I made these Broccoli Black Bean Enchiladas with Homemade Sauce last weekend and have been eating them all week long. And I have a theory. Enchiladas are good the first day. Great the second day and amazingggggggg the third day or re-heated after frozen. After a few days, all the sauces marinate the tortillas and everything gets more flavorful and tender and sings comfort food perfection.
As I was eating these on day three I proclaimed to my husband, “Yup, enchiladas, the way I make them, they are definitely my favorite food.” I said holding my steaming hot plate of warmed up enchiladas. “..I mean, like savory food, not like fruits and smoothies, obviously.”
Enchiladas were always a fave of mine. I remember going out to Mexican restaurants every week with my family when I was a kid. I would always order the spinach enchiladas with rice and beans. Red rice, so good and flavorful, fluffy and cozy. And the beans all melty and rich. Then the enchiladas with layers of dense, soft spinach leaves inside tortillas coated in sauce and cheese. Ahhhhhhhh.
And yup. Today, my vegan versions of enchiladas win all the points for me. And today’s recipe is my way of helping myself eat more broccoli! I did a skillet broccoli “taco meat” before loading the mixture into the enchiladas with black beans. I am absolutely making this recipe again this weekend because they were finished Thursday night and I am still craving them! I hope you can try them too..
Before popping one tray in the oven..
Broccoli “taco meat” for filling the enchiladas..
Freshly pulled from the oven…. Instagram-chiladas..
Eat More Broccoli! That is what I keep telling myself. And I did something fun this time. Instead of using a vegan “meat” or a vegan “chorizo” style filling, I finely chopped broccoli and it turned into a sort of ground meat-like” texture. Now ok, I’m saying meat words a lot here, but I am just trying to describe how you can use veggies as subs for traditional animal product fillings! And broccoli is a protein-rich veggie too! One bunch contains 17g or brotein! Haha… I accidentally wrote “brotein” their, instead of protein. And I had to keep that typo in because it is kinda cool.
These enchiladas are packed with brotein, guys!
This was just one tray, I actually made two batches like this..
Sleeping kitty cats make cozy cooking days even cozier..
A different recipe I made a few years back, Spinach Enchiladas..
Bubbly… (Yes I made a whole quick video out of these 6 seconds…) LOL, hi.
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Broccoli Black Bean Enchiladas with Homemade Sauce
Ingredients
- Vegan Broccoli "Taco Meat:"
- 1 bunch of broccoli, finely chopped (rough ends of stems discarded)1 tsp taco or fajita blend spice (or try a combine of cumin + chipotle powders)
- 1 small red onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2-3 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- a few splashes of veggie broth or water (as needed)
- salt, to taste (omit salt if using pre-salted fajita seasoning)
- 10-12 corn tortillas
- 1 15oz can of black refried beans, vegan
- 1 4oz can of chopped green chiles
- 1-2 cups baby spinach (optional)
- 1 batch of Kathy's homemade red enchilada sauce
- vegan cheese, shredded (use to taste – a good sub is a sprinkle of nutritional yeast)
- garnish: pico de gallo and freshly sliced avocado (optional)
Instructions
- Warm a skillet over high heat and add the olive oil, onion and garlic. Saute for about two minutes, until onion is soft. Then add in the broccoli and spices. Saute another minute. Add in a splash of veggie broth or water, cover with lid and reduce heat to medium. Allow the steam to soften the mixture for another minute or two. When broccoli is tender, but not mushy, and all the liquid has been absorbed, turn off heat and set broccoli mixture aside. Note: If you want to add spinach to your enchiladas, add the spinach to the saute pan before closing the lid, this will soften and reduce the spinach.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees while you assemble to enchiladas.
- Blend up your sauce by following the recipe directions here.
- Assembly: To each corn tortilla, add 1-2 Tbsp beans, 2-3 Tbsp veggie mixture. Roll the tortilla tightly and place in the casserole dish. Repeat until all the enchiladas are lined up. I add enchiladas on the sides to fill any gaps as well.
- Pour the sauce over top, soaking each enchilada with sauce. You want to completely cover the tortillas so you just see red sauce. Add a sprinkle of vegan cheese on top (or sub with nutritional yeast.) The top with the entire can of diced green chiles. Optional:You can add some salsa or pico de gallo on top before cooking to add more texture to the top of the enchiladas.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake at 450 degrees for about 25 minutes. Remove the foil about five minutes before removing from pan. Allow at least ten minutes to cool. Serve warm with optional guacamole or avocado. I also like vegan cashew cream or Vegenaise dolloped on top. These can also be chilled for up to five days, or frozen for a few months! They are delicious as leftovers or made-ahead frozen meals.
When do you add the black beans?