Veggie Enchiladas (gluten free and vegan options)

Veggie Enchiladas

Last weekend, we loaded up G-man and the Cadet and visited our favorite Mexican eatery. Everything tasted wonderful, as usual. Within an hour of finishing our meal, my wedding band became tourniquet for my finger, indicating that I had eaten a great deal of salt. We did not test Stealthy Dad's blood pressure, but rest assured that it was high! Will we ever learn?

Each component of an enchilada- the tortilla, sauce, cheese, and beans or meat- can contain a high level of sodium if you do not make them yourself. Tonight we made them ourselves and they were great! We even snuck a few veggies into the kids (before they spied the plain tortillas.)

This recipe is for mildly seasoned, little-kid-friendly Veggie Enchiladas. Feel free to heat them up with some chili peppers or double the coriander and oregano in the sauce. We made the cheese, tortillas and sauce. Each are easy to make and can be prepared ahead of time. You can coordinate your efforts so that your tortilla dough is resting while you prep the cheese, and you roll out and cook the tortillas, chop the green peppers and prepare the beans while the cheese curds are forming... The sauce does not need to be precooked and can be stirred together in minutes right before you assemble the enchiladas.

Homemade Flour Tortillas or Gluten Free Flour Tortillas
Fast and Soft Cheese or soft vegan cheese
Green pepper, diced

2 cups cooked pinto or red beans,  or 1 can drained.
1/2 tbsp dried onion
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cilantro
1/2 tsp salt or lite salt

16oz unsalted tomato sauce, either canned or homemade.
8 oz water
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp salt or lite salt

Prepare the tortillas and cheese.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Spray a baking dish with olive oil using a pump sprayer or with non-stick cooking spray.

To prepare the beans: mash together the cooked beans, onion, olive oil, cilantro and salt. Microwave for two minutes and whisk with a fork.

Make the enchilada sauce by mixing together the tomato sauce, water, chili powder, oregano, coriander and salt. Pour about a half cup of the sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.

Assemble the enchiladas:

Flip your pile of fresh tortillas over, as the ones on the bottom will be the softest. One at a time, spread about two tablespoons of bean paste and cheese onto a tortilla. Sprinkle about two tablespoons of green peppers on top.


Roll up the tortillas and place into  the casserole dish, side by side. If the tortillas are too stiff to roll, you can coat them lightly with the enchilada sauce.

Once the dish is full, pour the sauce over top. Any leftover cheese can garnish the top as well.

Bake for about half an hour. Spoon the sauce back over the enchiladas and serve.






www.stealthymom.com  This post was shared at Meatless Mondays,  Fat Tuesday, Real Food Wednesdays, Simple Lives Thursday,  and Full Plate Thursday. These are all great places to visit for recipe ideas!