These vegan bean enchiladas with avocado crema are free of gluten and oil, but full of flavor! Instead of the classic wheat tortillas, I use my lentil wraps for a healthy, filling lunch.
Ever since I've lived in the US as an Au Pair, I can't imagine a week (ok, let's say a month) without Mexican or Tex-Mex food. Tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas - I can't get enough of these spicy filled delicacies in all shapes and colors!
These vegan enchiladas are filled with spiced black beans and vegetables, baked in a simple enchilada sauce and topped with a generous amount of avocado crema.
The special thing about this recipe is the tortillas. Instead of conventional wheat wraps, I used my lentil tortillas as the “wrapper”. These are much healthier than the wheat version and are also gluten-free.
Apart from tortillas, what cannot be missed in a good enchilada recipe? The enchilada sauce, of course. And since enchiladas means something like "season (or decorate) with chili" (thanks, wikipedia), we are going to add tons of spices. You better not be hesitant with the chili powder!
Step-By-Step Instructions
Before you can start with the enchiladas, you first need to prepare the gluten-free lentil wraps. If you are short on time, use boiling water to soak them, which will reduce the soaking time to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, you can prepare the enchilada sauce.
- Step 1: Prepare the lentil tortillas according to the recipe instructions. Then cook the enchilada sauce (see recipe card).
- Step 2: Slice onion, dice zucchini and bell pepper and cook in a large pan. Season with ground cumin, oregano and salt.
- Step 3: Add the drained black beans.
- Step 4: Add about ½ cup enchilada sauce and stir together.
- Step 5: Fill the lentil tortillas with the veggie-bean mixture.
- Step 6: Spread ½ - ¾ cup enchilada sauce in a large or two small casserole dishes and place the filled and rolled up tortillas inside. Spread the remaining sauce in top.
Then put the enchiladas in the oven and make the crema.
As we will obviously not sprinkle our vegan enchiladas with shredded cheese or a plantbased cheese alternative, I decided to go for a creamy avocado sauce made from cashews, avocado, garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper. Oh yes, this avocado crema really adds that special something to the enchiladas - a fresh contrast to the spicy enchilada sauce.
Tipps For Storage
The enchiladas taste best fresh from the oven. Because of the enchilada sauce, the lentil tortillas become quite soft over time.
I would store leftover enchiladas in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days and then reheat for a few minutes in the oven (at around 320 °F /160 °C) rather than in the microwave.
Alternatively, you can also prepare only part of the recipe for immediate consumption and store the rest of the filling, sauce, avocado crema and lentil tortillas separately in the fridge for later preparation.
If you give these tasty vegan enchiladas a try, let me know in the comments below. And don’t forget to rate the recipe. You can also tag a photo (#veggiejam) to show me your creation on instagram.
PrintRecipe
Vegan Bean Enchiladas [gluten-free]
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Soaking Time (Lentil Tortillas): 30+ minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 65 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings (8 Enchiladas) 1x
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
These vegan bean enchiladas with avocado crema are free of gluten and oil, but full of flavor! Instead of the classic wheat tortillas, I use my lentil wraps for a healthy, filling lunch.
Ingredients
- 1 recipe lentil tortillas (makes 8) - or store-bought small wheat/gluten-free tortilas
Enchilada Sauce
- 2 tbsp (gluten-free) flour
- 2 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon salt
- black pepper
- 1 cup tomato purée
- ½ cup veggie broth
- 1-2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Black Bean Filling
- 2 cans black beans
- 1 red onion
- 1 red pepper
- 1 small zucchini
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- black pepper
Avocado Crema
- ⅓ cup cashews (50 g)
- ½ ripe avocado (75 g)
- ½ lime, juiced (2-3 tablespoon juice)
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 handful fresh coriander (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the lentil tortillas. Keep the soaking time in mind!
- Soak the cashews for the avocado crema in hot/boiling water for 15-20 min.
Enchilada Sauce
- Combine the spices in a small bowl. Heat a small pot on the stove and toast the flour in it for 1 - 1 ½ min. Stir to prevent burning.
- Add the spice mixture and toast for another 30 sec.
- Now add the tomato purée and the broth and stir. Season with maple syrup and apple cider vinegar and simmer on low for about 5 min. Put aside.
Filling
- Thinly slice the red onion and dice the bell pepper and zucchini.
- Heat some water in a pan and sauté the onion until trunslucent. Then add the vegetables. Season with cumin, salt and pepper and cook for 6-8 min.
- Now add the rinsed and drained beans and ½ cup of the enchilada sauce. Stir and take off the heat.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
- Pour about ½ - ¾ cup of the enchilada sauce into a large casserole dish and spread evenly.
- Fill the tortillas, carefully roll them up and place them in the dish. Spread the rest of the enchilada sauce on top.
- Bake for about 20-25 min.
Avocado Crema
- In the meantime, rinse the cashews. Blend together with ½ cup filtered water and the remaining ingredients until creamy. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lime juice.
- Drizzle the avocado sauce onto the baked enchiladas. They taste best fresh out of the oven!
This post is also available in German (Deutsch).
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