Vegan Enchiladas With Tofu And Black Beans Wellplated Com

Let’s take a recipe that we know, love, and have had many a delicious moment enjoying on this website and at Mexican restaurants around the country—enchiladas—and give them an entirely fresh twist. Where many enchilada recipes score their signature comfort factor from creamy filling and cheese (Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas, I’m looking at you with love) and their fill-you-up factor from meat, I wanted to challenge myself to come up with a recipe for vegan enchiladas that, while unquestionably cozy and satisfying, didn’t rely on either. I’d had success taking enchiladas meat-free with these tasty Vegetarian Enchiladas and these Butternut Squash Spinach Enchiladas, so the next step in my continuing enchilada education (a program that I take quite seriously) was to go vegan. Results: OUTSTANDING! Even Ben, who was highly skeptical, went back for seconds and requested a repeat the next night. Whether or not you follow a vegan diet (I don’t, but I love any food, vegan or no, when it is as fresh and flavorful as these enchiladas or Vegetarian Burrito), I hope you give this recipe a chance. These Vegan Enchiladas are filling, healthy, and will add yummy variety to your dinner routine. This recipe will surprise you in a very very good way.

Vegan Enchiladas—Expect the Unexpected

Let’s get this out of the way right now: these Vegan Enchiladas contain tofu. HOLD IT RIGHT THERE. Before you knock the ’fu, stay a few more minutes so I can tell you why tofu is such a great choice for an enchilada filling. You’ll wonder why you haven’t been making Vegan Enchiladas all along. On its own, tofu is bland, which, when you are cooking with flavors as bold as the ones in these Vegan Enchiladas, is a good thing! (The same is true with tempeh, which I used in this Tempeh Tacos recipe.) A blank canvas means that we can infuse the tofu with any flavors we like. In the case of this recipe, that means a kick of cayenne pepper and jalapeno, turmeric for color, and garlic. Tofu’s texture is also flexible. While you might be most familiar with it as crispy cubes that are added to stir-fry (the technique I cover in this Crispy Tofu tutorial), it can also be cooked to a softer texture that resembles a scramble, which is exactly how I made it for these Vegan Enchiladas (and these Tofu Tacos!). To the tofu, I added black beans, spinach, and red bell pepper. It’s similar to a tofu scramble, and I loved it so much, I ended up squirreling some away for lunch the next day. For the Vegan Enchiladas sauce, I opted for my favorite homemade red enchilada sauce. It takes just 15 minutes to prepare, and its intense, smoky chipotle flavor is the perfect way to infuse these Vegan Enchiladas with restaurant flavor. If you prefer to make Vegan Enchiladas verde, you can follow this same recipe. Simply use the same amount of green enchilada sauce in place of the red sauce. I was worried I’d miss the cheese in this recipe and that, if I didn’t, Ben definitely would. The truth? We didn’t even notice! Instead of cheese, we layered on fresh avocado. Combined with the tofu filling, it gave the Vegan Enchiladas all the richness we needed.

How to Store and Freeze

To Store. These enchiladas taste their best the day they are made, BUT you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.To Freeze. Place leftovers in an airtight freezer-safe storage container and freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw in the refrigerator, then reheat in a 350 degree F oven for about 15 minutes or until warmed through. You can also bake them directly from frozen. To bake from frozen, I’d estimate 45 minutes to 1 hour in a 350 degree oven. Start the pan covered for the first 30 minutes, then uncover and continue baking until hot.To Make Ahead and Freeze. If you want to freeze the entire meal at once, it’s probably easiest to keep them in one big pan like a vegan enchiladas casserole and freeze them that way. Alternatively, you can portion the enchiladas into into individual containers and thaw only a few at a time as you need them.