Our favorite enchiladas! These Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas have become quite a thing in our house. They’re such an easy, satisfying dinner and are enjoyed by guests and company as well. Before this recipe, it never occurred to me to make my own enchilada sauce but I’m so glad I did. It’s pretty simple and can be easily customized to suit your own taste. (For example, adding your own favorite seasonings, or some cayenne pepper or chipotle if you like a kick.) I highly suggest trying it because it really adds something special to this dish.
There are so many awesome dairy-free cheeses on the market now, but our current favorites are Miyoko’s and Follow Your Heart brands. I enjoy Miyoko’s mozzarella and Follow Your Heart’s fiesta shredded cheese blend (which is cheddar & pepperjack), or a combination of the mozzarella & cheddar shreds for this recipe. And of course we love pairing this meal with simple brown rice or Cilantro Lime Rice on the side!
PS – come join The Garden Grazer on Instagram and share a pic if you make these! I love seeing your beautiful recreations. (Or leave a review or star rating below if you give it a try – your feedback is very appreciated!)
Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I use GF all-purpose)
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. cumin
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder (or more to taste)
- 1/4 tsp. onion powder (or more to taste)
- 1/4 tsp. chili powder
- Salt/pepper to taste
For the enchiladas:
- 15 oz. can black beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1 1/2 cups corn (I used frozen, thawed)
- 6 oz. fresh baby spinach
- 6 green onions (thinly sliced)
- 1/3 cup cilantro (chopped)
- 2 tsp. cumin
- 1 cup shredded vegan cheese (or sub nutritional yeast to taste)
- 8 large flour tortillas (or GF tortillas or corn tortillas)
Instructions
MAKE THE SAUCE:
- In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add tomato paste, flour, 2 tsp. cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder. Cook 1 minute, whisking.
- Whisk in broth, and bring to a light boil. Reduce to simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, about 8 minutes. Salt/pepper to taste and set aside.
MAKE THE ENCHILADAS:
- Saute the spinach in a pan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until lightly wilted.
- In a large bowl, combine black beans, 3/4 cup vegan cheese (more if desired), wilted spinach, corn, green onions, 2 tsp. cumin, and cilantro.
- Preheat oven to 375. Lightly spray a 9×13 inch baking dish, and pour a small amount of the sauce to coat the bottom.
- Generously fill tortillas with mixture, roll up tightly with ends tucked in, and place seam side down in dish.
- Pour remaining sauce over the enchiladas, coating evenly. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese on top if desired.
- Bake about 20 minutes, and garnish with cilantro and/or green onions (optional).
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (estimate)
If you’re enjoying these Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas, also check out:
Ultimate List of 110+ Vegan Mexican Recipes
50 Awesome Vegan Black Bean Recipes
So I know I'm going comment crazy on your blog right now, but I think I just fell in love, I've been searching for healthy blogs and I'm finally finding them!!! I just stopped eating meat not too long ago and I'm getting inspired by all your recipes!
These look and sound amazing – I am definitely making them this weekend! Have you ever made these as a freezer meal? If so, how much longer would you bake after freezing?
Hi Kara! Great thought! I haven't actually tried these as a freezer meal since they come together so quick and easy. But I bet they would hold up pretty well! They'd probably require an extra 20 minutes or so of baking? Let me know if you ever test it out, and I'll be sure to update if I ever do 🙂 Hope you enjoy them this weekend!!
Hi – I have since made these twice, and discovered they do work great as a freezer meal. I made the enchiladas as you outlined above, stopping before adding the sauce and cheese to the top. I froze the enchiladas and the sauce separately. Thawed the sauce in the fridge overnight, then when I was ready to bake, I heated the sauce slowly in a saucepan – whisking helped keep it smooth. Then poured the sauce over the frozen enchiladas, added some cheese, and baked @ 400, covered for 30 minutes and uncovered for 15 minutes. They turned out just like the fresh versions! Since I make freezer meals to give as gifts at Christmas, I'm excited to add this one to the mix. Thanks for the recipe! It's one of my favorites 🙂
Hi again Kara! This is amazing info!! Thanks so much for testing it out and coming back to share with us all. I'm going to update the recipe with your freezing instructions so others can benefit from it as well 🙂 THANK YOU! And what a great idea giving freezer meals at Christmas. Happy holidays to you and your family!
We just made these and I am even in the middle of eating them – Wonderful! and wonderfully simple to make!
Great to hear! So glad you got a chance to make them – one of our very favorites for sure! Isn't it awesome how quick and easy they come together? One more reason to love them 🙂 Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and let me know!
Two of kids do not eat any meat, my husband must eat meat and my daughter doesn't like beans or meat. I made these fantastic enchiladas. Added chicken marinated in the enchilada sauce and made brown rice with various spices to coincide with the cumin garlic onion powders and stuffed the burritos with main ingredients, added chicken on a few enchiladas and rice in all of the enchiladas. Great sauce, great spinach corn and cheese filling with lots of variations that fit fickle eaters. GREAT!! All family members were HAPPY!!!
YAY for a happy family! 🙂 So glad you tried them and made some tweaks to fit your family's taste. Thanks for letting me know!
Everyone in my family loved these! The only change I made was to use frozen spinach (thawed, of course) because I forgot to buy fresh spinach on my way home from work. The recipe was SO easy and the kids all asked if we could have them again soon. Thank you! 🙂
Awesome to hear! It's so great to have those quick and easy go-to meals that everyone enjoys 🙂 Glad they worked out for you!
Just made this and it was delicious! I was a little apprehensive about the sauce, but it turned out amazing! Followed the recipe exactly, used fresh spinach but I'm sure frozen would have worked fine too. I used whole wheat/flax tortillas, only six came in a package so I piled in a bit more into each to compensate for the missing two, served it with a little sour cream and refried beans and one enchilada was plenty. Now I have leftovers for 1 more dinner and a lunch for each of us tomorrow. Really, really good….wouldn't change a thing!
Hi Tanya! Happy to hear you liked them! I know… I was apprehensive about the sauce before I made it too, and couldn't believe how incredibly tasty it turned out. Enjoy the leftovers today! I can assure you they're just as awesome 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
My neighbor, Kristina (super chef), made these for us this past weekend. I gotta tell ya – spinach and black beans didn't sound great to me. Boy was I wrong! These enchiladas were fantastic! I would definitely give these a shot on my own (i'm not much of a cook). Going to have to start reading your blog to find some healthy options for my family. Thanks & YUM!
Haha, thanks so much for your kind words! So happy to hear when people have success! Go ahead and whip up a batch of these babies on your own – YOU CAN DO IT!!! : D
Definitely a winner! And plenty of leftovers for the next couple of days =). How many calories per serving? Just curious. =P
Hi Lauren! Unfortunately I don't have any nutrition info for my recipes, but I know there are sites and programs out on the web that can calculate that. I've never played around with any of them so I can't recommend a certain one, but here's one to try just to get you started:
http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
Sorry I couldn't be more help! Thanks so much for stopping by, take care! 🙂
Just wanted to add my voice to the praise–amazing, amazing dish. Next time I might add a little heat to the sauce, but other than that it was perfect. Thanks for posting it!
Hey Greg! That's wonderful to hear. Definitely add some heat if you can handle it! I've always been a bit of a sissy when it comes to that… 🙂 Thanks for letting me know you liked the dish!
I made these & they were SO GOOD! My family didn't even notice they were eating a vegetarian meal. Leftovers were gone the next day by lunch! Great recipe, thanks for sharing!
Hi Sandi Lou! So happy to hear your family enjoyed them. We also find the leftovers are just as awesome and always seem to disappear waaaay too fast 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
My husband usually makes chicken enchiladas and he was less than enthused when I told him I was making this recipe without meat. Needless to say, they turned out EXCELLENT! The sauce tastes just like you are dining at a mexican restaurant. Who knew enchilada sauce was so easy to make? I didn't have onion powder, so I left that out and it tasted great. I will definitely make these again and use the sauce again for other variations on the enchilada. Keep the yummy + healthy recipes coming!
I just LOVE that both carnivores and herbivores are happy with this meal 🙂 It's such a crowd pleaser. Have fun making different variations in the future – SO many combinations to try!! I have no doubt it will be delicious, especially smothered in that homemade sauce! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know 🙂
I made these tonight. The only thing I changed was that instead of rolling the filling up in the tortillas I just coated them in sauce and layered everything like a casserole. In any case, they were AMAZING!!!! Now that I've found this blog my transition to going vegetarian shouldn't be so difficult! Thanks a million!
Hi Rebecca! What a great idea – I love that! And YAY for your vegetarian transition!! Have fun trying new veggie recipes 🙂 Glad I could be of some help!
Oh you will be TONS of help. The hardest part about the transition is boredom, but with everything on your site I think I can sidestep THAT landmine! lol
These were delicious and so easy to make!! I only had a pack of eight tortillas so I had a lot of filling left over so I spread the extra filling on top of the enchiladas before pouring the sauce and cheese over. It was so fantastic. Served it with sour cream and guacamole but it didn't need it. I used a full tsp of all the spices and added red pepper flakes. This is going to be a permanent part of my cooking. Won't ever use the canned sauce again. Thanks for this great recipe!
That sounds great! We've used the homemade sauce on other enchiladas with much success. Glad you enjoyed them, thanks for stopping by!
I am going to try these as they sound yummy. I am trying to cook healthier and with fresh ingredients and more bean recipes instead of meat. I soaked and cooked fresh beans and froze them so when something calls for a can I can just pull it out. I only have corn tortillas so I hope they will work. This will be my first meal made with beans. I will update after I make them :-).
Hi Michele! I do the very same thing with black beans! Just a little prep time goes a long way. The original recipe from Martha Stewart uses corn tortillas so you should be good (I LOVE corn tortillas, by the way). So honored you're trying this recipe for your first meal made with beans 🙂 We are huge bean lovers here. Enjoy – can't wait to hear how they turn out for you!
I don't often comment on recipes I find on pinterest, but since this is our new family favorite I wanted to say how much we love it! I follow the recipe exactly and it always comes out perfect! I'm excited to make this for our next house guests! Such an awesome dish!
Hey there Cat! I feel honored you came back and left a comment to let me know. So wonderful to hear – thank you! Hope your guests enjoy it just as much!
Hey, I just made these and my sauce came out a bit lumpy 🙁 any suggestions?
Hi! Sorry to hear that. I've never run into that issue so here's my best guess: Did you make sure to whisk it well, then bring to a light boil and simmer? I whisk while pouring in the broth, and continue to whisk occasionally while it heats up to work out those initial lumps from the tomato paste and flour mixture. The mixture will eventually soften and get incorporated with the liquid after it heats up for a little while. When it reaches a boil, it should be smooth as it simmers. Let me know if that helps at all!
I've found that putting a lumpy sauce through a fine mesh strainer/sieve will usually smooth it out (just "smoosh" the lumps through the screen), then some additional whisking.
Awesome tip, thanks!!
Wow, these were lovely! My husband volunteered to start dinner (holy crap) and I was talking him through this recipe on the phone while I was driving since he doesn't cook. I came home at the sauce simmering stage and they turned out fantastic. (He said he had to "start whisking really hard" because it was super thick. I wasn't there so I don't know what it was actually like, but with brisk whisking it came together) I wasn't sure how much to stuff these so I ended up with 10, made 4 and froze the remaining. The only thing I did differently was use chicken broth because it was all I had. Thanks for the recipe!
Haha, that made me laugh – gotta love husbands in the kitchen. 😉 So glad they turned out great and you guys enjoyed them. Thanks so much for coming back to tell me! Loved your story.
Made these wonderful enchiladas for dinner last night! Truly amazing. All three of us had happy tummies! I did however just make my own version of sauce and I used corn tortillas. I ended up with 3 pans, one for us, one for my Aunt and one for my husband to take to work (he's a firefighter). We will definitely be making these again very soon. Thank you so much for sharing!
Hi Pam! That's awesome – hooray for happy tummies!! I think that's so great you did your own version of the sauce. I'd love to hear how you made yours! Hope the firefighters are happy with their meal too. Hearing that reminds me of the movie Forks Over Knives, have you seen it? 🙂
I am not a recipe follower! I make things by sight and taste, so I can tell you what I do but not exact amounts: 3tbs Butter, flour…brown that then I add broth and red chili powder (there are only 2 brands that I will use), bring that to a boil and add salt and garlic powder. We like it hot, so I use a lot of chili. If I get it too hot for our daughter I add in a little mexican creama to cool it down. I look forward to trying out some of your other recipes, seems we've gotten in to a rut! Again, the enchiladas were amazing! Thanks a ton.
That sounds so good! I'm the exact same way with taste and sight, and my inability to follow recipes. Always been a bit of a recipe rebel 😉
My husband suggested bbq hot dogs for dinner tonight, until I showed him this recipe. Now we can't wait for dinner! Also love you have a link for a printer friendly version, I wish more people did that!!
That's awesome! This is definitely a meal we get excited about too. Hope you enjoyed it! Glad to hear you made use of the printer link. Thanks for letting me know – I'm always curious if people use that or not. Totally worth it now that I know at least one person did 🙂
I've used the printer friendly link too! Just trying these from frozen for the first time…
Hi Joanna! Yay!! Hope you loved the enchiladas 😀 Easy freezer meals are the best!
We love, love, love these! I added a bunch of other veggies from our CSA box and they were beautifully full and made extra so we have a freezer meal tonite. Delish!!
Awesome to hear! I absolutely LOVE that you added more veggies from your CSA box 🙂 Yum!
Made these last night for dinner and OMG these were awesome! I made my hubby chicken ones using the sauce (so easy and delish) . But the black bean, spinach and corn combo is so fantastic I did not even want 1 bite of his! Definitely a keeper and I shared your blog w everyone I work with!
You are making me blush! Thanks so much for the sweet comments and for sharing the site with your co-workers. I agree, the black bean/spinach/corn combo is outta this world! So happy to hear they turned out well for you 🙂
These were great! The sauce was delicious and I can't believe how easy it was! Will certainly make again.
The sauce really adds a special touch, doesn't it? I can't believe how easy it is either – never going back to store bought! Thanks for coming back to let me know you enjoyed them 🙂
I made these tonight!!! Outstanding!! Thank you!
Wonderful!! So great to hear!
I am making these tonight! I am so excited – I can't wait. I am not telling my kids what is in them.. I want to surprise them. They look fabulous!
Fantastic! Hope the kids love their surprise. Enjoy!
I made them.. and they were super easy, and really great! My kids ate them.. never even asked me what was in them! My husband even had an "extra" plate at 10:00 last night! Thank you so much!
Yay! Glad to hear they were a success for you. Thanks for coming back to let me know!
Thanks for posting this recipe, my family absolutely loved it and so did I! Im sure it will be a regular meal at our place. Keep up the wonderful cooking and inspiring recipes!
Hi Eliza! I'm SO happy your family enjoyed them! Thanks so much for the sweet comments, take care 🙂
Hi again from Costa Rica. We did this today for lunch and absolutely loved it! We used fresh corn and mustard leaves instead spinach but they end up great. We added mushrooms too. Thanks so much for sharing tour recipes!
Hi again! That's wonderful to hear. I love your addition of mushrooms! I'll have to try that next time – mushrooms are a favorite of mine 🙂
These are literally my FAVORITE meal to cook & eat right now. So delicious! I would recommend these to anyone. Making them again tonight for my mom and sisters. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thats's awesome Natalie! Hope your mom and sisters enjoy them just as much 🙂 No matter how often I make these we're always craving more – definitely our favorite too!
LOVE your recipes!! Trying the enchilada recipe tonight 🙂 New follower of your blog!
Hi Connie! Thanks so much and welcome to The Garden Grazer! So happy to have you here. Hope you loved the enchiladas last night! 🙂
I'm really excited about making these enchiladas but I don't have any vegetable broth. Can I try and use tomato sauce instead of tomato paste+vegetable broth?
Sure, give it a whirl! 🙂 I think it would work. You could also maybe try tomato paste + water, though it may lack a little flavor. Would love to hear how it turns out if you try it. Good luck and hope all goes well!
I love to cook and have never posted on a recipe… but i HAD to post on this one! My husband told me this was one of the best recipes I've ever made and I have to agree. The filling was so good, we were eating it with tortilla chips like a salsa, so I only had enough to make 6 enchiladas. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Hey Sarah! I feel so honored that you came back to comment! I hear ya… I run into that "problem" every time I make them 😉 It's amazing I have any filling left to put in the enchiladas by the end! Thanks for letting me know how much you enjoy them. So glad they worked out for you two!
These enchiladas are absolutely delicious! I have made them twice and followed the freezer tips for the extras. They turned out great! Definitely a keeper!
Hi Jess! Yay! Glad you found yourself a keeper recipe. Always an awesome thing 🙂 Happy to hear the freezer tips worked out for you too!
Could you use chicken broth instead?
Yep, chicken broth would work as well
Hi! I came here via Twenty-Six and Then Some who was raving about this recipe. I made it last night for our 'one night a week veggie dinner' (hubby is a HUGE carnivore) and he absolutely loved it. Devoured it! So tasty. So thank you, thank you, thank you for the recipe. I'll be sticking around from now on fore more tasty suggestions. 🙂
Hey Jen! That's so awesome! I looove hearing when even the biggest of carnivores go crazy for this meal. Power to veggies!! 🙂 Glad they worked out for you guys, thanks so much for stopping by!
I am addicted to these!!! And I didn't even know I liked enchiladas before I tried this recipe. You are a food genius 🙂
Hi Jamie! We are totally addicted too. All credit for these goes to good ol Martha, I just did a little tweaking 😉 Thanks for coming back to comment – so happy you liked them!
I just wanted to say – since I didn't notice any other comments about it – I made made these last night with vegan Daiya cheese (pepper jack) instead of cheddar and they were awesome! Definitely a new favorite!! So, if anyone is wondering, they totally work and turn out great with vegan 'cheese' 🙂
Awesome, that's great! I kept meaning to try it with vegan cheese. Won't hesitate to try now. Thank you for letting everyone know! 🙂
Found your recipe when searching for a spinach, onion and cheese enchiladas. Just bought the ingredients to try making them this weekend. Thanks!
Hi Shay!! Glad you found me! Hope you LOVED the enchiladas this weekend 🙂
I found your website looking for recipes for meatless mondays……I made these last night and they were AMAZING!!!! We had leftover filling and we mixed it with scrambled eggs this morning and it was absolutely delicious!
That's wonderful to hear! Wow I've never thought to put the filling with scrambled eggs but that would be amazing – I MUST try that, thanks!! 🙂
Enjoyed these. Made them last night and ate one for lunch today. Thank you!
Awesome! I always get so excited for these leftovers… 🙂 Glad you enjoyed them!
Found your recipe on Pinterest – made for dinner tonight. Sooo good! Will definitely add this to our regular recipe collection. Thank you!
Glad you found me! So awesome to hear it'll be a part of your regular meal rotation. Thanks for letting me know!
these look and sound very tasty… i'm going to make them now… but i'm probably going to omit the corn and throw in some leftover shredded beef. 🙂 i'm very excited to try taste it 🙂
Hi! So glad to hear you're excited – hope you enjoy!
Made these lsat night and they were delicious and easy! Thanks for sharing!
Excellent! So glad they were a success for you!
I made these tonight and the whole family LOVED them. My 18 month old even had seconds. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!
Hi Sara, that's fantastic to hear! And especially awesome that your little one even loved them – yay! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
These are the current favorite meal in our house. I don't like spinach very much, so ever since I made them the first time, I've always used a chopped up red bell pepper instead. Now, I fix them at least every other week, and my fiance and I both love them–I think we'd have them even more if they weren't so expensive to make!
That's great! So glad you tweaked them to fit your taste 🙂 Bell pepper sounds awesome!
Hi Kaitlin! I've got a can of black beans, corn tortillas, tomato paste, cumin, and the right amount of fresh spinach left in the fridge/pantry before my next grocery shop – so it's FINALLY time to try your awesome "viral" recipe!!! I'm so proud every time I see it circulating around Pinterest – so many of my friends have pinned it through other sources…amazing!!!! Congrats on your success! LOVE you!
In the oven…smell so good!
Ahhh! That's so awesome you tried them!! I just made some other enchiladas with this homemade sauce a few nights ago, and it was sooo good on those too. Hope you guys loved them and the boys licked their plates clean 😉
Boys were sick, but that means more for me! I used the leftover filling to make a delish version of chicken tortilla soup! Tyler used the word "amazing" as he ate it…{blush}. Love my foodie.
Glad he loved your creative spin on it! Hope they feel better soon! Hugs 🙂
These are AMAZING! I've recently gone vegetarian and I didn't miss the meat at all! Thank so much! These will become a staple I'm sure! 😀
Hi there! This certainly seems to be a meal meat-eaters and vegetarians can come together on 🙂 So happy you liked them! Hope you can find other vegetarian dishes you love here too!
I made these last night after seeing the link on Sweet Tooth Sweet Life and OMG they are delicious!!! My meat-loving boyfriend loved them and didn't miss the meat at all 🙂
Hi Margaret! That's SO awesome! I love hearing when meat-eaters even go wild for this meal 🙂 That's some real veggie power! Glad you guys enjoyed them!
These enchiladas look delicious, and it takes a lot to get my attention. Will try this vegetarian style enchilada soon!
Awesome Angela! Hope you enjoy
I made these last night and they were amazing! So easy and delicious. I'm a vegetarian and love all your recipes!!
Hi Dawn! Easy and delicious is the way to go! I'm thrilled you enjoyed these and are finding lots of other recipes here too. Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
I just made these and they are delicious!
Great to hear Delorse! 🙂
These were amazing enchiladas!! The only thing that I would change is how the sauce is made. Instead of adding the veggie broth to the flour/tomato paste mixture (which made my sauce super chunky because the tomato paste and flour didn't have enough liquid to mix well together), I would add the flour/tomato paste to the veggie broth, allowing them to mix more smoothly. Otherwise, everything else was wonderful 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
Hi there! So glad you enjoyed them and thank you for the excellent tip!! 🙂
I LOVE this dish!! Thank you so much! Do you know the nutritional information on this recipe?
Hi Vesta! So glad you like it! I don't provide nutritional stats, but if you'd like to calculate your own you can try this website:
http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
I've heard it's pretty straightforward and easy to use. Hope that helps! 🙂
Update: I know this is an old comment, but just wanted to let you know that the estimated nutritional content is now provided on the site! (You can find it below each recipe in the post.) Hope you find it useful! 🙂
Has anyone ever tried these with corn tortillas?
It's fantastic with corn tortillas too!
Made this Last night it was SOOO good! My 5, 3, and 1 year old children all ate about half of one. I was super impressed at the richness of the flavor, and yet how light the meal felt. It was a perfect spring/summer time meal. And now I'm going to go eat my leftovers for lunch.
Thanks!
oh, and I'll be trying the pesto quesadillas tonight, and I can't wait!
Hi Kit! That's amazing! So exciting that your kiddos liked them too. Makes for a happy momma 🙂 Totally agree about the richness of the flavor – we LOVE it! Hope you enjoy the quesadillas tonight!
I made and reviewed these on my blog, The Dilettante Granola Mommy.
http://rkiesz.blogspot.com/2013/04/down-with-dinner.html
What a fantastic dinner. Made a few changes but I absolutely loved this. Easy to make and everyone in the family liked it! I even made it into a toastada the next day. Today, I took the left over stuffing and sauce and put it on homemade pizza dough to make a Mexican Pizza. So many ways to eat this delicious recipe! Thanks Garden Grazer!
Hi there, glad you and your family enjoyed it! Oh, I've GOT to try it as a Mexican Pizza! What an awesome idea – thanks! 🙂
Love this recipe! It's my go too for enchiladas. Only thing I do differently is use brown rice tortillas since my daughter is gluten intolerant-but they are still a hit even with my gluten loving husband! Thanks!
Hi Anna! Awesome to hear these are your go-to enchiladas! 🙂 Brown rice tortillas are a great idea to make them gluten-free. Glad they work with this recipe!
A note of caution for persons with celiac disease and gluten issues: The sauce recipe uses flour and could be problematic for some.
Definitely! Use gluten-free flour if that's the case!
I decided to make this recipe for Cinco De Mayo and it was so delicious!! Super easy to make! The sauce was perfect, the flavors amazing!!
Hi there! Yum, a perfect recipe for your Cinco de Mayo fiesta! So glad you enjoyed them. I agree – the sauce is outta this world! 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
Oh. My. Goodness. I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought I'd give it a try. I was concerned that the sauce didn't thicken up much, but I forged ahead anyway. These were just amazing! My husband likes things a little hotter than I do and he added some bottled pepper sauce to his but otherwise – I didn't change a thing. This is definately a keeper recipe. Next time I'll add sour cream and gaucomole but this receipe just can't be beat – especially if you're looking for something healthy.
Hi Lynne! That's awesome! So glad you were able to tweak it to fit your husband's taste. Thanks so much for coming back and letting me know 🙂
My family Loves these enchiladas!!!! Thank you for the recipe!! We fix them often and love making my own sauce:)
Yay for a happy family! I couldn't believe it took me so long to make my own sauce. So fun and delicious isn't it? 🙂
Since I have zero skill at making enchiladas and lack the inclination to spend the necessary time to perfect the art, I made this as a lasagna type casserole, layering sauce, tortillas, and filling. It turned out fantastic and was a huge hit both at home and when I took the leftovers to work.
Hey Ange! Layering these ingredients as a lasagna is an awesome idea! Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the message 🙂
I am so glad I found this recipe on Pinterest. I'm 7.5 months pregnant and have been struggling with lots of food aversions on top of being a picky eater normally. This was one of the first recipes I have found in a very long time that was healthy and amazing.
If anyone is unsure of making their own sauce, it is so worth the extra effort (which is very minimal). The only change I made to the recipe was using 4T of butter instead of 2 T of olive oil in the enchilada sauce.
Woohoo! Way to go mama!! So awesome you were finally able to enjoy a meal. Congrats on your little one – you're so close! 🙂
Do you know the calorie count?
Hi Jennifer! I don't provide nutritional stats, but if you'd like to calculate your own you can try this website:
http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
I've heard it's pretty straightforward and easy to use. Hope that helps! 🙂
Update: I know this is an old comment, but just wanted to let you know that the estimated nutritional content is now provided on the site! (You can find it below each recipe in the post.) Hope you find it useful! 🙂
I just made this tonight, it was delicious!! I will definitely be making this again. My kids age 4 and 6 also enjoyed it (and thy normally turn their nose up to anything green). Thanks for the reciepe!!
Awesome! Cheers for your kiddos eating their veggies!! Glad you all enjoyed it 🙂
Just made these tonight and must thank you for such an awesome flavorful recipe. This recipe will be our go to enchilada recipe from now on. I used corn tortillas and they came out fantastic. Topped with a little sour cream and chopped avocado…hmm hmm! Absolutely wonderful.
Hi Julie! That's great to hear – these are our go-to enchiladas as well! Your additions sound perfect. Corn tortillas are delicious!! So glad you enjoyed them 🙂
These are fantastic! My 2.5 year old who won't touch green vegetables right now devours them and doesn't even notice that there is a bunch of spinach in it. The sauce is also divine. I will never buy packet sauce mixes again.
Hi! I love hearing when little kiddos who normally refuse green veggies go crazy for this dish! SO awesome 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it, and the sauce!
I made these tonight, they were delicious, and my husband says he going to bug me to make them every week! My 2 year old gobbled some up too! This recipe is enough to make two dinners for us which is an added bonus! Thanks!
Hi Joanna! Haha, they are a frequent meal in our house for sure! I get so excited about leftovers the next day I usually end up eating them for breakfast 😉
I just stumbled across this recipe and made these tonight. They were AMAZING! It actually tasted better than I had hoped. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Lisa! Wow, so glad they exceeded your expectations!! 🙂
I made these last night for company and they are soo good! I doubled the amount of chili powder for the sauce and everyone LOVED it!
Yay! Great to hear it was a success for all of you. And glad you tweaked the sauce to make it a bit spicier – give chipotle powder a try next time too! Thanks for the message!
I made these tonight for dinner, they were delicious! I used half kale and half spinach and they turned out really well.
YUM! Awesome idea going half/half with kale and spinach – I love that!!
We're trying these tonight. But, since my 6 year old loves to cook, I prepped the filling and sauce last night and let him layer it, calling it enchil-lagna. I tore the tortillas into pieces, and he put them down like a puzzle, followed by filling and sauce in 3 layers. I placed sauce on the bottom and cheese on top, just like in the recipe. We can't wait to try it!
Hi there! That's so awesome that your little one loves to cook and help out in the kitchen – how fun! And what a great idea layering it like lasagna. Hope you two loved it!
These enchiladas are so great! I didn't have corn so I used some sauted zucchini. Amazing! Thanks!
Oh YUM! Sauteed zucchini sounds incredible. Definitely trying that next time – thanks so much for the message! 🙂
This is one of the most amazing recipe's I have tried. It was totally amazing. I followed the instructions exact since it was my first time….the SAUCE is to die for….I will make that sauce for other things as well….I made myself a small portion and rolled the rest in a pan covered them up and put the remaining sauce in a container for tomorrow nights dinner I think my son is going to love this recipe too….I love trying healthy recipe's that taste good. Definitely a winner!
Hi Dawn! Thanks so much for the sweet comments. So glad you had success with them! Hope your son loves them just as much! 🙂
Oh my word these are so amazing! I've never made homemade enchilada sauce before (I used chicken stock from my freezer), and this is worth every minute. Next time I'm doubling the recipe (as I watch my son devour the last of the pan). I can't wait to try some of your other recipes. Thanks for doing this!!!
Hi there! Hooray – glad you liked them! You can never go wrong with a double batch of these 😉 Hope you love the other recipes here just as much! Thanks for the comment – take care!
These were amazing! Three bites in, my totally meat eating husband, was asking. Me to make them again! One week later and here we go again! Thank you!
Hi there! Yessss – that's so awesome! I love hearing husbands go wild over their veggies 😀 So glad you two enjoyed them (twice!) Thanks for the message 🙂
Fantastic recipe, so glad I found it! Forgot to saute the spinach, but it still cooked up nice and tender almost as if I had anyway. 🙂 Was out of chili powder, and added a few dashes of Tobasco and sriracha sauces. Just right and yummy.
Hi there! So glad you liked it! Agreed – sometimes (out of laziness) I skip the saute step too and it's pretty much the same 🙂 Glad you tweaked the sauce based on what you had!
We made this tonight and give it two big thumbs up! Unfortunately our baking tray only accommodated 7 enchiladas, so we had some filling left over. If anyone else has this issue, we discovered that the filling made a great makeshift salsa for tortilla chips!
Hi Katie! Awesome to hear! It makes great "salsa" doesn't it!? I've also been guilty of eating it by the spoonful… 😉
Made these tonight using homemade whole wheat tortillas. Loved this recipe and so did the family. I added some sliced mushrooms when I sautéed the spinach. Super good!!
Hi Courtney! Oh I LOVE mushrooms – I'll have to try that next time!
I've made these twice in two weeks, the second time at my husband's request. I'm never satisfied with canned enchilada sauce (I started making black bean and spinach enchiladas with a sweet potato or pumpkin sauce just to avoid the enchilada sauce), so I was immediately drawn to this homemade sauce, which is SO easy to make and so yummy! I ended up making way too much of the sauce tonight, so I'll have some in the freezer!
I did make a few changes: corn tortillas, steamed frozen bagged spinach, diced white onion in the filling, and nixed the cilantro (it tastes/smells like soap to me), and extra chili powder….which considering how bad I am about changing recipes is almost nothing!
Anyway, thanks for such a great, easy recipe. I love them, my husband loves them, and our 14 month old ate like 3 of them!
Hi Sarah! Thanks so much for your sweet message. I love meals that the whole family will gobble up with no complaints – makes life easy! 😀 Your recipe changes sound great, corn tortillas are delicious! And glad you found an enchilada sauce you love! Hooray!!
My daughter's friend made these for a group of us last weekend. She added bits of cooked rotisserie chicken to the filling, and it was awesome. This will replace my old enchilada recipe. I may use organic chicken broth in place of the vegetable broth. Even the grand kids came back for seconds.
Hi there Gail! So glad you enjoyed these enough to replace your other enchilada recipe – wow! Not to mention YAY for the grandkids wanting more! 😉 Take care.
Thanks so much for sharing your recipe! These were perfect and I was surprised how quick these were to make. It usually feels like anything I make in a baking dish takes forever to make. Thanks you thank you thank you!
Hi Jennette! You're so welcome! Awesome to hear you liked them 🙂 Totally agree – I LOVE how fast they come together!
These are a new go to recipe for my family! They are so good and healthy and my whole family loves them!
Hey Judith! Woohoo!! I love meals that the whole family can agree on and enjoy 🙂 So glad to hear you guys like them!
Just made these tonight! The husband and I LOVED them! Thank you for the awesome recipe!
Hi Britanee! Glad you guys tried them and loved them!!
I'm making these for the second time tonight. They are absolutely amazing!!!!! I've sent the link to this page to almost everyone I know! Thanks!
Oh yay! Glad you love them enough for a repeat!! And thanks so much for sharing the recipe with people 🙂 Enjoy dinner tonight!
This recipe is nothing short of amazing! Followed it to the T and it was delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome to hear!! 🙂
So I had this recipe pinned for nearly a YEAR! I was going through my board over the weekend and after reading the reviews I decided to give it a try. I've gotta be honest, I was not expecting to LOVE these as I do! I'm my father's child and a "meal ain't a meal without some meat in it!" But these enchiladas blew me away! They are SOOO yummy! I'm a single gal so I halved the recipe but I'm wishing I made more to freeze for later. Thanks so much! These enchiladas ROCK! I'll pin my picture with your link later tonight.
Hi Robyn! Loved your message – thanks 🙂 It's amazing how many times I've heard strict meat-eaters that end up loving this meal! Yay!! Beans and veggies can be delicious too! 😉 So glad you tried them and loved them. Take care!
Wanted to say thank you! I've made this before and I'm pretty sure its gonna make the table again this weekend. Awesome recipe, my boys (little brother and sweetheart) much appreciate it! 🙂 -Abbi
Hey Abbi!! That's awesome to hear. Hope you love it just as much the second time around! 🙂
I've made these more times than I can count and they're AMAZING! My boyfriend absolutely loves them and requests them almost weekly. Sometimes he even asks for a bowl of just the enchilada sauce when I'm working on them to eat before dinner because it's sooo good! Thanks a bunch for such an easy and delicious recipe 🙂
HI Amanda! Haha that's hilarious! I've been guilty of that on a few occasions myself 😉 SO glad you two love them as much as we do!! Thanks for coming back to leave a message!
This is the first vegetarian meal that my husband loves! We make it all the time and I'm cooking it tonight for a group of 10 girls! Thanks for sharing!
http://www.theperennialstyle.com
Hey Blair! Yessss – I love hearing when strict meat eaters gobble this up!! Hope the girls loved it just as much! Thanks for the message 🙂
This is my husband's favorite dinner! He is always asking me to make this. Do easy and delicious. I make a few small changes I add more chili powder and a fresh green chili. I also skip the cheese and make guacamole to top it with. Thanks so much for this amazing recipe 🙂
Hi Jo!! Yay! So glad you and your husband enjoy it! I love your additions, especially skipping the cheese and replacing it with guacamole! Avocado is such an awesome substitution for cheese. 😀 Definitely doing that next time – thanks!
Wow, Kaitlin! You rock. These are f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s!!! Myself, hubs, and two year old were in heaven! I am always looking for recipes I could make on a regular basis – score! 🙂 Thank YOU!
Aww, thanks so much for the sweet comment! So happy to hear your whole fam liked them!! It's great to have those easy go-to meals everyone enjoys, isn't it!? 🙂
This was the first recipe I tried from your site. We really enjoyed it! It was even better for lunch the next day. A definite keeper in our house. Even the carnivores in the family enjoyed them. We're split here – 2 vegetarians, 3 carnivores. It's nice to find something we all enjoy. Thanks!
Hi Jennifer! Awesome! This seems to be a popular meal with all types of crowds – I love that! Makes it easy on the chef come dinner time 😉 I agree, the leftovers are great. Thanks for the message!
These are the best enchiladas out there. My hubby can't stop asking when we will have them again! I serve with a little sour cream and sometimes instead of the sauce in the recipe I use green Herdez brand sauce in the glass jar.
Aww thanks for the sweet message! So glad you and your husband enjoy them so much!! I've used that salsa verde sauce on other enchiladas before but never thought to try them on these – great idea to change it up a little! 🙂
SO GOOD!!! Just made it for dinner. I dislike cilantro, so I substituted Italian parsley. Can't wait to serve this to my (grown) kids! Thanks a lot!
Hi Janet! Yay – so glad you enjoyed these! Love your substitution of parsley for cilantro 🙂 Hope your kids love them just as much!!
Hi there 🙂 I've been using your enchilada recipe for over a year now and they always get rave reviews! I'm the only vegetarian in my office but the entire staff loves these. My boss even grants me leave so that I can make these at home and bring them in for lunch!
I'm planning on making them this week for a surprise office birthday party and was wondering if anyone has tried heating these in a crock pot instead of the oven? Normally I would just make them from home and bring them in to the office but I won't have that option this week. Any suggestions are much appreciated, thanks!
Hi Catherine! That's so awesome!! Glad everyone has been enjoying them, even the carnivores 🙂 I love your creative thought using a slow cooker. My best guess would be to layer them, with plenty of enchilada sauce in between so they don't stick together (you'll probably have 2 or 3 layers depending on the size of your slow cooker). Then cook on low for 3-ish hours? The only issue I can think of is they may get a little soggy in the slow cooker, so you could also try a stacked/layered enchilada casserole using corn tortillas instead. Would LOVE to hear if you try it out and how it goes! Thanks so much for your sweet message. Have a great party!!! 🙂
I'm happy to say that these worked perfectly in the crock pot and the office staff was happy to be guinea pigs for my experiment. I lined my crock pot with foil first, then added a thin layer of the sauce. I had a total of four layers so I only used 5 of my tortillas. My layers went tortilla, mixture, sauce, ending with a tortilla on top. I did not saute' my spinach first and was a little worried about the moisture they would release while cooking but, it still turned out just fine 🙂
The only thing I would have changed would be lining the crock pot with the foil. In the future I will just rub some olive oil on the bottom of the crock pot to prevent sticking; my bottom tortilla was stuck to the foil.
Thank you so much for such a terrific recipe and the great advice on cooking them in the crock pot!
Oh YAY Catherine!! So fun to hear the crock pot worked. Thanks so much for coming back to let me know – hopefully it will help others as well!! I LOVE that you tested this out! 😀
black beans and spinach-speakin' my language. Am def going to try these soon!
Haha – hope you love them Kristie!! 🙂
I'm up for Mexican any old time! Thanks for posting, I shared this on my May real food meal plan.
Me too!! Hope you enjoy! 🙂
These were delicious and easy to make. I made mine with corn tortillas though and they were still good. Healthy too!
Yay! GREAT call with the corn tortillas – love them! They always add such great flavor. So glad you enjoyed these!! 🙂
I'm living in India and they don't have tomato paste here – you think you could substitute tomato sauce with less broth in the sauce??
Hi Tracy! That's exactly what I would do (though I can't speak from experience)! I think that'll turn out great though 🙂 Let me know how it goes – hope you enjoy!!
These are delicious! I love the sauce, maybe on eggs????
Thanks!! I'm a big fan of the sauce too. It's definitely versatile, give it a try! 🙂
For an authentic enchilada sauce (depending on what part of Mexico) is take 5-7 dried red chiles simmered in a pan of water doesn't matter how much as long they are covered, for 30 min. I usually break off the stem and shake out the seeds before simmering it's an easier clean up than later, once those have reconstituted place them in a blender with some water from the pan for spicier sauce or regular water for more mild, and a little more than you are wanting to yield on sauce usually 4-6 cups, blend that up and as its blending add 1/4c or so of flour or similar to thicken it as it cooks, after it has processed for at least 2 minutes pour it through a fine colander or cheesecloth etc to separate the tougher blended up skins and seeds, use a spoon or spatula to press out any excess sauce into a saucepan. Season with cumin, oregano, basil, garlic and onion powder, and salt to taste! Cook on low about 20 min or until desired consistency so delicious, and easy, my kids beg for it!!
Yum, sounds fantastic. Thanks so much for sharing the authentic way!! 🙂
Kaitlin, I'm Beverly's neighbor and she had us over on Halloween and served this. It was SO delicious! I asked for the recipe and she gave me your blog address. I love what I'm seeing here! Thank you for investing so much of your time to share these wonderful recipes. This one will be made often in my house and I look forward to trying more.
Aww, hi Skye!! Nice to "meet" you! That's so fun to hear – glad you guys enjoyed it! And thanks for your sweet comments about the blog 🙂 Hope you and your family love any other recipes you try. Wishing you a great start to the new year!
I LOVE these enchilladas! That is a lot coming from me, because I love Mexican food, but I've always avoided enchilladas because they always wind up swimming in sauce with a dull filling. Enter this recipe, and I am an enchillada believer (my husbad, enchillada lover, thanks you)!
Hi Sarah! Thanks for your sweet comment. SO happy to hear you finally found an enchilada you enjoy – yay!! Hope you two have a lovely week!
It's about time I extend my thanks! I've been making these amazing enchiladas for about a year now. They're in my regular cycle. Everyone LOVES them! Everyone!! So, Thank you! Very much.. these are amazing!! yummmmmmmmmy!!!!
Made this great recipe earlier this week, and my husband is already requesting we make it again. "The best ever" to quote him. Thank you.
My world is rocked! Absolutely delish and the enchilada sauce is to die far. Inexpensive, quick as good as my favorite Mexican restaurant…what more could you want? I added half a fresh jalenpeno and some mushrooms so they wouldn’t go bad. Thank you so much.
LOVE those additions! So glad you gave it a try & enjoyed!! Thanks for the feedback and have a lovely week! -Kaitlin
I made this for dinner this evening. My husband loved it! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Glad it was enjoyed! Thanks Deb! Wishing you both a wonderful rest of the week 🙂
Does the fat content come from the oil and the cheese?
I can leave out the oil but am wondering about the
cheese.
Thank you..
Hi Fern! Yep, there’s some fat in the Daiya cheese shreds I use – though certainly feel free to leave it out if you’d prefer! (Or you could swap it with a little nutritional yeast for cheesy flavor instead!)
Kaitlin, I made these for dinner tonight and they were absolutely delicious! No one missed meat at all! Thanks for sharing!
Woohoo! So great to hear it was enjoyed Cindy! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know (and for leaving a recipe rating!) Very appreciated. Wishing you all a beautiful rest of the week!! -Kaitlin
Delicious recipe that came together quickly. Thanks for the recipe!
Woo! So awesome to hear you gave them a try and enjoyed Ana! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know (and for leaving a recipe rating) 🙂 Very appreciated! Hope you’re staying well. -Kaitlin
OMG that sauce is pure awesomeness! Lucky for me this recipe popped up as a recommendation while searching for your teriyaki baked tofu recipe, which is equally as awesome. Decided to change up the dinner plans since I had everything in hand. One very happy family tonight! Looking forward to discovering more treasures on your site.
Hey Marsha! Aww so lovely to hear you and your family enjoyed these 🙂 Thanks so much for coming back to let me know!
I just made these for the 100th time, no lie. I have never posted a comment online but today felt the need. As I made them, from memory, it was such a great familiar feeling. During these times of uncertainty it was awesome. J ust wanted to drop you a note to let you know that this post from 8 years ago still lives on and is cherished.
Thank you
Lucy
Aww, hi Lucy! Your comment just warmed my heart – thanks so much for coming back to let me know. I’m honored to hear you’ve been enjoying these so much. Sending lots of love your way! Have a beautiful week 🙂 -Kaitlin
These are fantastic!! A few weeks ago we decided to go vegan, to help my husband with his diabetes, this was one of the first meals I made, am making them again tonight. I have to say my husband is a huge dairy and cheese person but these won him over. I’m wondering what brand of “cheese” you used to get it to melt like it looks in the pictures? Thank you for sharing!!!
Hi Shanda! That’s awesome you guys went vegan! I hear you, cheese can be a tough thing to break away from. Unfortunately I can’t recall which brand I used in these pictures. Daiya melts pretty well, but taste-wise, we currently love “Follow Your Heart” and “Miyoko’s” the best. (However I keep seeing more & more new brands hitting the shelves which is pretty exciting!) Wishing you both all the very best on your new plant-based journey!! Sending love, Kaitlin
I have made this recipe 3 times in the last month and have shared it with several non-whole food plant based eaters and everyone loves them. They are delicious and I love the texture the corn gives to the meal.’
I followed the instructions one of the users above gave about freezing the enchiladas and the sauce so I could take them to the beach with me and it worked like a dream. Thanks!
That’s so awesome, Aimee. And enchiladas at the beach – I like your style! Thanks so much for coming back to share your sweet comment, very appreciated. Wishing you a beautiful rest of the summer! 🙂
This has been in our regular rotation since I discovered it four years ago. Tonight I altered it for the first time to use zucchini instead of spinach (my garden has overproduces zucchini this year). Shredded a couple cups of zucchini – didn’t cook it just added to the filling. And I think I prefer it this way! So tasty and filling.
Hey Kate! Love that you’ve been enjoying this recipe, and great call with the zucchini addition!! How perfect for summer. Thanks so much for coming back to share your wonderful variation – will have to give it a try! Wishing you a beautiful week 🙂
Hi! Trying to do some meatless Monday’s with my family and made this tonight. I loved it. I got a lot of sideye from my 2 boys and their dad but everyone ate it and no one died from lack of chicken, so we are definitely putting it in the rota!!
Haha that’s pretty awesome & love that your family is giving Meatless Monday a try, Rachael! Thrilled everyone enjoyed these. Thanks so much for giving them a try and sharing your very kind feedback 🙂 Wishing you all a beautiful rest of the week! -Kaitlin