Best Vegetarian Enchiladas Ever

These are the Best Vegetarian Enchiladas Ever! Not only because of the delicious fresh produce packed into the warm tortillas, but also because of the method in which the vegetables are cooked, and a secret, unexpected ingredient.

I've been making these vegetarian enchiladas for years now, and the baking dish is always left totally empty.

Vegetarian or not, everyone loves them! I've seen many meat-loving carnivores devour them.

I love making the enchiladas for family dinners, on the weekends for guests, and whenever anyone just wants a hearty and healthy comfort food dish.

While the recipe takes a bit of time, it's an easy process and the result is worth every second!

Notable Ingredients

• Ancho Chile Enchilada Sauce - I always make these vegetarian enchiladas in my favorite enchilada sauce made with ancho chiles. It has a deep, rich, smoky flavor, and can be made up to a couple of weeks ahead. Substitutions: You can use your favorite enchilada sauce recipe, or to save time, use a bottled or canned sauce you like. And if you prefer a green sauce, try this homemade tomatillo sauce.
• fresh corn - During the summer, when it's at its sweetest, I love using fresh corn, but frozen and thawed corn is also okay.
• tortillas - Flour tortillas are the easiest to work with when making enchiladas because they're very soft and roll without breaking. Corn tortillas often break when rolled. This is okay, but a bit trickier. 5-inch tortillas are ideal for the measurements of the filling in this recipe.
• cilantro - Since cilantro is a love it or hate it ingredient (I love it), substitute with fresh basil.
• red onion - I love using red onion since it's on the sweeter side, though yellow and white are also okay. Always choose onions that are firm and heavy for their size.
• Medium Dry Sherry - This is the secret ingredient. I know, I know, very bizarre to find this in a Mexican recipe -- enchiladas no less! However, you won't believe how the nutty sweet flavor from the sherry develops and deepens the flavors of the vegetables. You can also use cream sherry, keeping in mind it's more sweet. While the final flavor will be different, it's okay to leave this out. It'll still be tasty and does not need a replacement.

How to Make the BEST Vegetarian Enchiladas

- Add the onion to a large sauté pan, coated with olive oil, over medium heat. Cook until it's soft and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Then add the garlic, red pepper, and jalapeño pepper. Continue to cook over medium-high heat, stirring periodically until everything is soft and beginning to brown, another 5 minutes or so. Now add the corn and cook for just a couple of minutes.

- Turn the heat to low and deglaze the pan with the sherry. Then turn the heat back up, and reduce the sherry almost completely -- this should take about 2 minutes.

- Stir in the cumin, lime juice, and cilantro. Add the spinach and cook for another few minutes, just to wilt it. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

- Pour ¾ cup of the enchilada sauce into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, and spread it out. One at a time, assemble the enchiladas as follows: Add 1 more cup of the enchilada sauce to a shallow bowl and dredge a tortilla into it, coating both sides. Then add about ⅓ cup of the vegetable mixture, in a line, in the center of the tortilla and sprinkle it with about 1 tablespoon of the cheese. Roll the tortilla and place it to one end of the dish, with the seam side down.

- Repeat this process with the other tortillas. Add the remaining enchilada sauce and cheese evenly over the top of the rolled enchiladas.

- Place uncovered in a preheated 350°F oven until the cheese is melted, the tortillas have softened, and they're hot all the way through, about 15 minutes.

- Serve with freshly sliced avocados and tomatoes if desired.

Variations

• Spicy version. For a hotter version of the enchiladas, don't remove the seeds from the jalapeños.
• Gluten-free version. Use corn or another gluten-free tortilla. As I mentioned above, corn tortillas (and perhaps other gluten-free varieties) won't roll as easily as flour tortillas, but they will work.
• Add a protein. While this is a vegetarian recipe, you can certainly change that if you'd like. It's fantastic with chicken. To save time you can use shredded Rotisserie chicken, or if you really want to up the ante, you can add Tequila Marinated Chicken or Dutch Oven Shredded Chicken. You can also add steak to the filling, or fried eggs on top.

* Pro Tip for Gluten-Free Version * Since it can be tricky to roll corn tortillas, you can easily make a quesadilla of sorts. Follow the same instructions for the filling and how to use the sauce and cheese, but rather than rolling, layer the ingredients between the tortillas, almost like you're making a lasagna. It will be more like a casserole that can be cut into servings.

Why is this recipe the best?

•  I love to layer flavors as I sauté, and it's this process that makes the vegetables in these enchiladas so delicious.
• The key is cooking each "layer" to perfection, before adding the next.  And by "perfection," I mean achieving a beautiful golden caramel color. Caramelizing them -- bringing all of the natural sugars to the surface for maximum flavor.
• The pan is deglazed with a secret ingredient, sherry.

Serving Suggestions

The enchiladas can definitely hold their own as a meal, and I also like to serve them with rice and salad. Especially this easy-to-make Poblano Rice Pilaf, and Avocado Little Gem Salad or Grapefruit Avocado Salad.

Making Them Ahead

These can be made up to a day ahead. Ideally, they should cool to room temperature in the baking pan, then be wrapped tightly and refrigerated. To reheat them, place the pan back in the oven set to 350°F just until they're hot, about 15 minutes.

More Must-Try Mexican Recipes

Enjoy every last bite of what I hope you agree are the best vegetarian enchiladas ever!

Cooking On The Weekends is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.