Protein powerhouse vegan enchiladas with an amazing Mexican-inspired homemade sauce! Each enchilada has a whopping 20+ grams of plant-based protein (all from soy-free sources).
Two things make these Protein Monster Enchiladas one of our favorite vegan enchiladas yet.
First is the combination of black beans + garbanzo beans. Chickpeas don't often appear in enchiladas but we really enjoy the unexpected addition. (If you're not a fan of garbanzos, substitute quinoa instead!)
Second is when the natural tomato juices are mixed with nutritional yeast in the pan, it makes a delicious sauce that really brings the filling together.
I love that each enchilada is about 20 grams of protein, all from non-soy sources. (Or even more protein if using sprouted grain tortillas.)
The ingredient list is much longer than most of my recipes, but I promise it's not as complicated as it looks!
I simply couldn't resist including the recipe for our favorite Mexican-inspired homemade enchilada sauce so you can really take these vegan enchiladas to the next level.
Protein Monster Vegan Enchiladas
Ingredients
For the enchiladas:
- 1 onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 15 oz. can black beans
- 15 oz. can garbanzo beans
- 1/2 cup hemp hearts
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 3 roma tomatoes
- 2 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- Salt to taste
- 6 large tortillas
For the enchilada sauce:
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (GF if desired*)
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp. chili powder
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder (more to taste)
- 1/4 tsp. onion powder (more to taste)
- Salt/pepper
- Optional: cayenne pepper, ground chipotle, smoked paprika, etc.
Instructions
MAKE THE ENCHILADA SAUCE
- In a small bowl, add flour and the cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat.
- When hot, carefully add tomato paste, and the small bowl of flour and four spices.
- Cook 1 minute, whisking continuously. Then add broth and whisk well. Increase heat and bring to a light boil.
- Reduce to simmer and cook 8 minutes, whisking occasionally. Salt to taste and set aside.
MAKE THE ENCHILADAS
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
- Dice onion and bell pepper.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onion and bell pepper for about 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, dice tomatoes. Rinse and drain beans.
- When onions are translucent, reduce heat. Add cumin, paprika, tomatoes, nutritional yeast, hemp hearts, and both beans (rinsed and drained). Stir well. Heat for 4-5 minutes then set aside.
- In a lightly sprayed 9×13 baking dish, cover the bottom with a thin layer of enchilada sauce.
- Distribute bean mixture in the center of tortillas. Roll up, tucking in both ends.
- Place all 6 rolled enchiladas in baking dish and top with remaining sauce.
- Bake for about 25 minutes.
- Serve topped with avocado, cilantro, hemp hearts, nutritional yeast, etc.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
Enjoying these vegan protein enchiladas? Also feel free to check out:
Come join The Garden Grazer on Instagram and then share a photo if you make or adapt this recipe! (Also please leave a review and star rating below if you give it a try. Your feedback is greatly appreciated - thank you!)
Cheryl
Delicious! Added some leftover cooked quinoa and roasted sweet potatoes along with a little spicy taco seasoning. Will certainly make again. Thanks for posting!
Kaitlin McGinn
Fantastic additions! Thanks for sharing!
Mallory Campbell
So yummy! I had no clue how easy making enchilada sauce is!! Super filling delicious and easy, thank you!
Kaitlin McGinn
That's so great!
Gabrielle
I made these - with some adjustments - for dinner a couple nights ago and they were a huge hit! My meat loving family still added leftover chicken to theirs but I loved mine as is. Thank you! For anyone wondering about changes, I about doubled the amount of nutritional yeast, left out the hemp hearts, used more spices, and since I didn't quite have enough beans added more bell pepper. I'd love to try these again with some other veggie combos as well!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Thanks for sharing!
Skye Travis
I made this last night and it was so delicious I overate! I’m still learning about seasonings and spices so when I saw an opportunity to try a new one (Chipotle) I bought some and added a teaspoon - which apparently made the meal too spicy for my kids. Doh! I didn’t realize Chipotle was smoked red jalapenos. Lol! Now I know. My husband and I loved it though. Next time I make this I will skip the chili powder and chipotle…on the kids’ half. I will definitely put those flavors in mine portion though. Yum!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hey Skye! Love that you gave these a try. I should've made a note of caution about the chipotle powder, sorry about that!
PS - I've been slowly trying to learn about different spices as well. So fun experimenting and playing around with different flavors! Let me know if you find any new favorites!
Unknown
I subbed the garbanzo beans for small red beans, otherwise followed to a T, (hard for me; I’m a recipe tinkerer!) and wow! These are delicious and so filling! Even my incredibly picky kids ate these!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
That's awesome! Thanks for sharing your feedback!
Unknown
Followed the recipe, exactly, and wow these are awesome. The texture, taste and sauce are delicious!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Beautiful to hear!
Nanna Cindy
Made these tonight for dinner. We really enjoyed them, even my carnivorous hubby. I like my Mexican food more spicy so I added cayenne pepper to the sauce.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Great addition!