Veggie Quinoa Enchiladas

One of my new favorite vegan recipes is these delicious quinoa black bean enchiladas. Of course, I found the recipe on Pinterest (thanks to Page). With a couple of slight modifications, I made it even more delicious and also vegan!

Ingredients (my notes in italics)

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa (reduced from 1.5 cups in original recipe – I found you don’t need it all)
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 zucchini, sliced and halved (my addition to the recipe)
• 2-3 roma tomatoes, diced
• 6 oz. spinach
• 4 oz. can green chiles
• 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 cup salsa
• 2-3 cups enchilada sauce (See recipe on the link- I made my own and it was easy and delicious!)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used Daiya cheddar shreds)
• 8 large whole wheat tortillas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Add 2 cups water and quinoa to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until water is absorbed.
3. In a small pot, make the enchilada sauce. (Omit this step if using store-bought.)
4. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onion, red pepper, zucchini and garlic for 5 minutes.
5. Add spinach and saute another couple minutes until spinach is wilted.
6. Add cooked quinoa, black beans, tomatoes, green chiles, spices, and salsa. Stir to combine and cook until heated through. Salt/pepper to taste.
7. Place a small amount of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish.
8. Divide filling evenly among tortillas, roll up with ends tucked in, and place seam side down in the dish.
9. Pour remaining enchilada sauce on top, sprinkle with cheese, and bake for 30 minutes.

 

We loved these enchiladas from the first bite! This was my first time buying non-dairy cheese. I’ve tried to adhere to the principle of whole foods since turning to a more vegan diet so I try not to buy processed foods, vegan or not. However, for this recipe I wanted to do it right the first time. I’m glad I added the cheese because it was absolutely delicious! Another thing I loved about this recipe was that the homemade sauce made a large portion so that there was enough to cover every inch of the enchiladas. Every bite was moist and delicious!

I do have to warn you that these take time – at least an hour in total. But it was worth it because I was able to get two very filling meals for two out of them. We had them for dinner and then again for a very delicious lunch. I looked forward to eating my lunch all morning that day and have added this as my go-to vegan recipe for impressing typically non-vegan eaters.

Do you have any go-to enchilada recipes you want to share? Have you ever had Daiya cheese?