I think that if I had a favorite kind of cuisine, it would probably be Mexican. My mom used to make enchiladas much like these, except that she used real cheese and chicken or beef instead of beans. These hearty, “cheezy” enchiladas will satisfy even the most committed Mexican food-lover. I serve these with a green salad and a cold Mexican beer with a lime wedge.
Black Bean Enchiladas
Ingredients
- 0.5 large onion, diced
- 0.5 jalapeño pepper, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 0.5 tsp cumin
- 0.5 tsp oregano
- 0.75 tsp salt
- 1 10-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups grated cheeze (see notes)
- 1 24-oz can enchilada sauce (or 3 cups homemade)
- 12 corn tortillas
- 2 tbsp chopped green onion (optional)
- 0.5 cup sliced black olives (optional)
- vegan sour cream (optional)
Instructions
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In a nonstick pan, saute onion in a couple of tablespoons of water until soft. Add garlic and jalapeño and saute for a couple more minutes.
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Add cumin, salt and oregano and cook for another minute
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Stir in black beans and heat through. Remove from heat
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Heat about 1/2 c. of the enchilada sauce in a small skillet. Spread another 1/4 c. in the bottom of baking dish (big enough to hold 12 enchiladas)
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Dip tortilla into the heated sauce for about 1/2 minute, or until soft enough to roll
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Place 2 tablespoons of the black bean mixture and 2 tablespoons of cheeze on the tortilla, roll up, and place in baking dish. Repeat with all 12 tortillas
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Spread remaining 1/2 c. cheeze on top and sprinkle with black olives and green onions, if using
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Cover pan and bake at 350F for about 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Remove cover and let bake 5 more minutes.
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Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Top with sour cream if desired.
Notes:
If you like, instead of rolling the enchiladas, you can stack them. You don’t have to warm them in enchilada sauce; just put a layer of tortillas in the dish, top with black beans and cheeze, pour on a little sauce, and repeat. Finish with more sauce and the 1/2 c. cheeze. This cuts the prep time by half at least.
I used the Almond Milk Pepper Jack cheeze from Vegan Richa’s website. You could also use any shredded vegan cheeze, but I like making my own – it’s less expensive and less processed and, in my opinion, it tastes much better! You can leave the oil out of the recipe if you like and replace it with an equivalent amount of almond milk, but the cheeze won’t be as melt-y then.
If you use canned but you don’t care for the strong taste of enchilada sauce, you can dilute it by half with tomato sauce, or make your own.