange the following in order: plate of tortillas, enchilada sauce, sliced cheese, veggie mixture, baking dish.
4. Pick up the first tortilla and coat both sides in a light layer of sauce. Add the slice of cheese, and then add roughly 1-2 tablespoons of the veggie mixture on top of the cheese, being careful not to overload the tortilla. I just use my hands and eyeball it. Roll up the tortilla and place it in the pan.
5. Continue with remaining tortillas and ingredients, gently nesting the enchiladas together.
6. Add more sauce to the top, making sure no bare tortillas are showing. Don't overdo it though, you can always add more later. Sprinkle the remaining 2 ounces of crumbled cheese on top.

   
7. Bake 25-30 minutes. Check about 20 minutes in to see if you want to add any additional sauce or cheese on top.
8. Remove from oven and allow to settle 5-10 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

If you are making your own sauce, once you finish with the large skillet, pour the sauce into a wide shallow bowl and set aside for later. Do not wash the skillet, but instead use the layer of remaining sauce in the pan to start the mushrooms.